University of Missouri

Missouri-Texas A&M college football preview

By TOD PALMER

The Kansas City Star

November 13, 2014 3:54 PM

Aggies sophomore Josh Reynolds leads the top-ranked passing attack in the SEC with 40 catches for 621 yards and 10 touchdowns. Butch Dill The Associated Press

When/where: 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas

TV/radio: SEC Network; KMBZ (980 AM)

The series: Texas A&M leads 8-6

The line: Texas A&M by 5 1/2

MISSOURI (7-2, 4-1 SEC)

Date	Opponent	Result/time
Aug. 30	South Dakota State	W, 38-18
Sept. 6	at Toledo	W, 49-24
Sept. 13	Central Florida	W, 38-10
Sept. 20	Indiana	L, 31-27
Sept. 27	at South Carolina	W, 21-20
Oct. 11	Georgia	L, 34-0
Oct. 18	at Florida	W, 42-13
Oct. 25	Vanderbilt	W, 24-14
Nov. 1	Kentucky	W, 20-10
Saturday	at Texas A&M	6:30 p.m.
Nov. 22	at Tennessee	6:30 p.m.
Nov. 28	Arkansas	1:30 p.m.

TEXAS A&M (7-3, 3-3 SEC)

Date	Opponent	Result/time
Aug. 28	at South Carolina	W, 52-28
Sept. 6	Lamar	W, 73-3
Sept. 13	Rice	W, 38-10
Sept. 20	at Southern Methodist	W, 58-6
Sept. 27	vs. Arkansas	W, 35-28 (OT)
Oct. 4	at Mississippi State	L, 48-31
Oct. 11	Mississippi	L, 35-20
Oct. 18	at Alabama	L, 59-0
Nov. 1	Louisiana-Monroe	W, 21-16
Nov. 8	at Auburn	W, 41-38
Saturday	Missouri	6:30 p.m.
Nov. 27	LSU	6:30 p.m.

What’s at stake

Depending on the outcome of the Auburn-Georgia game, possibly the SEC East Division title. Missouri controls its own fate in the division race, but it’s a tenuous lead. If the Bulldogs beat Auburn at home and Missouri loses to Texas A&M, Georgia clinches a spot in SEC Championship Game on Dec. 6 at the Georgia Dome.

Cheers if …

Missouri’s pass defense holds up against the SEC’s top-ranked passing attack. The Tigers are without a couple of starters in the secondary. Senior strong safety Braylon Webb is suspended for the first half and sophomore cornerback Aarion Penton is suspended for the game, putting a premium on the pass rush to help a depleted secondary.

Jeers if …

Missouri’s offense bogs down again. The Tigers stirred to life against Vanderbilt and Kentucky, topping 300 yards for the only two times in conference play this season. Statistically, Texas A&M’s defense has struggled at least as much or more than the Commodores’ and Wildcats’ defenses, so Missouri needs to keep building momentum.

Three things about Texas A&M

1 Aggies coach Kevin Sumlin has elected to stick with freshman Kyle Allen at quarterback. Allen struggled in his first start with sophomore Kenny Hill serving a two-game suspension. Allen went 13 of 28 for 106 yards with a touchdown and interception against Louisiana-Monroe, but rebounded last week with four touchdowns in an upset win at Auburn.

2 Senior Deshazor Everett leads A&M with 59 tackles this season, a rarity for a cornerback. He also has one of the Aggies’ three interceptions. Only five teams in the nation have fewer interceptions this season.

3 A&M has five players with at least 400 yards receiving this season. Sophomore Josh Reynolds leads the way with 40 catches for 621 yards and 10 touchdowns, but freshman Ricky Seals-Jones (43-423-4) and senior Maclome Kennedy (42-504-3) also have been productive along with freshman Speedy Noil (37-477-4) and sophomore Edward Pope (27-436-4).

