Friday, October 18, 2024

Football 2024: Eighth Week (at MSU)

Oklahoma couldn't hold down the score (lost 34-3) against Texas U. last weekend, so college football wasn't a factor in my Saturday time-killing. The Aggies (5-1) are back in business tomorrow, with a road game against Mississippi State (1-4) on SEC Network at 3:15 PM Central.

As discussed earlier (see previous post), playing MSU on their home field is usually a risky proposition for A&M, but the Aggies are favored by 15 1/2 points this week. The College Football News preview indicates the Aggie rushing offense should dominate time of possession against a defense allowing rushing yardage in big chunks this season. Even worse for the Bulldogs is the loss of their starting quarterback in this game, and substitution of a relatively untested freshman QB. When these factors are combined, the result is a CFN prediction that A&M will win 37-20. That would be entertaining.

Update 4:52 PM Saturday: The Aggies are ahead 21-17 at the half, and it's another hard test for A&M in a game played in Starkville.

Final update 7:26 PM Saturday: There were plenty of reasons to be frustrated during this game because the Aggies kept MSU in the game with penalties that nullified big plays on offense and defense, and turnovers that gave MSU chances for easy touchdowns. Texas A&M won't finish the season unbeaten in SEC games unless the coaches can eliminate sloppiness. The Aggies got away with a 34-24 win because MSU didn't take advantage of every freebie.

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