In the only ranked college football matchup of the weekend, No. 25 Texas A&M sent a message with a 41-10 dismantling of No. 9 Missouri Saturday afternoon at Kyle Field. The Aggies racked up 512 yards of offense while limiting the Tigers to just 254 in a dominant effort.

Here are five takeaways from the game as A&M improved to 5-1 and 3-0 in conference action.

Conner Weigman makes up for lost time

A&M fans’ lasting memory of redshirt sophomore quarterback Conner Weigman was his 100-yard, two-interception performance to open the season versus Notre Dame. Against Missouri, he successfully flipped the narrative around his name and looked like the signal-caller the 12th Man expected to see this year.

Making his first appearance since Sept. 7 after suffering an AC joint sprain in his throwing shoulder, Weigman didn’t miss a beat with 276 yards on 18-of-22 passing. He showed impressive accuracy in connecting with 10 different receivers, completing nine passes of 15 or more yards.

The Cypress native also got the job done with his legs, gaining 33 yards on five attempts. Weigman has shown glimpses of his effective scrambling ability, and he reinforced that Saturday. He may not have the run-first talent of redshirt freshman QB Marcel Reed, but it’s valuable nonetheless.

Weigman’s shoulder looks fine, now, and any quarterback controversy may be put to rest.

The Aggies’ defense came ready for Brady Cook, Luther Burden

Missouri’s graduate QB went from Cooking this season to Cooked. Brady entered the game as one of the conference’s most reliable quarterbacks, but couldn’t muster up much offense against A&M’s defensive presence. He completed 13 of 31 passes for 186 yards, with a 59-yard touchdown pass to graduate wide receiver Theo Wease Jr. for his lone score.

The Aggies ensured the Tigers couldn’t get anything going on the ground, either, with intense pressure in the trenches. Missouri’s leading rusher, graduate running back Nate Noel, managed just 30 of the team’s 68 rushing yards, while Cook’s net total was 11 yards thanks to six sacks by six different Aggies.

Almost more impressively, A&M neutralized any threat posed by star junior WR Luther Burden III. With four touchdowns coming into the game, Burden caught just four passes for 49 yards, with a would-be 75-yard score being negated with an ineligible man downfield penalty.

Saturday was the epitome of complementary football, with the Aggies dominating in both sides of the game.

The offensive line is the spark behind the A&M run game

Is there a more improved position group across college football than the Aggies’ offensive line? Coach Adam Cushing has turned the unit from a liability into a key strength of the team. The line paved the way for 236 rushing yards and five touchdowns as the A&M run game continued to shine.

Weigman was sacked just once as his line gave him all day to make throws in a sizable pocket. When he handed the ball off, the rushers found holes to run through. Junior running back Le’Veon Moss turned 12 carries into 138 yards and three scores, headlined by a 75-yard sprint to the end zone to start the second half.

Junior RB Amari Daniels gained 38 yards an matched his season production with two more touchdowns. Stanford transfer RB EJ Smith added 26 yards on six carries.

The Aggies shined on third, fourth down

For much of the game, A&M couldn’t get off the field on third down, but in the best way possible. The Aggies’ offense converted on seven of 12 third-down opportunities, engineering lengthy, sustainable drives for points. A&M scored on seven of its first nine possessions. Four of the touchdown drives ate up 60 yards or more.

It was an entirely different story for the Tigers, who found success on just five of their 15 third-down plays. They went for it on fourth-down four times, oftentimes out of necessity with a big deficit, and picked up a first down just once. Missouri was eighth in the nation with a .547 third-down conversion rate coming into the game, while A&M was tied for 77th at .387.

The Aggies made the necessary plays when they had to, which proved to be the difference.

A&M is squarely in the hunt for the College Football Playoff

Coach Mike Elko may disagree, but this was a statement win for the Aggies on a national stage. In the only ranked matchup of this weekend’s college football slate, A&M grabbed the country’s attention and turned it into a dominant effort over a top-10 program.

The Aggies took care of the third step of a generous SEC schedule that doesn’t include Alabama, Georgia or Ole Miss. A&M enters the bye week with a five-game winning streak ahead of a road trip to lowly Mississippi State. It still needs to take care of LSU, South Carolina and Texas, but the Aggies are in a good spot at the halfway point of the season.

If A&M can keep the train rolling, the top-10 victory puts a College Football Playoff berth on the horizon.

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