The Texas A&M Aggies face only one FCS opponent in the 2022 season, and it’s one of the best in the division, as they open against the 2020 FCS national champion Sam Houston State Bearkats at Kyle Field.

Defensively, the Aggies will want to get the season off on the right foot, and to do so they’ll need to do these three specific things.

Dominate the line of scrimmage

The Aggies have an extreme amount of quality depth on the defensive line, including a haul in the true freshman class, and that group has the opportunity to show their potential on Saturday against the Bearkats.

The Texas A&M front possesses a combination of size and athletic ability that the Sam offensive line just shouldn’t be able to match, and if the Aggies defense is going to be the group we hope they will, they’ll need that front to dominate on Saturday.

Communicate

This may seem like an odd thing to list as a key to the game, but one thing that is universally agreed upon among football coaches, is that schematic innovation begins not at the NFL or major college football level, but at the lower levels, like high school and small colleges.

The reason for this is because those teams are almost certain to have talent gaps on their rosters, or sometimes to have large talent discrepancies versus some opponents, which forces coaches to be more creative schematically to try to mitigate those factors.

This factor combined with the unknown associated with facing a team in week 1 that added a FBS transfer quarterback, and a former 4-star FBS transfer wide receiver on offense along with others, means the Aggies defense, with a new defensive coordinator, will have to communicate very well throughout the game to make sure they don’t get flanked by unexpected action in the Sam Houston offense.

Take the ball away

If the Aggies can accomplish the first piece, pressure on the quarterback will force the Bearkats offense have to take big risks to try to move the ball. The Aggies believe their secondary will be a strength for the team in 2022, and if that is going to be the case, they should come down with some interceptions on those balls thrown up for grabs.

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Follow Cameron on Twitter: @JoeyIckes

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