By the Numbers: Ole Miss 31, Texas A&M 28

Here’s a statistical look, by the numbers, at the Aggies’ 31-28 loss to Ole Miss Saturday night at Kyle Field...

.222 - Texas A&M’s winning percentage vs. FBS teams in its last nine games. The Aggies are an abysmal 2-7 vs. FBS opponents dating back to a late-season loss at Ole Miss last year. That includes a 1-6 mark in SEC games in that span.

0-4 - A&M’s record vs. the Mississippi schools in the last two seasons. The Aggies were 4-0 vs. Ole Miss and Mississippi State in their first two seasons in the SEC (with Johnny Manziel at quarterback). Ever since (2014-present), A&M is just 6-11 (.353 winning percentage).

3.5 - Tackles for loss this season for Bryce Anderson ... all coming in the last two weeks. The true freshman safety had two TFLs, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery last week at South Carolina. He followed it up with eight tackles, including 1.5 TFL vs. the Rebels this week. Despite seeing limited action in the first half of the season, Anderson ranks fourth on the team in TFL and leads the Aggies in fumble recoveries (2).

4 - Plays in the game for A&M over 30 yards. That included one run play (Devon Achane rush for 31 yards) and three passes (Conner Weigman to Max Wright for 31 yards; Weigman to Moose Muhammad for 31 yards; Weigman to Evan Stewart for 36 yards). The Aggies entered the game with only 10 plays from scrimmage all season of 30-plus yards and now have 14 ... that equates to 28.6% of A&M’s plays of over 30 yards in 2022 coming in Weigman’s first start on Saturday.

#6 - Devon Achane’s national ranking in kick return average. Achane has 11 returns this season for an average of 28.36 yards per return and one touchdown. That currently ranks second in the SEC behind MSU’s Lideatrick Griffin (29.5).

9 - Consecutive games vs. FBS teams in which the Aggies failed to score 25 or more points before Saturday’s 28-point effort vs. Ole Miss. Prior to Saturday, the last time A&M managed 25-plus points in an FBS game was a 44-14 win over South Carolina last season at Kyle Field.

12 - Tackles for McKinnley Jackson in the game. You would likely have to go way back — maybe into the era of Sam Adams — to find the last time a true interior nose tackle-type player at A&M has produced 12 tackles in a football game. The junior from Lucedale, Mississippi also had a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss against the Rebs.

Jamie Maury, TexAgs

The Aggies scored more than 24 points on Saturday for the first time since the season-opener vs. Sam Houston (31). 

15.7 - “Havoc Rate” for the A&M defense in the game. Havoc Rate is an advanced metric from longtime stat man Bill Connelly 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 0 interceptions, 0 forced fumbles, three pass breakups and 10 TFL (1 sack / 9 run TFL) vs. Ole Miss.

That’s 13 “Havoc Points” divided by 83 defensive snaps for a game rating of 15.7, meaning that the Aggies created havoc on exactly 15.7% of the Rebels’ offensive snaps.

On the season, A&M’s Havoc Rate is 15.7 (89 havoc plays / 567 total plays). Last season, the Ags had a Havoc Rate of 17.8. It was 19.1 in ’20 and 18.6 in ’19. A&M ranked 5th in the nation in 2018 with a Havoc Rate of 20.4.

17 - Years since A&M’s last four-game losing skid. The Aggies dropped consecutive road contests to Mississippi State, Alabama and South Carolina, and they returned home to be saddled with loss number four on Saturday vs. Ole Miss. The program’s last four-game slide was in 2005 when A&M closed the season with a blowout home loss to Iowa State (the Todd Blythe game), followed by defeats at Texas Tech, Oklahoma and at Kyle Field to eventual national champion Texas. Up until this season, you have to go back to 2014 to find the last time the Aggies even suffered three losses in a row, and they are a very fortunate “oink doink” away from having five straight losses right now.

19 - Years since A&M allowed more rushing yards in a single game than it did Saturday night vs. Ole Miss. The Rebels gained 390 yards on the ground vs. DJ Durkin’s defense. To find a game featuring more rushing yards against the Aggie defense, you have to go back to 2003 when a 4-8 A&M team in year one under Dennis Franchione allowed 393 rushing yards to the Texas Longhorns in the final game of the season.

30.8% - The percentage of run plays against the A&M defense this season of 20-plus yards that came in one game vs. Ole Miss Saturday at Kyle Field. The Aggies allowed four rushes over 20 yards in the game (Quinshon Judkins runs of 22, 27 and 61 yards; Zach Evans run of 28 yards). A&M has only allowed 13 runs of 20 or more yards all season ... so 30.8% of the runs in 2022 of 20+ yards came in this one game. The 61-yard run by Judkins is the first time since 2019 that the Aggie defense has allowed a run of over 60 yards.

