Missouri’s defense has already shown it can handle one dangerous ground attack. The next challenge comes with a different flavor.
After entering the Florida game expecting its toughest run test of the season, the Tigers answered with authority. Missouri held the Gators to 42 yards on 25 carries, and running back Jadan Baugh - who had drawn Heisman buzz - was limited to 13 yards on 12 attempts.
Now the assignment shifts to Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed, a runner who can also hurt a defense through the air.
“They’re both great runners,” linebacker Nicholas Rodriguez said, “Marcel is a great quarterback as well, so that adds another element to it - he could throw the ball as well. He could beat us with his arm and his legs. So we’ve just got to be fundamentally sound and execute our game plan.”
Reed gave Missouri trouble in Columbia last season, averaging nearly six yards per carry on five rushes as Mike Elko’s team rolled to an easy win on its way to a College Football Playoff berth.
“Marcel’s been a really good quarterback in this league for a long time, and there’s a reason they were in the playoffs last year. We’re going to have our hands full,” head coach Eli Drinkwitz said, “It’s really going to be about us executing; we’ve really got to do a great job setting edges and tackling on the defensive side of the ball.”
That edge-setting showed up against Florida with Sterling Webb sliding out to defensive end to help thicken the line. He finished with two tackles in that role and picked up his first sack of the season.
“It kind of fit us last week that we were able to move Sterling out to that edge position because of the boundary run game, but now does that speed differential create a negative impact for us?,” Drinkwitz asked, “So those are all the things that we have to try to figure out as we put this game plan together.”
Missouri has seen plenty of dual-threat quarterbacks in recent seasons, with mixed results. The Tigers beat Tommy Castellanos and Diego Pavia in 2024, then got the better of Jalon Daniels and LaNorris Sellers in 2025.
But they also took losses to Jayden Daniels in 2023, Sellers in 2024 and Pavia in 2025. A recent reminder came just a few weeks ago against Kamario Taylor in Starkville, where the threat of his legs, along with an NFL-caliber arm, helped beat Batoon’s defense.
One area Missouri believes has sharpened since that Mississippi State loss is tackling.
“Tackling was something we took in big coming away from Mississippi State, and we harped on extremely, and we tackled pretty well,” cornerback Sione Laulea said, “We only missed five tackles in the game, and that’s something we’re harping on to continuing for this upcoming game. We feel like you tackle the ball, you run the game early, and you stop the run.”
Rodriguez was central to that response against Florida, flying around for 11 tackles, including 1.5 for loss, and earning SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors.
“I’m grateful for it; I mean, I was excited for it,” he said, “But it’s a new day; the sun rose. We’ve got a new gameplan, we’ve got a new opponent, we’ve got a new team. We’ve got to get better.”
Missouri may need another big night from him on Saturday, especially with starting linebacker Robert Woodyard Jr. and starting edge rushers Langden Kitchen and Darris Smith all listed as questionable. Still, the Tigers have enough pieces to work with up front, including Rodriguez at his best, an intact defensive tackle group and depth players who have already stepped in when needed.
In Other News...
Missouri Freshman DJ Jones Faces A Far Bigger Fight Than Football
Missouri freshman offensive lineman DJ Jones has spent this season dealing with something far bigger than the normal grind of a college football fall. Jones underwent a heart transplant and is recovering, coach Eli Drinkwitz said, after preseason evaluations uncovered a significant heart problem that sent him to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida.
Jones has not played this season and remains away from the team while Missouri continues its games, a reminder that his journey is now measured in medical updates rather than reps or snap counts. For a freshman trying to begin his college career, the focus has shifted entirely to recovery, and the Tigers are left pulling for a much more important comeback than anything on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Mizzou Fans Finally Got The Update They Needed On DJ Jones
Missouri fans got the update they had been hoping for on freshman offensive tackle Johnnie DJ Jones, who recently underwent a successful heart transplant and is now recovering. The need for the procedure was discovered during the Tigers freshmen intake, turning what should have been an ordinary start to college football into a deeply personal medical battle for one of the programs newest players.
Jones was treated at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., where the care team and donor family drew gratitude from coach Eli Drinkwitz and the Missouri community. For a team and fan base that had been following the situation closely, the news brings a measure of relief, even as Jones begins the long next stretch of recovery. [Read more 🡒]
Mizzou Enters Texas A&M Week With A Bigger Availability Concern
Missouris first SEC availability report of the season gave a clearer picture of how banged up the Tigers are heading into the Texas A&M game, and it was not a reassuring one. The leagues new 2024 policy requires both teams to submit injury designations before conference matchups, and Missouris initial list came in much longer than Texas A&Ms, which featured just three players with injury tags.
Eli Drinkwitz had already acknowledged after the Florida game that several key Tigers were dealing with injuries, and the report only reinforced that the team is managing more uncertainty than it would like this early in league play. For Missouri, the concern is not just the number of names on the list, but the presence of important pieces whose status will matter as the Tigers try to navigate a tough road week in the SEC. [Read more 🡒]