Instant reactions to the No. 14 Texas A&M football team's victory over Mississippi State

The Texas A&M football team returned from a bye this week with a conference road game at struggling Mississippi State that was much closer than it should have been.

The No. 14 Aggies (6-1, 4-0 SEC) defeated the Bulldogs (1-6, 0-4) by a final score of 34-24 on Saturday night at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville. While any double-digit win in the SEC might look impressive on paper, this win was anything but.

With Texas A&M rested after the week off, the Aggies should have dominated. Junior quarterback Conner Weigman's fourth-quarter interception tied the game at one score and was more stressful than it should have been.

It would have been one thing if Texas A&M had jumped out to a big lead, called in its reinforcements, and the final result had been closer than the matchup actually was. A prime example of this was the conference win at Florida earlier this year.

Ultimately, the Aggies won their sixth straight game and remained undefeated in conference play, which is nothing to sneeze at. However, if Texas A&M wants to be a true contender and qualify for the expanded College Football Playoff this season, the Aggies will have to take care of weaker opponents early.

Otherwise, the top-ranked Longhorns will embarrass Texas A&M by concluding the regular season at Kyle Field in November, ending any hopes of the program's first national championship in the modern era.

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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Immediate reactions to the No. 14 Texas A&M football team's win over Mississippi State