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It was billed as the lone matchup of ranked teams, but by day’s end, Mizzou-Texas A&M didn’t feel like that. It felt like a Cupcake Week beatdown.
No. 9 Mizzou was on the wrong end of a 41-10 drubbing at the hands of No. 25 Texas A&M, who earned its first win against a ranked opponent under Mike Elko in emphatic fashion.
Here are 3 takeaways from the Aggies’ blowout win at Kyle Field:
1. Conner Weigman returned and looked the part, much to Mizzou’s displeasure/surprise
Whether it was gamesmanship or not, Eli Drinkwitz publicly stated that he expected A&M to stick with redshirt freshman Marcel Reed, who was 3-0 since Weigman went down with an AC joint injury. It wouldn’t have been stunning if the defensive-minded Elko stuck with the guy who helped A&M get off to a 2-0 start in SEC play.
But “stunning” felt like an appropriate word for the way that things played out. Mizzou looked stunned to see Weigman, who was listed as a game-time decision. A&M’s QB1 to start the season was masterful. While he didn’t have a touchdown pass, he had just 4 incompletions all day (18-for-22) while delivering some high-level throws. The Aggies’ offense looked unstoppable with Weigman at the controls. Mind you, A&M entered the day last in the SEC in passing yards/game.
It helped that Le’Veon Moss again delivered. He had 12 carries for 138 yards and 3 scores, which marked Mizzou’s first time allowing a 100-yard rusher since Ray Davis hit the century mark in a Tigers win on Oct. 14, 2023.
But clearly, A&M’s QB1 was back and at his best on Saturday.
2. Mizzou’s offensive day should’ve started off much better, and it never recovered
Yes, Mizzou fans. I hear you. This 4th-down pass to Theo Wease on the game’s opening drive looked like defensive pass interference, which was why that was the call on the field. But officials then opted to pick up the flag.
You be the judge:
SEC officiating ruled DPI, then waved it off on 4th down. pic.twitter.com/ABG4zhuLVq
— Connor O’Gara (@cjogara) October 5, 2024
Bad. At the very least, Mizzou likely ends that first drive with a scoring play if that initial call is upheld. Mizzou just didn’t get the breaks.
When A&M took a 10-0 lead, Luther Burden III appeared to have a 75-yard touchdown. But a Mizzou offensive lineman was flagged for blocking 4 yards downfield, which sent Burden into a sideline tirade that took him out for the rest of the series.
That was all she wrote. Brady Cook never recovered, and Mizzou’s offense was stuck in the mud against Nic Scourton and the A&M defense. Things only spiraled because the aforementioned Mizzou defense couldn’t find an answer to stop the bleeding in the first half.
Saturday confirmed why Mizzou had some skepticism after an unbeaten, but somewhat underwhelming 4-0 start. Favorable schedule or not, Mizzou’s 12-team Playoff path looks much more daunting after how quickly things collapsed on the road.
3. Just like that, Texas A&M should have Playoff live in November
I know that might seem like an ambitious thing to say in the first weekend of October, especially for a team that whiffed in its premier nonconference game like A&M did to start the season. But think about this. A&M is now 5-1 and 3-0 in SEC play — something that has only happened twice since joining the SEC — with a rest-of-October schedule that is screaming “0 or 1 losses.”
- Bye
- at Mississippi State
- vs. LSU
Year 1 of the Elko era suddenly has a different kind of juice than any of the last 3 years of the Jimbo Fisher era. Can A&M make it to Atlanta for the first time since joining the SEC? It remains to be seen, but it’s at least starting to feel like that regular-season finale against Texas will have a whole lot on the line.
How fitting that would be.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Down South. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.
