By The Numbers: Texas A&M 10, Colorado 7
Here’s a statistical look, by the numbers, at the 5th-ranked Aggies’ 3-point win over Colorado Saturday in Denver...
.875 - Jimbo Fisher’s winning percentage at Texas A&M against teams not ranked #1 or #2 nationally. He’s 28-4 in those games and 26-2 (.929) against teams ranked outside the top 8 at the time the Aggies played them.
0 - Interceptions thrown by A&M quarterbacks Haynes King and Zach Calzada after throwing 4 INTs last week. Calzada was INT-free in 38 pass attempts. He completed just 47.4% of his passes but his lone turnover was a fumble at the goal line in the fourth quarter.
1 - Sack allowed on offense against the Buffaloes, after giving up 2 against Kent State in game one. A&M’s offensive line gave up just 7 sacks total in 2020.
#3 - A&M’s national ranking in pass defense. The Ags have given up an average of 99.5 passing yards per game so far in 2021. A&M is the only team in FBS that has yet to allow a single pass play of 20+ yards. Conversely, Mike Elko’s defense, which ranked #2 nationally behind Georgia in run defense last year, sits at #108 thus far in ’21 with an average of 198.5 rushing yards allowed per game thus far.
4 - Plays over 15 yards allowed by the A&M defense. The two on the ground went for 17 and 30 ... both runs by QB Brendon Lewis. The two through the air went for 15 (Brady Russell) and 19 (Daniel Arias). All 4 plays over 15 yards came in the first quarter. A&M did not allow a single play over 13 yards after the 1st quarter and just 1 play over 10 yards (12-yard run by Lewis) after the opening period.
#5 - A&M’s national ranking in scoring defense. The Aggies have allowed an average of 8.5 points per game through two games this season.
6 - Offensive plays over 15 yards for the Aggies in the game. A&M had just long runs of 15-plus yards ... a 15-yard run by Devon Achane in the 2nd quarter. Calzada’s 5 passes over 15 yards went for 15 (Isaiah Spiller), 16 (Jalen Wydermyer), 18 (Spiller on game-winning TD), 25 (Achane) and 29 (Wydermyer).
7 - Pass breakups for the A&M defense, led by Antonio Johnson with 2 (Jayden Peevy had 2 but was only credited with 1). Johnson and Peevy enjoyed career days. Johnson added a team-high 9 tackles while Peevy also had 7 tackles, 2 TFL and his first career interception.
10 - Wins in a row for the Aggies, which is tied with Oklahoma for the second longest active winning streak in FBS. A&M’s last loss was at ‘Bama in week 2 last year. The last time the Aggies had a winning streak beyond 7 games before this current streak began was in 1998 when R.C. Slocum’s squad ripped off 10 consecutive victories en route to the Big 12 title (A&M’s last conference championship).
10:42 - Time of possession advantage for A&M in the 4th quarter. The Aggies ran 27 plays and held the ball for 12:51 in the final period, vs. just 7 plays and 2:09 of clock time for CU.
20.6 - “Havoc Rate” for the A&M defense in the game. Havoc Rate is an advanced metric from renowned stat man Bill Connelly (now with ESPN) that is determined by calculating the total number of tackles-for-loss, passes defended (including INTs) and forced fumbles divided by the total number of plays. The Aggies had 1 interception, 0 forced fumbles, 7 pass breakups and 5 TFL (1 sack / 4 run TFL) vs. Colorado. That’s 13 “Havoc points” divided by 63 defensive snaps for a game rating of 20.6, meaning that the Aggies created havoc on exactly 20.6% of the Buffs’ offensive snaps. For the season, A&M’s Havoc Rate is 20.3 (28 havoc points in 138 defensive snaps). Last season, the Ags had a Havoc Rate of 19.1 and it was 18.6 in ’19. A&M ranked 5th in the nation in 2018 with a Havoc Rate of 20.4.
28.6% - A&M’s third down conversion percentage on defense. The Ags held the Buffaloes to just 4-of-14 on third down and 0-for-6 in the 2nd half.
49.0 - Yards per punt average for A&M’s Nik Constantinou. Foremost among the 8 punts that the Australian native boomed into the Rocky Mountain air was a 65-yarder late in the first quarter. Four of his punts spanned 50-plus yards and 2 were downed inside the 20.
54 - Total yards allowed by the Aggies in the 2nd half, including just 31 on the ground and 23 through the air. A&M did not give up a single third down conversion in the entire half and allowed just 2 first downs total after the break.
71.4% - Third down conversion percentage for the Aggies in the fourth quarter. A&M was 5-of-7 in the period and 8-of-20 (40%) in the game.
118 - Passing yards for QB Zach Calzada in the fourth quarter. The third-year sophomore went 8-of-14 for 118 yards and a game-winning 18-yard TD pass to Isaiah Spiller on a wheel route. Calzada started 2-of-8 for 2 yards after filling in for the injured Haynes King but closed the game going 7-of-11 down the stretch for 108 yards and a TD.
