Here’s a statistical look, by the numbers, at the Aggies’ 17-9 win over Miami Saturday night at Kyle Field.
0 - Turnovers for the A&M offense vs. Miami. The Aggies turned it over four times in their first two weeks but made the quarterback change, and Max Johnson enjoyed a turnover-free evening in his first A&M start.
#1 - Devon Achane’s national ranking in kick return average. This season, Achane has five returns for an average of 39.6 yards per return and one touchdown. The 39.6-yard average is 3.35 yards per return better than #2 in college football (Oregon State’s Silas Bolden).
1.1 - Yards per play for the Hurricanes’ offense in the red zone. Miami averaged 5.6 yards per play up until the point that the football crossed the A&M 20-yard line on Saturday. Inside the Aggies’ red zone, the A&M defense clamped down and held the Canes to just 10 total yards on nine plays run from inside the A&M 20. Not a single one of those plays gained more than two yards.
#3 - A&M ranks nationally in explosive plays over 30 yards. The Aggie defense has allowed just one play of 30+ yards this season. Iowa and Tulane are the only schools in the country that haven’t yet given up a play over 30 yards in ’22. A&M, Iowa, Tulane and Utah are the only four teams in FBS that haven’t allowed a single pass play of 30+ yards.
A&M, Iowa, Tulane and Utah are the only four teams in FBS that haven’t allowed a single pass play of 30+ yards.
3 - Categories (out of the five major areas) in which the A&M defense currently ranks among the top 15 in the country. The Aggies are ninth in scoring defense (8.7 PPG), ninth in pass defense (147.3 YPG) and 14th in yards per play allowed (4.2 YPP).
4 - Number of explosive plays (20+ yards) for both A&M and Miami in the game. Offensively, the Aggies had one rush (Devon Achane for 22 yards) and three passes over 20 yards (25-yard pass to Ainias Smith; 25-yard TD pass to Devon Achane). Defensively, A&M also allowed one run play (Henry Parrish, Jr for 20 yards) and three passes over 20 yards (21-yard pass to Will Mallory; 24-yard pass to Jacolby George; 29-yard pass to Elijah Arroyo).
6.7% - Percentage of drives this season that have resulted in a touchdown against the A&M defense. The Aggie D has had 30 defensive series in ’22, and only two of those drives ended in touchdowns. Interestingly, both touchdowns allowed by D.J. Durkin’s unit came against Appalachian State immediately following lost fumbles by the Aggie offense.
8 - Pass breakups by the Aggie defense. Playing without Demani Richardson and Brian George for almost the entire game due to targeting ejections while also dealing with suspensions Denver Harris and Smoke Bouie, Deuce Harmon and Myles Jones not being available and Antonio Johnson going out with an injury late, the young defensive back unit rose to the occasion and broke up eight passes in the win. That included two apiece from Tyreek Chappell and Jardin Gilbert and one from Jaylon Jones. Linebacker Edgerrin Cooper got in on the act with two PBUs, as did defensive tackle Albert Regis (one batted pass to go along with his blocked field goal). For Chappell, that gives him four pass breakups through three games ... which ranks 15th nationally. He had nine PBUs as a freshman in ’21. Jones came back after missing the first two games of the season and co-led the team in tackles (along with Bryce Anderson and Antonio Johnson) with eight to go along with his lone breakup.
Jamie Maury, TexAgs
DB Tyreek Chappell totals four pass breakups through the first three games.
14.3 - “Havoc Rate” for the A&M defense in the game. Havoc Rate is an advanced metric from longtime stat man Bill Connelly that is determined by calculating the total number of tackles-for-loss, passes defended (including INTs) and forced fumbles divided by the total number of plays. The Aggies had zero interceptions, zero forced fumbles (only FF came on special teams), eight pass breakups and three TFL (0 sacks/three-run TFL) vs. Miami. That’s 11 “Havoc points” divided by 77 defensive snaps for a game rating of 14.3, meaning that the Aggies created havoc on exactly 14.3 percent of the Hurricanes’ offensive snaps. On the season, A&M’s Havoc Rate is 13.7 percent (29 havoc plays/212 total plays). Last season, the Ags had a Havoc Rate of 17.8. It was 19.1 in ’20 and 18.6 in ’19. A&M ranked fifth in the nation in 2018 with a Havoc Rate of 20.4.
