Texas A&M has a solid 50-point Week 1 win in the books, while Missouri State struggled to find answers on both offense and defense, despite not having the cleanest first half, leading only 19-0 going into intermission.​

Head coach Mike Elko kept his team locked in on the focus and urgency he harped on, which resulted in wrapping up the primetime affair with a 50-0 victory. 

"Good to go out there and get this thing started," Elko said. "It was a good night."

Offensively, quarterback Marcel Reed led the team down the field several times, finishing 21 of 30 for 233 yards and two touchdowns. His connection with the highly explosive wide receiver room continued as three Aggies recorded scores, while the run game kept the pace in their favor and dominated time of possession. 

The Maroon and White handled business on the defensive side as well, with a turnover created by the Northwestern transfer Anto Saka. The defense additionally held the Bears to going 1-of-11 on third down with a total of 67 yards of offense. Leading the defense was sophomore linebacker Noah Mikhail, who had a notable night finishing with seven total tackles. 

Strong First Outing

Starting the season, the coaching staff wanted to break down multiple areas and see where the team stood, and the non-conference game opened the door to a better look at where the unit stood leading up to the first opponent. 

With the offense having a new player caller at the helm, with Holmon Wiggins calling plays and Lyle Hemphill taking over the defensive coordinator position, it was a nice evening to get a grasp of what the operation would be like with the coaching changes and roster construction. 

Based on how the four quarters of football looked, there were plenty of positive takeaways for the 12th Man to be pleased with, as the offensive line, wide receivers, and defense gave everyone a better idea of what it is capable of. 

At the line of scrimmage, the offensive line gave Reed time to go through his progressions. The “Gingerbread” Man slung a 15-yard touchdown to Horton on the first drive before directing his way through traffic with a quick 33 yards on the ground on three carries on the third drive. The pocket collapsed, and Missouri State’s defense recorded back-to-back sacks, but no others were allowed. 

Following the Horton touchdown, A&M scored two points after Missouri State screwed up on a muffed punt that was illegally kicked into the back of the end zone, making it a two-possession game. 

That fired up the A&M sidelines even more, where the 12th Man crowd got loud and fueled the defense to get a humongous fourth-down stop from graduate defensive end Ryan Henderson that was arguably the turning point that set up the kicker, David Olano, to nail his first field goal as an SEC kicker. 

Reed & Co. closed out the half, getting wide receiver Mario Craver involved with his second catch that went down as a 12-yard score. 

Out of the tunnel, the Aggies’ offense was full speed ahead with four straight touchdowns. Terry Bussey tallied a 10-yard rushing touchdown, followed by multiple running back touchdowns credited to sophomore Jamarion Morrow and Carsyn Baker that were all set up by the offensive line controlling the line of scrimmage. 

Another piece of the wide receiver room to score was freshman Aaron Gregory, who reeled in a 15-yard pass from backup quarterback Brady Hart. A&M wrapped up its commanding evening with freshman kicker Asher Murray drilling a 47-yard field goal to cap off the home opener. 

"There were so many young, talented players out there," Elko said. "I could have stayed out there for another two quarters watching those guys play."

Next up for A&M is an 11:00 a.m. matchup with Arizona State at Kyle Field on Saturday, September 12.

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