COLLEGE STATION — No. 8 Texas A&M shrugged off a sluggish start with an overwhelming final 33 minutes to crush Missouri State 50-0 Before 107,782 at Kyle Field Saturday night.

Appropriately enough on a night when former coach R.C. Slocum was honored, the Aggie defense was devastating, holding Missouri State (0-1) to 67 yards of total offense and four first downs. A&M (1-0) held the Bears to just 18 yards and a single first down after halftime while the Aggies put up 31 points.

“You don’t talk about that (a shutout), but you talk about a standard. When you go out there to play to that standard, when you have a talent advantage, it’s rewarding to show them what they are capable of,” coach Mike Elko said.

It looked like the rout would be on immediately, as A&M forced a three and out to start the game, then marched 56 yards in eight plays for a 7-0 lead courtesy of a 15-yard touchdown pass from Marcel Reed (21-30, 233 yards, 2 TD) to newcomer Isaiah Horton (4 catches, 76 yards, 1 TD). But penalties and poor offensive line play killed off a couple of potentially promising drives as the Aggies would only add a safety after Missouri State wide receiver Jmariyae Robinson muffed a punt inside the Bears’ 5-yard-line that was kicked out of the end zone by fellow receiver Mekhi Miller.

The Aggies looked like they were on their way to a score after the Missouri State free kick, but a pair of holding penalties put them in a 3rd and 22 at the Bears’ 31. Reed found Horton for 16 yards that would have put them well into field goal range, but a review showed Horton had fumbled and Missouri State corner Joel Boamah at the 15.

Missouri State then put together its best drive of the game, picking up two of its four first downs and moving the ball to the A&M 49. There they faced a fourth and 2 with 6:01 to go in the half. Quarterback Skylar Locklear (8-17, 30 yards, 4 carries, 0 yards) went with a quarterback keeper, where he was confronted by transfer defensive end Ryan Henderson, who stuffed Locklear for a 1-yard loss in his first tackle as an Aggie.

That seemed to energize the Aggies, as they marched back down to the Missouri State 10 before settling for a David Olano 28-yard field goal. After a touchback and a 3-yard run, Missouri State running back Jambres Dubar put the ball on the ground on a toss, which another transfer defensive end, Anto Saka, recovered at Bears’ 28.

The Aggies ground their way to the Missouri State 14, where they faced a fourth and 1. Running back Rueben Owens (17 carries, 77 yards; 2 catches, 25 yards) battled through a tackle attempt in the backfield to gain two and keep the drive alive. On the next play, Reed fired a rocket to receiver Mario Craver, beating very tight coverage for a 12-yard score.

The Aggies went in at the half up 19-0 and getting the ball after halftime, and they came out with a much stronger offensive showing after Elko left the field clearly displeased.

“The message was we need to stop shooting ourselves in the foot, and they did it. My message wasn’t about anything, but we need to go out and play better,” he said.

They did.

A&M scored touchdowns on its first four possessions of the second half, changing a fairly close game into a controlled demolition by the start of the fourth quarter.

The Aggies took the second half kickoff at the 30 and took nearly five minutes off the clock before wide receiver Terry Bussey (3 catches, 34 yards; 2 carries, 10 yards, 1 TD) took a jet sweep in for an easy 10-yard score. After another three and out for Missouri State, the Aggies took 6:41 and 14 plays to go 71 yards for a two-yard scoring run by Jamarion Morrow (8 carries, 29 yards, 1 TD). The drive included a 6-yard catch by sophomore receiver Kelshaun Johnson on a fourth and 5 and an 18-yard catch and run by Owens on a third and 13.

A&M scored again quickly after another quick Missouri State drive, going 54 yards in four plays as the Aggies showed off their freshman running back tandem of KJ Edwards and Carsyn Baker. Edwards picked up 32 yards on just three carries before Baker’s first carry became memorable as he stormed 12 yards for a score and a 40-0 lead.

The Aggies then started to empty the bench on both sides of the ball, but the nightmare continued for Missouri State. Two plays into their next drive, Locklear was sacked by Henderson at the Bears’ 16, and defensive tackle DJ Sanders picked it up and set the offense up deep in Missouri State territory. Backup quarterback Brady Hart then found a wide open receiver Aaron Gregory for a 15-yard touchdown on the next play, marking the first career touchdown for both players.

Hart was able to engineer another scoring drive, moving the ball from the Aggies’ 15 into scoring range, and freshman kicker Asher Murray connected from 47 yards out to conclude the scoring.

When it was over, the numeric difference was staggering: the Aggies put up 505 yards of total offense while dominating time of possession by an amazing 42:45 to 17:15. The two Aggie passers threw for 269 yards to Locklear’s 30 and outran the Bears 236-37. Missouri State was in Aggie territory for a grand total of two plays the entire game.

“”They handled their business the way they were supposed to and so I was proud of our veterans for doing that,” Elko said.