The Massacre
09-27-2006, 05:56 PM
Texas Tech at Texas A&M
ABC, 3:30 p.m. ET
Texas Tech enters the game at 3-1, with wins over TCU, SMU and Southeastern Louisiana. The Red Raiders' lone loss was to No. 20 TCU, 12-3. Texas A&M, on the other hand, is 4-0 and was tested only by Army (a 28-24 win at home). It remains to be seen what kind of team Dennis Franchione has, but this game could provide a good indication. The only other team in the nation that is in a similar situation is Virginia Tech, which will also get its first test of the season on Saturday, against Georgia Tech. The teams have comparable talent. Texas A&M entered the season with issues on defense; Tech's D was humbled by the Horned Frogs. Both offenses boast power. This could easily turn into a shoot-out. I've been impressed with the Aggies' quarterback, Stephen McGee (http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/profile?playerId=156336) -- he's thrown six touchdowns and no interceptions while completing 68.9 percent of his passes. It will be interesting to see how he does in conference play. Right now, it's hard to say how good the Aggies' offense is. Tech's quarterback, Graham Harrell (http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/profile?playerId=160425), has also been putting up impressive numbers; he has completed 117 of his 177 passes for 11 touchdowns with two interceptions. Harrell consistently puts up good numbers against weaker teams, but was kept scoreless and completed just 48.9 percent of his passes against TCU.
Texas Tech will have to deal with playing on the road and handling a big, rowdy crowd. The Aggies will have to use their new 4-2-5 defensive scheme to pressure Harrell into making mistakes. It's more than likely that the winner of this game will be whoever has the ball last.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?id=2603096 (http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?id=2603096)
ABC, 3:30 p.m. ET
Texas Tech enters the game at 3-1, with wins over TCU, SMU and Southeastern Louisiana. The Red Raiders' lone loss was to No. 20 TCU, 12-3. Texas A&M, on the other hand, is 4-0 and was tested only by Army (a 28-24 win at home). It remains to be seen what kind of team Dennis Franchione has, but this game could provide a good indication. The only other team in the nation that is in a similar situation is Virginia Tech, which will also get its first test of the season on Saturday, against Georgia Tech. The teams have comparable talent. Texas A&M entered the season with issues on defense; Tech's D was humbled by the Horned Frogs. Both offenses boast power. This could easily turn into a shoot-out. I've been impressed with the Aggies' quarterback, Stephen McGee (http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/profile?playerId=156336) -- he's thrown six touchdowns and no interceptions while completing 68.9 percent of his passes. It will be interesting to see how he does in conference play. Right now, it's hard to say how good the Aggies' offense is. Tech's quarterback, Graham Harrell (http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/profile?playerId=160425), has also been putting up impressive numbers; he has completed 117 of his 177 passes for 11 touchdowns with two interceptions. Harrell consistently puts up good numbers against weaker teams, but was kept scoreless and completed just 48.9 percent of his passes against TCU.
Texas Tech will have to deal with playing on the road and handling a big, rowdy crowd. The Aggies will have to use their new 4-2-5 defensive scheme to pressure Harrell into making mistakes. It's more than likely that the winner of this game will be whoever has the ball last.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?id=2603096 (http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?id=2603096)