Showdown with No. 9 Missouri offers No. 25 Texas A&M opportunity to make a statement

Among the storylines for Missouri’s visit to Kyle Field, there’s the potential ratings bonanza of the only game Saturday between ranked teams; the rare brother-vs.-sister rivalry; and College Football Hall of Fame recognition of former Texas A&M and Cowboys cornerback Kevin Smith, or Pup, as he’s known around these parts.

Then there’s this, too: The 25th-ranked Aggies could officially present themselves as playoff contenders as well as Texas’ second-biggest roadblock.

Not as big of a problem for the Longhorns as Georgia, probably, at least not in talent, but bigger than Oklahoma.

Considering how poorly the Aggies started in Mike Elko’s ill-fated debut against No. 7 Notre Dame, this positioning ranks as a significant sign of progress in just five weeks. A win over the ninth-ranked Tigers would only further enhance the Aggies’ national prospects.

On one hand, Missouri seems like a stiffer test than the Fighting Irish. Brady Cook is a proven quarterback with a fine set of receivers led by Luther Burden III, a Deebo Samuel starter kit. The Tigers’ defense is top 10 nationally. They’re also coming off an 11-2 season punctuated with a 14-3 exclamation point made on Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.

On the other hand, the Tigers’ four wins this season have come against the likes of Murray State, Buffalo, No. 24 Boston College and Vanderbilt, which required two OTs, no less.

Might explain why the Aggies go in as 2.5-point favorites Saturday.

Elko and Missouri’s coach, Eli Drinkwitz, go way back, no doubt a factor in some of the pals’ back-and-forth banter this week. After Elko listed Conner Weigman as a “game-time decision” at quarterback, Drinkwitz deemed it “semantics” during the SEC coaches call.

Citing the Aggies’ 3-0 record under Marcel Reed, Drinkwitz said, “I don’t see them going back.” Me, neither. Even before Weigman sprained the AC joint in his shoulder, he didn’t look anything like he did before he got hurt last year. Just the same, he’s a former five-star quarterback with considerable upside as a passer. Elko conceded after a less-than-artful win over Arkansas at JerryWorld that the Aggies need to get their passing game “unhinged.” Might even suggest an element of gamesmanship for Saturday.

Only Drinkwitz isn’t buying it, if that’s what Elko was selling. Drinkwitz noted that the Aggies’ offense is “a lot different” than it was against Notre Dame. Reid, he said, is a better fit for the new system.

“Our bread and butter,” Elko affirmed this week, “is running the football and being physical.”

Fortunately for the Aggies, they have the personnel to do just that. Besides Reed’s ability to get out of trouble, Le’Veon Moss can either run through or around you, makes no difference to him. The 6-foot, 215-pound junior has piled up 471 yards, only 13 fewer than he totaled last year.

He’s also supplied a motto for a program trying desperately to put the previous regime in its rear-view mirror.

Asked what he remembered about a long run against the Razorbacks last week, Moss said, “I don’t remember much. I just be ballin’, really.”

Remember that answer, fellas, next time someone asks about Jimbo Fisher.

Otherwise, the opposing coaches did enough talking for everybody this week, which was much appreciated.

Elko playfully took issue with remarks made by Cook when the Tigers’ quarterback was asked about the noise level at Kyle Field, roughly the equivalent of planes leaving DFW. Cook said he thought it was louder at Missouri’s practices, where speakers get in his face like Georgia defenders. On his coaches show, Elko called the characterization “a challenge to the 12th Man.”

Elko also jumped feet-first into the fun-filled familial rivalry between Reed and his older sister, Briah, Missouri’s associate director of on-campus recruiting. Elko joked that he’d hoped she could “get out to practice and find some secrets.”

For his part, Drinkwitz, who claims he didn’t even know Briah and Marcel were related until after the Aggies’ win over Florida, may or may not have been kidding when he said, “At the end of the day, that’s her brother and that’s her blood,” then pronounced the coaches’ offices and copy machine off-limits this week.

Turns out the joke is on both coaches. Rod Reed, father of Briah and Marcel, told KBTX-TV that the siblings “love each other to death,” but they’re accustomed to positions on opposing sidelines. They went to competing high schools back in Nashville. Briah was a cheerleader at Brentwood Academy; Marcel, a multi-sport star at Montgomery Bell Academy.

“They might not speak for a day or so after the game,” Rod said. “Maybe two days when Marcel and them won.”

Marcel has done nothing but win since taking over for Weigman. He’s getting a lot of help from an A&M defense anchored by edge rusher Nic Scourton, one of the best players from the portal this year. If the Aggies play Elko’s brand of defense against Missouri and Reed steps up as a passer, they can make a statement Saturday.

Like Texas should expect more than just Thanksgiving leftovers.

Twitter/X: @KSherringtonDMN

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