The Texas A&M offense has questions to answer, and Kentucky is the last chance to answer them before the schedule gets real. The Aggies’ defensive side of the ball doesn’t concern me heading into this weekend. The real issue is how smooth this A&M offense can look knowing LSU is on deck.

After reviewing the tape against Arizona State and watching breakdowns, I think there’s a ton of room for improvement for Texas A&M. But I’ve seen the same comments flooding every single one of those film sessions, and the question keeps coming up: are the problems fixable?

Unfortunately, I think the answer is yes and no.

The offensive line has to clean it up

I do believe Texas A&M can develop better cohesion with that offensive line, because some of the miscues have looked really rough. Any pulling tackle, guard, or center has been a problem. Some of the assignments on counter runs have been flat-out broken, and if you’re not running counter properly, it’s going to leave a tackle for loss 10 times out of 10. A lot of those blocking miscues up front have caused issues for the rushing attack. And if A&M doesn’t have a competent rushing attack, I really struggle to see them be a good offense on the road.

I do have questions about Wilkin Formby, because some of the issues he’s had are things he’s carried his entire career. To miraculously change them within a season would be a pleasant surprise, but I’m not banking on it.

Marcel Reed and the bigger picture

Now, Marcel Reed. I think he has made progress. There were some really rough moments in that day game against Arizona State, but I think the offensive line getting better will make his life so much easier. The good thing is I don’t have questions about Holmon Wiggins. The intent of what he wants this offense to look like is really strong, and at the baseline, that’s something I can be genuinely optimistic about.

But as it currently stands, the valid questions about this offense need to be fixed this weekend. Not in a couple weeks. You just can’t afford that with the SEC schedule bearing down.

What I want to see against Kentucky this weekend

Kentucky has played well in the first couple weeks, so this isn’t a gimme. What I want to see from Texas A&M is a really good rushing attack, the ability to force the issue with a physical offensive line, and an overall clean performance. No busted assignments, no wasted plays, no repeat of the same mistakes we saw on film against Arizona State.

If those fixes show up Saturday, I’ll feel a lot better about this team’s ceiling heading into Baton Rouge. If they don’t, this offense has a problem that good intentions alone won’t solve.