Ho Hum Dominating Win:

It’s kind of crazy how quickly we’ve become spoiled with this season. Most Aggies I’ve talked to loved the win. However, they found it a little boring because it took the offense a bit to get going, and Missouri never challenged us.

We just went 9-0 with a road win over a ranked opponent, and we want more.

I understand it, but it’s just amazing how quickly a fan’s perspective can change based on how the season is going.

Obviously, the fake punt fired everyone up, but for the most part, that game felt like we were playing with our food.

And we were. Even though Missouri ripped off a 40-yard run on their first play, and it took us until our third possession to score, it never felt like the Aggies were going to lose.

We walked in the better team and just punched and danced around a bit. Then we landed some punches that actually mattered.

When we did, it was pretty clear we’d win the fight and just had to let things play out over four quarters.

We’ve been a second-half team pretty much all season. When we got the fumble return late in the second quarter and then scored to go up 14-0 at halftime, it seemed like the game was over.

And it was.

It was clear Mike Elko knew he had the better team walking into the game. He and his staff had a game plan that wasn’t flashy, but was likely to get a win.

No need to get cute. Just get the win.

When it was all said and done, the Aggies had a 21-point win in a road game against a ranked opponent in the SEC.

If that’s enough to get the blood flowing, then you’ve quickly become spoiled as an Aggie Football fan.

10-Win Season:

With this win and Samford left on the schedule, the Aggies all but clinched a 10-win regular season.

Hopefully, it’s more, but it’s been since 2012 that the Aggies have won 10 regular-season games.

I think the Aggies win 12 regular-season games, but let’s not underestimate already locking up 10 regular-season wins.

It’s a massive accomplishment.

I’d wager that if you’d told Aggie fans before the season they could lock up a 10-2 regular season record in 2025, 97% of Aggie fans would have signed up for it. That would have been an extremely successful season before the first snap.

Yet here we are after nine games, and that’s the absolute floor for what could happen.

Pretty damn amazing.

Spoiled indeed.

Clinched the College Football Playoff:

The other thing we did beyond clinching a 10-game regular season was clinching a spot in the College Football Playoff.

I suppose there’s a chance we don’t make the College Football Playoff if we lose to South Carolina and Texas, but I don’t see that happening.

To be clear, I don’t see us losing to both of those schools, but even if we do, I think we’re still in the CFP at 10-2.

The ACC and Big 12 are looking like they’ll get one team in. I think the Big 10 is going to struggle to get more than three teams in.

We’re definitely in with a win over South Carolina, but I think we’d make it at 10-2.

Big step for the Aggie football program.

Collin Klein:

I have to keep giving massive props to Collin Klein.

I still can’t believe he’s the same offensive coordinator from last season. I know that having a seasoned offensive line, with the addition of Concepcion and Craver, is a big reason for the difference. However, he’s still owed massive compliments for using those tools properly.

His game plan for this game was a little “vanilla,” but it was highly effective.

That was a pretty good defense the Aggies faced, and they wound up with 406 yards of total offense.

I pulled Dalton Brooks’ 48 rushing yards, since that was more special teams than offense.

That’s an impressive number for the Aggie offense against the Missouri defense.

What makes it even more impressive is that we never took any big shots on offense.

There was no need to because of what our defense was doing to their offense. Just keep throwing measured punches, and at some point, there will be some big punches that land.

Two particular punches that landed were the 48-yard touchdown reception by Concepcion and the 57-yard touchdown run by Rueben Owens.

While it looked like we were vanilla on offense, we really weren’t.

Klein called a great game, being really balanced between runs and passes, and most importantly, making the Missouri defense defend the entire width of the field with receiver screens and short crossing routes.

We had nine different players targeted for passes, so Missouri couldn’t focus on just a few guys to defend.

There was no need to run Marcel Reed, as all he needed to do was hand the ball off and hit passes.

Speaking of Reed, he was 20 of 29, which is just shy of 70%. It felt like he was a little less accurate than that, but he was really effective through the air.

I thought Klein did a nice job, with the needed wrinkles, to stress a good Missouri defense.

One more thing about the offense – massive credit to E.J. Smith. I was very critical of him last year, but, like Klein, he looks like a totally different runner this season. He’s been a great complement to Owens while Moss has been out.

Speaking of Moss, we’re dominating defenses without him. Going to be nice when we get him back.

Offensive Line:

This is not being critical of the offensive line, but more trying to figure out what’s going on.

We’ve been doing some random rotations this season, which I haven’t fully understood. It’s starting to make a little more sense.

I’m generally one who believes you find your five best guys and roll.

However, I haven’t seen a massive decline with any specific set of guys. I think it’s been all about getting some rest and experience while providing some flexibility.

It obviously provided some insurance on Saturday when Reed-Adams went out.

Trey Zuhn slid down to center with Fatheree taking his spot and Nabou moving out to the right guard spot.

It sounds like Reed-Adams could have come back in, but there wasn’t a need to with the offensive line doing fine—no need to risk Reed-Adams getting injured any further.

