STARKVILLE — These are the games Taveze Calhoun and Will Redmond live for.
After seeing mostly running teams through the Mississippi State football team’s first four games, the senior cornerbacks are ready to play a pass-oriented offense at 6:30 p.m. Saturday (SEC Network) when No. 21 MSU (3-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) faces No. 14 Texas A&M (4-0, 1-0) in College Station, Texas.
Texas A&M is averaging 285 yards passing per game, which is fourth in the SEC and 32nd nationally. Texas A&M has rushed the ball 26 more times than it has thrown it and has rushed for 746 yards (186.5 per game).
“I know a lot of the game is going to depend on the secondary, how well we play, how well we tackle, and how well we prevent big plays,” Calhoun said.
Southern Mississippi passed for 311 yards against MSU in the season opener. LSU threw the ball only 14 times for 71 yards in week two, and Northwestern State had 111 passing yards in 16 attempts. Last week against Auburn, MSU allowed 188 yards passing and 201 yards rushing.
MSU is third in the SEC (26th nationally) in passing yards allowed per game (170.3).
“I think it’s a great challenge,” MSU first-year defensive coordinator Manny Diaz said. “They’ve got some guys that can go down the field and get it, but we’re a little bit excited about the idea of going up against it.”
Texas A&M sophomore quarterback Kyle Allen is 64 of 98 for 952 yards and 11 touchdowns (two interceptions). Fourteen Aggies have catches, while six have caught a touchdown.
Redmond feels like MSU’s wide receivers are the best in the country, so he gets plenty of top-notch competition every day in practice.
“Going against them guys every day from seven-on-seven, even one-on-one, it prepares us for this game,” said Redmond, who was ranked as the 32nd best prospect for the 2016 NFL draft by ESPN’s Todd McShay on Wednesday.
Freshman Christian Kirk leads the Aggies with 24 catches for 442 yards and four touchdowns. He is averaging 18.4 yards a catch and 110.5 yards a game.
The Aggies have 39 plays that have covered 20 or more yards. Those plays have resulted in three touchdowns.
“As a corner, in every defense you’re going to be in some situations where you’re by yourself,” MSU cornerbacks coach Deshea Townsend said. “Our defense, we most definitely want to prevent the long ball.”
The Aggies have run 282 plays for an average of 70.5 per game. Texas A&M ran a season-high 80 plays in a season-opening 38-17 victory against Arizona State. Thirty-five of those plays were passes. It ran 78 plays in a win against Ball State and 76 in a victory against Nevada.
Last week against Arkansas, Texas A&M ran 48 plays. The Razorbacks rushed for 232 yards and controlled the ball for 39 minutes, 28 seconds.
Diaz knows the Aggies’ up-tempo offense has the potential to create physical problems and other issues for the Bulldogs.
“That also puts a strain on your mental keys,” Diaz said. “Mental fatigue sometimes is more damaging than physical fatigue because all of a sudden you’re just not quite as locked in, your eyes start to wonder, and you’re not where you’re supposed to be.”
Even though the Aggies rely on the passing game, senior Tre Carson leads the team with 320 yards rushing — eighth in the SEC — on 69 carries. He has scored three touchdowns. As a team, the Aggies have rushed for seven touchdowns.
Calhoun and Redmond feel confident in the secondary’s ability to perform well. They believe Saturday’s game will be a good gauge for the rest of the season.
“I think it’s going to show where we’re at as a secondary,” Calhoun said. “A lot of the teams we’ve played haven’t passed the ball a lot, so I think this game is probably going to define our secondary and how good we can be this year.”
n In other news, sophomore tight end B.J. Hammond is no longer on the team a member of the team, a MSU spokesperson confirmed. He left before the opener against Southern Miss. … Mario Haggan, one of the greatest linebackers in MSU history who went on to a successful 10-year NFL career, is one of 14 former SEC standouts named to the 2015 SEC Legends class. The class, unveiled Tuesday by the league office, will be honored at the 2015 SEC Football “Weekend of Champions” Dec. 4-5 in Atlanta, Georgia. Haggan starred at linebacker from 1998-2002 and was a member of the Bulldogs’ 1998 SEC Western Division championship squad and the 10-win 1999 Peach Bowl and 2000 Independence Bowl teams.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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