1. I have very mixed emotions about Dennis Franchione. I have heard that he was a very nice man who was generous with his time and took care of the average fan whenever he could. I also know he did some very unprofessional things as a head coach, like the secret newsletter and having Mike McKenzie around. Their actions legitimately hurt people, some of whom are reading this, then he would stay around and talk with fans after his radio show.

He got hired at A&M and told his Alabama players by teleconference. 

When A&M hired Fran, I had never been more excited as an Aggie about the football program. I thought they’d gone big, bucked the status quo and were serious about success. I remember the pregame videos of the sun rising over Kyle Field with Fran then appearing. And it was a disaster. 

He came up with a really good offense in 2004 with Reggie McNeal running almost a run and shoot — then scrapped it for an option offense that ruined McNeal and, later, Stephen McGee. 

He beat Texas twice. He also lost to Baylor and got humiliated by Miami twice. 

And then there’s the “wow” game against Utah and the other guy who really wanted the A&M job, Urban Meyer. 

He got A&M to the Cotton and Holiday Bowls. And they got blown out both times.

He improved A&M’s recruiting considerably. And he wasn’t in the stratosphere as Mack Brown. 

He donated $1 million to the construction of the old practice bubble. He got $4.4 million to go away. 

I wanted him fired, then felt bad for him when he was because Bill Byrne handled it in Bill Byrne fashion — badly and unprofessionally.

He wanted to be at A&M so badly he walked away from Alabama, only to never fit in College Station. It wasn’t a Brian Kelly at LSU situation, but the guy from Kansas still stuck out like a sore thumb.

But, whatever he was as a coach — and he succeeded quite a bit — he was married to Kim for 49 years and was a devoted dad. His backstory — with his mother dying and his dad pulling off the side of the road during the funeral procession to shoot himself — always stuck with me for the sheer tragedy of it. He beat cancer twice before it finally got him. There was no quit in him. I think that should be respected and Dennis Franchione, the man, deserves to be remembered and mourned.

2. One thing I learned about Franchione is that, when he took the Alabama job, he asked the AD if he could coach the bowl game. The players voted and overwhelmingly supported him coaching that bowl game. The AD overruled him and told him to get lost. That AD eventually came to A&M — Eric Hyman. My immediate thought was, “that’s more decisive than any action he ever took at A&M, including where to go for lunch.”

I clearly didn’t like Bill Byrne, but at least he did something. Hyman was utterly useless.

3. At SEC Media Days, I asked Marcus Ratcliffe about the possibility of him moving into the box more this year as a pseudo-linebacker and he said that was something the coaches had considered and he liked.

I then promptly forgot about it, until Saturday — because that’s what he was doing.

Coach Mike Elko made mention of this during his Monday press conference, when he mentioned “our linebacker situation” — as in, they’d just lost productive rookie Tamarion Watkins and Daymion Sanford, while on the mend, still isn’t 100%. Ratcliffe, at 210 pounds, can be a very fast weapon in the box and help the Aggies add a bunch of different looks. You wouldn’t want Ratcliffe as a linebacker every down, but he can be very effective in limited doses.

4. The reason Ratcliffe can now be used in that role is the return of Tawfiq Byard, who led the team with six tackles Saturday night and showed some serious pop in the process. I think we’ll also see him playing close to the line of scrimmage a fair amount, because he was extremely effective in an attacking role at Colorado (and this spring). Byard’s not as big as Ratcliffe at 198 pounds, but he can play safety and some nickel to bring another body close to the line of scrimmage.

5. The Aggies did a really good job shutting down the Arkansas passing attack. They came into Saturday’s game averaging 275.6 yards per game through the air and they threw for just 111. After two awful performances, it was important to see improvement and, as bad as Arkansas is, they’ve been quite respectable in the passing department.

6. During the game, I was sure that Arkansas had tried the same play Kentucky and LSU used for touchdowns — the long crossing route over the middle — on the third play from scrimmage that was picked off. Then I watched the replay and thought I was wrong. Then I realized it was the same play and KJ Jefferson is left-handed, so it was like the negative was flipped. All the same, while I get giving it a try, the third time usually isn’t a charm.

7. It is amazing how little teams challenge Dezz Ricks. They seem to think there’s no point in throwing his way. Arkansas didn’t even target him. The only team that has is LSU (and they had success with it).

8. Last year, when Texas A&M went to Columbia to play Missouri, the Tigers were ranked 14th in the nation in rushing defense, giving up 90.4 yards per game. This year, it’s similar: Mizzou is 15th in rushing defense, giving up 88.6 YPG. The Aggies then ran for 243 yards on the Tigers. They’ll likely be very run-heavy again Saturday.

9. If Marcel Reed wants to break out of his slump, Saturday would be a good day to do it. Mizzou is 99th in both passing defense and red zone defense and Kamario Taylor of Mississippi State threw for 360 yards in the Bulldogs’ 31-24 win. Hopefully Reed has his confidence back when the Aggies hit the field Saturday.

10. A&M has forced eight turnovers already this year. Missouri has only given up the ball twice. Quarterback Austin Simmons has been fantastic, having not thrown an interception in 137 attempts. It would behoove the Aggies to break that streak if they want to take home the win.

Our Sponsor

10 Things for Tuesday is sponsored by Brent Campbell, Fighting Texas Aggie Class of 1998. Brent is a Commercial Real Estate Broker, serving all of Central Texas and specializing in sales, leasing & development. He leads a retail acquisition and sales team and was recognized by the Austin Business Journal as a Commercial Real Estate Heavy Hitter in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2023, 2024 & 2025.

In the last 22 years, he has closed deals with a total transactional value of over $400 million and has leased more than 4.75 million square feet. Brent currently serves as the president of the board of directors for Habitat Homes, Inc. and Pathways Youth and Family Services. He is currently on the Downtown Round Rock Task Force.  He is a former president of the Heart of Round Rock Neighborhood Association and a former member of the Round Rock Zoning Advisory Committee, the Round Rock Business and Retention Committee, and the City of Round Rock Ethics Commission, which has led him to begin developing in Williamson and Travis County.

An Austin native, Brent lives in Round Rock where he and his wife have raised four boys. Brent works for Don Quick and Associates, Inc. in Round Rock and can be reached at brent@donquick.com.