#15 - National ranking individually for Devon Achane in all-purpose yards. Achane averages 150 all-purpose yards per game (rushing, receiving, returning) through three games. In the SEC, only Arkansas do-it-all back Raheim Sanders (185.7 YPG) has more all-purpose yards this season.
20.3 - Average starting field position for Miami on Saturday. The Hurricanes started beyond their own 25 just once (began at their own 43 on the final series of the game). On three occasions, Miami started inside their own 10 (1, 8 and 9). Punter Nik Constantinou was a large part of A&M’s success in the field position battle. The left-footed Aussie averaged 44.3 yards per punt but boomed one 57 yards and downed three of his six attempts inside the Hurricanes’ 20.
22 - Touches within the offense for Devon Achane. The junior speedster carried the ball 18 times for 88 yards (4.9 Avg.) and added four catches for 42 yards and a touchdown. That’s the most touches from scrimmage in Achane’s career and just the second time that he’s touched the ball at least 20 times on offense (20 carries for 154 yards and one TD last year vs. South Carolina).
22.2% - Red Zone TD percentage against the A&M defense this season. That ranks sixth nationally through three weeks. The ‘Crew has allowed its opponent to cross the 20-yard line nine times in 2022 but has allowed just two touchdowns. Additionally, four drives have ended in field goals, and three series resulted in no points for opposing offenses. That’s a 66.7 percent scoring rate in the red zone against the A&M D ... good enough for 15th nationally thus far. Only one team in FBS - James Madison (interestingly, in its first season at the FBS level) - has a better than 50 percent Red Zone scoring rate, and they’ve only allowed one trip inside their own 20 (no points allowed).
25:40 - Time of possession for the Aggie offense. That comes one week after A&M held the football for only 18:31 vs. App State. Miami possessed the ball for 8:40 longer in the game including a 20:00/10:00 advantage in the second half. The Aggies currently rank 122nd out of 131 teams in time of possession (25:31).
35.7% - Third down conversion percentage defensively vs. the Canes. Miami managed a 5-of-14 clip on third down but did connect on some big plays to move the chains at times (two of the three longest plays for the Hurricanes came on third down). For the season, the Aggie defense ranks 49th nationally on third down (32.6%). The top-25 teams in this category are allowing between a 12-27% conversion rate on third down.
51.2% - Completion percentage for Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke against the Aggies. The sophomore completed 21-of-41 for 217 yards. Exactly 100 of his passing yards came in the fourth quarter against a tired, depleted and youthful Aggie secondary. That’s the second-lowest completion percentage in a game for Van Dyke in his career to this point. He passed for just 44.4 percent in a loss to North Carolina last year.
65% - Percentage of Max Johnson’s targets in the passing game aimed in the direction of Devon Achane or Ainias Smith. Johnson threw just 20 passes in the game ... 13 of those were to Smith (seven targets; four catches; 74 yards; 18.5 Avg.) and Achane (six targets; four catches; 42 yards; 10.5 Avg.; one TD). When Johnson targeted #0 or #6, he completed eight passes for 116 yards (14.5 Avg.) and one TD. When he threw to any other receiver, he completed two passes for 24 yards (12.0 Avg.) and no TDs.
#99 - A&M’s best ranking among the four major offensive categories. The Aggies currently rank 99th in FBS in passing offense (208 YPG), 109th in scoring offense (20.7 PPG), 110th in total offense (315.7 YPG) and 111th in rushing offense (107.7 YPG).
Jamie Maury, TexAgs
Antonio Johnson plays a huge role in A&M’s backfield and is on track to surpass his 2021 season tackle total (79).
100 - Tackle pace this season for safety Antonio Johnson. The junior high-end NFL Draft prospect has 25 tackles through three games and is on track to shatter his tackle total of 79 from a year ago. The last time an Aggie produced a 100-plus tackle season was 2017 when Tyrel Dodson had 105 tackles.
124 - Rushing yards for the A&M offense on Saturday. The 3.9 yards per carry isn’t exceptional, but that’s the most rushing yards for the Aggies this season through three games.
