By The Numbers: Ole Miss 29, Texas A&M 19

Here’s a statistical look, by the numbers, at the Aggies’ 29-19 loss to Ole Miss Saturday night at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford...

-317 - Yardage differential in the first half in favor of Ole Miss. The Rebels racked up 408 yards in the first two quarters ... 90 yards more than the Aggies were allowing per game entering Saturday’s contest. That included 221 yards given up in the opening period alone. Meanwhile, the Aggies gained just 91 yards of total offense in the half. Conversely, A&M out-gained Ole Miss by 191 yards (287 for the Aggies vs. 96 for the Rebs) after halftime.

1 - Sack allowed in the game by A&M on offense. The Aggies gave up 12 sacks through the first 5 games this season but Zach Calzada has been sacked just 2 times TOTAL in the last 5 games.

3 - Times since A&M moved to the SEC that the Aggies have been swept by the Mississippi schools. After sweeping Ole Miss and Mississippi State in 2012 and ’13 (Johnny Manziel was 4-0 vs. the two schools), the Ags went 0-2 vs. the Rebels and Bulldogs in 2014 and ’16, split with them in ’15, 17 and ’18, swept them in ’19 and went 1-0 in ’20 (did not play Ole Miss in ’20 due to COVID). All told, the Aggies are just 10-9 vs. the Rebs and Bulldogs since moving to the SEC. Under Jimbo Fisher, A&M is 4-3.

#3 - A&M’s national ranking in pass plays allowed over 30 yards. The Aggies have allowed just one pass of 30-plus yards in their last 3 games combined (a 30-yard pass from Matt Corral to Jahcour Pearson on Saturday). On the season, A&M has given up just 6 passes of 30 or more yards. Washington (3) and Northwestern (5) are the only teams in college football that have allowed fewer pass plays of 30-plus yards.

5 - Plays over 20 yards against Ole Miss. That included explosive runs of 21 yards and 24 yards (both from Devon Achane) and 3 Zach Calzada passes of 24 yards (Ainias Smith), 25 yards (Smith) and 27 yards (Jalen Wydermyer). A&M did not have a play of 20-plus yards in the first half but all 5 of their explosive plays came after the break.

5 - Possessions to start the game that ended in a punt on offense. Drive #6 was a one-play drive that ended in a safety and drive #6 saw the Aggies run just 2 plays before the end of the first half.

#5 - A&M’s national ranking in opponent red zone TD %. The Aggies allowed just 2 Ole Miss TDs in 6 trips inside their 20-yardline. On the season, A&M has only allowed 12 TDs in 30 defensive red zone opportunities (40%). Clemson, Georgia, Penn State and Notre Dame have been more efficient in limiting TDs in the red zone than the A&M defense.

7 - Plays allowed over 20 yards on defense in the game. One week after not allowing Auburn a single play of 20-plus yards, Ole Miss connected on 4 passes and 3 runs of 20 or more yards. Interestingly, all 7 came in the first half.

9.2 - Average yards per carry for electric sophomore Devon Achane. The speedster rushed for 110 yards and 2 TDs on just 12 carries, including just 2 rushes in the last 4 possessions of the game.

15.1 - “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 0 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles, 2 pass breakups and 10 TFL (1 sack / 9 run TFL) vs. Ole Miss. That’s 14 “Havoc points” divided by 93 defensive snaps for a game rating of 15.1, meaning that the Aggies created havoc on exactly 15.1% of the Rebels’ offensive snaps. For the season, A&M’s Havoc Rate is 17.0 (122 havoc points in 716 defensive snaps). Last season, the Ags had a Havoc Rate of 19.1 and it was 18.6 in ’19. A&M ranked 5th in the nation in 2018 with a Havoc Rate of 20.4.

21 - Possessions in a row on offense without scoring a touchdown, from late in the 3rd quarter of the South Carolina game until Devon Achane’s 3rd quarter 24-yard TD run on Saturday. Achane scored the Aggies’ lone TD in the 2nd half vs. the Gamecocks, and after going without a touchdown on offense vs. Auburn, Achane’s pair of 2nd half TD runs vs. Ole Miss represented the only 2 offensive scores of the game. Achane is the only Aggie to hit paydirt in the last 10 quarters of football.

22 - Combined tackles for sophomores Edgerrin Cooper and Antonio Johnson (11 tackles apiece). The talented sophomore duo also combined for 4.5 tackles-for-loss (2.5 for Johnson and 2 for Cooper).

37.5% - Third down conversion percentage for the Ole Miss offense. The Aggie defense held the Rebels to just 6-of-16 on third down and ranks #19 nationally in opponent’s third down conversion percentage (32.9%).

#121 - A&M’s national ranking in red zone TD %. The Aggies were 1-of-3 in this category on Saturday and are 16-of-34 (47.1%) in red zone TD % on the season. A&M is 14th among the 14 SEC teams, and Illinois and Arizona are the only Power 5 teams that rank lower nationally in this category.

257 - Rushing yards allowed by the A&M defense against Ole Miss ... just a week after holding Auburn’s explosive rushing attack to just 73 yards on the ground. The Rebels were led by junior Jerrion Ealy, who ripped off 152 yards rushing on 24 carries.

1956 - The last time the Texas Longhorns have lost 5 games in a row (because why not put it in By The Numbers this week?).

