RECAP: Mizzou football will ‘find something else to fight for’ after Texas A&M closes door to CFP

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The dreams that the Mizzou football team set at the start of the 2025 season are now officially out of reach, after head coach Eli Drinkwitz and company fell to No. 3 Texas A&M, on Saturday.

The 21-point defeat at the hands of the Aggies not only marked the third loss of the year, but also dashed the Tigers' dreams of making the program's first-ever College Football Playoff.

"The only way you're ever gonna achieve your dreams and goals is to put everything you have into it, everything. You gotta work your [expletive] off you gotta believe and no matter what obstacle you face, you gotta believe that you're gonna overcome it and our guys did. They kept fighting and fighting and fighting and you get the wrong end of the result," Coach Drinkwitz said. "Now you got to pick yourself back up, you got to put your guts back in and--and you gotta find something else to fight for...Our team's gonna fight for each other, next week for the seniors. We're gonna fight to finish strong."   

Over the course of the 2025 season, Mizzou has had its chance at a break-through win, but has fallen short each time. The Tigers fell to both then-No. 8 Alabama and then-No. 10 Vanderbilt by one possession, but ahead of another Top-10 clash, on Saturday, the odds kept stacking against Coach Eli and his team.

The Tigers would be forced to enter the fight with true freshman quarterback Matt Zollers making his first collegiate start, after former starter Beau Pribula suffered a non-fracture ankle dislocation in the loss at Vanderbilt.

"He got thrown into a really tough situation, uh it was a really good defense. I think he did as well as he could, but we got to help him out some more," left tackle Cayden Green said.

In an outing where Zollers only completed 31 percent of his passes for 77 yards and one costly fumble, Coach Drinkwitz shouldered the majority of the blame after the game.

"It's hard for me to assess right now. I mean, I didn't think he made bad decisions in the pass game. We got to do a better job with a freshman quarterback, protecting him. We let him down as coaches, tonight, with the protection plan," he said.

As has been the story for much of the 2025 campaign, the MU defense and run-game held the Tigers in it for as long as possible.

Defensive coordinator Corey Batoon's unit limited Texas A&M to less than 150 yards of total offense in the first half. Meanwhile, running backs Ahmad Hardy and Jamal Roberts carried the load for the offense, as each ended up with 100 yards rushing.

From start-to-finish, the Tigers fought. However, the Aggies never really left a doubt.

"Everyone has to just look in the mirror and try to figure out what they can do better, without pointing fingers," linebacker Josiah Trotter said.

In the wake of Mizzou's third loss of the season, the team will now reassess its goals and find something new to play for, instead of spot in the coveted College Football Playoff.

"We were in this situation last year after South Carolina and we just found a way to keep fighting and believing," Drinkwitz said. "This team has a lot of strong leaders on it and we're not going out like that." 

Up next - Mizzou will play one last game at Faurot Field, when Mississippi State comes to town for the home finale on Saturday, Nov. 15. Kickoff on senior night is slated for 6:45 p.m.

You can watch ABC 17 Sports Director Nathalie Jones' full recap of Saturday's action on SportsZone at 10:30 on KMIZ.