Published Oct 5, 2024
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Mark Passwaters  •  AggieYell
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COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS -- We've waited all year for Texas A&M to play up to its potential. They did Saturday, and WOW.

The Aggies demolished No. 9 Missouri 41-10 in a game they completely dominated. Offense, defense -- even one of the best punts you'll ever see was mixed in. A&M embarrassed the Tigers en route to the biggest margin of victory over a top-10 opponent in program history.

Offense

I think the debates are over: Conner Weigman is healthy and he should be the starter. Any questions? DIdn't think so.

No offense to Marcel Reed, who has a great future, but the Aggie offense operated not at a different level, but several levels higher under Weigman Saturday than it did with Reed at the helm. He was 18-22 for 276 yards and made things look easy. He made several passes into extremely tight windows, including a deep crosser to Noah Thomas, a back-shoulder fade to Thomas and a 30-yard connection to Terry Bussey. He saw everything well today, and knew when he could and should run. That kept at least two different touchdown drives alive as he picked up more than enough yardage on third downs.

Weigman didn't show any fear in running the ball or throwing it. He took a bunch of deep shots, only one of which was ill-advised. Terry Bussey played corner on that one, and then Jahdae Walker made a great catch on a 40-yard pass down the sideline. I don't know if Eli Drinkwitz actually did prepare solely for Marcel Reed, but Weigman embarrassed him and the Missouri defense. It was a master class.

Guess who leads the SEC in rushing right now? It's Le'Veon Moss. He came in averaging 6.2 yards a carry, and that number will go up significantly after rushing for 138 yards on just 12 carries. One of those was a 75-yard run to start the third quarter and was one of his three touchdowns. Moss is becoming one of the most intimidating backs in the SEC, if not the country.

Amari Daniels' stats (9 carries, 34 yards) don't look all that impressive, but he helped burst the dam that was Missouri's defense. His 25-yard run on a 3rd and 6 at the Mizzou 26 served as a big punch in the mouth. He ended up scoring two touchdowns, so he made his carries count.

Overlooked in the attention given to Weigman and Moss was that Terry Bussey has arrived. He led the team in receiving yards with 76 on just three catches. He's now getting down the field and making plays, and that's what we've been waiting for. That's an element that will make the offense far more dangerous.

Noah Thomas had an awesome game. He had a pretty catch, juke and run in the first quarter and a brilliant back-shoulder catch in the second. He had 65 yards on just three catches, and he's becoming the WR1 A&M needs.

The Aggies had 10 different players catch passes today, which shows how complete the game plan was and how well Weigman was seeing the field.

Missouri came in with a defense that was third in yards allowed before today. The Aggies had 512, and the offensive line deserves a ton of credit for it. The Aggies averaged 8.8 yards a play, including 6.6 per carry. Weigman frequently had a ton of time to throw and used it effectively. Missouri had 1 sack and 5 tackles for loss. That's it.

If there's anything to complain about, it would be the penalties on the offensive line. Chase Bisontis got called for holding twice and Ar'maj Reed-Adams had two penalties. That's an area where they can clean up.

Defense

What a dominant performance. Missouri ended up with 254 yards of total offense, nearly all of which was in garbage time. Brady Cook completed just 13 of 31 passes and was sacked six times. He was fortunate he didn't have an interception -- actually, three interceptions.

My idea for the defense today was to attack, take away the run and then blitz Cook and rattle him. I wish it were just that simple, but A&M did it. Nate Noel had 30 yards on 10 carries and Mizzou had 66 total -- or 2.3 a rush. Their long run was 15 yards. That's it.

Nic Scourton had his consecutive tackles for loss streak break at eight, but he still eliminated runs to his side of the field. Shemar Stewart flat out embarrassed Missouri right tackle Armand Membou, frequently simply pushing him right back into Brady Cook, forcing Cook to flee the pocket. He had 4 tackles, as did Shemar Turner, who really had a good game and helped take away the inside run.

The interior linemen did a great job collapsing the pocket. A&M put a lot of pressure in Cook's face, and he did not handle it well at all. DJ Hicks, Rodas Johnson and Albert Regis all had sacks, and Taurean York had a sack rushing straight up the middle.

Daymion Sanford had the job of spying Cook at times and he did a fantastic job. He had his first two career sacks and the speed he displayed was a difference maker as he was able to close and stop Cook from making big plays with his feet.

The secondary had a very good game, and they were in man coverage against Missouri's stud receivers most of the day. Will Lee, who Eli Drinkwitz tried to use as a pawn in a pitiful attempt to fire up Theo Wease, had 2 passes broken up and basically took Wease and Luther Burden away when he had coverage on them. Dezz Ricks was burned on the first play of the game, but otherwise, he was pretty good too.

Jaydon Hill was, once again, a liability in pass coverage. He lost Burden on a 75-yard touchdown that was called back due to a penalty, and he didn't have a tackle. BJ Mayes came in and was pretty solid in his most extensive playing time at nickel.

The safeties had a nice game again. Dalton Brooks led the team in tackles for the second straight week, and his speed just jumps out at you. Like Sanford, he covers so much ground so quickly that he can cut off runs to the outside and can get receivers on the ground quickly. Marcus Ratcliffe had four tackles, which tied for second-most today.

What I liked most, outside of the relentless blitzing, was the fact the effort never slackened. Missouri had six shots at the end zone at the end of the game, including three on the 2 or 1, and ended up losing 5 yards. The decision to kick a field goal was spineless, but it showed just how badly A&M had controlled the Tigers.

Special teams

Tyler White had a punt for the ages, pinning Missouri inside their 1 as the ball hit right at the goal line and skidded sideways and out of bounds. He averaged 46.3 yards a punt, including a long of 53, on his three punts.

Randy Bond hit both of his field goals and has found his groove again.

The only problem would be kickoff return coverage, as the Aggies haven't been good in that department all year. They gave up a 63-yard return today, but the defense held strong and eliminated the mistake with a quick turnover on downs.

Coaching

All credit to coach Mike Elko, who had his guys fired up and ready for Missouri today. Maybe we need to give credit to Eli Drinkwitz too, because his stupidity helped light the fire too. If I were a Missouri fan, I'd be livid.

But back to Elko. The team was motivated and disciplined, limited its mistakes and, honestly, they've fixed the problems they had against Notre Dame. His willingness to take the heat for that game has endeared him to his team.

So THAT'S Collin Klein's offense looks like. There was plenty of motion, quick passes and plenty of deep shots. Maybe they just needed Weigman to operate it. They also seriously picked up the tempo, moving as fast as any team we've seen since Kevin Sumlin was coach. Missouri had no idea how to handle it, and the speed, along with the heat on the field, probably hurt them. Adam Cushing continues to make his push for the position coach of the year, as the Aggie offensive line dominated throughout.

Defensively, Jay Bateman had the solution for Cook and the outstanding receivers Missouri has. It's tough to get the ball to your receivers when you're getting sacked, smacked or forced out of the pocket. There's no question Cook was rattled by the pressure the Aggies threw out him, and he couldn't figure out where it was coming from at some times. It was a good, old-fashioned beating, with Missouri getting the majority of its yards when they were down by four touchdowns or more.