The Upside Downside: Missouri

It turns out that there is no amount of waffles and whiskey that can warm your heart when there's weather and football like that. But cheer up Ags, there are plenty of things to be not completely despondent about!

MY MOM THINKS WE'RE SPECIAL

The Texas A&M special teams unit was on point. Josh Lambo was 3/3 on PATs and 2/2 on field goals including a long 40 yarder in the rain. Heisman front runner Drew Kaser averaged over 43 yards on an unfortunate 5 punts that the offense probably granted him in order to secure the Ray Guy award. Speedy Noil racked up 95 yards on two kick returns, one of them for 70 yards in the first quarter to set up an Aggie field goal.

It turns out that in order to have punt return yardage statistics the opposing team must be forced to punt. That didn't ever happen.

MAKE YOUR WISH

All season this young Aggie squad had been beset by penalties. From boneheaded false starts to desperate, touchdown saving pass interference, the team has struggled with the kind of penalty yardage that comes with the territory when half the team got here by telling Zoltar that they wanted to be big. This weekend the Ags looked positively disciplined, as they were only penalized 44 yards on 4 flags to Missouri's 81 yards on 12. Maybe this team is starting to show signs of growing up, or maybe it's impossible to pass interfere on a 49 yard touchdown run.

#GBHTAILGATE

We already used that one? Well it's still the best thing that happened that day, and possibly ever. Thanks again to our awesome and generous sponsors, and thanks to everyone of you who came out and made this into such a great event. Get excited for next season's tailgates, which promise to have 33% more awkward conversations with blog people!

3RD QUARTER

3RD DOWN

Coach Sumlin acknowledged that on third down A&M couldn't stay on the field on offense and couldn't get off the field on defense. This week's Tigers converted 13 third downs to the Aggies' 4. Though the Ags have a mythical hellbeast in the injured Myles Garrett, it became painfully clear that without his superhuman effort and 8 foot long arms the defense is very thin. After consulting with law enforcement officials on the problem of 3-lane wide holes in the defensive line, Texas A&M will be starting a spike strip at left defensive end against LSU.

AT LEAST WE'RE GOOD AT THAT SONG NOW

On October 7th, 2000 the Aggies ran out of time against Colorado at Kyle Field. At the end of the game the corps did not hoist the Yell Leaders on their shoulders, carry them out to the tune of the War Hymn, throw them in Fish Pond, and have Yell Practice there. Instead the students stood in the stands bewildered as the Yell Leaders stayed on the field and the band played a tune that many of the underclassmen had never heard before, The Twelfth Man. None of them had heard the song before because it's only played at a game after a loss, and Colorado had just snapped a 22 game Kyle Field winning streak that spanned back to October 1996. The Aggies hadn't lost a home game in nearly 4 years.

Under Kevin Sumlin the Aggies are 4-6 in conference games at Kyle Field.