In a game where many thought the Aggies might slip up and find their first loss of the season, Texas A&M controlled things throughout and overall, just looked like the better team for four quarters in a 38-17
win over the Missouri Tigers on Saturday in Columbia.
I’ll be clear on this, I was not among those who were overly concerned about this game. That’s not intended as a slight to Missouri – I do think they are a quality team, especially defensively. But throughout SEC play, A&M has simply done what it takes to win, and in most cases, just flat-out choked the life out of teams in the second half. And that’s exactly what we saw in this one.
Aggie offense
Early on, the offense had a bit of a tough time. Marcel Reed was erratic on some relatively easy throws, and the running game got stifled by a very strong Missouri defensive front. But they put together one long scoring drive, and punched in another TD after the defense forced a turnover to set them up inside the 5, to be up 14-0 at the half. Then, just like in Death Valley, the offense came out in the second half and mostly did whatever they wanted. They totaled 314 second-half yards and – most importantly – 24 points. 218 of those yards came on the ground. And honestly, A&M took the air of out the ball for the majority of the fourth quarter. Had the game played out differently, they certainly could have scored even more.
Aggie defense
Certainly Mizzou was hampered by starting true freshman Matt Zollers, who finished 7-for-22 for just 77 yards. Missouri did have success on the ground, as you’d expect from the SEC’s top rushing attack, but in a game where the defense forced seven punts and also had seven tackles for loss, they did more than enough to ensure this game was really never in doubt.
What’s next?
A&M now returns to Kyle Field for the first time in over a month, playing their final SEC home game of the season as they host the South Carolina Gamecocks. At 9-0, and after another convincing win over a ranked team, the Ags will certainly stay no lower than No. 3 in the College Football Playoff rankings, and remain in the driver’s seat in the race to get to the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta.
In short, life is good in College Station right now.
