Missouri puts eight-game road win streak on the line at Texas A&M
Missouri has become road warriors during the last two seasons and lugs an eight-game road win streak, including six straight Southeastern Conference wins, into a meeting with Texas A&M at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in College Station, Texas.
Of course, Kyle Field also is the site of the Tigers’ last road loss in conference play, a 59-29 beating at the hands of the Aggies to end the 2012 season.
Missouri leads the SEC Eastern Division with a 4-1 record, but Georgia is 5-2 in conference, giving the Tigers precious little margin for error after a shutout loss at home last month versus the Bulldogs.
That means MU needs to keep its road magic going — not that coach Gary Pinkel believes his program has a magical road formula.
“Nope, I don’t,” Pinkel said. “This is just another game, a very important game for us.”
Asked specifically about the road win streak, he said, “I don’t want to talk about it. I’d rather just focus on this football game.”
Missouri’s players were more willing to discuss the team’s road success.
“We like to go into other people’s places and win,” junior right guard Connor McGovern said. “I don’t know how else to explain it. We just seem to click a little better on the road sometimes. … When you win on the road, that plane ride’s a whole lot better. It’s a lot of fun.”
It’s certainly a rush for the Tigers (and their fans).
“When you’re going around the SEC, playing in these huge stadiums filled with 100,000-plus fans, especially for this week, it gives you that adrenaline that maybe you might not have other places,” quarterback Maty Mauk said. “It gets us ready to play and we’re going to be ready.”
This is the fifth consecutive season Missouri has played A&M, including four games at Kyle Field, where the Tigers are 2-1 since 2010.
Missouri’s eight-game road win streak
Date | Opponent | Result |
Sept. 21, 2013 | at Indiana | W, 45-28 |
Oct. 5, 2013 | at Vanderbilt* | W, 51-28 |
Oct. 12, 2013 | at No. 7 Georgia* | W, 41-26 |
Nov. 9, 2013 | at Kentucky* | W, 48-17 |
Nov. 23, 2013 | at No. 24 Mississippi* | W, 24-10 |
Sept. 6, 2014 | at Toledo | W, 49-24 |
Sept. 27, 2014 | at No. 13 South Carolina* | W, 21-20 |
Oct. 18, 2014 | at Florida* | W, 42-13 |
*conference opponent
To reach Tod Palmer, call 816-234-4389 or send email to tpalmer@kcstar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @todpalmer.
Missouri at Texas A&M
WHEN: 6:30 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Kyle Field, College Station, Texas
TV: SEC Network
Other story lines
▪ GOING BACK TO GIBSON: Sophomore cornerback John Gibson has 17 tackles and three pass breakups this season, numbers that match or surpass his 14-game production as a freshman. Without Aarion Penton suspended, Gibson now returns to the starting lineup and will need to play well against the SEC’s top passing offense.
▪ GETTING DEFENSIVE: Texas A&M averages 482.2 yards and 36.9 points, but Missouri’s defense has held its last three conference opponents — Florida, Vanderbilt and Kentucky — to 283 yards or less. In fact, the Tigers have held all five SEC opponents below their season average for total yards and points.
▪ NOVEMBER DOMINANCE: Missouri is 22-7 in the month of November since 2007. Excluding the disastrous, injury-riddled 2012 season, the Tigers are 21-4 in the final month of the regular season during that span and, as Gary Pinkel is fond of saying, “Those who win in November will be remembered.” All four of MU’s Big 12 or SEC divisional championships have come during that time.
This story was originally published November 14, 2014 at 12:47 PM with the headline "Missouri puts eight-game road win streak on the line at Texas A&M."