Aggies QB Jerrod Johnson helped the offense average 32.8 PPG last season.
If the Texas A&M Aggies are to improve on last season's 6-7 ledger, coach Mike Sherman must improve a defense that yielded the most yards and points of any Big 12 squad during the 2009 campaign.
That might be a tall order considering the Aggies will face a rugged 2010 schedule which features four opponents ranked in the preseason Associated Press top-25 poll. That ties the school for the most of any Big 12 Conference team.
The Aggies will host No. 7 Oklahoma and No. 8 Nebraska, face No. 17 Arkansas in Arlington at the Southwest Classic and travel to Austin for the annual Thanksgiving Day slugfest with the No. 5 Texas Longhorns.
As usual, the Aggies' November schedule will rank among the nation's toughest closing stretches with games against top 10 teams Oklahoma, Nebraska and Texas.
The other Texas A&M opponents receiving AP poll mention are Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Missouri.
Sports Club, the company that provides odds for the majority of Nevada's legal sports books, has opened the Aggies at 25/1 to capture the Big 12 title. The 'over/under' season win total posted by offshore sports book CRIS has the Aggies at seven wins, with the 'over' a 130 favorite.
The ‘over' was 8-4 in the Aggies' 13 contests last season, which should not come as a big surprise considering the team allowed 33.5 points per game and 426.3 total yards per outing. The Aggies surrendered 40 points or more on five occasions.
As a result, four defensive coaches are no longer with the team. The new additions include defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter, who held the same position last season at Air Force. It should be noted that Air Force finished 10th nationally in scoring defense and 11th in total defense with DeRuyter in charge.
Von Miller must continue his fantastic pass rushing if the Aggies are to keep points off the board. The big defensive end/linebacker led the nation with 17 sacks last season.
The offense should again be potent thanks to quarterback Jerrod Johnson, who led the Big 12 in total offense. Johnson was a second-team all-conference selection after setting a plethora of school records.
Johnson's best all-around effort occurred late in the season during a 49-39 loss at Texas when he completed 26-of-33 passes for 342 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed for 97 yards.
Taking care of the ball and limiting turnovers is a big part of Johnson's game. He set a Big 12 record last season with 225 consecutive passes without an interception to open the season. He went 212 attempts without being picked off in 2008.
Unfortunately, Johnson suffered a shoulder injury that required surgery after that Texas game. But he showed considerable toughness by returning to spring practice and should be ready to go in time for the school's Sept. 4 home opener against Stephen F. Austin.
The Aggies are loaded at running back with Christine Michael and Cyrus Gray, who combined for 1,601 yards and 15 touchdowns last season. The same situation exists at wide receiver where Uzoma Nwachukwu, Ryan Tannehill and Jeff Fuller combined for 127 catches and 17 touchdowns.
The slew of offensive talent helped the Aggies amass an average of 465.8 yards per game last season, which was fifth best in the nation. They also averaged 32.8 point per game, 19th best in the country.
Texas A&M was 5-2-1 ATS at home and 1-4 ATS on the road for a 6-6-1 overall spread record last season.
The Aggies have not won 10 games in a season since 1998. If the school wishes to reach the next level, the defense must be better than 105th nationally and the special teams unit can't give away games.