In theory, I like the lineup of Fatheree, Bistontis, Zuhn, Reed-Adams, and Crownover. I don’t know if it’s the most effective, but I think it’s the most talented.

We’re 9-0 and moving the ball while protecting Reed. I’ll leave this up to the coaches and trust their judgment.

The Toys:

While they weren’t the only difference in the game, Concepcion and Craver are still proving to be the biggest difference makers for this offense as a whole.

Their numbers are down from earlier in the season, but it’s clear the opposing defense is targeting them.

Even being targeted, they’re still a threat to take any play to the house.

We saw it with Concepcion’s touchdown catch, but Craver also had a 23-yard reception.

These guys stress the defense just by being on the field. You let one of these guys slip, and it’s a quick score.

Craver could have had a touchdown on a screen pass, but the offensive line was slow to get out in front of him. It was the same play we ran to Concepcion, but we didn’t quite have the timing right. Craver slowed down to let his guys escort him, but the lineman couldn’t get there, and Craver was corralled before he could get sprung.

Curious if we made any adjustments, which is what sprung Concepcion on the same play.

These two guys are just amazing, and that’s why the Aggies will make a run in the postseason.

Opponent’s Offense Defending the Aggie Defense:

While the Aggie defense wasn’t perfect on Saturday as they gave up 219 rushing yards to Missouri’s running backs, this Aggie defense continues to apply massive pressure.

Some of this is due to our offensive ability, which allows us to take more chances on defense, but much of it is due to Mike Elko.

Mike Elko is a master of creating and implementing blitzes.

The Missouri coach alluded to some specifics after the game. Summarizing what he said, it’s complicated to figure out where the pressure is coming from. You think you know what’s coming, but then it’s a different blitz than you’ve seen before.

What you’ve seen on film is not what you’re seeing in your game.

Elko is running unique blitzes every week. Elko is basically an offensive coordinator creating unique plays for his defense every week.

You’re seeing the results of the pressure, but there’s something else its having an effect on it.

Offenses are now having to choose to spend more time on blitz detection or working on their offensive game plan during the week of practice.

Opposing offenses are basically forced to become their own defensive units, trying to figure out where the defensive pressure will come from. The Aggie defense isn’t just loading up the box and bringing the house.

The Aggie defense is a master of disguising where the pressure is coming from.

That’s forcing offenses to decide whether to spend more time on blitz detection or on their weekly game plan.

It would be nice if the Aggie defense could do a better job against the run, but it’s hard to argue with what’s working.

Mike Elko is making the opposing offensive unit play some level of defense against his pressure-packed attack.

Once again, just adding more stress to the opposing team.

Albert Regis:

Special shout-out to Albert Regis. I saw he got his 100th tackle as an Aggie defender.

This dude is getting a little more attention this season, but he’s been a key part of this defense for the last three years.

I know Taurean York gets a lot of attention as being the heart and soul of the defense, but Albert Regis deserves just as much.

I’m not sure how much of an NFL career Regis is going to have, but the dude’s heart and motor have been dialed to maximum in his time in an Aggie uniform.

Dude is going to be a lot to replace next season, so let’s continue to enjoy him for the rest of the season.

Atlanta Conundrum:

I’ve heard some Aggies wonder if it’s in the Aggies’ best interest to go to Atlanta for the SEC Championship game.

I don’t see any negatives.

For the Aggies to get to Atlanta, they’re going to have to go 12-0. I’ve messed with the various scenarios, and if the Aggies lose to South Carolina or Texas, they likely won’t make Atlanta.

Bama, Georgia, Ole Miss, and likely even Texas would go to Atlanta if they all have one SEC loss, along with the Aggies.

There are three scenarios where the Aggies would go to Atlanta with one loss. Two involve Texas or Georgia being the other one-loss team.

We would need Bama to lose to OU and Auburn, and then Ole Miss to lose one of Florida or Mississippi State, to make those two scenarios happen.

Then we would play the winner of Georgia and Texas after losing to Texas.

There’s one other scenario where we play OU, as we’d be the only one-loss team, and OU would be the highest-ranked two-loss team.

That scenario is improbable.

So it’s unlikely the Aggies will make Atlanta with one loss.

I say win out the regular season to go to Atlanta.

Just go 12-0.

I do think that if the Aggies go 12-0 and get to Atlanta, they’ll get a first-round bye.

The CFP has changed, with the highest-ranked teams getting byes and conference championships no longer mattering for byes.

So a 12-1 Aggie team with an SEC Championship loss likely gets a first-round bye.

I also think that if the Aggies go 11-1, they’ll host a first-round playoff game if they miss Atlanta. They won’t get a bye, but they’d likely host a playoff game.

So, pick the one you want:
1) 12-0 with a trip to Atlanta and a CFP bye.
2) 11-1 with no Atlanta, but a first-round CFP game at Kyle.

Give me 12-0 with a chance to win the SEC Championship game all day long.

As cool as being at Kyle for a CFP game would be, I’d rather have one less CFP game, even if it means an extra game in Atlanta.

Let’s just BTHO South Carolina and keep the momentum rolling.

We’ll let the chips fall where they may.

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