No. 25 Texas A&M absolutely rolled No. 9 Missouri 41-10 in College Station on Saturday.

Nothing went right for the Tigers. Almost everything went well for the Aggies. Texas A&M built a 24-0 lead at halftime and made it clear early in the second half that Missouri would not come back when Le’Veon Moss took the first play of the third quarter for a 75-yard touchdown .

Missouri then lost four yards on a third-and-short play on the next possession and the game was all but over given how well A&M played.

A&M QB Conner Weigman made just his second start of the season since suffering a shoulder injury in the Aggies’ season-opening loss to Notre Dame. Weigman picked apart a Missouri defense that couldn’t put any pressure on him and also made good use of his legs when he had room to run. Weigman finished the game 18 of 22 passing for 276 yards. Texas A&M was up so much in the fourth quarter that Weigman was able to sit out much of the final frame.

Missouri had every right to be angry about a pass interference penalty that was inexplicably picked up on a fourth-down pass attempt on the Tigers’ first drive. Missouri would have been in top scoring territory if the flag had been rightly on the field.

But that doesn’t explain how poorly the Tigers played the rest of the first half. And even when they showed flashes of excellence, there was something that negated it. Mizzou had a 75-yard TD pass to Luther Burden III after Texas A&M took a 10-0 lead, but it was wiped away by an accurate call to a downfield lineman.

Later in the half, QB Brady Cook made a great play to compete for a first down, but it was called back due to an illegal formation and Mizzou then punted after failing to convert the ensuing third down.

Moss finished the game with over 100 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

Conner Weigman shines in return

It’s not a stretch to say that A&M’s ceiling depends on how well Weigman can play the rest of the season. Marcel Reed has played well in his absence over the past three games, but Texas A&M was seen as a runner-up in the SEC prior to the season because of Weigman’s potential.

After being named the Aggies’ starter in early 2023, Weigman suffered a season-ending foot injury in the fourth game of the season against Auburn. During that time, he showed how he could be the Aggies’ answer QB. Before he was injured, Weigman was 82 of 119 passing for 979 yards and eight touchdowns with just two interceptions.

Weigman started this season in Week 2 after hurting his shoulder against the Irish, but the injury worsened against McNeese. Reed took over as the team’s starter for the final two games and he led the Aggies to wins over Florida and Arkansas.

If Weigman can be as good as he was Saturday, Texas A&M still has plenty to play for in the SEC and could be much more than a spoiler. The Aggies only have two ranked teams left on their schedule: No. 13 LSU and No. 2 Texas.

A major setback for Missouri

The Tigers are also still in the mix for the SEC and the College Football Playoff, but it’s much harder to imagine either possibility than it was before Saturday. The Tigers were dominated by the Aggies on both offense and defense, and the passing game still wasn’t quite clicking.

Missouri was 10-2 a season ago thanks to Cook’s emergence as a passer. This year, Missouri’s passing game has been up and down at best. Without a reliable downfield passing game, the Tigers were forced to rely on a run game that was effective until Saturday.

After playing at UMass in Week 7, Missouri will host Auburn in Week 8 before a trip to Alabama in Week 9. We’ll know a lot more about the Tigers by the end of October, but it’s very fair to wonder whether this is possible. a playoff-caliber team.