2024 Bulldog Football Early Opponent Preview, Game 7

Cowbell Corner continues its preview series of MSU’s upcoming gridiron opponents with Texas A&M

Mississippi State Bulldogs cornerback Decamerion Richardson (3) in action against Texas A&M Aggies wide receiver Moose Muhammad III (7) during the first half at Kyle Field. / Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports

A year ago, Jimbo Fisher led Texas A&M to a 51-10 victory over Mississippi State and was promptly fired after six years in College Station.

Texas A&M brought in former Duke coach Mike Elko, who led the Blue Devils to an 8-5 record in 2023 and 9-4 in 2022. Elko has a track record of success and now takes over a program that has brought some highly-touted recruiting classes in recent years. He’s kept that trend going so far with eight ESPN 300 prospects committed to his first recruiting class with the Aggies.

The Aggies also bring back a team with plenty of talent. Quarterback Conner Weigman is back for his sophomore season and top receiver Moose Muhammad III. Combined several new additions on the defensive side of the ball, the Aggies will have plenty of talent. But can Elko do better than his predecessor? By the time Texas A&M and MSU meet, we’ll have a pretty good idea to that answer.

Offense

Weigman showed great promise last year before a foot fracture in Week 4 against Auburn ended his season. He had thrown for nearly 1,000 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions while completing 55.3 percent of his passes. He’s healed from that injury and also has one of the best receivers in the country, Moose Muhammad III, to throw the ball to.

The Aggies lost some players in the transfer portal, particularly at receiver. They do return last year’s leader in receiving yards (senior Jahdae Walker) and junior Noah Thomas who had 359 yards and five touchdowns. They’ll also return last season’s leading rusher, Amari Daniels (532 rushing yards in 2023), and two other running backs with at least 380 rushing yards and three touchdowns (Le’Veon Moss and Rueben Owens).

That’s a lot of players returning in 2024 with experience. If Elko is able to get more production from this Aggies’ offense than what’s been produced in the past few seasons, this could be a dangerous offense.

Defense

Last year’s defense for Texas A&M wasn’t terrible. It ranked 19th in the nation in total defense, allowing 316.2 yards per game, 5.01 yards per play and 21.3 points per game. And, on paper at least, it’s a unit that has seen significant improvements.

The Aggies brought in last year’s Big10 leader in sacks (10), Purdue defensive end Nic Scourton and Pittsburgh linebacker Solomon DeShields who had 58 tackles and two sacks last season. He’ll most likely be paired with Taurean York (74 tackles and three sacks) in the middle of the Aggies’ defense.

The secondary saw its own improvements with former five-star recruit Dezz Ricks leaving Alabama for College Station. Also, safety Trey Jones III comes to Texas A&M after a productive season at Central Michigan.

Schedule

By the time the Aggies come to Starkville, both teams will have a good idea of where they stand in the SEC hierarchy. Texas A&M’s hardest games, other than the season-opener against Notre Dame, are still to come and this game wraps up a very difficult three-game gauntlet for the Bulldogs.

MSU will have played at Texas and at Georgia in the previous two games, so they will have been battle tested. Those two games will tell us how much the Bulldogs have improved since last season’s 41-point shellacking in College Station.

Outlook

It’s far too early to start making actual predictions about who will games in late October. Especially with these two teams who will both have first-year head coaches to start the season. So, there are too many questions, but MSU should be able to keep the game closer than it did in 2023.

The Game

When is the game?

October 19.

What time is the game?

Game is scheduled in flex window for that day, which means the game can be scheduled anytime between 2:30 p.m. – 7 p.m.

What channel is the game televised on?

TBA.

Where is the game played?

Starkville, Miss.

What is the series history?

The all-time series is tied at 8-8 with Texas A&M winning the most recent meeting in 2023, 51-10.