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My Pick for Play of the Game Is

Moss’s 75 yarder to open the 2nd half. Whatever Drinkbleach used to motivate his team at halftime went sailing away like a fart-filled balloon. You could look at the sideline and all you saw was defeat after that. Then there’s the last gasp field goal with 8 seconds left. That was an FY to his own players and let them know he didn’t think they could score on us.

WAKE UP ITS GAMEDAY!!

I know there has been a bunch of negativity in this board (what’s new) but today Elko shuts you up. The defense turned a corner second half last week, and no matter who starts at QB I feel this is the breakout game.

Elko needs a statement win and this is it. Just wait and see. 31-17 Ags!! Kyle is going to be the difference today.

Mizoo Key Halftime Stats

Where to start? Start with me being wrong.

1. Weigman 15/19 193 yards. Wow. Was I happily wrong or what? Weigman has ignited this offense. Which leads to the second stat. A&M has more yards passing at halftime than I thought we would have for the game.

2. Weigman 4 rushes 37 yards, and converting key third downs to do it. Wowsa.

3. With 6 minutes left in the half Mizoo with one first down. One. That was on their first drive. Nothing but punts from them after that, including (by my count) three consecutive three and outs.

4. Mizoo with 79 total offense. Damn.

5. A&M with one punt, and what a punt. Had this been a normal possession likely wouldn't have punted.

6. A&M with 305 yards total offense. On track for 600, sounds good to me.

Thoughts: We have benefited from some ref calls, but overall have dominated the game. Mizoo is frustrated, and it shows.

Halftime observations

Wow. That's as good a half of Aggie football that we've seen in a long time. Maybe 2021 against a terrible South Carolina team, but considering the level of competition, 2014's first half at Auburn. A&M has dominated everything.
Was it just one player that made the difference? A healthy Conner Weigman shows up and the offense has exploded. They have 305 yards of total offense already and Weigman is 15-19 for 193 yards. He's making really good decisions, save the Bussey breakup, and every throw is available. He's keeping his eyes downfield, extending plays and running when the opening is there. Some of you are getting reminded that he's not immobile. In fact, he's already got 37 yards on just 4 carries. He's probably playing his best ball to date.
Amari Daniels and Le'Veon Moss are having fun out there. Daniels has two touchdowns, Moss has one and they're running through huge holes. The Aggies are busting up Missouri's defensive front and they're doing it a bunch of different ways: counters, hat on a hat and a lot of draws. A&M killed Mizzou in 2021 running draws on 3rd down, and that has carried over to today.
Noah Thomas is having a great game so far, with 65 yards on 3 catches. He and Weigman just keep on the same page. Jahdae Walker made a great catch to keep a touchdown drive alive. Moose Muhammad is getting targeted a lot -- by Missouri, because they think they can get him to blow up and cost the Aggies 15 yards. He can't play if he does that.

Defensively, A&M gave up 27 yards on the first play from scrimmage. They have given up 52 yards since. An offensive line that had kept Brady Cook clean all season to this point is being annihilated, and the blitzes A&M is bringing are getting to Cook and rattling him. I said they needed to attack, and they have. Cook has been sacked three times, hit multiple times and has been forced to scramble a lot.
But the Aggies have also gotten lucky, with some big plays called back by Missouri penalties. They have to cover better in the second half and not let anyone (Burden) get deep. And there can be no letup. Keep playing with the same intensity and don't give Mizzou a chance to breathe and get some hope. They're still very talented.

Team Identity: Who are we?

Howdy Ags! Usually on a Saturday morning, I wouldn't pose such a deep philosophical question before I've had my second cup of coffee, but this morning I felt the need to make an exception. Seriously, this team is very hard for me to read. Talent everywhere. Weaknesses, sure. Improving, I believe so. But still, for me, very opaque. A few examples...
  • Was the Arky defense that good or were we that poor for 3 quarters? Probably a combination of both. I'm just glad we came around when we did. Don't believe we can afford that today.
  • Are Coach Klein's calls too conservative/vanilla not giving the QBs enough options to work with or are the QBs not seeing what is there in the play calls? Again, probably some of both. I'm a big fan of using motion, especially for young QBs, to establish what the defensive call is i.e., man vs zone.
  • To take the next step, I think we will need to play with what I call "controlled discipline and focus," and that is all the way across the board, specials, offense and defense. We have talent, no doubt, but we also have shortcomings. To cover up for those weaknesses, players and coaches have to maintain intense discipline and focus in all tasks. Mizzou is an experienced and talented team. Cook can be a magician with his fakes on the RPOs. We have to match focus, intensity and discipline. That's how we win and those are the first steps to building a winning identity, Ags.
A surrounded Gig'em from Alabama...
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