A&M in national stat rankings

Offense
• Total O = #70 (395.6 YPG)
• Scoring O = #70 (27.6 PPG)
• Rushing O = #45 (186.3 YPG)
• Passing O = #91 (209.3 YPG)
• Yards Per Play = #54 (5.98 YPP)
• First Downs = #69 (21.1 PG)
• 3rd Down Conversions = #79 (38.2%)
• Red Zone TD% = #121 (47.1% - 16-of-34)
• Explosiveness = #71 (45 plays over 20 yards)
    - #90 with 17 plays over 30 yards
    - #64 with 10 plays over 40 yards
    - #54 with 5 plays over 50 yards
    - #30 with 4 plays over 60 yards
    - #58 with 1 play over 70 yards
• Explosive Run Plays = #21 (18 plays over 20 yards)
    - #10 with 9 plays over 30 yards
    - #4 with 7 plays over 40 yards
    - #23 with 3 plays over 50 yards
    - #4 with 3 plays over 60 yards
• Explosive Pass Plays = #92 (27 plays over 20 yards)
    - #114 with 8 plays over 30 yards
    - #118 with 3 plays over 40 yards
    - #80 with 2 plays over 50 yards
    - #65 with 1 play over 60 yards
    - #35 with 1 play over 70 yards
• Sacks Allowed = #25 (14)
• Tackles For Loss Allowed = #52 (54)

Defense
• Total D = #29 (336.4 YPG)
• Scoring D = #4 (16.1 PPG)
• Rushing D = #50 (136.5 YPG)
• Passing D = #30 (199.9 YPG)
• Yards Per Play Allowed = #11 (4.7 YPP)
• First Downs Allowed = #59 (19.8 PG)
• Opponent 3rd Down Conversions = #19 (32.9%)
• Opponent Red Zone TD% = #5 (40% - 12-of-30)
• Explosiveness Against = #15 (34 plays allowed over 20 yards)
    - #5 with 10 plays allowed over 30 yards
    - #3 with 4 plays allowed over 40 yards
    - #8 with 2 play allowed over 50 yards
    - #13 with 1 play allowed over 60 yards
    - #36 with 1 play allowed over 70 yards
    - #90 with 1 play allowed over 80 yards
• Explosive Run Plays Against = #47 (11 plays allowed over 20 yards)
    - #40 with 4 plays allowed over 30 yards
    - #12 with 1 play allowed over 40 yards
    - #28 with 1 play allowed over 50 yards
• Explosive Pass Plays Against = #10 (23 plays allowed over 20 yards)
    - #3 with 6 plays allowed over 30 yards
    - #4 with 3 plays allowed over 40 yards
    - #12 with 1 play allowed over 50 yards
    - #27 with 1 play allowed over 60 yards
    - #55 with 1 play allowed over 70 yards
    - #105 with 1 play allowed over 80 yards
• Sacks = #22 (29)
• Tackles For Loss = #26 (71)
• Interceptions = #31 (10)
• Fumble Recoveries = #89 (4)

Team
• Time of Possession = #49 (30:24)
• Turnover Margin = #74 (-1)
• Penalties = #98 with 7.1 penalties per game
    - #91 with 61.3 penalty yards per game

Special Teams
• Field Goal % = #50 (76.9% - 20-of-26)
• Punting = #22 (45.9 Avg.)
• Kick Returns = #1 (32.3 Avg.)
• Explosive Kick Returns = #26 (4 returns over 30 yards)
• Opponent Kick Returns Average = #90 (22.2 yards per return)
• Explosive Kick Returns Allowed = #40 (2 returns allowed over 30 yards)
• Punt Returns = #32 (11.2 yards per return)
• Explosive Punt Returns = #18 (3 returns over 20 yards)
    - #2 with 3 returns over 30 yards
• Opponent Punt Returns Average = #52 (6.6 yards per return)
• Explosive Punt Returns Allowed = #74 (2 returns allowed over 20 yards)

Individual
• QB Zach Calzada = #77 in passing yards (1,793); #74 in passing TDs (12); #88 in QBR (50.6)
    - #64 in passes over 10 yards (75); #79 in passes over 20 yards (24)

• RB Isaiah Spiller = #25 in rushing yards (914); #74 in yards per carry (5.75); #29 in yards from scrimmage (1,103)
    - #12 in runs over 10 yards (29); #39 in runs over 20 yards (7); #26 in runs over 30 yards (4); #6 in runs over 40 yards (4); #54 in runs over 50 yards (1)
    - #24 in runs over 60 yards (1)

• RB Devon Achane = #43 in rushing yards (816); #7 in yards per carry (7.56 Avg.); #50 in yards from scrimmage (1,005); #72 in rushing TDs (7)
    - #44 in runs over 10 yards (23); #14 in runs over 20 yards (10); #13 in runs over 30 yards (5); #15 in runs over 40 yards (3); #13 in runs over 50 yards (2)
    - #2 in runs over 60 yards (1); #2 in kick return average (34.86); #13 in kick returns over 30 yards (4)

• RB/WR Ainias Smith = #47 in receiving TDs (6)
    - #8 in punt return average (11.7 Avg.); #6 in punt returns over 20 yards (3); #2 in punt returns over 30 yards (3)

• WR Demond Demas = #95 in catches over 50 yards (1); #38 in catches over 60 yards (1); #16 in catches over 70 yards (1)

• WR Caleb Chapman = #95 in catches over 50 yards (1)

• DL DeMarvin Leal = #29 in sacks (6.5); #52 in tackles-for-loss (10.5)

• DL Tyree Johnson = #17 in sacks (8)

• LB Aaron Hansford = #96 in tackles (73)

• CB Tyreek Chappell = #34 in passes defended (9); #29 in pass breakups (8)

• S Leon O’Neal = #77 in interceptions (2); #96 in passes defended (7)

• PK Seth Small = #37 in field goal % (80% - 20-of-25)

• P Nik Constantinou = #11 in punting average (46.98 Avg.)