Finebaum: Texas A&M-Missouri top-25 showdown a 'major swing game'

SEC Nation is headed to Aggieland for No. 25 Texas A&M's Saturday showdown with No. 9 Missouri, which means Paul Finebaum will be in town this weekend. Before he heads to the Lone Star State, the "Voice of the SEC" joined TexAgs Live on Wednesday morning.

Key notes from Paul Finebaum interview

• I’m really excited about coming out to Aggieland this weekend. It’s an important game for both teams. There is a lot of debate over whether or not Missouri looks beatable, and I think they do. That’s a tremendous advantage for the Aggies, who have started to put together a good season, which I’m fired up about because you can’t help but like Mike Elko. It’s also a fan base that has wanted this for far too long.
   
• I remember doing our show in Gainesville a couple of weeks ago, and we were plugged into A&M’s game against Florida. We heard the news about Conner Weigman, and it was a do-or-die game for Billy Napier. At that moment, it felt like A&M was going into the wrong stadium that day, but that win enabled a lot. It allowed the program to wash away some stuff and get on the right footing.
   
• We were there in College Station for the Auburn game last year, and the Ole Miss game was the undoing. We saw that 2023 A&M team a lot, and it felt like they were a lot of smoke and mirrors. That seemed to be the trademark of previous administrations.
   
• This is a major swing game for A&M. I was higher on Missouri at the beginning of the season, and I talked about them being a playoff team two weeks ago on ESPN’s “First Take.” Chris “Mad Dog” Russo just started laughing out loud at me. I just let him laugh because I wasn’t sure about this Missouri team, and I’m glad I did when I saw that Missouri-Vanderbilt game. They don’t look like a top-tier team, but they’re capable of it. This is Missouri’s first real test, and at the moment, I feel good about the Aggies. If they can get by this game, Mississippi State speaks for itself. LSU looks incredibly beatable away from Baton Rouge. Then you’ve got South Carolina and Auburn. We may be talking about a seriously good run here, and I know I’m getting ahead of myself. I’m the same guy who predicted in July that Auburn would go into Athens this weekend undefeated.
   
• Elko is a smart, deliberate guy who seemingly has everything under control. There was a lot of brilliance with Jimbo Fisher, and at times, he was borderline genius. Still, the program was never stable. I feel better about the program today because it seems like you’ve gone out and hired a CEO who doesn’t need anybody around him to steer him. I’ve been to Auburn. Kentucky and Florida twice this year. I’ve seen haves and have-nots. The Aggies feel like a have right now. They’re not a playoff team right now, but they could be. That’s not inconceivable. I like what I see from the program. I know the leadership on that campus is top-notch. I’ve met General Welsh. The leadership is absolutely top-notch.
   
• Brady Cook not being a mobile quarterback gives A&M an advantage. I thought Missouri was a little overhyped. You have to respect Cook and Luther Burden III, but I don’t feel great about that program. They’ve scraped by against a not-so-great schedule. Boston College was their big non-conference game. Eli Drinkwitz is still someone I haven’t landed on yet as far as him being an elite SEC head coach.
   
• Last weekend’s Alabama-Georgia game, for Kalen DeBoer, it was significant. Nobody is pushing Nick Saban aside, and we all know he’s very present. He got out of the Saban shadow. It used to be that you have to beat Auburn, but beating Kirby Smart really matters. It was one of the best SEC games I’ve seen in 40 years from an entertainment perspective, but the game I’ll never forget is the 2012 A&M-Alabama game with Johnny Manziel.
   
• As far as Ole Miss, that was a Manhatten phonebook to the gut of Lane Kiffin. He has been very quiet on social media. I don’t know if he knows what to say because it could be a career-defining loss, and I understand it might be a little too early to say that. I thought the Rebels were a playoff team. Losing to Mark Stoops, who is easy to overlook. Kiffin now has a very tricky path back, which is bad news for Ole Miss but might be good news for Florida. The fans and boosters want Kiffin to be the next head coach, but I’m not so sure about the administration.
   
• South Carolina is capable of beating Ole Miss this week. There are some things that aren’t perfect. They’ve taken some real mortar in terms of losses like LaNorris Sellers and others. Still, that stadium is a place where they can’t find some magic on Saturdays. Coming off that loss, this is the ultimate sandwich game for Kiffin with LSU next week.
   
• I’ll skip the Texas-Georgia game because that’s an evident tough game for the Longhorns. I promise I’m not playing to the crowd here because I said it in July: It’s the A&M game. I want to be there that night for that game. Atmospheres matter. Without having been at that game yet, I know it will be unlike anything Texas has seen or encountered. That can undo a team, even a veteran team. We have overvalued the Texas win over Michigan. We were acting like what they did was the end-all-be-all. That win doesn’t compare to what Alabama did on Saturday night.
   
• Auburn’s situation is very serious, and nobody will confirm that. I know how that place operates. If Hugh Freeze thinks he can get a free pass and blame it on Bryan Harsin, he’s fooling himself. On Oct. 1 or Oct. 2 or Oct. 3, what does a great recruiting class mean until we get to December? Napier had a good class, too, but he finished 15th, which gets you nowhere in the SEC. Freeze will survive this year because Auburn has too much invested, but he would squarely be on the hot seat next year. He missed because he thought Payton Thorne was the answer. They are headed for a losing season, and it’s just a matter of how bad. Freeze has never been the same since losing to Alabama, and he may never be the same.