32 - Touches within the offense for Devon Achane. That’s the most touches in a game for Achane in his A&M career. The junior carried the ball 25 times for 138 yards and also produced seven catches for 41 yards and a touchdown. That’s the most carries in a single game in Achane’s career and tied with last week’s seven-catch performance for the most catches in one game for the explosive tailback. In addition, it’s the fifth straight game in which Achane has had at least 20 touches from scrimmage. Achane ranks #5 nationally in all-purpose yards, averaging 159 total yards per game.

34% - Percentage of A&M players who got into the game vs. the Rebels from the true freshman class. The Aggies played 50 players on Saturday night ... 17 of them are true freshmen. That included starters Conner Weigman (QB), Kam Dewberry (LG), Jacoby Mathews (S) and Jarred Kerr (S), 11 of A&M’s 28 catches (39.3%), two of the Aggies’ four touchdowns (50%), 29 of their 81 overall tackles (35.5%) and 4.5 of their 10 tackles for loss (45%).

45% - Conversion percentage for the Ole Miss offense on third and fourth down. The Aggies allowed the Rebels to convert on 7-of-16 attempts on third down and 2-of-4 on fourth down. Meanwhile, the A&M offense managed just a 6-of-18 (33.3%) on third and fourth down. The Aggies were 5-of-14 on third and 1-of-4 on fourth. Saturday was the first time under Jimbo Fisher that A&M went for it four times on fourth down in one game. The Aggie offense ranks 106th in third down conversion percentage (34.3%) this season, while the A&M defense ranks 75th (38.98%) in the same category.

#66 - A&M’s national ranking in total defense. The Aggies, under the direction of D.J. Durkin, allow an average of 376 total yards per game. A&M ranked #9 and #14 in total defense the previous two seasons.

81.5 - Average receiving yards per game for Moose Muhammad over his last four games. The sophomore hauled in a career-high eight catches for 112 yards and a touchdown vs. Ole Miss. After opening the year with just one catch for 16 yards total in the first four games of the season, Muhammad has come alive since the Mississippi State game. He’s had at least six catches and one touchdown in three of the last four contests, including 100+ yards in both games vs. the schools from Mississippi.

#121 - A&M’s national ranking in run defense in 2022. The Aggies gave up 390 rushing yards to Ole Miss on Saturday and now allow an average of 205.9 rushing yards per game. That trails only Auburn in the SEC. In the previous four seasons under Mike Elko, the Aggies never ranked below 35th nationally against the run and were in the top three in two of those seasons. A&M is 116th nationally in yards per carry (4.82) ... also 13th behind only Auburn among SEC teams.

Jamie Maury, TexAgs

WIth Ainias Smith sidelined with a season-ending injury, true freshman Evan Stewart has stepped up to lead A&M in receiving. 

281 - Receiving yards for Evan Stewart combined in the last three games. The true freshman had six catches for 88 yards and a beautiful one-handed touchdown grab on Saturday. Four of his six receptions spanned 15+ yards. Stewart leads the A&M squad with 38 catches for 478 yards despite missing the Miami game due to suspension. His 11-game regular season pace is 60 catches for 751 yards.

338 - Passing yards for Conner Weigman vs. the Rebels. The freshman, in his first career start, went 28-44-0 for 338 yards and four touchdowns. It’s the first time since the Florida game in 2020 (Kellen Mond) that A&M has had a 300-yard passer vs. an FBS opponent. The last A&M QB to pass for 300+ yards, 4+ TDs, 0 INTs was Nick Starkel (421 / 4 / 0 vs. New Mexico on 11-11-17). The last Aggie QB to do it vs. a Power Five school ... Johnny Manziel (382 / 4 / 0 vs. Duke in Peach Bowl on 12-31-13).

1,148 - Devon Achane’s 12-game pace in rushing yards. The junior ran for 138 yards vs. the Rebels and sits at 765 yards on the ground through eight games. He’s been over 88 rushing yards in five of his last six games after opening the season with 42 yards and 66 yards, respectively. If he ended the season right at 1,148 rushing yards, Achane would rank 10th all-time in a single season at A&M.

1974 - The last time A&M opened the season with eight straight games of failing to score more than 31 points. The Aggies defeated Sam Houston State, 31-0, in the season opener and haven’t scored more than 28 points since. You have to go back 48 years to find the last time that has happened at A&M. In ’74, Emory Bellard’s squad scored 30-plus points just once all season — a 37-7 win over Rice in week 10 — during an 8-3 campaign. The last time the Aggies went an entire season without scoring more than 31 points in a single game was in 1969 under Gene Stallings.

2008 - The last time the Aggies had a losing record after mid-October. A&M is 3-5 following the loss to Ole Miss. You have to go back to Mike Sherman’s first season to find an Aggie squad with a record below .500 this deep into the season. That team lost senior QB Stephen McGee in the second game and was 2-5 through seven games en route to a 4-8 campaign. It’s also the last time the Aggies failed to qualify for a bowl game.

