Mizzou football’s next foe is 8-0. Why this Texas A&M team could challenge Tigers

Each year, high expectations are bestowed upon a select few in college football. Some teams have built reputations on consistently meeting or exceeding them.

Others, however, fall short consistently, and no team has embodied that trend quite like Texas A&M. Since 2011, the Aggies have appeared in the AP top 10 in nine seasons, but they've finished there just twice. Last season, they started 7-1, only to finish 8-5.

This year's group seems a little different.

Unless catastrophe befalls the Aggies, who are 8-0 for the first time since 1992 and third in the first CFP rankings, they'll make their first College Football Playoff appearance. They've had some close calls against lesser teams such as Auburn, Florida and Arkansas.

But they also beat Notre Dame in South Bend on a last-second touchdown and handed LSU a $54 million loss in Death Valley (the Bayou Bengals took that monetary hit when they fired coach Brian Kelly with that sum remaining on his contract).

Texas A&M joined an exclusive club when it became just the fifth team ever to score at least 49 points against LSU in Baton Rouge.

As top teams have fallen left and right, the Aggies have not only risen to the summit, but they've stayed there. The latter has proved to be a task too tough to handle in recent seasons, but Mike Elko's crew is on its way to reversing a troubled history in that regard.

The Aggies are one of the most complete teams in college football. They're not perfect, but they've been one of the closest teams to it this season.

An electric offense

Quarterback Marcel Reed is one of the best dual-threat signal-callers in the country. Last week, he tallied 310 total yards and four total touchdowns against LSU. While he's not a very efficient passer (61.4% completion percentage), he makes up for it with big-time plays (14.4 yards per completion, No. 6 nationally).

The Aggies also have a pair of transfer receivers who have performed as advertised. Mario Craver, who was a big-play monster at Mississippi State, averages almost 18 yards per reception. His 443 yards after the catch rank No. 2 nationally, and his 716 receiving yards are tied for second in the SEC.

The electricity doesn't stop there. KC Concepcion, who made a habit of making defensive backs look silly at NC State, has done the same at Texas A&M. His route running is elite, and his shiftiness after the catch makes attempting to bring him down like trying to tackle a tornado. Along with seven receiving touchdowns (No. 2 in the SEC), Concepcion also has two long punt return touchdowns.

Including Reed, the Aggies' rushing offense is one of the best in the nation, averaging just a hair more than 200 rushing yards per game. When standout back Le'Veon Moss went down with a leg injury against Florida on Oct. 11, a handful of running backs stepped in and produced at a high level, most notably Rueben Owens.

The offensive line, which returned four of its five starters from last season, is one of the best in the country. Reed has only been sacked seven times, the fewest among all SEC quarterbacks, and opponents have averaged just 2.62 tackles for loss per game, which is the fewest in the nation.

So, how do you stop so much firepower? Auburn offered a solid blueprint, as it held Texas A&M to a season-low 16 points. AU had a handful of run stuffs on early downs, a big reason the Aggies averaged almost 9 yards to go per third down and why they converted just three of 14 third-down attempts. Auburn also stepped up with its backs against the wall, as seven Aggies drives into opposing territory produced only one touchdown.

The Aggies also got in their own way a lot. They committed 13 penalties, which tied for a season high, while a screen pass that slipped through the mitts of Terry Bussey turned into a field-flipping interception by Xavier Atkins. Randy Bond also missed two field goals for the fourth time in his collegiate career.

A havoc-heavy defense

This offseason, the Aggies lost a trio of defensive linemen to the NFL in Shemar Stewart, Shemar Turner and Nic Scourton, all of whom were selected within the first two rounds of the NFL Draft.

Looking at box scores and game tape, there hasn't been much of a drop-off in production. The star of the show is defensive end Cashius Howell, a lightning-quick pass rusher who has turned offensive tackles into turnstiles for much of the season. He leads the SEC with 9½ sacks, and his 34 pressures are the most among edge rushers in the SEC.

As a unit, the Aggies are one of the best in the FBS. They're top 10 nationally in sacks (32) and tackles for loss (66), and they do all that without frequent blitzes, meaning they often generate elite pressure with just three or four pass rushers. No team is better at defending third downs, and they've also yet to allow a 300-yard passer.

So, how do you succeed against a defense that talented? A few teams have offered solid blueprints. One of them is Arkansas, which scored 42 points a few weeks ago. The Razorbacks gashed the Aggies on the ground for 268 yards and 8.4 yards per carry. Quarterback Taylen Green, who finished with 341 total yards and five total touchdowns, extended several plays with his legs. Mizzou's Matt Zollers showed some maneuverability against Vanderbilt.

In Week 1, UTSA gave Texas A&M a scare on the back of Robert Henry Jr., one of the top running backs in the Group of Six. The senior had 177 rushing yards on just 16 carries, 75 of which came on a touchdown that actually gave UTSA the lead on the first play of the third quarter. The following week, Notre Dame hit explosive plays both on the ground and through the air. The Irish also sustained and finished drives well.

Texas A&M thrives when it makes opposing offenses go backward and become one-dimensional. If Mizzou can get its run game going, it'll likely be in good shape. If not, Zollers will be under heavy pressure to muster production.

What should Mizzou expect?

When Alabama came to town, the Missourian deemed the Crimson Tide the toughest opponent Mizzou had played to date.

Texas A&M might take that title.

The Aggies have handed the Tigers some brutal losses over the years, including a 73-0 annihilation in 1993. Saturday might not feature a historic blowout, but a world in which Texas A&M lights up a susceptible Mizzou secondary and makes life miserable for a true freshman quarterback is very real.

The stakes of this game are high for both sides. A Mizzou win not only keeps it alive for the College Football Playoff but gives the Tigers a much-needed signature win that not many bubble teams have. Between the No. 11 and No. 25 teams in the AP poll, the only one with a win over a team currently in the top 10 is Miami, which beat Notre Dame in Week 1.

A Mizzou loss, on the other hand, likely knocks the Tigers out of College Football Playoff contention. At that point, their best-case scenario likely looks similar to last year: a 9-3 record with no signature wins. That résumé probably lands MU in an upper-tier bowl game over the CFP.

Copyright 2025 Columbia Missourian

This story was originally published November 7, 2025 at 11:31 AM with the headline "Mizzou football’s next foe is 8-0. Why this Texas A&M team could challenge Tigers."