Texas A&M and Mike Elko have four keys to victory against Missouri this weekend
Take advantage of Missouri's defensive aggression on the ground
The Tigers are going to do the same thing against the Aggies that they did against Florida: commit hard to stopping the run game and make the Aggies move the ball down the field through the air. Aaron Philo and the Gators were unable to do it, but Texas A&M has a bit of a different challenge to offer.
That challenge begins and ends with the man behind center. Marcel Reed is a much better runner than Aaron Philo is, as good of a year as the Gator QB is having, so committing to getting Marcel a few carries early could neutralize how aggressive the Missouri defenders are going to be.
With the speed and explosivity of KJ Edwards, too, there will be some opportunities for the Aggies to let the Tigers work upfield ahead of a delayed handoff, taking advantage of how aggressive the Tigers' front wants to be. Missouri has been excellent this year at stopping the run, but there are strategies the Aggies can use to keep enough of a ground game to stay above water.
Connect on a few deep shots
This is absolutely paramount, and is maybe the biggest question mark for A&M in this one. Can Marcel actually push the ball down the field accurately for some of these Texas A&M receivers?
For as good as the front has been for Missouri, they've been pretty weak on the back end in allowing explosive plays, meaning that the Aggies have to threaten them at least a little bit in this regard. They're not quite as bad as A&M is in that regard— the Aggies are 134th in the nation in explosive pass plays allowed, while Missouri is only 75th— but it's still a weak point that the Aggies have to find a way to take advantage of.
If there's no threat at all of the Aggies making this happen, then Missouri can simply throw any number of bodies that they want at the line of scrimmage to take away A&M's run game. There's only so much you can accomplish with creativity in scheme; if they have an extra defender coming up every single time, you won't be able to stay on schedule.
Let Ricks and Humphrey lock down in man coverage
There has been a lot of zone coverage so far in the season for the Aggies, but as the Tres Amigos podcast observed when breaking down the matchup this week (a great watch every single time for those who enjoy detailed strategic breakdowns), the Aggies have used a lot of man coverage every time they've played Drinkwitz under Elko— and it's been highly effective.
Humphrey has had a few bad breaks in coverage this season— he's rarely been egregiously out of position, but teams have thrown his way a couple of times with pitch-perfect placement that he really couldn't do anything about. His skills in man are evident, though, and he can do more than a good enough job against these Missouri receivers.
Ricks has been rarely tested this year; LSU was the only team that really went after him, and they had success more due to the fact that the Aggies had no pass rush than due to Ricks playing poorly. If you just let these guys man up and lock these Missouri receivers down while committing numbers to the pass rush up front, then you should have a winning strategy on the defensive side.
Dominate on third down
The one huge edge that the Aggies have when looking at the statistical matchup between these two teams is the third down conversion rate. For all their offensive woes, A&M is 30th in the country at third down conversion rate on that side of the ball, getting the first on 43.24% of their attempts.
Missouri is 80th in defensive third down conversion rate, meaning the Aggies have a decided advantage there. It's on the other side of the ball where there's been some truly elite play from A&M, though: the Aggies are second nationally in defensive third down conversion rate. Missouri is an admirable 47th in the country, and they will have the advantage of playing at home, but the Aggies are bringing a truly elite unit into CoMo.
If the Aggies can extend drives on the one hand and get the Tigers off the field on the other, then it could be a long day for Drinkwitz's outfit. This is always a key stat to watch, and luckily for the Aggies, it's one where they seem to have a decided advantage.
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