By Jack Holmes/Contributor
No. 17 Texas A&M (2-1) will host No. 8 Auburn (3-0) on Saturday afternoon at Kyle Field, as both schools begin conference play.
Junior quarterback Kellen Mond will lead the maroon and white against the Tiger's freshman quarterback Bo Nix, who will be playing in the first collegiate road game of his young career.
Here are 10 takeaways from the Aggies' media availability on Monday afternoon:
1. The team is excited about opening SEC play at Kyle Field.
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Several Aggie players gushed about starting their tough SEC slate at home in front of the 12th Man this weekend. Texas A&M will be looking for revenge after allowing the Tigers to score 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter of last season's game, beating the Aggies 28-24.
"Every game at home is the best," right tackle Carson Green said. "We always love playing here. The fans are the best in the nation. 2:30 [p.m.], Auburn, they're going to be wild, it's going to be loud and it's going to be exciting … Definitely when teams come here they're going to feel the stadium."
The Aggies have won four of their last five conference openers, including a 29-16 win at Auburn in 2016. They lead the all-time series with the Tigers 5-4.
Kyle Field is known as one of the toughest places to play in the country, and the crowd might just help the Aggies to a win against at top-10 opponent to boost them into the heart of the season.
2. The Aggies will look to take advantage of Bo Nix in a tough environment.
Auburn enters the game with a freshman at quarterback. Not only will Nix have to adjust to playing at a stadium with the noise of Kyle Field, but it will be the first time he has played on the road in his young career.
"It's really difficult," Mond said. "[For] any quarterback coming on the road, and any offense. Obviously, we know we have a huge advantage with the 12th Man, but it's going to be a really big week."
"Obviously, a freshman probably [in his] first time playing on the road, especially somewhere here like the 12th Man and Kyle Field," Mond added. "It's definitely going to be something he hasn't seen before."
Nix has thrown for 545 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions in three winning outings this season. He has also rushed for 79 yards and a touchdown. Fisher said that he coached Nix's father when he was the quarterback at Auburn in the 1990s.
"Their quarterback Bo Nix is an outstanding young man," Fisher said "He'll have a lot of intangibles in his blood that some other freshman may not ... He's got a great arm and great legs. He's a very tough, competitive and smart young man. Hopefully we can play well against him."
With that in mind, the Aggie defense is ready to welcome Nix to the SEC.
"I definitely think we can [take advantage of that]," cornerback Myles Jones said. "It's a freshman coming into our stadium. I definitely think that's going to be a big factor because the 12th Man gets pretty loud."
3. Texas A&M's defense needs to create more of a pass rush against Auburn.
Texas A&M has struggled to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks so far this season, sacking them just five times. Even worse, they did not record one against Lamar.
"It will be big," linebacker Buddy Johnson said. "It would be really huge. We need to come out with sacks, and at the same time we need to separate the ball from the ball carrier. The [defensive] line and the linebackers, we need to get home this week. It's a must."
Things will not get any easier against Auburn, who have one of the best offensive lines in the nation. Fisher said that putting pressure on Nix will be important, but the Aggies need to be careful.
"You've got to affect him, but you can't give him run lanes," Fisher said. "Bo can run. He can move. He has really good feet. [With] young athletic quarterbacks, sometimes you giving them run lanes is the best friend you can give them … We have to be very disciplined in how we do that. But you've got to affect the quarterback. That's number one."
4. The Aggies have found their new starting running back in Isaiah Spiller.
The freshman ran for 116 yards and two touchdowns against Lamar on Saturday in his first action since starting running back Jashaun Corbin was lost for the season with a hamstring injury. He has already recorded two 100-yard rushing games in his first three games as an Aggie.
"I love that guy," Green said. "He's a great running back, and he's going to be a great running back. I can't wait to see what he's going to do the rest of the year. He runs hard and finds the right holes. He's got a big job to fill, losing Jashaun … Now we've got another young guy in there … The running back is a big key [to this offense], and he's going to fill it."
Wide receiver Jhamon Ausbon said that Spiller impacts the offense as a whole, not just when he has the ball in his hands.
"He's a guy who can make one or two guys miss," Ausbon said. "Those three-yard runs turn in to 10, 11, 12-yard runs. It's very big for our offensive play calling."
It will be interesting to see if Spiller can continue his ascension against a tough Auburn defensive front.
5. The Aggies believe they have the potential to create some bigger plays on offense.
The Aggies have struggled to create big, chunk plays so far this season; especially in the air. Ausbon said the opportunities are there, but it comes down to details and mistakes.
"It's going to happen," he said. "If we just understand the importance of each play, I think we'll make it happen. I think we overlook the details in some plays, and it costs us on those deep balls … Chunk plays are very big … It changes the play calling up, and it allows you to do more in the offense."
Mond is averaging 7.7 yards per attempt, which ranks 12th among quarterbacks in the SEC. Out of the Aggie wide receivers with at least 100 yards this season, Ausbon has the highest average per catch on the team at 14.9 yards, which ranks 21st in the SEC.
