No. No. 25 Texas A&M had plenty of doubters heading into this weekend’s game against No. 9 Mizzou. If I’m honest, I was one of them. The Aggies were 4-1, but after somewhat lackluster performances (at least offensively) against Bowling Green and Arkansas, there was reason to doubt if they were ready to take on what was one of the top teams in the SEC coming into the season entered into 2024.

After what we just saw, I don’t know how you doubt this team.

The biggest catalyst for change in this game was clearly the return of QB Conner Weigman. After missing the past three games with a shoulder injury, and leaving some both nationally and within the fanbase wondering if he should be the starter once healthy again), Weigman absolutely split Missouri’s defense all afternoon with a score of 18 for 22 for 276 yards, along with 33 yards on the ground. He didn’t throw a TD pass (or an interception), but he often set up A&M to beat him to the ground. And they often did. But Weigman’s performance was far from the only impressive thing on the day. His offensive line gave him plenty of time to stay in the pocket and find open receivers (oh and the receivers got opened a lot). And for the second game in a row, Le’Veon Moss rode a dominant second half to YET ANOTHER 100-yard game on the ground. 12 carries for 138 yards and three touchdowns, to be exact.

Both lines seemed to be the more physical unit, Brady Cook was under pressure most of the day and the Missouri run game was largely kept in check all day as well. That’s four straight games in which the A&M defense has held the opponent to 100 rushing yards or less.

But from a broader perspective, this feels like the kind of game that SO MANY Aggie teams from previous years would lose. How many times have we had the opportunity to beat a ranked opponent, make a statement and vastly increase our chances of having a special season and fall short? 2023 Alabama and 2021 Ole Miss immediately come to mind, but that’s only in recent memory. There have been many more. So for A&M to face a top 10 team and not just win, but dominate, speaks volumes. It speaks to the culture change of this team, the physicality of this roster and the changes that head coach Mike Elko was hired to make.

There’s certainly a conversation to be had about how good Mizzou is. They certainly didn’t look like a top 10 team today, and you could argue they didn’t look like one in their previous two games against Boston College and Vanderbilt either. But college football is an exercise in constantly trying (and failing) to figure out exactly what a team is. Mizzou could have just as easily come out today and put it all together and justified their ranking with a statement win. Instead, we saw the opposite, and as an A&M fan, it feels like it’s been a long time since we’ve seen that. WE HAVE PLACED BACKUPS IN THE FOURTH QUARTER!

In fact, I can tell you exactly how long. This was the largest margin of victory A&M has had over a ranked team since they defeated BYU 65-14 in the 1990 Holiday Bowl, and their largest margin of victory over a top 10 team EVER.

So now we all get to enjoy this win for two weeks as A&M enters the bye week at 5-1 and 3-0 in SEC play. The ONLY 3-0 team in the SEC. They can rest, clean up mistakes and then head to Starkville against what looked like a very disappointing Mississippi State team. But as much as Davis Wade Stadium has been a house of horrors for the Ags, you still can’t take that for granted.

But the next match is a conversation for another day. Appreciate this one for now, because what a win it was. We’ve all endured our fair share of misery for this team, so so much joy is very welcome. And if you were unsure whether to believe in this team, it’s probably time to jump in.