119 - Total yards advantage for the Aggies after the first quarter, when CU out-gained A&M, 108-18. From the 2nd quarter on, the Ags gained 271 total yards vs. just 152 for the Buffs. The discrepancy was much wider in the fourth quarter, where A&M gained 162 yards vs. just 13 total yards for Colorado.
A&M in national stat rankings
Team
• Time of Possession = #23 (33:18)
• Turnover Margin = #115 (-3)
• Penalties = #68 with 6.5 penalties per game; #97 with 67.5 penalty yards per game
Offense
• Total O = #41 (454 YPG)
• Scoring O = #91 (25.5 PPG)
• Rushing O = #41 (200.5 YPG)
• Passing O = #52 (253.5 YPG)
• Yards Per Play = #48 (6.26 YPP)
• First Downs = #55 (21.5 PG)
• 3rd Down Conversions = #27 (51.5%)
• Red Zone TD% = #90 (50% - 4-of-8)
• Explosiveness = #76 (8 plays over 20 yards)
- #76 with 3 plays over 30 yards
- #52 with 2 plays over 40 yards
- #22 with 2 plays over 50 yards
- #21 with 1 play over 60 yards
• Explosive Run Plays = #70 (2 plays over 20 yards)
- #20 with 2 plays over 30 yards
- #17 with 1 play over 40 yards
- #12 with 1 play over 50 yards
- #7 with 1 play over 60 yards
• Explosive Pass Plays = #61 (6 plays over 20 yards)
- #112 with 1 play over 30 yards
- #63 with 1 play over 40 yards
- #26 with 1 play over 50 yards
• Sacks Allowed Per Game = #41 (1.5 PG ... 3 total)
• Tackles For Loss Allowed Per Game = #50 (5.0 PG ... 10 total)
Defense
• Total D = #43 (298 YPG)
• Scoring D = #5 (8.5 PPG)
• Rushing D = #108 (198.5 YPG)
• Passing D = #3 (99.5 YPG)
• Yards Per Play Allowed = #30 (4.32 YPP)
• First Downs Allowed = #39 (16.5 PG)
• Opponent 3rd Down Conversions = #51 (34.38%)
• Opponent Red Zone TD% = #20 (33.3% - 2-of-6)
• Explosiveness Against = #4 (3 plays allowed over 20 yards)
- #18 with 2 plays allowed over 30 yards
- #1 with 0 plays allowed over 40 yards
• Explosive Run Plays Against = #77 (3 plays allowed over 20 yards)
- #93 with 2 plays allowed over 30 yards
- #1 with 0 plays allowed over 40 yards
• Explosive Pass Plays Against = #1 (0 plays allowed over 20 yards)
• Sacks = #31 (3.0 PG ... 6 total)
• Tackles For Loss = #41 (7.0 PG ... 14 total)
• Interceptions = #17 (3)
• Fumble Recoveries = #91 (0)
Special Teams
• Field Goal % = #69 (75% - 3-of-4)
• Punting = #13 (49.0 Avg.)
• Kick Returns = #50 (21.0 Avg.)
• Explosive Kick Returns = #62 (0 returns over 30 yards)
• Opponent Kick Returns Average = #87 (22.5 yards per return)
• Explosive Kick Returns Allowed = #1 (0 returns allowed over 30 yards)
• Punt Returns = #70 (6.1 yards per return)
• Explosive Punt Returns = #47 (0 returns over 20 yards)
• Opponent Punt Returns Average = #79 (9.0 yards per return)
• Explosive Punt Returns Allowed = #1 (0 returns allowed over 20 yards)
Individual
• RB Isaiah Spiller = #90 in rushing yards per game (66.5 YPG); #63 in yards from scrimmage (106.5 PG)
• RB Devon Achane = #49 in rushing yards per game (87 YPG); #29 in yards per carry (8.29 Avg.); #39 in rushing TDs (2); #75 in yards from scrimmage (99 PG)
- #31 in runs over 20 yards (2); #8 in runs over 30 yards (2); #8 in runs over 40 yards (1); #6 in runs over 50 yards (1); #4 in runs over 60 yards (1)
• RB/WR Ainias Smith = #52 in catches (5.5 PG); #17 in receiving TDs (2); #39 in punt return average (6.1 Avg.)
• WR Caleb Chapman = #64 in yards per reception (19.6 Avg.); #33 in catches over 40 yards (1); #10 in catches over 50 yards (1)
• DL Shemar Turner = #76 in sacks per game (0.75 PG)
• DL Jayden Peevy = #9 in passes defended (4 ... #1 nationally among DL)
• S Leon O’Neal = #3 in interceptions (2); #23 in passes defended (3)
• DB Antonio Johnson = #94 in tackles per game (7.5 PG)
• PK Seth Small = #55 in field goal % (75% - 3-of-4)
• P Nik Constantinou = #9 in punting average (49.0 Avg.)