A&M in national stat rankings
Team
• Time of Possession = #122 (25:31)
• Turnover Margin = #77 (-1)
• Penalties = #52 with 6.0 penalties per game
- #69 with 56.7 penalty yards per game
Offense
• Total O = #110 (315.7 YPG)
• Scoring O = #109 (20.7 PPG)
• Rushing O = #111 (107.7 YPG)
• Passing O = #99 (208 YPG)
• Yards Per Play = #64 (6.03 YPP)
• First Downs = #119 (16 PG)
• 3rd Down Conversions = #70 (39.4%)
• Red Zone TD% = #63 (66.7% - 2-of-3)
• Explosiveness = #95 (11 plays over 20 yards)
- #94 with 4 plays over 30 yards
- #55 with 3 plays over 40 yards
- #28 with 2 plays over 50 yards
- #4 with 2 plays over 60 yards
• Explosive Run Plays = #74 (2 plays over 20 yards)
- #68 with 1 play over 30
• Explosive Pass Plays = #87 (8 plays over 20 yards)
- #86 with 3 plays over 30 yards
- #25 with 3 plays over 40 yards
- #10 with 2 plays over 50 yards
- #2 with 2 plays over 60 yards
• Sacks Allowed = #59 (5)
• Tackles For Loss Allowed = #95 (19)
Defense
• Total D = #31 (301.7 YPG)
• Scoring D = #9 (8.7 PPG)
• Rushing D = #83 (154.3 YPG)
• Passing D = #9 (147.3 YPG)
• Yards Per Play Allowed = #14 (4.2 YPP)
• First Downs Allowed = #69 (19.7 PG)
• Opponent 3rd Down Conversions = #49 (32.6%)
• Opponent Red Zone TD% = #6 (22.2% - 2-of-9)
• Explosiveness Against = #11 (7 plays allowed over 20 yards)
- #3 with 1 play allowed over 30 yards
- #14 with 1 play allowed over 40 yards
• Explosive Run Plays Against = #31 (2 plays allowed over 20 yards)
- #46 with 1 play allowed over 30 yards
- #68 with 1 play allowed over 40 yards
• Explosive Pass Plays Against = #9 (5 plays allowed over 20 yards)
- #1 with 0 plays allowed over 30 yards
• Sacks = #100 (4)
• Tackles For Loss = #100 (13)
• Interceptions = #93 (1)
• Fumble Recoveries = #47 (2)
Special Teams
• Field Goal % = #100 (50% - 2-of-4)
• Punting = #43 (44.1 Avg.)
• Kick Returns = #4 (39.6 Avg.)
- #1 in kick return TDs (1)
• Explosive Kick Returns = #12 (2 returns over 30 yards)
- #3 with 1 return over 40 yards
• Opponent Kick Returns Average = #56 (19.0 Avg.)
• Explosive Kick Returns Allowed = #1 (0 returns allowed over 30 yards)
• Punt Returns = #112 (3.4 yards per return)
• Explosive Punt Returns = #65 (0 returns over 20 yards)
• Opponent Punt Returns Average = #33 (3.0 Avg.)
• Explosive Punt Returns Allowed = #1 (0 returns allowed over 20 yards)
Individual
• RB Devon Achane = #88 in rushing yards per game (65.3 YPG); #15 in all-purpose yards (150.0 Avg.)#1 in kick return average (39.6 Avg.)
• WR Ainias Smith = #96 in catches (14); #33 in receiving yards per game (86.3 Avg.); #45 in yards per catch (18.5 Avg.); #58 in receiving TDs (2) #88 in total yards from scrimmage (90.0 YPG); #80 in all-purpose yards (99.0 YPG); #56 in punt return average (3.4 Avg.)
• DL Albert Regis = #4 in kicks/punts blocked (1)
• LB Andre White = #19 in forced fumbles (1)
• DB Antonio Johnson = #57 in tackles (25)
• DB Tyreek Chappell = #15 in PBUs (4); #24 in passes defended (4)
• DB Demani Richardson = #3 in forced fumbles (2)
• DB Jardin Gilbert = #25 in interceptions (1)
• PK Randy Bond = #1 in field goal % (100% - 1-of-1)
• PK Caden Davis = #40 in kickoff average (63.8 Avg.); #7 in touchback % (84.6%)
• P Nik Constantinou = #29 in punting average (44.1 Avg.)
