Advertisement

Here's how we graded Missouri football in blowout loss at Texas A&M

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The chants started to rain down from the Kyle Field crowd at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

"Overrated."

Not for much longer, you'd image.

No. 9-ranked Missouri football suffered the first loss of its season Saturday on Kyle Field, and it was a blowout. No. 25 Texas A&M gave the Tigers both barrels for a 41-10 win that will have serious ramifications for the rest of the Tigers' season.

Here is how we graded Missouri in College Station. Hint: The report card is not a pretty sight.

Defense: F

Pick your problem.

Conner Weigman, starting at quarterback despite Drinkwitz’s midweek guess that he wouldn’t, made the most of his return, carving the Tigers up for 193 yards on 15-of-19 in the first half, which is when the game was semi-competitive. A&M offensive coordinator Collin Klein was scheming players wide open all over the field, and Corey Batoon had no answer.

The Aggies ran all over the Tigers to build a first-half lead Mizzou had no hope of hunting down. Tailbacks Amari Daniels and Le’Veon Moss shared three first-half scores.

Fix it at halftime? Nope. Moss went 75 yards on the first snap of the second half for a touchdown. He ran in another from 18 yards in the fourth quarter as the Tigers' tackling remained woeful.

Offense: F

The Aggies’ stout defensive line dominated — and we mean dominated — the line of scrimmage. Brady Cook took several hard hits as Aggies burst through the line without much in the way of a challenge. The Aggies sacked him six times.

Missouri’s offense got off to a slow start that included a turnover on downs just on the other end of midfield. The Tigers couldn’t run the ball to any meaningful degree. Cook, other than a 59-yard consolation score deep in the third quarter to Theo Wease Jr., missed most of his passes.

The Tigers managed just 79 yards of offense in the first half. The game wasn't quite done by that point, but it didn't take long. Cook finished the game 13-of-31 passing.

Oct 5, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies linebacker Daymion Sanford (27) tackles Missouri Tigers quarterback Brady Cook (12) in the first quarter at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images.
Oct 5, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies linebacker Daymion Sanford (27) tackles Missouri Tigers quarterback Brady Cook (12) in the first quarter at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images.

Special teams: C

It’s hard to pin anything on the Tigers’ special teams units from the disastrous day. Luke Bauer averaged 45.6 yards over his five punts. Blake Craig made his lone PAT and field goal attempt. The return game didn’t have particularly much opportunity to impact the game.

Coaches: F

It’s Week 6. It was Missouri’s fifth game of the season. The Tigers just had two weeks — 14 days — between games.

And Missouri simply did not look remotely ready in any phase of the game.

The Tigers had the play that got them back into the game. Brady Cook peeled right; Luther Burden III got free. The QB hit him. The receiver waltzed home. But about 75 yards behind Burden, an offensive lineman had gone wandering and was tagged as an ineligible receiver. Back Burden went. Six points came off the board, and it was 10-0 Aggies again.

If Mizzou’s coaching staff hasn’t figured out the back-breaking penalties yet, it’s fair to assume it ain’t ever happening. If they couldn't get them ready for the Aggies with a week off, it's hard to imagine it being better at Alabama in two weeks.

The Tigers were not prepared for College Station. Every indication suggests they’re nowhere near ready for the College Football Playoff, either.

Overall: F

The Tigers got stomped on national television. Their national ranking is going to plummet in Sunday’s polls. Their hopes of a berth to the College Football Playoff haven’t quite flatlined, but they no longer have any room for error.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Here's how we graded Missouri football in blowout loss at Texas A&M