Last time out wasn’t the best showing for Missouri.
Barely escaping Vanderbilt at home can’t really be considered a confidence builder as the Tigers head into their toughest test yet.
No. 25 Texas A&M is coming in hot on a four-game winning streak after a 21-17 win against Arkansas.
Arkansas was able to take the lead three separate times, but the Aggies responded again and again, finishing the game off with a touchdown with 4:24 left to take their first and only lead.
The Aggies have been led through their winning streak by redshirt freshman Marcel Reed, who is averaging 146.25 passing yards per game with performances of 178, 173 and 163, respectively, the past three weeks. But the Aggies will have a game-time decision on original starting QB Conner Weigman, who has not played since exiting the Aggies’ Week 2 matchup against McNeese.
Without knowing whether Weigman will play, the Aggies open the matchup as 3-point favorites to give Missouri its first loss of the season.
Here’s a glance at Texas A&M and what the Tigers will see Saturday:
GAME INFO:
When: 11 a.m. CT Saturday
Where: Kyle Field, College Station, Texas
TV: ABC
Radio: Tiger Radio Network
SERIES HISTORY
Texas A&M leads the all-time series 9-7 and won the most recent meeting 35-14 in Columbia in 2021.
TEXAS A&M STATS
Scoring Offense: 29.0 points per game (70th nationally)
Scoring defense: 18.0 points per game (34th nationally)
Rushing offense: 231.6 yards per game (13th nationally)
Rushing defense: 123.8 yards per game (55th nationally)
Passing offense: 162.0 yards per game (116th nationally)
Passing defense: 207.0 yards per game (64th nationally)
KEY PLAYERS
OFFENSE
Marcel Reed and Conner Weigman, QBs
Will the Aggies stick with the redshirt freshman who has led them to their past three wins after coming in while A&M was already way ahead in Week 2 or will they immediately return to the redshirt sophomore who has their one loss on his record before a solid performance against McNeese to rebound in Week 2? The Tigers will likely have to prepare for both with Weigman a game-time decision, but it sounds like he will be the starter if he’s able to be out there.
The offense hasn’t been a passing powerhouse with Reed under center, but he’s been a big part of the potent run game, becoming the team’s second-leading rusher.
Reed has 230 rushing yards on the season with two scores.
In his 1.5 games, Weigman had two vastly different performances.
Against Notre Dame, he completed just 12-of-30 passes for 100 yards while throwing two interceptions. He added seven rushing attempts for 26 yards in the Aggies’ season-opening loss.
Against McNeese, he led five scoring drives in five attempts, completing 11-of-14 passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing four times for 39 yards. The flashes in the McNeese game might be closer to who Weigman is long-term, but Missouri’s defense is a bit better than the Cowboys’.
Le’Veon Moss, RB
The leader of the best part of Texas A&M’s team, Moss has rushed for 471 yards and three touchdowns, but hasn’t reached the end zone since Week 2. Moss hasn’t failed to rush for more than 70 yards in a game and has performances of 110, 90 and 117 yards the past three weeks. He has averaged just about 6.32 yards per carry this year.
Noah Thomas, WR
Cyrus Allen has the most yards among A&M receivers with 203, but he only has one catch since Week 3. Thomas on the other hand leads the team in receptions with 16 for 187 yards and two touchdowns. Most of that has come in the past two weeks as Thomas had five catches for 38 yards against Bowling Green followed by six receptions for 109 yards and a score last week so it seems like the chemistry between him and Reed has been developing more. If Reed starts, Thomas is the receiver I would expect to get the most action.
DEFENSE
Taurean York, LB
York leads the Aggies with 27 tackles to complement one QB hit and one pass breakup. He has at least four tackles in each game, including nine against Notre Dame.
Marcus Ratcliffe, DB
Ratcliffe has brought down a team-high three interceptions this season with one each against McNeese, Florida and Bowling Green. That puts him in a tie for the lead in the conference with Arkansas’ TJ Metcalf.
Nic Scourton, DL
Scourton has chased down quarterbacks for a team-high three sacks this season, including two last week against Arkansas. He adds three more QB hits, one each of the past three weeks, to go with 7.5 total tackles.
KEY MATCHUPS
Running games
Both teams have been very successful running the ball this season, both bringing in top-26 rushing offenses. Missouri has averaged 206.5 rushing yards per game compared to A&M’s 231.6, so there might be a slightly faster pace of play if both teams are keeping it on the ground. The question will be which team’s defense is better able to bottle up the ground attack. If both can, Missouri has the better passing game to adjust to, averaging 265.8 air yards per game to A&M’s 162.0.
Turnovers
Almost every football game can be determined by turnover margin at some point. A&M was able to create one fumble recovery and one interception against Arkansas last week. The Aggies have seven interceptions and two fumble recoveries this season. Missouri has created four interceptions and one fumble recovery, but those turnovers have come at some key moments like swinging the momentum against Boston College. Both teams can wreak havoc on the defensive side, whichever causes more issues will likely come out with a win.
