FOOTBALL 2021: COVID Version Week 7

Texas A&M's season so far (4-2) has been an odd conglomeration of two unimpressive wins (Kent State, Colorado), two dreadful losses (Arkansas, Mississippi State), one relatively impressive win (New Mexico), and one stunning upset victory (Alabama). The result of these inconsistent outcomes is that tomorrow's game at 3-3 Missouri (11:00 AM on SEC Network) isn't easy to forecast.

Missouri's three wins were by 10 points over Central Michigan, by 31 points over Southeast Missouri State, and by 13 points over North Texas. The three losses were to Kentucky by 7 points, to Boston College by 7 points, and to Tennessee by 38 points.

A&M is a nine-point road favorite. College Football News believes the Aggies may still be a little unfocused after defeating the Crimson Tide last week. Missouri's offense is capable of accumulating yards and points if A&M's defense isn't performing at peak efficiency, which should mean the game could be real close in the early stages. 

Against Alabama, A&M displayed an offense that could score against an excellent defense, and Missouri's defense isn't that great. The bottom line according to those CFN experts? The A&M offense should be able to pull away in the second half, and cover the spread with a 34-23 win.

Update 12:48 PM Saturday: A&M got a fast start with a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, and is ahead 28-7 at halftime. Missouri has been a nemesis for A&M dating back to the BDF era, with seven wins in the nine games played since 2000. I'd really like to see the Aggies give Mizzou a stomping in the second half.

Another update 2:42 PM: This game reminded me of the New Mexico game, when A&M started hot and got an early lead, then played a second half that was dull as dishwater. The first half today was a 28-7 hammering, the second a 7-7 tie. A fairly boring game, considering the 35-14 final score.