COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Marcel Reed was sacked twice in the first quarter of Texas A&M‘s 50-0 win over Missouri State on Saturday and not once after that.
Reed had a good first drive, and the offense stalled after it.
“We kind of had to come to the sideline and figure things out,” Reed said. “We weren’t sure what they were bringing to us from a game plan standpoint all the time. We had to come to the sideline. Once we figured that out, came in at halftime, made the adjustments we needed to, I think the O-line’s communication got better.”
“We started to figure out what it took to get things passed off or whatever,” Reed continued. “They were bringing a lot of pressures at any point in time. A lot of teams would do it in third down, third and long, but they were just doing it in base down, so we kind of had to figure that out quickly. Just some of the plays that we called, but once we got that done, we started to figure it out and became more comfortable within our offense.”
Marcel Reed on Missouri State’s Pressure Looks
Texas A&M started Blake Ivy, Mark Nabou Jr., Tyree Adams, Wilkin Formby, and Trovon Baugh up front. Four of the five starters from 2025 are gone, and Adams, Formby, and Baugh all arrived through the portal in January, from LSU, Alabama, and South Carolina.
Elko said the tape will show things that looked like offensive line problems and were not.
“Probably some of it was just nerves and anxiety a little bit,” Elko said. “We had 11 new starters out there tonight on both sides of the ball. There was going to be some bumps and hiccups in the road. I think when you watch the tape, there’s going to be things that maybe look like they were on the O-line that maybe weren’t. There’s going to be things that the O-line didn’t do as well as we would have liked, and they’re going to need to fix and clean up some things for sure. But then I think in the second half we settled in and we started playing like we’re capable of a little bit more consistently, and that was good to see.”
Nabou was flagged for a false start in the first quarter and for holding in the second. A holding call on Adams wiped out a 6-yard completion to Micah Riley on the same drive. Lamont Rogers was called for a false start in the third quarter.
Texas A&M’s Second-Half Rushing Numbers
The Aggies ran 22 times for 76 yards before halftime and 25 times for 160 yards after it. Texas A&M converted 1-of-6 on third down in the first half and 6-of-8 in the second.
Rueben Owens II carried 17 times for 77 yards. Carsyn Baker ran 7 times for 52 yards and a 12-yard touchdown, and KJ Edwards added 5 carries for 44 yards.
Reed said Texas A&M ran its base offense against Missouri State and has to be high-percentage with it before Arizona State arrives.
“I think the big thing about that is I didn’t really say too much to them. They actually said more to me than I did to them,” Reed explained. “And they kind of tried to lift me up in a sense. So respect those guys a lot. They’re working every single day. And respect the care that they have for their quarterbacks. Them coming up to me speaks volume to what Coach Cush has done in that room.”
“And those guys want to protect. That’s their job, but they want to do their job,” Reed added. “So high respect for them. I know that they’re going to get it done every single Saturday. So it just takes us getting in the film room and understanding what we’ve got to do each Saturday.”
Reed named the linemen who found him.
“It really wasn’t like a collective O-line saying something to me. It was kind of people in spurts,” Reed said. “I just remember running out on the field, Wilkin telling me, I love you, brother. I said, I love you too. And then Tyree checking in on me, telling me that they got me. I saw Blake Ivy just maul somebody and get hype, and I kind of gave him a little headbutt. But that’s stuff I like to see. Mark told me they were going to get things right, all types of stuff.”
“So high respect for all those guys,” Reed continued. “I know they’re going to work. They’re going to protect me. And I have no doubt that I’m going to have time back there to make some throws.”
Reed finished 21-of-30 for 233 yards with 2 touchdowns and no interceptions.
