Blueprint for beating Florida tomorrow: Cover Pitts, fluster Trask

In this year of bizarre occurrences consider what Texas A&M faces in its quest to earn a place among the elite of college football.

The football coach who came to Texas A&M from Florida must defeat Florida in a game that wasn’t even supposed to be played.

Doing so will likely require preventing the Florida quarterback from Texas, who was named for the Texas A&M’s Kyle Field, from consistently passing to a teammate that shares his name and plays the position that the coach from Florida reintroduced to Texas A&M.

Got that? No?

OK. Here’s the simplified version.

In this year of bizarre occurrences consider what Texas A&M faces in its quest to earn a place among elite of college football.

The football coach who came to Texas A&M from Florida must defeat Florida in a game that wasn’t even supposed to be played.

Doing so likely will require preventing the Florida quarterback from Texas, who was named for the Texas A&M’s Kyle Field, from consistently passing to a teammate that shares his name and plays the position that the coach from Florida reintroduced to Texas A&M.

Got that? No?

OK. Here’s the simplified version.

To upset No. 4 Florida, Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher must devise a strategy to limit Florida quarterback Kyle Trask’s success in throwing to star tight end Kyle Pitts.

That’s much easier explained than executed. Trask has thrown 10 touchdown passes. Six of which have been to the 6-foot-6, 240-pound Pitts.

“He's so unique. He's a tight end, but he's a wideout because he has such vertical skills and makes so many contested catches,” Fisher said of Pitts. “It's not only him getting open, which he gets open, but when he's covered, he's still not covered.”

That’s because of the accuracy of Trask, a Houston native who backed up current Miami quarterback D’Eriq King at Manvel High School.

Trask revealed earlier this week he was named for Kyle Field. Both his parents attended Texas A&M.

Therefore, there will be more than a few Aggies in Kyle Field on Saturday cheering for Florida.
 

“I’m definitely going to have to get a lot of tickets for this week for a lot of family making the drive up there,” Trask said. “It will just be an exciting time to play against a team that I grew up watching.”

Fisher hopes to put a damper on the Trask family's excitement. He’s certain quelled Florida’s excitement in the past.

When Fisher was at Florida State, he was 7-1 against the Gators. For Fisher to continue that success, the Aggies must solve some problems that surfaced in an unimpressive opening victory over Vanderbilt and last week’s 52-24 loss to Alabama.

The Aggies cannot squander scoring opportunities. They must avoid turnovers. They will need a strong showing on the ground from running backs Isaiah Spiller and Ainias Smith against the Florida defense, which appears vulnerable to the run.

The Gators allowed 170 rushing yards in a 51-35 victory over Ole Miss. They allowed 117 in a 38-24 victory over South Carolina.

The Tuscaloosa News-USA TODAY Sports

The Aggies offensive front must provide better production for Kellen Mond.

The Aggies’ offensive line must also protect quarterback Kellen Mond. Dating back to 2018, the Gators have lost their last five games in which they did not register a sack.

The Aggies also must get more production from tight end Jalen Wydermyer and their receivers. Florida’s secondary has allowed an average of 327.5 yards through the air and has surrendered five touchdown passes.

Most importantly, the Aggies must bolster their pass defense. They need a better pass rush to fluster Trask. The Aggies have managed just three sacks through their first two games.

They must also prevent big plays. A&M allowed eight completions of at least 20 yards and have surrendered two touchdown passes that exceeded 70 yards.

They need better coverage, especially on Pitts.