Jamal Roberts isn’t interested in turning Missouri’s Week 10 date with Texas into something bigger than it is.
The No. 18 Tigers are set for a top-10 showdown with the No.
7 Longhorns, but Roberts kept his focus simple when asked about the matchup. Missouri and Texas both enter at 6-2 overall and 3-2 in SEC play, with each side still able to picture a path to the College Football Playoff.
Roberts, though, isn’t buying into the extra noise.
“I really just see it as another game, just another defense … that we’re going against,” Roberts said on SiriusXM (h/t On3). “I mean, we just gotta be the most dominant, the most physical team in the trenches … The most physical team is gonna win at that point. I mean, it’s just another game.”
“It’s just another game.” @MizzouFootball RB Jamal Roberts previews his team’s big showdown against @TexasFootball on #FullRide. @0fficialmal20 | @ChildersRadio | @CoachNeuheisel | #MIZ pic.twitter.com/Qpzf9GXSBa
- College Sports on SiriusXM (@SXMCollege) November 4, 2026
Missouri heads into the matchup after a lopsided win over Arkansas, while Texas is fresh off a 31-3 rout of Mississippi State. The Longhorns have built one of the stronger defensive profiles in the country, ranking 10th nationally in total defense at 273.1 yards allowed per game and 19th in scoring defense at 17.1 points per game.
That Texas defense has also held up over the last two games without standout EDGE Colin Simmons, who has been dealing with a high ankle sprain.
Missouri, though, brings plenty of punch of its own. The Tigers are averaging 31.5 points per game, quarterback Austin Simmons gives them a proven playmaker, and Roberts has already topped 1,000 rushing yards with nine touchdowns.
The backfield got even deeper last week with the return of All-American running back Ahmad Hardy, who had missed most of the season while recovering from an offseason gunshot wound.
On paper, it shapes up as a real strength-on-strength battle. Missouri may be treating it like just another game, but Eli Drinkwitz isn’t overlooking what Texas brings.
“They have an unbelievable defensive talent, defensive team, defensive scheme, defensive coaches,” Drinkwitz has said of Texas. “Coach (Will) Muschamp has done a terrific job there, instilling his personality and his scheme, which is very multiple.”
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Hardy is expected to share carries with Jamal Roberts, while freshman Preston Hatfield also earned meaningful work and looked ready for more. At the same time, the game hinted at a changing pecking order, with some players seeing their roles or effectiveness dip. For Missouri, the bigger question now is whether this was simply a one-game adjustment or the start of a more permanent rotation in the backfield. [Read more 🡒]