No. 9 Mizzou football falls flat in first big road test at No. 25 Texas A&M
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KMIZ)
The No. 9 Mizzou football team couldn't get anything to go its way in a 41-10 loss in College Station on Saturday, beginning with the first offensive series.
Just minutes into the Top-25 clash, head coach Eli Drinkwitz and company went for it on fourth and two on the A&M 40-yard line. Brady Cook targeted wide receiver Theo Wease Jr. on that play, but the pass fell incomplete, as Wease Jr. got mixed up with Aggie defensive back Will Lee III. Initially, the referees threw a flag, indicating pass interference. However, they later announced there was no pass interference on the play, turning the ball over on downs to Texas A&M.
That let down seem to let the momentum of the game swing in the Aggies' favor early on.
On the ensuing A&M drive, quarterback Conner Weigman and the Aggie offense marched 60 yards down the field in eight plays to score the first of many touchdowns in Saturday's game.
In the first half alone, running back Amari Daniels scored two touchdowns on the Tigers, while his teammate running back Le'Veon Moss ran in for one more just before halftime. The scoring frenzy put MU down 24-0, heading into the locker room at halftime.
After the break, when fans were wondering what the response from Coach Drinkwitz and company would be, Moss gave them a quick answer. On the first play of the half, he ran in a 75-yard touchdown to put another nail in MU's coffin, down 31-0.
In the third quarter, Cook and the offense finally found end zone. Down 34-0, Cook hit Wease Jr. with a 59-yard touchdown strike to cut the deficit to 27. However, the effort would be far from enough.
The MU offense only generated 79 yards in the first half, in comparison Texas A&M's more than 300. At the end of the day, the Tigers ended with 254 total yards. Cook went 13/31 for 186 yards in the air and 11 yards on the ground, along with one passing touchdown.
Mizzou star Luther Burden led the Tiger receiving corps in targets. Cook attempted eight passes to Burden, who caught seven for 82 yards. The St. Louis native did have one near-touchdown in the first quarter, as ran it in the end zone for more than 70 yards, but it was called back due to Mizzou having an offensive lineman down field.
Overall, the o-line didn't fair too well against A&M's front. The Tigers allowed six sacks on Cook in the loss.
Defensively, former Aggie Dreyden Norwood led the charge for coordinator Corey Batoon's unit. He tallied eight tackles. Zion Young was the only Tiger to get his hands on Weigman, on Saturday, registering one sack.
While nothing seemed to go Mizzou way, everything went the way of Texas A&M in College Station. Weigman went 18/22 for 276 yards, along with 33 yards on five carries on the ground. The Aggie offense put up 510 total yards of offense on the MU defense.
With the loss at Kyle Field, Mizzou lost the longest-active win streak in college football, which came to a screeching halt at eight games. The Tigers are now 4-1 in 2024.
For Texas A&M, it's the largest margin of victory of a Top-10 team in program history.
Up next - Mizzou will look to get back on track with a road trip to Amherst, Mass. to take on UMass on Saturday, Oct. 12. Kickoff is slated for 11 a.m.
