Takeaways from Mizzou's Troublesome Loss to Texas A&M

What we learned about the Tigers in their 38-17 defeat.

Nov 8, 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers quarterback Matt Zollers runs out of the tunnel ahead of the Missouri matchup against Texas A&M at Faurot Field. | Sam Simon/MissouriOnSI

COLUMBIA, Mo. — No. 22 Missouri hosted No. 3 Texas A&M on Saturday in a game that initially felt winnable. The Tigers kept it close at the beginning, but it never seemed like a game Missouri would go on to win.

Maybe it was the fact that this Texas A&M squad has its highest CFP ranking ever, or that Missouri is on its third quarterback, but the Tigers resembled a clear David in David vs. Goliath.

The game played out differently from the biblical story, and the Tigers couldn't triumph as the underdog, falling 38-17.

Missouri did its best to support freshman Matt Zollers, but the young quarterback had a subpar showing. The rest of the team seemed to feed off his energy, and the Tigers crumbled under the bright lights of a dejected Faurot Fied.

Things didn't always look hopeless. The Tigers and Aggies played a tight first quarter, but a close 7-0 game spiraled out of control, and the Tigers trailed 21-0 at the beginning of the third. A comeback seemed as probable as a miracle, which wasn't in the cards.

Here are three takeaways from Missouri's toughest loss of the year.

A rough first start for Matt Zollers

The Tigers lost their starting quarterback, Beau Pribula, to an ankle injury in the Week 9 loss to Vanderbilt. They turned to freshman Zollers, one of their only healthy quarterbacks remaining. Sam Horn would have served as the backup, but he is out for the year with a fractured right tibia he sustained in Week 1.

Missouri’s contest against Texas A&M marked Zollers’ first start. Facing the No. 3 Aggies is no easy task for any quarterback, let alone a true freshman making his first start. The pressure of the moment certainly showed.

It took almost the entire first quarter for Zollers to complete his first pass. With 26 seconds left in the frame, he lobbed a heavily contested throw to Olgubode.

Texas A&M cornerback Dezz Ricks wrapped himself around Olugbode for the entire route, but the Missouri receiver reached up and snagged the ball against Ricks’ helmet for a 34-yard gain. It was a great play for Zollers, but those were few and far between.

With 13:48 remaining in the second, Zollers took a sack for a loss of 5 yards. He proceeded to fumble, but offensive lineman Cayden Green recovered it for the Tigers. The play resulted in a third-and-24, where Zollers decided to run for it. He picked up just 5 yards, bringing the punt unit out.

Probably the worst moment for the quarterback occurred as the first half drew to a close. The Tigers attempted to make something happen before halftime with 1:57 on the clock. The drive ended just about as bad as it could have, as the Texas A&M defense swarmed Zollers.

They slammed into him, forcing the ball out of his hands. It flew backward and right into the arms of safety Dalton Brooks, who bolted 26 yards to place the Aggies at Missouri’s 2-yard line, resulting in a touchdown and 14-0 lead.

Zollers completed seven of his 22 pass attempts for a measly 32% completion percentage. He threw for 77 yards and no touchdowns.

“It’s hard for me to assess (it),” Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said of Zollers’ performance. “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.”

Defense looks good... until it doesn't

Missouri’s defense looked strong at the start of the game, but eventually things got out of hand. The Tigers gave up five touchdowns, two through the air and three on the ground.

The Aggies went up 21-0 after a 48-yard touchdown reception to KC Concepcion in the third quarter, a massive blip by the Tigers.

Similarly, Missouri allowed a 57-yard rushing touchdown by Rueben Owens II in the fourth quarter. Following the play, fans, who had already started to leave Faurot, continued to hurry out of the stadium.

A game with so much excitement surrounding it, and one where a win would have been monumental, officially looked like it was over as the Aggies took a 31-10 lead.

The first rushing touchdown from the Aggies wasn't entirely the Missouri defense's fault. The Tigers were put in a difficult spot after Zollers' fumble put the Aggies on Missouri's 2-yard line.

Missouri's mantra is "Something to Prove," and a big way the Tigers do that is by responding to adversity. The defense was especially good at overcoming difficulties in the form of flags.

Early in the first, cornerback Stephen Hall got called for pass interference on a third-and-6. The Aggies made nothing of the drive, and the game remained scoreless.

One of Missouri’s most talented and energetic defenders, Zion Young, picked up an unnecessary roughness call with 8:01 left in the first. It was a 15-yard penalty, something that absolutely cannot happen.

Young has been called for key penalties in other games, like when he taunted Alabama on Oct. 11. Despite the frustrating call, the defense responded with a three-and-out after.

The Tigers could overcome penalties all they wanted, but it didn't matter if the Aggies could overpower them playing cleanly, and that's what happened.

Jamal Roberts gets (more) involved

Running back Ahmad Hardy has received all the attention for the Tigers, at one point sparking Heisman talks. He has continued to look good, but the buzz has quieted down.

He made some noise, literally, on Missouri’s very first offensive play against the Aggies. On his first touch, Hardy broke loose for a 40-yard run. Fans rose to their feet, loving the electric start. Faurot quieted down as the drive continued and stalled out.

That’s how it went throughout the first half, with the Tigers getting shut out. Missouri’s first points came in the form of a rushing touchdown in the third quarter, but it wasn't from Hardy.

Trailing 21-0, redshirt-sophomore running back Jamal Roberts took the direct snap and pounded his way up the middle. He shook tackles, breaking through and into the end zone for a 4-yard score.

The Tigers still had work to do, but Roberts’ efforts cut the deficit to 21-7 and gave Missouri a sense of life, something it desperately needed.

The touchdown capped off a drive that included two other plays where Roberts carried the ball. He rushed for 17 yards before scoring.

He finished first on the Tigers in rushing yards with 110 on 17 carries. Despite his big day, he wasn't happy with the result.

“We've just got to get back in the lab,” Roberts said. “We still (need) to finish the season out strong.”

Missouri stays at home to face Mississippi State at 6:45 p.m. on Nov. 15. The game is the Tigers' senior night, and they will look to rally for those athletes.

"Our team is going to fight for each other next week," Drinkwitz said. "We're going to fight to finish strong."