The Husker Extra staff takes a look at this week's opponent: the Texas A&M Aggies.

Texas A&M averages

Points

Offense: 31.6

Defense: 24.0

Yards

Offense: 408.6

Defense: 399.7

Rush

Offense: 246.0

Defense: 135.4

Pass

Offense: 162.6

Defense: 264.3

Time

Offense: 31:45

Defense: 28:15

Base formations

Offense: Single-tight, two-back multiple

Defense: 4-2-5

KEEP AN EYE ON ’EM

Martellus Bennett

TE/Jr./6-7/255 pounds

He could be the Big 12’s best all-around tight end. Bennett leads the Aggies with 24 catches, and with one against the Huskers, he’ll tie the school record for consecutive games with a reception (26). He also has 55 knockdown blocks.

Jorvorskie Lane

RB/Jr./6-0/268 pounds

The Aggies’ 19 rushing TDs in the red zone are, by far, the most in the Big 12. Lane, excuse the pun, is the biggest reason why, as he’s bulled for 11 of them, and also has a 10-yard TD reception. His 40 TDs are five shy of the A&M record.

Arkeith Brown

CB/Jr./6-0/173 pounds

If you follow Aggie football, you know Brown has been a backup. But the guy who’s started 22 straight games at cornerback, Danny Gorrer, is out, and so Brown is looking at making just his third career start. Think the Huskers will pick on him?

Quarterbacks (3 balls)

Stephen McGee is unquestionably the heart of this team. A heads-up runner who is just the fifth Aggie quarterback to have 1,000 career rushing yards, he is, perhaps, even tougher mentally. In eight starts away from Kyle Field, McGee has led A&M to five victories. He’s also 4-1 on the   road in the Big 12. Before he took over, the Aggies were 3-13 away from home under coach Dennis Franchione. McGee’s career completion percentage of 58.2 percent also ranks first at A&M, but this season he has just four TD passes to four interceptions, one reason why some fans would like to see more of touted freshman Jerrod Johnson. That’s not likely to happen.

Running backs (4 balls)

The Aggies are No. 7 nationally in rushing and are just behind Oklahoma State, which last week gouged the Huskers for 317 yards. A&M is the only team in the nation to have three players ranked among the top 100 rushers. Between McGee, Lane and Mike Goodson, the Aggies get an average of 203.1 yards per game, and 5.2 yards per carry. In the three games since he got just two carries and 2 yards in a 34-17 loss at Miami, the ‘Round Mound of Touchdown’ Lane has averaged nearly 19 attempts and 83 yards while plowing in for four TDs. He also has six catches and a score. Expect Goodson to get plenty of option looks.

Wide receivers (3 balls)

The Aggies have enough skill here to go into three-wide sets with seniors Kerry Franks and Earvin Taylor, and junior Pierre Brown. You’ll even see them split running back Goodson out on the perimeter. A lot of this is merely show, though, or at least to set up downfield blocking, because of A&M’s heavy reliance on the run. Franks averages a team-high 17.9 yards per catch, but he sees fewer than four balls per game. Considering that Goodson is the team’s third-leading receiver, it should come as no surprise that this team’s passing average of 162.6 yards ranks last in the Big 12 and 109th nationally.

Offensive line (3 balls)

Four of the five starters — center Cody Wallace, guards Kirk Elder and Chris Yoder, and tackle Corey Clark — were in Franchione’s first recruiting class and have a combined 123 starts. Elder is responsible for 42 of them. Junior tackle Travis Schneider also has started 13 games. Yoder got dinged at Texas Tech last week, so Michael Shumard figures to see more reps. In short-yardage situations, you’ll see a lot of Joe Thomas as a second tight end to complement Bennett. While McGee averages a modest 25 passes per game, this group has given him solid protection, allowing less than one sack per game.

