The mask didn’t so much slip from ’s face as ripped it off. Missouri waltzed through the offseason and September as a College Football Playoff contender. The masquerade ball ended Saturday in College Station, Texas.
The No. 9 are pretenders. No.
21 , with such unforgiving ferocity that I’m left considering whether a playoff contender did, indeed, emerge. It just wasn’t Missouri (4-1), which saw its eight-game win streak end within the din of Kyle Field. fans waved towels and sang while points piled up and “Mo Bamba” played on a loop on the stadium speakers.
By the fourth quarter, the home fans were chanting, “Overrated! Overrated!” Ya think? The Tigers being ranked at all by weekend’s end would be generous after this dismal showing. Texas A&M (5-1) played like a transformed team after a season-opening home loss to Notre Dame. The Aggies wield a playoff-caliber defense.
Their linemen persistently tore into Missouri’s backfield. The question – for years, really – hinged on whether an Aggies offense would emerge. Quarterback Conner Weigman showed some of the NFL talents that analysts have long insisted he possesses.
The Aggies won three consecutive games behind backup quarterback Marcel Reed, while deploying a run-first offense as Weigman recovered from a shoulder injury. But, Mike Elko trusted his initial instincts when he put the reins back into Weigman’s hands Saturday. Weigman gives the Aggies more upside.
Weigman threw for 276 yards, rushed for 33 .