Winners and losers from Texas A&M's painful loss to Missouri
Winner: Brandon Davis-Swain
It was extremely painful to watch most of this game, but it helped that no. 11 on defense was playing like a man possessed. They mentioned on the broadcast that the Colorado transfer was just now getting healthy, and you could tell that he had brought a new level to his game that day.
The entire Aggie defense began to trend downwards by the end of the game thanks to the offense not being able to stay on the field, but Davis-Swain's play, especially in the first half, was a high point. The second-year DT gives A&M fans something to look forward to going ahead.
Winner: Noah Mikhail
Similar to Davis-Swain, Mikhail's play on defense certainly drew some eyes. He was penetrating into the backfield and was a sure tackler throughout the afternoon, despite how bad things got near the end of the game.
Mikhail has stepped into his role admirably thus far in the year, graduating from backup to a full-fledged starting-quality linebacker. He'll only get better going forward and will be a key piece in the middle of the Texas A&M defense for years to come.
Loser: Offensive line
The interior of the offensive line has become a complete dumpster fire at this point. True freshman Sam Roseborough was in the game for some reason, but unlike Lamont Rogers, it does not seem like he has simply forced his way into the lineup with stellar play.
Rather, it feels like the coaches are almost completely out of answers and are trying whatever combinations they can to make something— anything— happen. Opponents know just where to attack at this point, and they are taking full advantage of the Aggies' weaknesses here.
Loser: Marcel Reed
This is one that has to make the list. Marcel captained one of the worst Aggie offensive performances we've seen since A&M joined the conference, and whether or not the blame should completely fall on him— it's hard to be accurate when you're running for your life, for example— he's clearly enough in his head that he's become ineffective.
With the Citadel upcoming, it may be time to soft launch a quarterback change for this team. Brady Hart could get some live snaps against the Bulldogs before A&M has to go on the road to Alabama— it's hard to see Marcel being any more effective against the Tide defense than he was against Mizzou.
Loser: Aggie receivers
For as much adulation as this position group received coming into the year, they've been just as much of a disappointment as anything on the offense. Bussey's injury notwithstanding, we've simply not seen enough out of Craver and Horton to justify the hype.
It's not just the drops that we saw— it's the lack of effort in blocking that helps kill the gains that A&M needs on that side of the ball. It seems like they've just completely fallen into a funk— much like the other areas of the offense— and something needs to shake them out of their reverie.
Winner: Youth movement in College Station
Later in the game, some of the young players were in there making noise. You saw Bryce Perry-Wright get some good snaps at DE, Tamarion Watkins in at WR, Aaron Gregory and Jayden Warren in at receiver, and more.
If this season continues heading down the drain the way that it has so far, then building for the future is the one thing you can accomplish. It might be time to turn to that future sooner rather than later, letting these uber-talented young players get their reps in to start their development— it's not like you have redshirts to worry about anymore.
Loser: Mike Elko
Again, fair or not, the way that Elko conducted himself in the press conference afterwards has drawn quite a bit of ire from around the internet. I personally don't think he was acting any differently than he normally would apart from his clear frustration— what would seem like a good-natured joke if A&M was winning seems like blame-shifting when the Aggies are losing— but a disgruntled fanbase took it the wrong way.
It's ridiculous to say that this gaffe is the beginning of the end— that's far from certain. But he's going to take his lumps for the next little bit, which is just what comes with the dinner when you're the head coach. Hopefully, he puts his head down and is able to find some answers for this season.
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