After dropping three consecutive games for the first time since 2011, the Aggies will look to earn their sixth win and become bowl-eligible for the sixth straight season Saturday as the University of Louisiana at Monroe travels to Kyle Field.
A victory would avoid A&M’s first four-game losing streak since 2005.
The Aggies (5-3, 2-3 SEC) had a bye last week after suffering their worst loss in over a decade, a 59-0 rout in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, courtesy of the Crimson Tide. The off week gave the team some time to circle the wagons and prepare for the final stretch of the season.
“Last week I laid out what our practice plan and what our intent was,” said head coach Kevin Sumlin. “It’s back to the game plan this week. There have been guys who accepted the challenge. As we said, guys who wanted to talk about and felt like they deserved to play, we gave them the opportunities last week to demonstrate where they were, and guys currently playing the opportunities to hang on to where they are. We’ll give some of these guys a chance to really demonstrate where they are with the game plan and how they can execute it.”
Senior wide receiver Malcome Kennedy said the key coming off a bye is to make sure players are focused heading into the forthcoming game.
“It’s going to be a tough game regardless, because we’re coming off this bye week,” Kennedy said. “We’ve got to stay in the mindset that, ‘Look, we’ve got to win this game,’ so hopefully the guys are motivated — which I know they will be — and we’ll come out and play hard, and if we play hard all things will speak for themselves.”
ULM (3-4, 2-2 Sun Belt) is on a three-game losing streak of its own and is 0-3 away from Malone Stadium on the season. The Warhawks have already faced two SEC squads in LSU and Kentucky, losing both games by a combined score of 79-14.
“They’ve got a number of guys from Texas on their team,” said defensive coordinator Mark Snyder. “They’ve been in some pretty good environments already and played pretty well, especially in the first half of both those games. I don’t think they’ll be intimidated and our guys will have to be ready to go.”
The Aggies will wear jerseys honoring the 1939 national championship squad Saturday, complete with helmets with leather accents that took more than six hours apiece to detail. Sumlin said the jerseys will offer perspective for the players about the history of the program, something that he welcomes.
“There’s a sign in [the Bright Complex] that says, ‘Leave your jersey in a better place,’” Sumlin said. “You owe it as an Aggie to leave your jersey in a better place for the next guy to wear. That’s part of the history that we want our players to be a part of, but also it’s a respect to the people who came before you. Unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of national championships. One of the great things about being able to respect that history is the national championship team that we have, that we’ll pay honor to in an anniversary edition. That’s a big deal to our players but it’s also a big deal to them to try and be a part of that history and tradition, because we haven’t had a lot of 10- or 11-win seasons.”
Kickoff is at 11 a.m. and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.