MMR Game 5: Mississippi State at Texas A&M

Okay, so if you guessed that the A&M/Arkansas game would be an overtime thriller I would call you a liar because no one saw this coming. I can give the Aggies the free pass for this game because it was on the “road”, it was a conference game, and Arkansas has the biggest offensive line in all of football. But I am not, despite the win this was not the performance A&M should have displayed at a national level. The defense took a step back in allowing 457 yards, and that the running and passing game nearly split the yardage 50-50 tells me there is still room for improvement. Yes, it does help that the Arkansas offensive line eliminated the defensive passing game, but the inability for the defense to stop the Razorbacks from getting off the field and burning up the clock has laid out a blue print for any team to beat us down the road.

The offense didn’t realize that they would not be on the field when they started the game, but the fact that they did let a few scoring drives slip through means if this happens again, a tougher opposing defense could be the difference. Combine that with the fact Prescott has only been sacked five times this season means we will again see how effective our defensive line will be down the road. The Mississippi state defense is playing at a solid level, only allowing 6 points in all 4th quarters combined with no touchdowns, so that means we have to hit them hard early and often.

A win is a win, but now the real test begins. The first of a series of ranked teams head our way. The good news is that we play them at home, the bad news is that they are a very good team. Senior quarterback Dak Prescott looks to have a better game than he did last year when he led the Bulldogs back from a 7-0 hole to beat A&M 48-31 and send A&M into a tailspin and cause Kenny Trill to transfer to TCU. Prescott is nearly perfect with no interceptions yet this season…yet.

So what does all this rambling mean, it means that this is a litmus test for the season. Has the A&M defense really improved from last year or is it more of the same we saw in Arkansas. It shouldn’t be, but we will see. Is the passing game as much of a game changer as we are led to believe, considering the number of wide receivers that we can run on the field? We will see. And the running game, this is becoming the Achilles heel of the team, not because of the running backs but because of our line play.

I look at this game as a MUST WIN because I firmly believe the two toughest teams in the SEC are Ole Miss and LSU. LSU gave Mississippi State a good game and beat them in Starksville. How well we do against Mississippi State can give us a good indicator of the rest of our season. We do have history on our side, the last time Miss State won in College Station…1913.

Miss St 27

Texas A&M 31