Missouri Tigers blown out at home by No. 3 Texas A&M: Takeaways & reaction
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- No. 3 Texas A&M dominated Missouri 38-17, dashing Mizzou’s realistic playoff hopes.
- Freshman Matt Zollers struggled in first start, 7-for-22 passing, 77 yards and a fumble.
- Aggies produced 464 total yards, controlled the clock and had 11 explosive plays.
The Missouri Tigers just can’t seem to get past these Aggies.
No. 3 Texas A&M came into Columbia with hopes of keeping its undefeated record alive. That’s exactly what happened — and the Aggies may even be on the way up in this week’s College Football Playoff rankings.
No. 22 Missouri (6-3, 2-3 SEC), on the other hand, suffered a serious blow to any remaining chances of making the playoff. The Tigers were blown out 38-17, and they were dominated across the board.
The Tigers are now 0-6 against ranked SEC teams the last two seasons.
“They’re good teams,” coach Eli Drinkwitz said postgame of that mark. “Good teams, and I don’t do a good enough job coaching.”
The Aggies put up 464 yards of total offense and held the ball for more than 35 minutes.
Running backs Ahmad Hardy and Jamal Roberts together were responsible for 219 of Mizzou’s 284 total yards. It was clear freshman quarterback Matt Zollers had a difficult time in his first start — against a top-5 team.
“I felt like our players laid it out on the line,” Drinkwitz said. “I thought they fought and fought. Kept giving ourselves chances, but ultimately poor coaching by me at the end of the day. ... Players fought, fought, fought, gave us every chance in the world. Just poorly done by me.”
Here are our takeaways from the loss...
Matt Zollers struggled on the big stage
Matt Zollers threw for just 77 yards Saturday. And 74 of those came when Donovan Olugbode was open for three receptions.
Drinkwitz was complimentary of Zollers attempting the deep ball, but it wasn’t nearly enough.
In his first start in the wake of Beau Pribula’s significant injury, Zollers walked into a difficult situation, and his stat line reflected it.
He went 7-for-22 passing, averaging fewer than 4 yards per attempt. He lost a fumble that turned into a Texas A&M score. On the fumble, he was sacked for a loss of 14 yards in a crucial third-and-10 situation late in the first half.
“Got off to a really slow start,” Drinkwitz said. “We didn’t do a good enough job getting comfortable throwing the football. Completions were tough, they were challenging every throw. ... Ultimately, we have to do a better job with the freshman quarterback and protecting him.”
Hardy and Roberts provided the lone touchdowns — and the only signs of life — for the offense.
Marcel Reed was difficult for Mizzou to stop
At his weekly news conference, Eli Drinkwitz mentioned comments he’d made a year ago, when he called Reed the future of the Aggies’ program.
He was right.
Reed went 20-for-29 with 221 yards and two touchdowns, along with 29 yards on the ground. He completed passes to eight different receivers and was only sacked once.
Missouri couldn’t win on third down
The Zollers fumble on third-and-10 summed up this area.
Mizzou went 5-for-13 on third down against the Aggies, which entered the game with an already impressive 22.2% defensive third-down rate. The Tigers also failed on their lone fourth-down attempt, a fourth-and-5 at the Texas A&M 27.
When asked what he thought was challenging on third down, Drinkwitz responded: “How much time do you have?”
Tigers’ defense gave them a chance ... early
Mizzou’s defense stood relatively strong against the Aggies in the first half. The Tigers only allowed 14 points in the half, which was solid considering how dominant the Aggies had been this year.
The Aggies (9-0, 6-0) had scored 40-plus points five times entering this game, including their two most recent contests.
“I thought they kept us in it as long as they could,” Drinkwitz said. “Ultimately time of possession kind of put us in a bad spot. ... Just didn’t have enough left in the tank.”
Indeed, the Tigers eventually faltered against the No. 3 team in the country, allowing 24 second-half points.
Explosive plays were an issue yet again: Mizzou allowed 11 explosive plays. Five of those were passing plays that totaled 129 yards. The six explosive rushes totaled 176 yards.
Reed completed a pass 46 yards for a score, and Rueben Owens II ran in a 57-yard touchdown.
This story was originally published November 8, 2025 at 7:08 PM.