"There definitely are [opportunities for bigger plays]," Mond said. "With this game of football, you kind of depend on all 11 guys to be perfect. If one guy messes up, it ruins the whole play. That's still something that we're still trying to clean up and get a lot sharper. We'll definitely need to fix that for this week."
Fisher reiterated what his players said and noted that his wide receivers dropped six passes that were 15 yards or more down field against Clemson.
"We chart big plays," he said. "We scheme for them. We had plenty of opportunities at Clemson, there's no doubt. Whether we overthrew them or missed a block … We dropped the ball … All of those are big plays. You've got to execute. No doubt, the tougher the competition, the harder it is to execute. We have to do that, and we're very capable."
6. Mond and Fisher feel that the offense is in a good place heading into conference play.
Despite the lack of big plays, Mond said he feels confident in the Aggies' offense. He acknowledged some missed opportunities in the redzone last weekend but said he feels really good overall heading into SEC play.
"What gives me a lot of confidence in kind of how balanced we've been in both the pass game and the run game and being able to be versatile in a lot of different packages," Mond said. "I think we'll mix up a lot of stuff this week, and we'll be ready."
Fisher emphasized that his team's identity is going to focus around that balance Mond mentioned.
"We're going to be physical up front," Fisher said. "We're going to run the football. We're going to be multi-dimensional in personnel and formations, and be able to stretch the field and reach all parts of the field with getting the ball out quick and the screen game. But we're going to have to stretch the field and throw it down."
7. This weekend's game will be won at the line of scrimmage.
As with any SEC match up, the big boys up front will likely dictate how this game plays out. The Aggies and Tigers have well-respected fronts on both sides of the ball, and it should be a tough battle all afternoon.
"[This game] will definitely be won in the trenches because Auburn has a good [offensive] line and a very good defensive line," said 325-pound defensive tackle Bobby Brown. "It will definitely test our defensive line and [offensive] line, how well we can respond and react and play."
Linebacker Buddy Johnson is confident the teammates in front of him will give it their all for four quarters.
"I expect it to be a dog fight [up front]," linebacker Buddy Johnson said. "Our [defensive] line, those guys are awesome. I love playing behind those guys. [They] know their assignments and they play hard every snap. That's what I love about them."
Fisher said he is confident in his offensive line because he's seen them go up against the Aggies defensive front every day in practice.
"We've ran the ball, moved the ball [in games]," Fisher said. "What I see daily by who we're blocking. We have a very good [defensive] front too. Our guys block our guys and move the football … [Auburn] are going to win their battles. We have to win our share of them … It's going to be one heck of a battle."
8. The Aggies' offensive line needs to continue to improve their communication.
Like any offensive line, right tackle Carson Green said that the Aggies had to get some things corrected early in the season. He believes they are playing well, and one area that is continuing to improve has been the communication along the offensive line.
"Communication problems like where the [middle linebackers] were, bumping people off and stuff like that," Green said. "Communicating with each other while the game's going is sometimes complex if you have a lot of people that haven't played next to each other. You don't realize how fast it is when you're actually out there on the field."
"We just need everyone has as a whole to get on the same page," he added. "Every week we're just getting better and better at it … Just making sure everybody knows whose guy they've got and where their guy is."
9. Jalen Wydermyer has impressed at the tight end position so far.
The Aggies have a large hole to fill at the tight end position as All-American Jace Sternberger was selected by the Green Packers in this year's NFL Draft. Although production at the position has fallen off considerably, freshman Jalen Wydermyer has shown flashes of his ability. The 6-foot-5, 260-pound tight end has already caught two touchdowns on the young season, including a 25-yard catch in Saturday night's game against Lamar.
"[I'm] very impressed," Fisher said. "[He's] getting better and better each week, learning how to play. The physicality of the game, boy he's athletic and strong. He and [Glenn] Beal are doing a really nice job ... Wydermyer is coming along very, very well. I'm very happy with him. I think he's going to be one heck of a player."
10. Cagan Baldree seems to be thriving at his new position.
The walk-on junior made the transition from offensive lineman to fullback in January. Fisher said Baldree approached him about wanting to contribute more, and at 278 pounds, he simply was not big enough to play up front in the SEC. He has slotted into his new role effectively.
"He's tough, he's smart, he's physical and he has really good ball skills. Those guys are hard to find, especially at fullback … It's a selfless role in my opinion, because most of the time it's just going to be blocking. He is a tremendous human being. He really is. I'm very proud for him making a role, and he's done a heck of a job. He's really helped us."
Baldree, who also plays some special teams, grew up a Texas A&M fan and said he still has to pinch himself when he looks around today.
"It's been a wild ride this year," he said. "It's been a blessing. I've wanted to be at A&M my entire life, and that's why I walked on here. It's why I stuck it out to this point. It's been an unreal experience, and I've enjoyed every bit of it."
Junior running back Jacob Kibodi said he appreciates having Baldree in front of him to create holes.
"He plays a big role," Kibodi said. "He does a great job blocking … On inside zone plays, he's moving bodies and making it easier for the running backs."
"He picked it up right away," Kibodi added. "He didn't have a learning curve really … One day he was [offensive] line weight, and now he's slimmed down … That shows his hard work."