The Late Kick's Josh Pate talks all things Aggies-Tigers on TexAgs Radio

Key notes from Josh Pate interview

• I have been to Kyle Field one other time, and it was a couple of years ago when Alabama came in. It was a blowout game, but my takeaway was how that place is different. For those of us that grew up in the SEC, A&M is still new even though it has been a decade. There are a ton of people in the footprint that have still not been to Kyle Field. I know it’s special.
   
• Jalen Wydermyer is one of if not the biggest keys in this game on Saturday.
   
• Jimbo Fisher walked in there and it was a rebuild, retool that needed to happen. It has been fun to watch the year-by-year thumbprint. He is pushing harder and harder each year to make an even deeper imprint of Jimbo Fisher.
   
• That roster is physically impressive. I see Alabama and Georgia all the time. A&M is the only other team outside of LSU that is equally as physically impressive. The only thing that has held them back is the elite quarterback play. They’re a lot closer now.
   
• There are reasons to believe there should be a lot of edges for A&M in this game. It's all about dynamic. Auburn was coming off the bye week last week and got some confidence, as they should have. Now they go into a road environment against a team that can out-athlete them.
   
• What I still wonder about A&M is how they play against teams that are good along the line of scrimmage. Can I see what they did against Alabama be duplicated? The answer may be an emphatic yes, but equally or more likely is that A&M can completely outplay Auburn but it could be a one-possession game. I think it's a knife fight.
   
• On the Auburn receiving corps and on Bo Nix, the stat sheet speaks volumes, but you need more context. A majority of their offense through the air comes via the broken play. It's hard to keep Nix in the pocket. Where they’re great is coming back to the ball. If they end up beating A&M or doing more through the air, it will be when the play breaks down. It only takes two or three to change the game.
   
• I don't know if Auburn or Ole Miss is a bigger challenge for Texas A&M right now. Ole Miss is a banged-up team who had their bye so early in the year. Ole Miss has Liberty this week, and Hugh Freeze sees himself competing with Lane Kiffin for jobs out there. It's a Super Bowl week for Liberty. I don't know what Ole Miss has left, so by default, I'll say this Auburn game is a tougher test for A&M.
   
• I was pleasantly surprised that Oklahoma was ranked where they are. I didn't have a problem with any of the slotting. Oklahoma is behind Cincinnati, which renders all of the talk about G5 hate moot. Oklahoma is a perennial power, and they're behind Cincinnati.