Late Kick's Josh Pate joins TexAgs Live ahead of Texas A&M vs. Mizzou

TexAgs Live IS Pate State material! During Friday morning's show at the Angry Elephant, Late Kick hate Josh Pate joined us as his "Whole New Saturday Tour" has rolled into College Station ahead of this weekend's matchup between No. 25 Texas A&M and No. 9 Missouri.

Key notes from Josh Pate interview

• This is not the NFL. You can get to Week 5 or Week 6 in college football and have a game that is a "profile-buster." We were in Tuscaloosa last week. We have the whole talking point of "Georgia hasn't allowed a touchdown this year." Then, I watched Alabama score a touchdown the first four times they had the ball. All of a sudden that talking point means nothing. It turns out that until you play quality competition, you could be flawed. You may not be. We don't know. Until you put water pressure against the dam, you don't know where the cracks are. That is this game for Missouri. It could be 4 p.m. in the afternoon, and everyone is talking about them validating their top-ten ranking. It could also be a profile-buster game. I'm not sure there is a scenario where I see either team running it up on the other unless there is a huge turnover margin.
   
• This should be a roster game for Texas A&M. It should be a line-of-scrimmage game for them.
   
• A lot of folks are going to throw out Missouri's profile of not allowing explosive plays on defense. Everyone thinks about passing when you talk about explosive plays. It could just be Marcel Reed or Le'Veon Moss in the open field. You don't need nine explosive plays in a game like this. It could be one or two.
   
• In totality, there is a little bit more scaling up that this A&M team is capable of. When I think of Missouri, I think of them more as having their head against the ceiling of their potential. So, I went with A&M...slightly. What I hate about that is that, unbeknownst to me, most of the rest of the country picked A&M. I didn't see many people on Missouri. The same thing happened with Alabama last week, and they still won.
   
• I don’t know that it’s evident that I bench press more than Ryan Brauninger. I envy short-arm benchers. With people who are critiquing form in the gym, it depends on their disposition. David Nuño would have the right disposition. I’d love for him to come help me. There is a difference between people looking through you and looking at you.
   
• I wear dark shirts on the road and whites at home. It’s a simple wardrobe.
   
• We used to travel in on Fridays to whatever game we picked. I had this one circled. We made a point to get here yesterday to do this show bright and early. I’ll meet with some of the A&M staff later, and I’ll speak to a class on campus, which I’m told is closed to the public.
   
• At the most fundamental level, you put the guy in that gives you the best chance to win. I, like most people, would assume at the beginning of the season that it would’ve been Conner Weigman. I wanted to see him play a full season. Due to injury, that hasn’t happened. Marcel Reed has come in. You could put every single snap under the microscope, or you could zoom it out and say, “But they won.” The more I thought about it and talked to people, you might have two guys that you can do some stuff with. I’m not sure we won’t see that play out. I’d be surprised if you don’t see a situation where there is stuff in the game plan for both.
   
• When you have a new quarterback playing, the way I look at it is that you could find 50 things you pick out that you hate. If it were Carson Beck, I’d pick it to pieces. Since it wasn’t, I’d look for what I could keep. That keeps collecting week after week. Look at how Michigan handled the USC game. Davis Warren is the better passer, but they knew that’s not how they were going to win, which is why Alex Orji got to play. He ended up being the starter moving forward. That doesn’t have to happen with A&M.
   
• Because of the opponent's style of play, the first thing I focus on is tackling on the perimeter. I think about DBs tackling in space. I remember vividly in 2013 when Alabama came in here, Gary Danielson made the point over and over again: A&M is going to have to earn the right to rush the passer, which means getting into obvious passing downs when your front can get after it. The other guy knows you possess the ability to rush the passer. Chief among their game preparation has been, how much of this game can we play on the perimeter?
   
• You can't let Missouri find a ton of life on the perimeter. If you funnel that stuff back into the inside, they are in a place they did not think they would be. They believe they can get to the perimeter, which is their fastball. They can get you spread out and beat you that way.
   
• We have seen A&M face quality opponents. Say what you want about Florida. Those are quality athletes.
   
• I think early down success is a critical factor for Missouri's offense. However the first half goes, I think in the second half, that starts to turn towards A&M. That, combined with the line-of-scrimmage advantage and overall talent advantage you should have, should win the day.
   
• This 4-1 feels different than last year's 4-1. That seems unfair because I know the end of last year. It does, though, because A&M is at the birth of something right now. I can't help but think of the context in 2026 and 2027 when I am thinking about how this year ends. If you win this, all the hope you have down the road is within the context of you were good enough to beat Missouri.