Missouri didn’t just beat Texas A&M on Saturday. It put the Aggies in a vise and squeezed until the game broke open.
Fresh off a 45-17 upset of then-No. 8 Florida, the No.
14 Tigers avoided the kind of SEC hangover that can ruin a good month. Instead, they handled an Aggies team that had already knocked them around in the recent past, rolling to a 27-6 win at Faurot Field.
The victory mattered for more than the ranking next to Missouri’s name. It was the Tigers’ first against Texas A&M since 2014, and it came with a final hammer blow from Jamal Roberts, who ripped off a 56-yard touchdown run to finish the job. For an Aggies team sitting at 1-2 in SEC play and looking for a reset under coach Mike Elko, the loss landed hard.
Roberts was the engine throughout. He ran for 222 yards and two touchdowns, becoming the first Missouri running back since 2000 to post 200 or more rushing yards in back-to-back games. It was also his fourth outing this season with at least 120 yards on the ground.
Missouri’s defense matched the offense’s punch and then some. After giving up just 17 to Florida a week earlier, the Tigers held Texas A&M to six points, tying the Aggies’ lowest SEC scoring total since 2020. The run defense was the foundation, with linebacker Nicholas Rodriguez leading the charge and finishing with 13 tackles as Missouri kept Texas A&M under two yards per carry.
The pressure came from everywhere. Defensive tackle Donta Simpson got to Marcel Reed for his fourth sack of the season on a key third down, and EDGE Daeden Hopkins added another third-down sack alongside Rodriguez in the third quarter.
Hopkins now has 6.5 sacks, which ranks third in the SEC. Reed never looked comfortable, and the Tigers turned that heat into turnovers when safeties Elijah Dotson and Trajen Greco each picked him off.
Missouri’s offense started slowly again, managing only 19 yards and no points across its first three possessions. Quarterback Austin Simmons also threw his first interception of the season during that stretch, with the ball intended for Cayden Lee, batted at the line by TJ Searcy and intercepted by Daymion Sanford.
After that, though, Simmons and Lee settled in and Missouri found enough rhythm to stay in front the rest of the way. Simmons completed 14 of 28 passes for 147 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
His favorite target showed why, as Lee caught seven passes for 94 yards and accounted for all three of Missouri’s first-down conversions through the air. One of those came on a slant over the middle that Lee turned into a 32-yard score to make it 7-3, a lead Missouri never gave back.
Roberts also chipped in as a receiver with a season-high three catches, and while four different pass-catchers finished with one reception apiece, Donovan Olugbode was held without a catch for the first time this season.
Blake Craig added six points on field goals, hitting two of three tries from 50 yards or more. He has now made four straight from that distance and is tied for the SEC lead with four makes from beyond 50. His 38-yard attempt just before halftime was blocked, marking the third time this season Missouri has had one of his kicks blocked.
Missouri’s next test comes at Ole Miss at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, in Oxford, Mississippi. Simmons, Lee and Chris Graves Jr. will be making their first return to Oxford since transferring out in the offseason.
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That backdrop makes every upcoming matchup matter a little more for a program still trying to sort out what it really is. Around the league, other ranked teams are dealing with their own stress points, from injuries to defensive lapses to unbeaten seasons suddenly looking vulnerable, and Missouri is trying to avoid becoming part of that same discussion by proving it can settle in before the next big test arrives. [Read more 🡒]
College GameDay Just Put Missouri In A Spot Fans Will Feel
ESPNs College GameDay crew saw enough in Missouri to lean toward the Tigers over Texas A&M, a sign of how far this matchup has shifted in Columbia. Missouri comes in ranked No. 14 and fresh off a strong showing against Florida, while the Aggies arrive trying to steady a season that has had its share of uneven moments. With Faurot Field hosting the showdown, the setting has the feel of a late-season test that could say plenty about where both programs really stand.
For Missouri fans, the optimism around the pick is one thing, but the pressure that comes with it is another. Being favored on a national stage changes the mood around a game like this, especially when the opponent is talented enough to make every mistake matter. The Tigers have earned this spotlight, but they also know those GameDay nods can turn into a bigger spotlight if the afternoon starts to tilt the wrong way. [Read more 🡒]