OXFORD, Miss. – Texas A&M has done what it could against a schedule filled with national powers and looks to begin piling up victories against unranked teams when it pays a visit to Ole Miss for an SEC contest on Saturday night. The Aggies have lost to No. 2 Clemson (24-10), No. 11 Auburn (28-20) and fell against No. 1 Alabama 47-28 at home last weekend to even their record as they prepare to face four straight teams at .500 or worse.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network. LINE: Texas A&M -6.5
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"I don't think there's as many wrongs as it is some of the people we're playing, but we've got to get more consistent," Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher told reporters. ". … We got better (last) week than we were the week before, and we'll hopefully line up and get better this week. We'll see. We'll keep practicing, sawing wood, and putting them in a position to be successful and coaching them up." Junior quarterback Kellen Mond leads the way for the Aggies with 1,597 yards passing and 12 touchdowns while Ole Miss is likely to run two different freshman signal callers onto the field in Matt Corral and John Rhys Plumlee. The Rebels have dropped three of their last four contests after losing a 38-27 decision at Missouri last week, but are 3-1 at home with SEC wins over Vanderbilt and Arkansas, as they try to beat Texas A&M for the first time since 2016. "We're looking forward to the challenge Saturday, night game at home against a great opponent. …," Ole Miss coach Matt Luke told reporters. "I'm excited about a great atmosphere. We've really fed off that, the two SEC night games we've had here."
ABOUT TEXAS A&M (3-3, 1-2 SEC)
Mond has completed 63.2 percent of his passes and is second on the team in rushing (200 yards, three TDs) behind freshman Isaiah Spiller (282, three). Juniors Jhamon Ausbon (37 catches, 506 yards, two TDs) along with Quartney Davis (30, 369, four), and freshman tight end Jalen Wydermyer (nine, 105, four TDs) are three strong targets for Mond, who is four completions from being the fifth in school history with 500. Junior defensive back Myles Jones (two interceptions) and junior linebacker Buddy Johnson (38 tackles, one sack) lead a defense ranked 29th in the nation in yards against per contest (324.5).
ABOUT OLE MISS (3-4, 2-2)
Corral has completed 60 percent of his passes for 977 yards and Plumlee rushed for at least 100 in the last three games, leaving him 75 away from breaking the school's single-season record for a quarterback set by Jeremiah Masoli (544). "If we think it gives us the best chance to win the game we'll do it," Luke said of using both QBs. "I don't think anything is out of the question. It will be based on game plan." Senior Scottie Phillips has rushed for one more yard (471) than Plumlee to lead the Rebels, who are 19th in the nation at 230 yards per game on the ground, and sophomore Elijah Moore tops the team with 44 catches and 562 yards.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Rebels senior DL Benito Jones has three solo sacks and leads the SEC with 7.5 tackles for loss.
2. Mond is one of four Power 5 quarterbacks with at least 6,000 passing yards and 1,000 on the ground in his career.
3. Ole Miss DL Tariqious Tisdale and LB Jacquez Jones must sit out the first half Saturday after being called for targeting infractions last week.
PREDICTION: Ole Miss 31, Texas A&M 28