Though 107,315 left Kyle Field disappointed on Aug. 31 following a tough loss against No. 5 Notre Dame, 92,345 came and witnessed the first win of Texas A&M football’s Mike Elko era on Saturday, Sept. 7. The wrongs stemming from the Notre Dame game were righted as the Maroon and White blew out McNeese State, 52-10. As the Aggies head into the win column, here are some key takeaways.

Weigman and Klein’s partnership was on full display

With the offseason hiring of offensive coordinator Collin Klein, whose Kansas State offenses ranked as one of the best in the country in numerous categories, A&M was expected to have a similarly dynamic offense. However, the Fighting Irish shut that notion down quickly, hampering and forcing redshirt sophomore quarterback Conner Weigman to have his worst collegiate game with only 100 passing yards and two interceptions. With inaccurate passes and throws off his backfoot, the only way to go was up for the QB.

Weigman did just that, finishing the game at an efficient 11-for-14, for 125 yards and two touchdowns. With a clean pocket, his feet stood grounded and he dropped in his first touchdowns of the season to junior wide receiver Noah Thomas and graduate WR Moose Muhammad III.

Elko picked up on his QB’s improved footwork, saying it was brilliant and praising his mindset.

“I thought [Weigman’s] footwork was amazing,” Elko said. “Conner’s gonna respond, we talked about that. There’s a lot more to this season, but we certainly didn’t anticipate anything else. What he did on Monday [in the press conference], owning [his mistakes], going out and having a really good week in preparation. He came out and played here today.”

More importantly, Weigman showed off his wheels and his willingness to run. One of the main staples from Klein’s scheme is around the QB’s ability to run the ball, especially in run-pass option plays, and it finally showed against the Cowboys. He finished the game with 39 rushing yards, ripping off an 18-yard run as his longest, certainly to the delight of Klein.

Overall, Weigman looked a lot more comfortable in the new offense and it showcased against the Cowboys.

A two-headed dragon lurks in the backfield

While Weigman found his footing, his backfield partner — junior running back Le’Veon Moss — continued to shine in Klein’s offense. Coming off a 70-yard, one-touchdown performance, Moss picked up where he left off as the offense ran through him in the first half.

The Walker, Louisiana native opened up breathing room for Weigman to work with as he garnered the attention of the Cowboys early on, chugging yards en route to two first-quarter touchdowns while finishing the game with 84 yards on just nine attempts.

As Moss took breathers on the sideline, McNeese’s defense wished it could have done the same, if it wasn’t for Moss’s partner-in-crime, junior RB Amari Daniels.

Though Moss headlined the first quarter, Daniels found his “Kodak Moment” on A&M’s second drive. He found himself 37 yards before finding the end zone to tack onto the scoreboard. In a flip-flop scheme where he alternated drives with Moss, A&M’s first drive of the second half was signed off by Daniels again. After picking up 24 yards, he matched Moss for his second touchdown of the game.

Freshman defensive back Terry Bussey even got in on the run action. Although listed as a DB, the talented freshman has made appearances on the offensive side of the ball and finally capitalized as he ran for 65 yards for his first collegiate touchdown.

Make no mistake, the Maroon and White’s offensive identity lies in the run game, and the keys are in Moss’ and Daniels’ hands.

A&M’s secondary headlines the defense

In A&M’s 2023 campaign, its defensive front was a force to be reckoned with, ranking as one of the top defenses against the run. However, the same couldn’t be said for the secondary, as it faltered in plays given up in the air. The struggles showed early, as Miami torched Aggie defenders for 374 passing yards and five touchdowns.

However, a new page has flipped in this Elko era.

After only giving up 158 passing yards and forcing tough catches against Notre Dame, the Maroon and White secondary held up again. It held McNeese to 99 passing yards while forcing freshman QB Kamden Sixkiller to an inefficient 47% completion rate.

Most importantly, A&M finally got its first takeaways of the season, picking off Sixkiller twice thanks to its DBs in sophomore Marcus Ratcliffe and junior Will Lee III.

“It’s just what we emphasized through practice all week,” Lee said. “We need[ed] to start working on turning the ball over, attacking the ball when it’s in the air. Starting from practice on Monday, we just focused on that and it relayed in the game.”

Defensive coordinator Jay Batemen has led his secondary to greater heights, and if he can get the defensive line to retain its feared title from last year, A&M’s defense will have few weaknesses.