The Texas A&M football team continues their grueling SEC slate with a contest against the Missouri Tigers on Saturday. They’ll face a Tigers squad at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, Missouri, making this a relatively difficult environment to walk into.
The Aggies, on the other hand, are coming off of an emotional victory against the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Aggies should be favored in this game, but there will undoubtedly be whispers that this could be a trap game for Texas A&M.
Today, I’m going to go over three reasons why this could be a trap game for the Aggies.
Reason No. 1: The Texas A&M football team is coming off of an emotional victory against Alabama
There are a few key markers when it comes to trap games in college football. The first is that a team will face another squad that is generally perceived as being worse than them. That is the case for the Aggies this weekend, who will be facing an underwhelming Missouri squad.
Missouri, however, is still an SEC team. As we’ve learned throughout the years, you cannot underestimate a team in the toughest conference in college football. Heck, a very similar Missouri team last year upset a highly-ranked LSU team.
The Aggies also, as previously mentioned, are coming off of an extremely emotional victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide. It was the game that was supposed to determine their season, and in all likelihood, Jimbo Fisher put a lot of eggs in the Tide basket, so to speak.
There aren’t many statistics that will support the Aggies potentially losing in this game, but with their eyes on the prize, the possibility that Texas A&M overlooks the Tigers is strong.
Reason No. 2: The Texas A&M football team will likely have to put up at least 20 points
A week after seeing Texas A&M put up 41 points against the Alabama Crimson Tide, I’m discussing the possibility that they aren’t capable of scoring 20 against Missouri. Let me be clear about one thing — I don’t think any of these “reasons” will happen, but there is a distinct possibility that these are contributing factors in what could turn into an upset.
In this case, it’s the Aggies’ inability to put together a consistent, productive offense. Even after a strong game against Alabama, half of A&M’s contests against Power Five opponents this year have resulted in ten-point performances.
In terms of total offense on the year, the Aggies are still in the bottom half of college football, ranking 83rd in the country with just 376.8 yards per game.
The Missouri football team, on the other hand, has scored at least 24 points in every single one of their contests this year. They’ve been a serious offensive threat, with 48 and 59-point games already under their belt this season. The Aggies’ defense will be the best they’ve faced this year, but they cannot overlook this Tigers offense.
In all likelihood, A&M will have to score at least 20 points this weekend.
That said, Jimbo Fisher’s squad has seen drastic improvements offensively over the past few weeks. 20 points doesn’t seem as far-fetched as it did a week ago.
Reason No. 3: The Missouri football team has threatening playmakers on both sides of the ball
Beyond the more intangible parts of this matchup, the Missouri football team has some of the most threatening playmakers in the conference. They’ll likely be overlooked on a middling SEC team, but these guys are no joke.
Offensively, the first player you’ll notice is quarterback Connor Bazelak, who is putting together a really solid year. The Tiger quarterback has thrown for 12 touchdowns and just five interceptions, standing at 17th in the country with 1,690 passing yards per game. He’s not a threat on the ground, but he’s a consistent passer.
That said, Bazelak started his 2020 year strong and trailed off. It may be too early to say that the same is happening this year, but he hasn’t been quite as explosive in the past couple of games.
That said, the Tigers have another offensive playmaker who will make the Aggies’ job difficult in runningback Tyler Badie, who is among the nation’s leaders in yards and touchdowns. Badie has rushed for 667 yards and has reached the endzone eight times on the year, proving that he can be a huge threat for this offense.
He’s also a huge threat in the passing offense, accumulating over 200 yards and four touchdowns through the air. A&M will have to contain Badie if they want to limit Mizzou’s offense.
If they can’t do so, the Tigers could make Texas A&M pay, which could eventually lead to an upset. These players are just another reason why this could be a trap game.