Preview: Texas A&M provides trap-game challenge as ghost of Missouri’s past

Santana Banner remembers it.

Missouri football, coming out of a bye week, was ruminating a heartbreaking loss to Vanderbilt in which true freshman backup quarterback Matt Zollers fell 1 yard short of a Hail Mary attempt to set the Tigers up with a chance to tie or take the lead as the clock hit zero. Next up was a date with then-No. 3 Texas A&M, who was undefeated and had defeated seven of its eight opponents by double digits, at Faurot Field.

The Aggies walked into Memorial Stadium, beat up the already-battered Tigers and crushed what little College Football Playoff aspirations Missouri may have held onto in the process. TAMU 38, MU 17.

“I hate losing,” Banner said Tuesday in reference to the loss. … “Somebody coming into your home and doing what they did — I'm not a fan of that. So, definitely gotta repay that.”

A little under a year later, Banner and No. 14 Missouri (4-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) have an opportunity to exact revenge against a sputtering Texas A&M (3-2, 1-2) on Saturday.

Nov 8, 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz reacts during the first half against the Texas A&M Aggies at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Aggies’ sputtering started at the close of the 2025 season — losing its last two games of the season to go from undefeated to a first-round exit in the CFP — and has continued through the first five games of 2026. After being ranked No. 8 in the preseason AP Top 25, the Aggies thumped Missouri State 50-0 and dropped Arizona State 48-20. Then came the first real challenge — otherwise referred to as an SEC opponent — of the season, a rising Kentucky squad. The Aggies fell 31-21, then followed it up by crumpling 35-6 under the lights in Death Valley, dropping them out of the AP Top 25 for the first time since the 2024 season.

Beating up on Arkansas, the runt of the SEC, in Week 5 didn’t exactly turn heads, either. These are hardly the Aggies of recent memory.

Texas A&M is as down as it's been in two seasons, and Missouri is fresh off its biggest win, a 45-17 toppling of then-No. 8 Florida, since 2023. But in the bloodbath that is the 2026 SEC, Missouri may be the team in position to worry — the trap game has defined the season, week in and week out.

It's a trap!

LSU opened the season with a 51-10 massacre of Clemson, then lost two weeks later to No. 8 Ole Miss in Oxford in a nightmare that coach Lane Kiffin won’t forget anytime soon. Ole Miss, riding the high of its defeat of Kiffin, was thrashed 52-28 a week later in The Swamp by Florida. The Gators, at the center of nationwide talks regarding their potential return to glory, was upset 45-17 by Missouri in the Tigers’ Homecoming game.

Now, Missouri can’t overlook the ghost of its past when the underwhelming Aggies come to town. Nearly every opponent in the SEC presents a threat.

“People, once they get success, some people tend to calm down after that. But I don't think that's really our mindset here,” Banner said. “Especially this week, we got something we want to prove. Especially how the game ended up last year, I don't think anybody's complacent with that.”

While the Tigers didn’t forget what the Aggies did to them almost a year ago, they did hit a mental reset after their win over Florida.

“It’s really just the same mentality you went into last week,” Quarterback Austin Simmons said. … “Each and every week, a different opponent and a different type of game, of course. But it's always going to be the same type of mindset. Just go 1-0 each and every day.”

Simmons expressing the mentality reset is of note, as his performance against the Gators was arguably the most impressive of any Tiger. He threw for a season-high 340 yards and two touchdowns while completing 23 of his 30 passes and keeping his clean sheet of zero interceptions on the season. Simmons has impressed on a weekly basis, with tight-window throws, saving broken plays, well-timed deep balls and a strong pocket presence highlighting his day against Florida.

On the other side of the coin, Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed continues to struggle, throwing for 170 yards and no touchdowns against Arkansas, the second-lowest passing yards any team has totaled against the Razorbacks the season. Through three games of SEC play, Reed has completed 49 of his 94 passes for 573 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions while rushing for 133 yards and two scores.

He’s played at a high level before, but it’s been quite some time — his last game with 200 or more yards, two scores and no turnovers against a Power Four opponent was against, believe it or not, Missouri in 2025. He’s started seven games fitting the qualifications since, but Drinkwitz isn’t underestimating the dual-threat quarterback.

“I've been a Marcel Reed fan since 2024,” Drinkwitz said. “He's gotten his confidence back. They're back into a rhythm offensively. You know when he can run and pass, make plays with his eyes downfield, he is very difficult.”

Reed is supported by a ground game that averages 4.21 yards per carry and 167.4 yards per game, both of which rank 11th in the conference. Wideouts Mario Craver and Isaiah Horton have combined for 40 receptions, 483 yards and five touchdowns on the season, good enough for 45% of the Aggies’ total receptions, 51% of their total receiving yards and five of their seven receiving touchdowns. However, Craver is listed as “questionable” on Thursday’s SEC Student-Athlete Availability Report.

Doctor’s notes

Sep 6, 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers offensive lineman Cayden Green (70) watches from the sidelined in the first quarter of the Border War against the Kansas Jayhawks at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. | Matt Guzman/MissouriOnSI

Missouri is dealing with a slew of injuries of its own, with 11 players listed as either “questionable” or “probable” on the report. Starting left tackle Cayden Green, green-dot linebacker Robert Woodyard Jr. and Banner are all listed as questionable but were reported by CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz on Thursday as “on track to play.” Safety Kensley Louidor-Faustin, returner DaMarion Fowlkes and edges Langden Kitchen and Darris Smith were also listed as questionable but unmentioned by Zenitz.

Edge Daeden Hopkins and the collective of Missouri’s interior defensive line stepped up in absence of Smith and Kitchen, sacking Florida quarterback Aaron Philo twice and putting him under pressure plenty more.

Tight end Brett Norfleet, edge Jaden Jones, cornerback Jahlil Florence and linebacker Bobby Washington Jr. are all “probable.” Star running back Ahmad Hardy remains sidelined, recovering from his gunshot wound suffered May 10.

"We were beat up after that (Florida) game,” Drinkwitz said Tuesday. “That was a physical SEC game.”

Such is life in the SEC.

Missouri prepares for yet another physical contest against Texas A&M, with kickoff set for 11:00 a.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Columbia.

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