5 takeaways from Texas A&M’s season-opening shutout win

5 takeaways from Texas A&M’s season-opening shutout win

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5 takeaways from Texas A&M’s season-opening shutout win

5 takeaways from Texas A&M’s season-opening shutout win originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Going into the season, Texas A&M was viewed by some as a sleeper candidate to win the Southeastern Conference.

Likewise, returning quarterback Marcel Reed is considered as a darkhorse Heisman Trophy contender.

If Saturday is any indication, Reed and the Aggies may very well cause some commotion in the SEC and national landscape. Reed completed 70% of his passes while throwing for 233 yards and two touchdowns as Texas A&M started its 2026 season with a 50-0 shutout win against Missouri State Saturday night at Kyle Field.

Here are some takeaways from the Aggies performance:

Reed Efficient

Reed ended his night completing 21-of-30 passes. His second completion resulted in the Aggies’ opening TD, a 15-yard strike to Isaiah Horton that finished off A&M’s first drive, which went 58 yards in eight plays.

Then late in the first half, Reed threw a strike over the middle to Mario Craver for a 12-yard score, giving A&M a 19-0 advantage.

“I think for the first game, I played well,” Reed said postgame. “The team did pretty well. It was a slow start after the first touchdown. … (In the) second half, we bounced back and did what we were supposed to do.

“When you play in the first game of the season, you don’t want to show all your stuff. We executed the base plays well enough (Saturday).”

Filling the Void

One of A&M’s – and Reed’s concerns – entering the season was finding a comparable receiver to KC Concepcion, now with the Cleveland Browns.

The Aggies may have found a suitable replacement in Horton, like Concepcion a transfer, in this case coming over from Alabama, and Miami (Fla.) before that. In his Aggies’ debut, Horton hauled in four passes for 76 yards.

“My first game as an Aggie was amazing,” Horton said. “What I was told about the crowd, especially when we came out, I definitely felt it.”

Also, in another bit of irony, Horton is wearing number 7 – which was Concepcion’s jersey number last season.

“I thought it was cool that both of our #7 transfers scored the first touchdown of 2025 and 2026,” Reed said. “Happy for Zay. I think he’s going to be a great guy for us. You saw the vertical threat he can be. … Excited for what’s in store for him and us.”

The Usual Suspects

While Horton is a newcomer to watch, along with Reed, there are other returning skill standouts at the Aggies’ disposal. And they helped contribute to their opening-game showing.

Craver, another one of Reed’s key targets, had the most receptions with five along with 41 yards and a TD. Versatile player Terry Bussey caught three passes and had a 10-yard TD run on the opening drive of the second half. Then, returning senior tailback Reuben Owens was the leading rusher with 77 yards on 17 carries.

An Efficient Output

The Aggies had more than 10 times the number of total yards than it had points. They finished with 505 yards on the night.

Seven different players had a carry, as the Aggies racked up 236 yards on the ground. And then A&M completed 25 passes, which went to 10 different receivers.

A&M was also 50% on third-down conversions (7-of-14) and a perfect 2-of-2 on fourth-down conversions. The Aggies also more than doubled their number of plays compared to the Bears, running 85 total plays to Missouri State’s 40.

Pitching the Shutout

With Saturday’s shutout, it was the first opening-game shutout for A&M since a 24-0 win against LSU in 1993.

A&M held Missouri State to just 67 total yards of offense. The Aggies also forced two turnovers, had one sack and six tackles for loss.

Noah Mikhail, a sophomore linebacker, was the top tackler with seven stops. The sack was recorded by defensive end Ryan Henderson, a San Diego State transfer who also had two TFLs and a forced fumble.

“Happy with how the defense came out and played,” A&M coach Mike Elko said. “They played to the level we hoped that they would.”

The Aggies also got a safety on special teams, when Missouri State muffed a punt, which squirted into the end zone and out, giving the Aggies a 9-0 lead late in the opening quarter. It was A&M's first safety since 2017.

Up Next

A&M (1-0) is at home next Saturday to take on Arizona State. Kickoff from Kyle Field is set for 11 a.m.

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