That was about as dominating a half as A&M has had in a while, and it really should be an even bigger blowout.
Mizzou has the worst rush defense in the nation and they proved it in the first, with A&M picking up 193 yards on just 19 carries. Isaiah Spiller is already over 100 yards and Devon Achane is right on the verge. The offensive line is just having its way with the Missouri front line but there's more to it than that. Missouri just fundamentally plays bad defense and doesn't tackle well. When you have backs getting 20 yards down the field before they even meet up with a defender, that's atrocious.
The line has been very good across the board. They have obviously dominated in the rushing game, but they've also protected Zach Calzada well. They've now gone 6 quarters without giving up a sack. Bryce Foster had a half, just dominating the small defensive tackles Mizzou is using.
Calzada hasn't been playing like he did last week, for sure. He's throwing those rocket short passes and blew a couple of plays that should have been touchdowns. He was so intent on throwing the ball to Devon Achane on the last drive of the half that he threw into double coverage and totally missed Jalen Preston, who was wide open. It was a bad play call -- they should have kept running.
The receivers have been pretty good. Ainias has been excellent as usual, and Wydermyer has a couple of catches. But there's also a couple of drops that killed drives, from Preston and Chase Lane. There's not much else to report, because Calzada is only 8-15 for 88 yards, 2 TD and an interception. But hey, no reason to do anything but run when you're averaging 10 yards a carry.
The defense has been very impressive. There is absolutely nothing for Tyler Battie in between the tackles. He has 12 carries for 50 yards, but 32 of those were on the scoring run. He also had another nice run on the sweep. Up the middle? Nothing.
The Aggies knew they needed to tackle well in space and force Mizzou to throw the ball down the field. Guess what? They are and Connor Bazelak is not responding well. He is 13-20 for 73 yards and 2 interceptions. It should be 3, but the Aggies have gotten screwed on a couple of pass interference calls.
DeMarvin Leal has been a beast all game and Micheal Clemons is providing a lot of pressure even though the Tigers are trying to get the ball out quickly. The big story has been the linebackers, as the trio of Aaron Hansford, Andre White and Edgerrin Cooper have been really good. Cooper leads the team in tackles and got hosed on the interference call, but they're doing exactly what they need to do. They're breaking quickly on the ball and making tackles.
The secondary has two picks, and Jaylon Jones has rebounded well from the last couple of weeks. The penalty on him was iffy at best. Antonio Johnson has a pick and has been really good in coverage. Leon O'Neal has been good again today and Demani Richardson has been pretty strong as a blitzer.
Mizzou is just flat out bad. The Aggies should take full advantage of their weaknesses and just go right at them on the ground. Don't screw around, don't try to get cute and don't get called for any penalties. Just put a hat on a hat and keep running. There's nothing the Tigers can do about it. The Aggies have pressed them to the point where they're playing badly in all parts of the game, so the Aggies need to go out there, score on the first drive and take away any hope they may have left.
Mizzou has the worst rush defense in the nation and they proved it in the first, with A&M picking up 193 yards on just 19 carries. Isaiah Spiller is already over 100 yards and Devon Achane is right on the verge. The offensive line is just having its way with the Missouri front line but there's more to it than that. Missouri just fundamentally plays bad defense and doesn't tackle well. When you have backs getting 20 yards down the field before they even meet up with a defender, that's atrocious.
The line has been very good across the board. They have obviously dominated in the rushing game, but they've also protected Zach Calzada well. They've now gone 6 quarters without giving up a sack. Bryce Foster had a half, just dominating the small defensive tackles Mizzou is using.
Calzada hasn't been playing like he did last week, for sure. He's throwing those rocket short passes and blew a couple of plays that should have been touchdowns. He was so intent on throwing the ball to Devon Achane on the last drive of the half that he threw into double coverage and totally missed Jalen Preston, who was wide open. It was a bad play call -- they should have kept running.
The receivers have been pretty good. Ainias has been excellent as usual, and Wydermyer has a couple of catches. But there's also a couple of drops that killed drives, from Preston and Chase Lane. There's not much else to report, because Calzada is only 8-15 for 88 yards, 2 TD and an interception. But hey, no reason to do anything but run when you're averaging 10 yards a carry.
The defense has been very impressive. There is absolutely nothing for Tyler Battie in between the tackles. He has 12 carries for 50 yards, but 32 of those were on the scoring run. He also had another nice run on the sweep. Up the middle? Nothing.
The Aggies knew they needed to tackle well in space and force Mizzou to throw the ball down the field. Guess what? They are and Connor Bazelak is not responding well. He is 13-20 for 73 yards and 2 interceptions. It should be 3, but the Aggies have gotten screwed on a couple of pass interference calls.
DeMarvin Leal has been a beast all game and Micheal Clemons is providing a lot of pressure even though the Tigers are trying to get the ball out quickly. The big story has been the linebackers, as the trio of Aaron Hansford, Andre White and Edgerrin Cooper have been really good. Cooper leads the team in tackles and got hosed on the interference call, but they're doing exactly what they need to do. They're breaking quickly on the ball and making tackles.
The secondary has two picks, and Jaylon Jones has rebounded well from the last couple of weeks. The penalty on him was iffy at best. Antonio Johnson has a pick and has been really good in coverage. Leon O'Neal has been good again today and Demani Richardson has been pretty strong as a blitzer.
Mizzou is just flat out bad. The Aggies should take full advantage of their weaknesses and just go right at them on the ground. Don't screw around, don't try to get cute and don't get called for any penalties. Just put a hat on a hat and keep running. There's nothing the Tigers can do about it. The Aggies have pressed them to the point where they're playing badly in all parts of the game, so the Aggies need to go out there, score on the first drive and take away any hope they may have left.
