A&M's confidence and depth of playmakers stand out to Peter Burns

Key notes from Peter Burn interview

• I wish I were in College Station last weekend or this weekend. The Black Out look looked amazing. The script looked in the endzone was clean. A clean look from the Aggies was clean this weekend. When “Mo Bamba” plays and “Power” plays, I am just like Mike Elko going forward, go full into the Darth Vader, dark look out there. Turn that into a new tradition out there, because they are going to need it this weekend. DJ Lagway appears to have it figured out now. We will see if it travels.
   
• I think you are seeing a Lagway who is able to practice with the better players on his team. He didn't practice in the spring or fall, really. He didn’t play a ton of football last year. Now, he is starting practice and they have playmakers. Dallas Wilson is a stud. We talk about guys like Jeremiyah Love or Ryan Williams coming onto the scene at Alabama, but this kid is legit like a small version of Anquan Boldin. And that’s as a true freshman. They finally have that one-two punch offensively. The question is, can they do it on the road? They’ve done it one time, and I saw it with my own eyes. It was five interceptions. They got to him. So, it is imperative that the 12th Man comes out on Saturday night.
   
• What stands out is the confidence and depth as far as playmakers. There was always one good running back or one good wide receiver. But the fact that you have two legit running backs, two to three legit wide receivers, including Terry Bussey with KC Concepcion and Mario Craver.
   
• I said it on the show on Monday. If and when Marcel Reed figures it out, like they kind of did in the second half against Mississippi State, A&M isn't the best team in the SEC. A&M is the best team in college football. I am a firm believer that they have that amount of talent. They just need Reed to hit that next step. And if they do, I don’t think it is close. They will be in Atlanta.
   
• I think it is more of the Texas team trying to find its identity. I think they are good. They’ve always been good. The question is, how many times can you say I got to lock in? It is like a golfer saying, “I can’t afford any more bogies.” You can’t live week to week that way. For me, I look at it, and there is too much firepower for A&M this weekend, and this feels like on Monday we will be like, “What is next for Billy Napier?”
   
• I look at Missouri this year as a slightly better version of Vanderbilt. Beau Pribula doesn't get the hype of Diego Pavia because he doesn’t have the trash talk Pavia has. Missouri has the defense, the cornerbacks, to be a speed bump for Ty Simpson and the crew. I spoke to Vanderbilt people after the game, and they said we threw things at Simpson that we hadn’t thrown at anybody, like this is going to get home 90 percent of the time. He always had an answer for it. He kept his eyes down the field and made us pay. The fact is, Alabama, you have to play pretty flawlessly to beat them right now. Simpson has found his voice. It is a coin flip game versus Missouri. I think Missouri has an answer for Alabama’s receivers, and I am leaning toward Missouri 21 to Alabama’s 28.
   
• Vegas always seems to know something. Texas opened at -2. What are they watching? They know something. This doesn’t make sense. This Oklahoma defense is legit. Michael Hawkins Jr is good, not great. What have you seen from Arch Manning and that crew to see if it will get better? CJ Baxter is not back yet, and they are struggling to run the ball. It reminds me of LSU right now. They can’t run the ball, the offensive line is a mess, and the guy we thought the quarterback play would be good hasn't. The difference is that LSU has more weapons than Texas does. A lot of people are giving hell to  Manning, but Manning is trying to make as many plays as possible. They have no rushing attack. I am sure Steve Sarkisian will try to run the ball more, but I don’t know if they will have the success they want in Dallas.
   
• LSU had time to figure out who the hell they were. They got caught up in a bad situation against Ole Miss. You lose one of your offensive linemen during the week, and in warmups, you lose another one. Your star running back and wide receiver were out. I think it's a no-brainer in Baton Rouge this weekend. They are fired up. They’ll want to run the ball and keep the ball out of LaNorris Sellers’ hands. There was so much put on Garrett Nussmeier early on to be the guy when they probably shouldn't have done that. He wasn’t playing healthy. This game seems like a 31-17 game. 
   
• I don’t know what Auburn has. Jordan-Hare is one of those players who are weird at night. It depends on whether Hugh Freeze gets out of his own way. But if all of a sudden he gets trigger-happy and throws 30 passes, it will be a disaster. At the end of the day, I expect 65 percent runs for Auburn and Jackson Arnold and 30 percent passes. It is who you play, where you play, and when you play them. This is a good spot for Auburn off a bye to get right.
   
• Simpson is legit. I am glad I put a dollar or two on his Heisman chances before the Georgia game. John Mateer was playing great, but he got hurt. Pribula, we will find out this weekend, but they haven’t played anyone with a pulse. Trinidad Chambliss has to come in now at Ole Miss. They play Washington State, so they should be able to put up a number. I am curious what Lane Kiffin will do with Austin Simmons. Chambliss has played so good. I just put two guys who have played really good, but we are waiting for that third person to pop.