Defensive line (2 balls)

These guys do a decent job of holding their own, so the linebackers have room to make plays, but they haven’t generated much pressure. At one sack per game, A&M ranks 11th in the league. Senior end Chris Harrington is the most disruptive player on defense. Last year, he led A&M in tackles-for-loss, sacks and forced fumbles. Opposite him, Cyril Obiozor, who replaced Michael Bennett after the first game, isn’t any easier load for offensive tackles. He’s got a team-high six stops behind the line and leads the Aggies in sacks. Inside, the presence of Red Bryant, injured most of last season, has helped shore up run defense.

Linebackers (2 balls)

Twenty-six-year-old senior Mark Dodge has been a monster since regaining his strongside starting spot before last year’s game against Nebraska. He had 17 stops against the Huskers and in his last 10 starts has led the Aggies in tackling six times while averaging 9.6 per game. Dodge, who served in the military before enrolling at A&M, may be the Aggies’ elder statesman, but not by much. Senior middle backer Misi Tupe is 25. He served a Mormon mission before going to A&M. Those two are the team’s top two tacklers and don’t rest much. Behind them are sophomores Matt Featherston and Anthony Lewis.

Defensive backs (1 ball)

The Aggies are 93rd in pass-efficiency defense and now will be without their most experienced secondary player, cornerback Danny Gorrer, who tore a knee ligament last week. Arkeith Brown and sophomore Jordan Peterson, who have served as backups to Gorrer and Marquis Carpenter, will have bigger duties. Carpenter has started the past five games and has three interceptions. Jordan Pugh was a backup cornerback last season, but been a better fit at the ‘whip’ position that allows him to help more against the run. He’s No. 4 in tackles and also leads the team with five breakups. Strong safety Alton Dixon ranks No. 3 in tackles.

Special teams (2 balls)

A&M counts on its punting unit to be a weapon, as the Aggies’ average net gain of 37.5 yards is No. 2 in the Big 12. Justin Brantly averages 43.2 yards, and his 16 returnable punts have yielded an average runback of just 4.4 yards. The kickoff unit has been the league’s best, keeping the opponent’s average starting position at the 21-yard line. Matt Szymanski gets a lot of field-goal opportunities, but he’s just 10-for-18, and only 2-for-7 outside 40 yards. A&M blocked a field goal last week, the first time that’s happened since 2002. Kerry Franks has the Big 12’s third-best kickoff return average, 26.5 yards.

SCOUTING REPORT

Oklahoma State built a 17-0 halftime lead at Texas A&M on Oct. 6, but was unable to maintain its momentum and fell 24-23. The Cowboys, who had opted to kick a field goal rather than try for a go-ahead touchdown on a fourth-and-7 play, were in position to get the ball back on a punt with 1:57 remaining. But Mike Gundy watched one of his players get called for a roughing penalty and A&M was able to run out the clock.

“It’s a good football team, a ball-control offense. You obviously have to be option-sound when you play against them. McGee and Lane and Goodson are playing well. Couple of the wideouts, it’s like they have been there forever, those guys are still making plays.

“When you play any good offensive player, you have to do a good job tackling and wrapping him up. Now, (Lane) is different than some of the other guys because he is so big and physical. If you are not careful, you can bounce off of him. You have to be in the right spot to defend that style of attack and you also have to be able to tackle and get him down. It sounds simple, but the key is to get him down.

“Offensively, (you) have to find a way to move the football and try to use some of the clock. A&M has done a great job of eating up clock. I think they had the ball maybe 25 minutes more than Baylor.

“Their defense is playing well. They are very big — 270 (pounds) at the ends and 320 inside — (and) are sound in what they do. They are based out of an eight-man front, doing a little bit more of a four across in the secondary … but they are running to the ball.

“I thought we put ourselves in a position where we could win, but we just made key mistakes.

“Truth is, if Dantrell (Savage) doesn’t put the ball on the ground (to set up a short third-quarter touchdown drive) and we don’t bust on the 6-inch line (on a third-and-goal play that brought about a field goal), we’re probably not talking about this (being a loss).”