PLAYERS TO WATCH
–TE Jace Sternberger, a junior college transfer from Kingfisher, Okla., is tied for the FBS lead for touchdown catches at the position with six. He leads the Aggies with 29 catches for 496 yards. Coach Jimbo Fisher credits Sternberger’s versatility for his emergence as a premier tight end. Sternberger he had seven catches for 145 yards and a score against South Carolina.
“His versatility. The ability to go inside or outside,” Fisher said. “Getting better at blocking. He respects that and is doing that better so people can’t just say he’s a receiver.”
–DT Daylon Mack, with 13 tackles including two sacks this season, has certainly proven to be a viable senior presence for the Aggies. However, Mack has bigger plans to make his presence known on the field. He wants to run the ball … on offense. “I mentioned it a couple times in practice, (coach Jimbo Fisher) kind of laughed it off,” Mack said. “We don’t need the trick play, I can just run it in.”
–DE Landis Durham, a senior defensive end, had two tackles against South Carolina. While not an earth-shattering effort statistically, Durham will have his hands full trying to contain mobile Bulldogs quarterback Nick Fitzgerald.
“They run the ball pretty effectively with the quarterback,” Durham said, per TexAgs.com. “It’s been probably the most effective I’ve seen in recent years. That will be a big part of our defense this week just to stop the quarterback run.”
SERIES HISTORY: Mississippi State leads Texas A&M 6-5 in the overall series. Since the Aggies joined the SEC, the two schools are tied 3-3 in the series with the Bulldogs winning the last two meetings.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “We’ve been very inconsistent on how it’s called. The severity of some of those are very nit-picky.” — Jimbo Fisher on targeting.