Key matchup

Missouri’s offensive line vs. Texas A&M’s 4-3 front: The Aggies have given up at least 160 yards rushing in the last five SEC games. Conference opponents have scored touchdowns on 18 of 22 red-zone drives this season, including 14 rushing scores. The Tigers need to sustain drives and find the end zone when the opportunities are there.

MISSOURI OFFENSE

P	No.	Player	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.
WR	21	Bud Sasser	6-2	220	Sr.
WR	88	Jimmie Hunt	6-0	205	Sr.
LT	65	Mitch Morse	6-6	305	Sr.
LG	63	Brad McNulty	6-4	305	Jr.
C	77	Evan Boehm	6-3	320	Jr.
RG	60	Connor McGovern	6-4	300	Jr.
RT	62	Taylor Chappell	6-5	300	Jr.
TE	80	Sean Culkin	6-6	245	So.
WR	8	Darius White	6-3	205	Sr.
QB	7	Maty Mauk	6-0	195	So.
TB	6	Marcus Murphy	5-9	190	Sr.
K	99	Andrew Baggett	6-1	215	Jr.

MISSOURI DEFENSE

P	No.	Player	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.
DE	33	Markus Golden	6-3	260	Sr.
DT	96	Lucas Vincent	6-2	300	Sr.
NG	90	Harold Brantley	6-3	290	So.
DE	56	Shane Ray	6-3	245	Jr.
LB	10	Kentrell Brothers	6-1	240	Jr.
LB	30	Michael Scherer	6-3	230	So.
LB	25	Donavin Newsom	6-2	230	So.
CB	7	Kenya Dennis	6-0	195	Jr.
SS	5	Cortland Browning	6-1	205	Jr.
FS	21	Ian Simon	6-0	195	Jr.
CB	1	John Gibson	6-0	190	So.
P	92	Christian Brinser	6-2	195	Sr.

TEXAS A&M OFFENSE

P	No.	Player	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.
WR	2	Speedy Noil	5-11	185	Fr.
WR	9	Ricky Seals-Jones	6-5	235	Fr.
LT	51	Jarvis Harrison	6-4	330	Sr.
LG	78	Garrett Gramling	6-6	310	Sr.
C	56	Mike Matthews	6-2	290	Jr.
RG	79	Joseph Cheek	6-7	310	Jr.
RT	70	Cedric Ogbuehi	6-5	305	Sr.
WR	11	Josh Reynolds	6-4	190	So.
WR	84	Malcome Kennedy	6-0	205	Sr.
QB	10	Kyle Allen	6-3	205	Fr.
RB	21	Tra Carson	6-0	235	Jr.
K	49	Josh Lambo	6-0	220	Sr.

TEXAS A&M DEFENSE

P	No.	Player	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.
DE	95	Julien Obioha	6-4	265	Jr.
NG	83	Alonzo Williams	6-4	296	Jr.
DT	89	Ivan Robinson	6-3	290	Sr.
DE	15	Myles Garrett	6-5	255	Fr.
LB	16	Donnie Baggs	6-1	230	Sr.
LB	14	Josh Walker	6-1	233	Fr.
LB	33	Shaan Washington	6-3	235	So.
CB	1	De’Vante Harris	5-11	175	Jr.
S	31	Howard Matthews	6-2	210	Sr.
FS	5	Floyd Raven, Sr.	6-2	200	Sr.
CB	29	Deshazor Everett	6-0	193	Sr.
P	38	Drew Kaser	6-3	210	Jr.

Tod Palmer’s pick: Missouri 24-21

Missouri has won eight straight on the road, including six in a row during SEC play, but extending that record won’t be easy with a depleted secondary against an Aggies team surging with confidence. Still, the Tigers have more to play for and a knack for grinding out wins.

To reach Tod Palmer, call 816-234-4389 or send email to tpalmer@kcstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @todpalmer.

This story was originally published November 13, 2014 at 3:54 PM with the headline "Missouri-Texas A&M college football preview."