A&M in national stat rankings

Team
• Time of Possession = #95 (28:35)
• Turnover Margin = #68 (Even)
• Penalties = #90 with 6.9 penalties per game
  - #48 with 50.9 penalty yards per game

Offense
• Total O = #94 (359.9 YPG)
• Scoring O = #104 (22.6 PPG)
• Rushing O = #101 (124 YPG)
• Passing O = #72 (235.9 YPG)
• Yards Per Play = #70 (5.74 YPP)
• First Downs = #87 (19.8 PG)
• 3rd Down Conversions = #106 (34.3%)
• Red Zone TD% = #81 (60% - 15-of-25)
• Explosiveness = #87 (32 plays over 20 yards)
  - #83 with 14 plays over 30 yards
  - #95 with 5 plays over 40 yards
  - #79 with 3 plays over 50 yards
  - #61 with 3 plays over 60 yards
• Explosive Run Plays = #81 (8 plays over 20 yards)
  - #64 with 4 plays over 30 yards
  - #85 with 1 play over 40 yards
  - #54 with 1 play over 50 yards
  - #29 with 1 play over 60 yards
•Explosive Pass Plays = #84 (24 plays over 20 yards)
  - #79 with 10 plays over 30 yards
  - #84 with 4 plays over 40 yards
  - #67 with 2 plays over 50 yards
  - #25 with 2 plays over 60 yards
• Sacks Allowed = #74 (17)
• Tackles For Loss Allowed = #59 (43)

Defense
• Total D = #66 (376 YPG)
• Scoring D = #36 (21.8 PPG)
• Rushing D = #121 (205.9 YPG)
• Passing D = #7 (170.1 YPG)
• Yards Per Play Allowed = #50 (5.29 YPP)
• First Downs Allowed = #77 (21 PG)
• Opponent 3rd Down Conversions = #75 (38.98%)
• Opponent Red Zone TD% = #19 (48.3% - 14-of-29)
  - #5 in Opponent Red Zone Scoring % (65.5% - 19-of-29)
• Explosiveness Against = #51 (34 plays allowed over 20 yards)
  - #5 with 9 plays allowed over 30 yards
  - #20 with 5 plays allowed over 40 yards
  - #64 with 4 plays allowed over 50 yards
  - #55 with 2 plays allowed over 60 yards
  - #48 with 1 play allowed over 70 yards
• Explosive Run Plays Against = #104 (13 plays allowed over 20 yards)
  - #56 with 4 plays allowed over 30 yards
  - #58 with 2 plays allowed over 40 yards
  - #42 with 1 play allowed over 50 yards
  - #67 with 1 play allowed over 40 yards
• Explosive Pass Plays Against = #27 (21 plays allowed over 20 yards)
  - #3 with 5 plays allowed over 30 yards
  - #14 with 3 plays allowed over 40 yards
  - #61 with 3 plays allowed over 50 yards
  - #37 with 1 play allowed over 60 yards
  - #68 with 1 play allowed over 70 yards
• Sacks = #97 (13)
• Tackles For Loss = #68 (47)
• Interceptions = #125 (2)
• Fumble Recoveries = #7 (9)

Special Teams
• Field Goal % = #85 (69.2% - 9-of-13)
•  Punting = #57 (42.5 Avg.)
•  Kick Returns = #20 (22.8 Avg.)
  - #1 in kick return TDs (1)
•  Explosive Kick Returns = #24 (3 returns over 30 yards)
  - #7 with 2 returns over 40 yards
• Opponent Kick Returns = #131 (38.25 Avg.)
• Explosive Kick Returns Allowed = #19 (1 return allowed over 30 yards)
• Punt Returns = #105 (5.3 yards per return)
• Explosive Punt Returns = #53 (1 return over 20 yards)
• Opponent Punt Returns = #11 (1.8 Avg.)
• Explosive Punt Returns Allowed = #1 (0 returns allowed over 20 yards)

Individual
• RB Devon Achane = #21 in rushing yards (765); #20 in total yards from scrimmage (120 Avg.); #5 in all-purpose yards (159 Avg.); #6 in kick return average (28.4 Avg.)
  - #15 in runs over 10 yards (25); #23 in runs over 20 yards (7)

• WR Evan Stewart = #56 in receptions per game (5.4 Avg.); #79 in receiving yards per game (68.3 Avg.)

• DL Fadil Diggs = #2 in forced fumbles (3)

• DL McKinnley Jackson = #11 in kicks/punts blocked (1)

• DL Albert Regis = #11 in kicks/punts blocked (1)

• DB Antonio Johnson = #75 in tackles per game (8.0 PG)

• DB Tyreek Chappell = #100 in PBUs (5)

• DB Jardin Gilbert = #49 in interceptions (2)

• DB Demani Richardson = #19 in forced fumbles (2)

• PK Randy Bond = #47 in field goal % (80% - 8-of-10)

• PK Caden Davis = #17 in kickoff average (64.1 Avg.); #4 in touchback % (86.5%)

•  P Nik Constantinou = #48 in punting average (42.5 Avg.)