Mizzou struggles against Texas A&M; still searching for first SEC win
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Mizzou football team fell to the Texas A&M Aggies 35-14 Saturday afternoon after committing 13 penalties for 106 yards.
The Tigers got off to a slow start. Mizzou’s opening drive ended with a Connor Bazelak interception, setting up the Aggies deep in Tiger territory. From there, quarterback Zach Calzada found wide receiver Ainias Smith in the end zone to give Texas A&M an early 7-0 lead.
After another Mizzou punt, Texas A&M marched right back down the field. Running back Isaiah Spiller capped off the drive with a 48-yard rushing touchdown to extend the lead to 14-0.
The next set of drives produced more of the same. Mizzou was forced to punt, and Texas A&M scored another rushing touchdown on a 20-yard run by running back Devon Achane to make it a 21-0 lead. The Aggies rushed for 151 yards in the first quarter alone.
However, Mizzou began to heat up early in the second quarter. The Tiger defense forced two straight stops, and running back Tyler Badie scored his first touchdown of the game on a 32-yard run to cut the deficit to 14 points.
The Aggies responded quickly, as Calzada connected with Smith again for another Texas A&M touchdown, bringing the lead back to 21 points.
Mizzou had an opportunity to put more points on the board just before halftime. Defensive back Jaylon Carlies intercepted Calzada’s pass to give the Tigers the ball at their own 18-yard line, but the drive stalled out on fourth down and one. Mizzou went to the locker room down 28-7.
Penalties and turnovers were costly for Mizzou in the first half. The Tigers committed six penalties for 53 yards, which negated some first downs and third down stops. Bazelak also threw two interceptions that gave the Aggies good field position.
The second half started exactly as planned for the Tigers. Mizzou forced the Aggies to punt on three plays and scored a touchdown on a 7-yard run by receiver Dominic Lovett. The touchdown run was set up by a 26-yard pass by Bazelak to receiver Tauskie Dove.
But, the Aggies answered right back. Achane took the handoff straight up the middle for a one-yard touchdown run, extending the Texas A&M lead to 35-14.
Mizzou’s bye week is next on the schedule, so the Tigers will not be in action again until Oct. 30 when they travel to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt.
