The Texas A&M Aggies resume their conference play with a trip to "The House That Saban Built," when they visit Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa to face the No. 13-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide.
A&M finished up their bout of non-conference games on the season last Saturday with a 41-0 shutout of The Citadel, while Kalen DeBoer and the Crimson Tide had a rough day in Rocky Top, losing 26-10 to the Tennessee Volunteers, their second straight loss on the year.
The Aggies haven't exactly had the season that they likely had in mind up to this point in the year, and going on the road to an environment like what they are about to won't make anything easier, but Mike Elko's team still has quite a few weapons that will have a heavy influence on the game's outcome, and here are three of them now.
RB KJ Edwards
The rushing attack is the name of the game in the SEC, and true freshman KJ Edwards has wasted no time showing his potential in the first seven games of his collegiate career, rushing for 66 yards and a pair of scores against the Arkansas Razorbacks as well as putting up a career-high 116 yards on the ground this past weekend.
Alabama's run defense has been pretty stout through the midway point of the season, allowing only 107 yards per game up to this point, and this is Edwards' first big challenge since the LSU game where the Aggie run game was basically non-existant.
But with a full workload, Edwards could show why he deserves to be the starting back for the Maroon and White going forward, especially if his performance can lead to an upset win for the Ags.
DE Marco Jones
The Aggies have only mustered five sacks on the year, and the sophomore edge rusher out of Dublin, CA has two of them.
Tennessee's key to beating Alabama was tormenting Keelon Russell in the pocket all night, and nobody has done that better for the Aggies than Jones, who is also one of the five players for Mike Elko that has secured an interception this season, a 55-yard pick-six that he secured against the Arizona State Sun Devils during Week 2 action.
TJ Searcy and Anto Saka will also be sharks circling in the water around Alabama's offensive line, but it's number 10 on defense that Russell and the Tide coaching staff will need to keep tabs on.
K David Olano
Senior Illinois transfer David Olano has literally been perfect in his first season in the SEC, making all 11 of his field goal attempts and all 24 of his extra points.
Not to mention, Olano has quite the leg on him in terms of range, as his 57-yard field goal against the Razorbacks stands as the longest by a Texas A&M kicker in the 21st century. If the game is close or if the Aggies find themselves still around midfield by the time fourth down rolls around, don't count the team out on points just yet.
Landon Rink said it best, the Avengers have a Hulk, and Texas A&M has David Olano.
Texas A&M and Alabama kick off from Bryant-Denny Stadium this Saturday at 2:30 on ABC.
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