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Struggling Aggie Defense Faces Ultimate Test

COLLEGE STATION (AP) ― On paper, it looks like a nightmare scenario.

Texas A&M, with the 106th ranked scoring defense, faces No. 7 Texas Tech and the nation's second-best offense at Kyle Field on Saturday.

The Aggies (2-4, 0-2 Big 12) have given up a total of 850 yards and 100 points in losses to Oklahoma State and Kansas State in the last two weeks. So how can they possibly stop the Red Raiders (6-0, 2-0), who come in averaging 556 yards and 46 points per game?

"Pray for maybe a torrential downpour," said A&M defensive coordinator Joe Kines. "If it rained about 14 inches in the first quarter, that'd probably slow it down a little bit."

But seriously.

For starters, A&M coach Mike Sherman said his inconsistent secondary has to come up with its best performance of the season. The Aggies lead the Big 12 in pass defense, but that includes a game against Army, which completed only one pass for five yards.

The Aggies have given up nine pass plays of at least 20 yards in the last two weeks and intercepted only three passes all season, a league low.

"We're getting better," Sherman said, "but we still have a ways to go in order to cover the group we're going to cover right here."

Sherman said his secondary must stay aggressive against Texas Tech and not worry about the inevitable breakdowns in coverage.

"I tell them all the time, 'You can't be afraid to make a mistake,"' Sherman said. "It seems like when we make our mistakes, it's when we don't attack things we should attack. We're a little bit hesitant. I would like us to be a little less fearful of making mistakes."

Texas Tech leads the nation with 413.7 passing yards per game. Leading receiver Michael Crabtree ranks fourth in the nation with 108.8 yards per game, but Sherman said he's hard to spot because the Red Raiders' pass catchers are so interchangeable.

Sherman said Texas Tech is tougher to defend this season because Coach Mike Leach has developed a potent running attack to complement Graham Harrell's passing. The Red Raiders are averaging 143 rushing yards per game.

"My perception of them coming into the season was they would throw first, run second," Sherman said. "This year, they're doing both equally well."

But A&M does have Kines, one of the few coaches who can say he found a way to stifle the Red Raiders' offense. He was Alabama's defensive coordinator when the Crimson Tide beat Texas Tech 13-10 in the Cotton Bowl after the 2005 season.

Of course, that defense was packed with experienced players, including DeMeco Ryans, now an All-Pro linebacker with the NFL's Houston Texans.

"I looked for him this morning twice," Kines said Monday. "I didn't find him either time."

Texas Tech has the edge in experience in this one and Kines said that's a major factor.

The Red Raiders have upperclassmen starting at every offensive position except two -- Crabtree and fellow receiver Detron Lewis are sophomores. Lewis ranks 12th in the league with 74 receiving yards per game.

Harrell, a senior, has thrown only three interceptions in 262 attempts. He's only been sacked once behind an offensive line comprised of all upperclassmen.

Kines, meanwhile, is still trying to get the basics down with A&M's defense. Even the veterans are struggling to learn his system, a radical change from the 4-2-5 scheme coached by Gary Darnell the previous two seasons.

"Coach Leach has got two complete classes," Kines said. "They've all heard one voice in eight years. Our guys have heard many voices in the last three or four years.

"A player playing for a coach, you build a trust up during a span of time," Kines said. "Not only that, but they learn how to fix it before you can get to 'em to fix it. A new system, they don't really understand how they all mesh together."

A&M freshman safety Trent Fuller expects Texas Tech to move the ball and score on Saturday. The key is not to get discouraged.

"You've just got to be a player. That kind of stuff can't get you down," said Fuller. "While other people are hanging their heads, you've got to be the one to step up and say, 'Hey, we're still in this game. We still have a chance."'

A loss would give the Aggies their first 0-3 start in conference play since 1984, when they played in the Southwest Conference. A&M won the league the following season.

Sherman told his players recently that "something special is going to happen to this team this year."

He wouldn't promise anything Saturday, but wants his players to see the game as a potential season-saver.

"I look at this as a great opportunity for us," he said. "They (the Red Raiders) deserve the attention that they're getting. They've done what they've needed to do so far.

"They have to come into Kyle Field and I'm sure they're anxiously looking forward to that. But so are we."

(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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