Keys to Victory for Texas A&M vs. Mississippi State

The Texas A&M Aggies are back to the SEC grind vs. Mississippi State after a much-needed bye week

Oct 5, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Conner Weigman (15) hand off the ball to running back Le'Veon Moss (8) in the second half against the Missouri Tigers at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images. / Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

The Texas A&M Aggies are coming off of a bye week, and a 41-10 blowout win over a top-10 Missouri Tigers team in their last two weeks and are now looked at as a legitimate College Football Playoff contender.

However, this is the SEC, and any given opponent can throw a wrench into those plans.

Enter the Mississippi State Bulldogs, who have given the Aggies fits over the last few years, winning six of the last 10 matchups between the two teams, including two of the last three.

Yes, the Bulldogs currently sit at 1-5 on the season, and have yet to earn an SEC win. But they have show signs of of being dangerous at times, including last week, when they put on an offensive show vs. the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs in Athens.

In that game, true freshman quarterback Michael Van Buren threw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns, and looked every bit of a capable SEC starter.

In other words, the Aggies cannot afford to take the Mississippi State lightly, or they could have a let down.

So what will it take for the Aggies to come out with a win?

Here are three keys to victory for Texas A&M vs. Mississippi State:

Continue To Run The Football

Texas A&M has been consistent in one aspect of their offense this season - the run game. Currently, that unit ranks No. 9 in the country and No. 2 in the SEC averaging 232 yards per game. It helped them stay in the game when nothing else was working vs. Notre Dame, it helped them stay on track without Conner Weigman, and it helped them keep Missouri off balance in their blowout two weeks ago.

If they can keep that going this Saturday, it will be a long day in Starkville for the Bulldogs.

Get After Michael Van Buren

As previously mentioned, Mississippi State freshman Michael Van Buren has shown signs of being a capable starter in the SEC. And in his most recent outing vs. No. 5 Georgia, he was at his best. That was the case in large part due to the inability of Georgia to get pressure on the pocket, and force Van Buren to make mistakes.

The Aggies have been fantastic this season with collapsing the pocket, and while the sack numbers haven't been as consistent as they'd like they should have more than enough talent to get after the true freshman here. If they can do it, the Aggies shouldn't have any issues slowing down the Bulldogs offense.

Withstand the Early Barrage

This is going to be a massive game in Starkville. The cowbells will be out, the crowd will be wild, and Jeff Lebby is likely going to try and call a big play early to get the momentum going in the Bulldogs' favor. The Aggies have been good at dealing with adversity for most of this season, but have not faced it against a hostile crowd like the one they will see on Saturday.

If the Aggies do take an early punch from the Bulldogs, they must stay poised and respond. Jimbo Fisher's teams could not do that. We could see on Saturday if Mike Elko's team can.