BTHO ku!

Game 9: Texas A&M vs. #9 Kansas

Texas A&M Aggies 6-2 (3-1) vs. Kansas Jayhawks 7-0 (3-0)

October 27, 2007 | 6:00 p.m. CST

Kyle Field (82,600) | College Station, TX

(Gary Thorne, Bob Davie, and Stacey Dales)

Keys To The Game:

• Establish The Run: Being able to run will be the deciding factor of this game. KU leads the conference in most defensive categories (#2 to OU's rush defense), and the defense prides itself on limiting the opposition's running game. Last week, in Boulder, the Jayhawks held a very hardened Colorado team to just above 100yds rushing. If the Ags are to win, they need to come out throwing all kinds of J-Train combination punches. No team has ever stopped the J-Train. The only person to ever stop the J-Train is the man in maroon calling the plays.
• Turnovers: It feels cliche to say that the game hinges on turnovers, because that seems to be the case in just about every football game. Both of these teams rely heavily on their turnover margins, Kansas is #1 in the conference and A&M is #2. With the game being played at Kyle Field in front of the 12th Man, I expect the Aggies to have the advantage in the turnover department..provided the Aggies are not forced to throw 75% of the time.
• Get to Todd Reesing: The biggest difference between this KU team and last year's team is the man under center. Last year Kerry Meier made terrible decisions and was the source of most of KU's turnovers. This year, calm and collected Todd Reesing has played relatively mistake-free football, leading his team to 7-0. If the defense can get pressure on Todd Reesing, it will not only disrupt the offense, but it will force him to make mistakes.

I'll be on the sidelines shooting this game today, but feel free to discuss the game in the comments below.