That was a pretty strong first half for the Aggies. But Mississippi State is absolute garbage.
With Jaylen Henderson at quarterback, the Aggies scored more points in the first half (34) than they did on offense in any game last year (31). That is absolutely nuts.
Bobby Petrino schemed up a good game plan for Henderson. Not a whole lot of complicated stuff, rely on the run and go quick. It's working nicely. Henderson is 7-13 for 104 yards and a touchdown, with some folks reasonably thought he wouldn't be able to get all game. But the Aggies also have 152 yards on the ground. After 323 yards in the second half against Ole Miss, they've got 256 against Mississippi State in the first.
Henderson's got plenty of speed, and he showed that off on his touchdown runs. It's awesome to have a mobile quarterback. His internal clock got better as the half went on and he avoided pressure that got to him early on.
Amari Daniels and Rueben Owens both looked good. Daniels is definitely showing better vision and is hitting holes faster; Daniels is on his way to 100 yards after busting off a 42-yarder.
Ainias Smith has been awesome in the first half, making a great catch to move the chains and then scoring on an excellent middle screen. Noah Thomas looked real good on the first drive with a couple of catches to get Henderson going.
The offensive line is really the story besides Henderson. Mississippi State came in with a decent to above average run defense and the O-line is pasting them. The sacks are probably more on Henderson holding onto the ball too long than anything. That makes two good halves in a row for them.
Defensively, not much to argue about except that the only scoring drive for the Bulldogs came against the 3-man front. Chris Parson was 1-4 with 2 interceptions and a rating of -70.8. Mike Wright hasn't been much better, but he's at least got more than 2 yards (he has 31) passing. He also knows when it's time to leave and run. Seth Davis is a nice little running back.
Edgerrin Cooper already has 7 tackles. Taurean York has 5 and a sack. He should also have a fumble recovery. Deuce Harmon and Jacoby Mathews both have picks and the Aggies are winning the turnover battle. State has run the ball at times, but have gotten nowhere on 3rd and 4th and short.
The Bulldogs are about as bad a team as A&M has seen in the SEC in a while. They're completely inept offensively and are both turnover and penalty-prone. Wright's ability to run has probably saved them from having horrific offensive totals, but 107 yards isn't exactly good.
A&M doesn't need a special teams coach. NOOOOO. Three returned touchdowns and three (at least) blocked kicks in a season. They're juuust fine. But at least Nik Constatinou buried his lone punt, Randy Bond hit from 52 and Blair Zepeda finally got a kickoff to the end zone after Bond couldn't.
A&M gets the ball to start the second haf. Hopefully they'll score and put an end to things. The only way the Bulldogs make it close is if A&M allows them to, so expect a lot more running and very safe throws. And some revenge for some bad losses to State the last few years.
With Jaylen Henderson at quarterback, the Aggies scored more points in the first half (34) than they did on offense in any game last year (31). That is absolutely nuts.
Bobby Petrino schemed up a good game plan for Henderson. Not a whole lot of complicated stuff, rely on the run and go quick. It's working nicely. Henderson is 7-13 for 104 yards and a touchdown, with some folks reasonably thought he wouldn't be able to get all game. But the Aggies also have 152 yards on the ground. After 323 yards in the second half against Ole Miss, they've got 256 against Mississippi State in the first.
Henderson's got plenty of speed, and he showed that off on his touchdown runs. It's awesome to have a mobile quarterback. His internal clock got better as the half went on and he avoided pressure that got to him early on.
Amari Daniels and Rueben Owens both looked good. Daniels is definitely showing better vision and is hitting holes faster; Daniels is on his way to 100 yards after busting off a 42-yarder.
Ainias Smith has been awesome in the first half, making a great catch to move the chains and then scoring on an excellent middle screen. Noah Thomas looked real good on the first drive with a couple of catches to get Henderson going.
The offensive line is really the story besides Henderson. Mississippi State came in with a decent to above average run defense and the O-line is pasting them. The sacks are probably more on Henderson holding onto the ball too long than anything. That makes two good halves in a row for them.
Defensively, not much to argue about except that the only scoring drive for the Bulldogs came against the 3-man front. Chris Parson was 1-4 with 2 interceptions and a rating of -70.8. Mike Wright hasn't been much better, but he's at least got more than 2 yards (he has 31) passing. He also knows when it's time to leave and run. Seth Davis is a nice little running back.
Edgerrin Cooper already has 7 tackles. Taurean York has 5 and a sack. He should also have a fumble recovery. Deuce Harmon and Jacoby Mathews both have picks and the Aggies are winning the turnover battle. State has run the ball at times, but have gotten nowhere on 3rd and 4th and short.
The Bulldogs are about as bad a team as A&M has seen in the SEC in a while. They're completely inept offensively and are both turnover and penalty-prone. Wright's ability to run has probably saved them from having horrific offensive totals, but 107 yards isn't exactly good.
A&M doesn't need a special teams coach. NOOOOO. Three returned touchdowns and three (at least) blocked kicks in a season. They're juuust fine. But at least Nik Constatinou buried his lone punt, Randy Bond hit from 52 and Blair Zepeda finally got a kickoff to the end zone after Bond couldn't.
A&M gets the ball to start the second haf. Hopefully they'll score and put an end to things. The only way the Bulldogs make it close is if A&M allows them to, so expect a lot more running and very safe throws. And some revenge for some bad losses to State the last few years.
