Tightwad Hill

TEXAS A&M UNIT ANALYSIS - SPECIAL TEAMS

Punting - Justin Brantly averages 45.3 yards per kick. The bad news for Aggies? Opponents have only called for four fair catches all season (in 47 punts). That's an absurdly low number - by contrast Andrew Larson has induced 16 fair catches in 48 tries. And that means DeSean should get his opportunities, provided Cal can control the A&M ground game.

Kicking - Matt Szymanski kicks off; Layne Neumann handles field goals and PATs. Neumann's only attempted two kicks beyond 40 yards, and he missed them both. Inside forty, he's basically money, missing only once in 13 tries.

Return Game - Chad Schroeder, the starting wide receiver, returns punts and does just OK, averaging over seven yards an attempt with a long of thirty and no touchdowns. Odd stat #2 - A&M has returned exactly 21 kickoffs all season. And we thought Cal was a bit low with 28. When they do get the ball on kick return, they're pretty good - Kerry Franks averages just under 30 yards per return and had a 99 yard return for a TD against Texas Tech. The Ags are solid on kick cover, but less so on punt cover, allowing almost ten yards per return.

A&M's special teams have had other hiccups this season - blocked field goals, penalties, bad snaps. It's probably the worst unit on the TAMU squad, and it faces the best special teams unit in the Pac-10 on Thursday.

posted by Tightwad @ 8:44 PM