Missouri v Texas A&M
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After a week of gamesmanship between No. 9 Missouri and No. 25 Texas A&M, it was the Aggies who got the last laugh in a 41-10 drubbing of the Tigers on Saturday at Kyle Field. The all-around dominant performance improved Texas A&M to 5-1 and brought the Aggies to 3-0 in SEC play for the first time since 2016.

Not once in Jimbo Fisher's six-year run with the Aggies did Texas A&M win its first three conference games. But first-year coach Mike Elko's team reestablished itself as a threatening presence in the SEC and contender in the College Football Playoff race with its thorough dismantling of a top-10 team.

Mizzou coach Eli Drinkwitz dismissed the possibility of Texas A&M quarterback Conner Weigman starting as "semantics" during the week. But after missing three straight games with a shoulder injury, Weigman returned as a dual-threat playmaker.

The Aggies led 24-0 at halftime and owned a 305-79 edge in total yards with 230 of them provided by Weigman as a thrower and passer. Coming out of the break, he got some help in the form of a 75-yard touchdown run from Le'Veon Moss on the the first play of the third quarter, which made the score 31-0.

Things didn't go nearly as well for Mizzou quarterback Brady Cook, who inspired Texas A&M fans during the week by suggesting the manufactured noise at Mizzou practices was "actually louder" than the volume of road venues. Cook was sacked three times in the first half alone as the Tigers limped into the break with a turnover on downs and four punts on their ledger.

After four straight home games against athletically inferior opponents — including two narrow victories against Boston College and Vanderbilt — Mizzou's first road trip turned out to be far tougher than anything the Tigers could simulate on the practice field.

Speaking of the practice field, Drinkwitz restricted the access of one of his own recruiting staffers, Briah Reed, in the days leading up to the game; she is the sister of A&M quarterback Marcel Reed. Operating under the assumption that Reed would start his fourth consecutive game for the Aggies, Drinkwitz explained how the familial connection created "an interesting dynamic" in the matchup.

"Family is always so important, and so we don't want her to be in any type of conflict of interest," Drinkwitz said. "In fact, I just saw her in the hallway just a second ago. But I'm not letting her in the copy room and she's sure not going to have her eyes on the scouting report."

Even if the Aggies had exact copies of Missouri's game plan, it's hard to imagine how they could have been any more dominant. It wasn't until Cook found Theo Wease for a 59-yard touchdown with 5:06 left in the third quarter that Missouri finally got on the board.

Largely written off after a 23-13 loss to Notre Dame in Week 1, the Aggies showed a previously unseen gear against the Tigers. Between Weigman's effective passing performance in his return from injury and the Aggies' defensive furor, Texas A&M looked like a force to be reckoned with as it enters a bye week.

The Aggies close October with a trip to lowly Mississippi State and a home game with LSU. While November road games against South Carolina and Auburn won't be pushovers, the version of Texas A&M that thrashed Missouri should be able to handle those tests. If so, it will raise the stakes even higher on a season-ending home showdown with Texas as the Aggies and Longhorns renew their rivalry for the first time since 2011.

The Tigers, meanwhile, have backed themselves into a corner. A road game against No. 1 Alabama on Oct. 26 stands out as their lone marquee opportunity to regain the dignity squandered in Saturday's listless performance.