A 4-1 overall start and a 2-0 mark in SEC play is a dream scenario for a No. 25 Texas A&M football team that lost its season opener in ugly fashion and has been without its starting quarterback for three consecutive games.
The Maroon and White’s offense, however, faces the best defense it’s seen since its opener against Notre Dame with No. 9 Missouri coming into town on Saturday.
The Aggies’ offense, led by offensive coordinator Collin Klein, has established itself as a run-heavy unit, rushing for more than 200 yards in three of its last four games. The rushing attack has gone through redshirt freshman quarterback Marcel Reed and junior running backs Le’Veon Moss and Amari Daniels.
Reed has filled in for injured redshirt sophomore QB Conner Weigman in the past three games. With Weigman currently slated as a game-time decision to start, Reed is ready to fill in if called upon for a fourth consecutive game.
“He’s young,” coach Mike Elko said Monday. “There are still some ups and downs as we move forward. We have a ton of confidence in him.”
A&M’s offense has remained steady under Reed, who has thrown for six touchdown passes across his three starts and has added two rushing touchdowns during that span.
Against Arkansas, the Aggies were held to their second-lowest-scoring game all season. The Razorbacks’ defense held Reed to a 50% completion rate and 13 rushing yards on 10 attempts. The Aggies did come out on top, but the Razorbacks showed how the offense is vulnerable if the opposing defense plays man coverage and loads the box with athletic defenders that can stop the run.
The Maroon and White have yet to throw for 200 yards in a game this season. A&M will have to find success through the air and force the Tigers to open things up so the Aggies can get their rushing attack going.
A major challenge for A&M’s passing offense is junior cornerback Toriano Pride Jr. and junior CB Dreyden Norwood. Pride transferred to Missouri after playing at Clemson for two seasons, and Norwood, a transfer from A&M, was a key part of the Tigers’ secondary in 2023.
“Toriano Pride is an elite corner,” Elko said. “We tried multiple times to get him here. Then, obviously, Dre Norwood was a kid that was here in our program, and we have a lot of respect for him as a player.”
There weren’t many expectations for the Tigers’ defense entering the 2024 season after their 2023 defensive coordinator, Blake Baker, left to take the same role at LSU. But so far, Missouri has proved doubters wrong.
“Defensively, they’re eighth in the country in scoring defense and third in the country in total defense,” Elko said. “It’s going to be the best one we’ve seen to this point.”
Missouri defensive coordinator Corey Batoon’s run defense is one of the best in college football. The unit has only allowed an average of 91 rushing yards per game, which is within the top 20 in the nation.
The Tigers’ front seven has junior defensive tackle Chris McClellan, graduate senior defensive end Johnny Walker Jr., graduate senior linebacker Chuck Hicks, redshirt freshman DE Jahkai Lang and junior LB Khalil Jacobs. All five players have at least one sack so far this season, with Jacobs and McClellan having two and 1.5 sacks, respectively.
As good as the front seven and run defense has been for the Tigers, their pass defense has struggled in their last two games. Despite their 4-0 start, the pass defense almost let both Boston College and Vanderbilt upset the Tigers. If Missouri shuts down the A&M run game and the Aggies are forced to pass, the Tigers will have to trust their personnel to hold off the passing attack.
Both teams are facing their biggest challenge yet, and it bodes for an exciting matchup that forces both the Aggies and the Tigers to trust in their weaker units.
