With a rigorous conference slate quickly approaching, No. 16 Texas A&M will look to make the right tune-ups Saturday against Lamar at Kyle Field.
The Aggies’ only FCS opponent on this season’s schedule, Lamar, is coming off a playoff berth in 2018 under third-year head coach Mike Schultz.
Since the football team’s reinstatement in 2010, Lamar has not seen any success against FBS opponents. The last time the Cardinals beat a Division I-A program was in 1989 against The University of Texas at El Paso during Lamar’s last season before reinstatement.
This season, the Cardinals have started 2-0 with wins over Division II Bethel and an overtime victory over Mississippi Valley State, a team that went just 1-10 a year ago. Lamar’s road trip to Aggieland will be its first since A&M routed the Cardinals 73-3 in 2014.
For A&M, this week’s game will be integral for the offense after the Aggies lost starting tailback Jashaun Corbin to a season-ending hamstring injury. According to head coach Jimbo Fisher, true freshman Isaiah Spiller will take the reins in the backfield going forward.
“We’ll keep that same rotation [at tailback],” Fisher said. “[Jacob] Kibodi will be back this week, Spiller is in that group, we’ve got Cordarrian Richardson and [Deneric] Prince. We’ve got four really good players.”
With a home matchup against No. 8 Auburn next week, it will be key to get Spiller acclimated as a starter. Kibodi also faces a similar situation as the next man in the rotation at tailback, and this game will serve as a warm-up before SEC play.
“I’ve always known [Kibodi] was a really talented guy since his freshman year,” quarterback Kellen Mond said. “[That] year I think he had a touchdown in week three. He’s always been a guy that’s pretty consistent, but has always waited his turn.”
Despite the loss of Corbin and last week’s loss to No. 1 Clemson, Fisher is still confident in his team.
“There were plays we made all over,” Fisher said. “We didn’t execute them well enough, but we’re right there, eyeball-to-eyeball. We had all of these mistakes and the score was 24-10 in the football game against the No. 1 team in the country on the road with a lot of very young players. So I feel comfortable about this team. It’s just a matter of us having the experience to make those plays.”
Fisher also announced that defensive tackle Jayden Peevy will return this week after sustaining a pair of ankle injuries against Clemson. The return of Peevy is huge for the defensive line, where he is a key part of the 10th-ranked rushing defense in the country.
A&M will play against Lamar on Saturday at Kyle Field. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m., and the game will be televised on ESPNU.
A&M to reset against Lamar
September 12, 2019
Photo by Photo by Meredith Seaver
The Aggies’ 2019 12th Man, Braden White, leads the football team out of the tunnel for the first time before the Texas State football game.
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