Kentucky at Texas A&M: Final Thoughts and Prediction

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Kentucky football faces their first road test of the season tomorrow, as they travel to College Station to take on a top ten team in Texas A&M. We have previewed the Aggies offense and defense, given X factors for both teams and laid out Kentucky's path to victory. I said it in the offseason and will say it again, this is the toughest spot on the schedule for the Wildcats. Quarterback Kenny Minchey is making his first SEC road start in front of a hostile crowd, and the offense has to attempt to bounce back against another stout defense.

Kentucky could have the advantage on the line of scrimmage, and the defensive line could have another strong showing on Saturday. The Aggies have four new offensive lineman up front alongside their returning center Mark Nabou, but the transfers they brought in have experience in this conference. This group has yet to gel and the Wildcats defensive line got after Alabama last week. It all starts up front in this conference, and I have confidence in this defensive line rotation.

The offensive line showed weaknesses last week against an elite Crimson Tide defense, but the Aggies only have two sacks on the season so far. Mike Elko will bring pressure and the key for the offense is to get in manageable third down situations or avoid them all together; this is when the Aggies defense have been at their best. Kentucky's offensive line was creating movement in the running game early last week, but in the second half they really struggled to open up lanes for the running backs. Kentucky's offensive line has to have a great performance on Saturday for the Wildcats to have a shot.

The quarterback matchup is interesting, Minchey has not been accurate down the field to this point, but at times has looked comfortable playing within the scheme. Marcel Reed is similar, he has been impressive on play action but he has not looked as confident in true drop back pass scenarios. Both of these quarterbacks have put the ball in harms way this season, and it could come down to which one can take care of the football. Reed has the experience and home field advantage behind him.

The true key that could make this interesting is Kentucky defensive coordinator Jay Bateman, who was at Texas A&M the previous two season. Bateman has an inside track on the Aggies roster and should know how to attack their offense. Since Bateman was under Elko for two seasons, these two defense play similar schemes and only time will tell if that benefits both offenses. I foresee both defenses controlling this matchup early before the offenses can start to move the football.

This game is hard to gauge because it is still early and we are about to see how a Will Stein coached team responds off a loss. The biggest thing I want to see is signs of improvement from the offense and the quarterback. I truly believe this is the toughest game on the schedule given where it lands on the schedule. Personally, I think Kentucky puts up a solid fight but does not do enough to get the upset.

Prediction: Texas A&M 30 Kentucky 17

This article originally appeared on UK Wildcats Wire: Kentucky at Texas A&M: Final Thoughts and Prediction

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