Know Thine Enemy: Texas A&M/Kentucky Q&A with A Sea of Blue

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Non-conference play is over (mostly), and now we begin SEC play this Saturday. That means we finally play a foe we are intimately familiar with have actually played less in the past 15 years than Arizona State. The Aggies enter the weekend as a 16.5-point favorite according to FanDuel Sportsbook, and the over/under currently sits at 50.5, but it’s not a team we know a whole lot about, both because we have only played them once in the past 50 years and because they’re still breaking in a new head coach.

Given that, we reached out to our friends at A Sea of Blue, SB Nation’s Kentucky team site, to see what they could tell us, and Site Manager Jason Marcum was happy enough to oblige.

Alright, now that the Mark Stoops era is over, I feel like I can get y’all’s true thoughts. Just how nuts was that handful of hours when it looked like he was coming to A&M, and how conflicted were you about him staying (if at all)?

“It was one of the craziest nights I can ever remember in the sports world. It felt like the perfect sendoff for him after beating No. 10 Louisville that day and now seemingly getting a fresh start elsewhere with far more football resources to work with. I was happy to see it happen for both sides. It felt like it was time for him to get a shot elsewhere after building Kentucky up from virtually nothing but also getting to a point where things were stagnating.”

Moving on to football matters, Kentucky now sits at 1-1, but hey, let he who has not suffered a lopsided loss to Alabama cast the first stone. What are the vibes in Lexington entering Week 3?

“The vibes for the future are still great overall. The vibes for this season…TBD. It was just one game, but you don’t typically see even FCS teams go 1/14 on 3rd down in a game, even against teams like Bama. There were already major questions with the wide receiver room, and Kenny Minchey is still getting his feet under him in terms of playing in live games. Making a bowl game definitely feels like a tall task, but it still feels like the future of the program is in good hands. Besides, Kentucky had two good quarters against a now-top-10 team. If Stoops were still here, they wouldn’t have had two good minutes.”

Obviously we’re only two games into the Will Stein era, but what are the early returns on his tenure and what encouraging signs have you seen?

“Very encouraging in the sense of how much talent he was able to get on such short notice once he took the job, the energy he’’s brought to the program, the way he’’s gotten people associated with UK to have a bigger commitment to football, and how fast he built a top-25 recruiting class for 2027. Last week was a rough one for an offensive-minded coach, but he’s still got this program trending up after it was falling fast under the last regime.”

Kentucky bringing in Jay Bateman means that both of these offenses will have some pretty intimate knowledge of how the opposing defense may try and attack them. How do you see that playing out, and who do you think ends up having the advantage on that front?

“I don’t see it providing much of an advantage for our offense. UK can’t stretch the field, so defenses are just gonna load up the box and play all their DBs close to the line of scrimmage until the offense proves it can stretch the field. And for Bateman’s defense, I imagine the Aggies will run their offense normally and make UK show they have the guys to beat them, even if they have a good idea of what’s coming.”

Obviously A&M and Kentucky aren’t super familiar with each other from a football perspective, having only played once since we joined the SEC (don’t even get me started). Given that, who are y’all’s biggest playmakers on each side of the ball?

“On offense, it’s tight end Willie Rodriguez. He looks like a future NFL Draft pick and is easily our most reliable pass-catcher. Defensively, one to watch for is edge rusher Sam Greene. He’s an absolute force off the edge when healthy and can be a game-wrecker. He’s still working off some rust from last season’s ACL tear, though, so we may not see his full potential this week. Defensive tackle Tavion Gadson has been their best player thus far. He lives in the backfield and leads the team in stops (5) and sacks (2). He was getting good penetration against Alabama, so I expect him to make several big plays this week.”

Follow-up question: Given that we’ve never played football there, can you confirm whether Lexington is an actual place? Beginning to believe it’s simply a myth told by SEC East programs who have just been playing in a Kroger parking lot with AI-generated fans all along.

“Lexington is probably one of the most beautiful cities in the SEC (though that’s not always saying much in comparison to places like Knoxville). And while it’s definitely a basketball school, UK has a passionate football fanbase as well, especially for big home games like Alabama. It’s a tragedy A&M hasn’t played here yet in football. But hey, the SEC higher-ups gotta build the perfect schedules and protect their best teams.”

Since the Wildcats have only been to Kyle Field once (and that was almost a decade ago), I’d assume we’ll see a few members of Blue Blood Nation make their way to Aggieland this weekend. What are some things A&M fans should know about your fanbase going in?

“We’ve got a pretty calm and respectful football fanbase, especially the ones that travel to games like this. Even in environments like this, they’re usually able to have a good number of traveling fans, so expect to hear a few ‘Go Big Blue’ chants if we somehow take an early lead for about 15 seconds.”

Alright, tell me how you see this game playing out, and if you’re so inclined, drop a score prediction.

“I think the defense keeps this game close for a half, but the offense is just too shaky to think this team is capable of beating a top-10 team on the road. Give me the Aggies 34-14.”

Thanks so much to Chris for taking the time to chat with us. Be sure to give him (@Marcum89) and @ASeaOfBlue a follow on X, if you are so inclined.

#BTHOkentucky

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