Putting Mizzou's Loss to Texas A&M Under the Microscope

Missouri was exposed in Week 11 against Texas A&M, with the Tigers' biggest flaws being poked and prodded at all afternoon in a 38-17 loss.

Missouri being down to its third-string, true freshman quarterback, Matt Zollers, didn't help efforts either.

The loss not only put Missouri out of contention for the College Football Playoff, but also called into question if this team was a legitimate contender at all this season.

So, what went wrong for the Tigers against the Aggies? A whole lot.

Here's a deeper look at all of the landmines Missouri stepped on.

Play of the game: The fake punt Texas A&M ran with in the third quarter feels like the best encapsulation for how often the Aggies were able to catch the Tigers off guard. Missouri was in max-return protection, devoting all of its attention toward setting up a return for Kevin Coleman Jr. Instead, the Aggies gained 48 yards to move into the red zone after the Missouri defense created what should've been a three-and-out stop.

Stat of the game: Missouri attempted eight passes of 20 or more air yards, by far the most in any game this season. Only two of those were completed, and two more drew penalties.

Whether it stemmed from play calling or Zollers just looking at his first read, it seemed like Missouri was over-reliant on hitting a deep pass to open up the offense. But the offense never found that ryhthym.

Head coach Eli Drinkwitz attributed most of that lack of ryhthym to poor pass protection, which has been an issue all season long.

"I didn’t think he made bad decisions in the pass game," Drinkwitz said of Zollers. "It’s not like he was throwing the ball up for jeopardy and putting us in terrible spots. We let him down as coaches tonight with the protection plan.”

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A change at starting receiver

Oct 11, 2025; Columbia, MO; USA; Missouri Tigers wide receiver Donovan Olugbode celebrates a catch against the Alabama Crimson Tide | Amber Winkler/MissouriOnSI

Missouri's depth chart finally reflected what has been clear on the field — Donovan Olugbode is this team's best boundary receiver. Though Marquis Johnson was still listed as the starter on the team's depth chart, Olugbode played ahead of him. He earned 51 snaps while Johnson earned just 12, according to Pro Football Focus.

Olugbode was responsible for 96% of Missouri's receiving yards, catching three passes for 77 yards. He's now led Missouri in receiving yards for three out of the last four games.

When looking toward the future, Olugbode is arguably Missouri's most promising player. His star potential was clear out of high school, and he's already starting to prove it in his debut season.

Donovan Olugbode made it look easy with this catch 😱 pic.twitter.com/tD7KSF3HuU
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) November 8, 2025

Conor Weselman has his second-lowest average of the season

Sep 6, 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers punter Connor Weselman (45) greets fans prior to a game against the Kansas Jayhawks at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

On top of the fake punt, it was all around a pretty terrible showing on special teams for Missouri.

That included punter Connor Weselman having one of his worst performances of the season, averaging 37.6 yards on five punts.

The lack of field positioning his punts provided Missouri was noticeable. On average, Missouri started out its drives at its own 23-yard line. Texas A&M started its on its own 39-yard line.

His second of the game went 35 yards from the Missouri 24-yard line to the Texas A&M 41 — A&M scored nine plays later with the short field.

His third went 31 yards from the Texas A&M 48 to the 17.

His final punt of the game traveled 33 yards from the Missouri 28 to the Texas A&M 39.

A previously planned switch at kicker

Sep 6, 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers kicker Oliver Robbins kicks off in the Border War against the Kansas Jayhawks at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium | Amber Winkler/MissouriOnSI

In Week 4 against South Carolina, Missouri had planned to go to Oliver Robbins, and not Robert Meyer, for kicks longer than 38 yards.

The only kick of that distance against South Carolina was one in the fourth quarter the Tigers needed to seal the victory, so Drinkwitz didn't want to have a NAIA transfer have that amount of pressure on his first DIvision-1 kick.

That plan was inspired by Meyer struggling to kick from long distance in practice in the week leading up to South Carolina.

Yet since then, Meyer took a kick of 38 yards against Auburn, then one from 39 against Vanderbilt. Though he made the 39-yard attempt against Vanderbilt, he also missed one from 29.

This week, Missouri finally enforced the plan to have Robbins take longer kicks. He missed one from 49 in the first quarter that ended up not counting due to a penalty. He then made one 49 in the fourth quarter.

DaMarion Fowlkes' big returns

Nov 8, 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers kick-off returner DaMarion Fowlkes rushes in the Missouri matchup against Texas A&M at Faurot Field. | Sam Simon/MissouriOnSI

True freshman wide receiver DaMarion Fowlkes has impressed virtually every time he's gotten the ball in his hands and not fumbled (which he did on multiple punts against UMass).

But against Texas A&M, Fowlkes had returns of 33 and 55 yards, with the one for 33 being brought back 28 yards due to a holding penalty.

The one of 55 yards put Missouri in great position early in the third quarter, with the Tigers turning the return into their first points of the game seven plays later with a four-yard rushing touchdown from Roberts. The return was also Missouri's longest of the season.

Fowlkes was a track star in high school, and it shows in his return speed. But he also takes great angles and has good vision. His ability as a returner is another thing to look forward to in the future out of Missouri's freshman receiver class.

Missouri still tries quick-snap trickery to little avail

Nov 8, 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers quarterback Matt Zollers waits for a snap in the Missouri matchup against Texas A&M at Faurot Field. | Sam Simon/MissourOnSI

In each of the past two games with Zollers, Missouri has tried to catch the defense off guard by having Zollers and a few offensive linemen turn to the sideline as if they're communicating with the coaches before quickly turning and snapping the ball.

This also marks the second season out of the last four where Missouri has an 1,000-yard rusher.

They even did so on the longest passing play of the game, where Zollers connected with Olugbode on a 34-yard reception. But even on that play, the quick snap didn't seem to do too much distracting.

It's interesting that Missouri has been trying to do this with a true freshman at quarterback. It hasn't led to a mistake yet, but it also hasn't yielded much rewards.

Ahmad Hardy was sparingly utilized, but still earned milestone

Nov 8, 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers running back Ahmad Hardy celebrates a rush in the Missouri matchup against Texas A&M at Faurot Field. | Sam Simon/MissouriOnSI

Though Ahmad Hardy was hardly called upon in the first half (he didn't take a single carry in the second quarter), he did manage to earn a career milestone by rushing for over a 1,000 yards on the season.

Though Hardy didn't cross 100 yards in any of the three games leading up to the Texas A&M matchup, he's still third in the country in rushing yards with 1,046.