COLLEGE STATION — If Texas A&M football wants to keep its pursuit of the SEC title game alive, it needs a win in its third away game in as many contests.
Before the Week 10 bye, the No. 3 Aggies (8-0, 5-0 SEC) took down the LSU Tigers 49-25 in Death Valley. They beat the Arkansas Razorbacks in Fayetteville the week prior. Now, A&M heads to Columbia, Mo., to take on the No. 19 Missouri Tigers, who will be without their starting quarterback, Beau Pribula, due to a leg injury.
The Tigers are fresh off a bye week as well, following a 17-10 loss to Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn. Last season, the Aggies manhandled the Tigers at Kyle Field, 41-10.
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Saturday’s game kicks off 2:30 p.m. at Tiger Stadium and will be televised on ABC.
Here are five things to know about the Missouri Tigers ahead of Week 11:
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Amari Daniels #5 of the Texas A&M Aggies runs the ball in the first quarter against the Missouri Tigers at Kyle Field on October 05, 2024 in College Station. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
Tim Warner/Getty Images
Missouri football: 5 things to know about the Tigers
1. Tigers’ best in SEC in running the ball
Still a work in progress, A&M’s 33rd-ranked run defense will face another challenge this week. No team in the SEC runs the ball better than the Tigers, as Missouri averages 235.5 yards per game. With Pribula out for the game and the Tigers likely turning the offense over to freshman Matt Zollers it’s reasonable to assume the Tigers will rely heavily on their top-ranked rushing attack.
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Sophomore Ahmad Hardy leads the SEC in rushing with 937 yards and 11 touchdowns on 159 attempts. Hardy has recorded 42 more rushing attempts than the conference’s No. 2 running back, Jeremiah Cobb, who has run the ball 117 times for Auburn.
2. Top-3 SEC defense
Only Oklahoma and Texas have been better defensively in the SEC than Missouri. The Tigers enter Week 11 having surrendered just 16.7 points per game and have held opponents to 10 or fewer three times. However, since conference play began, that number has increased to 20.2 points per game.
With Central Arkansas and UMass being held to six points each, and Louisiana to only 10, the average is a bit skewed. Still, Missouri’s defense ranks as the best statistically that A&M has faced this season. Linebacker Josiah Trotter leads the team with 53 tackles. Pass rusher Damon Wilson II tops the Tigers with 6½ sacks.
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3. All-time record vs A&M
The history between these two relatively new SEC programs isn’t extensive. Both joined the SEC in July 2012 and have since met 17 times. A&M has a slight edge, 10-7, over the Tigers. Their most recent result was a convincing 41-10 win for the Aggies last season.
The Aggies won their first SEC matchup against Missouri, 59-29, but lost the next two games in 2013 and 2014 before winning again in 2021 and 2024.
4. Back-to-back 10-win seasons
Although Missouri wouldn’t be mistaken for an SEC perennial powerhouse, the Tigers have managed to achieve some consistent success under head coach Eli Drinkwitz. Since taking over in 2020, Missouri has posted a 44-26 record, including an 11-win season in 2023 and 10 wins in 2024. The Aggies and Tigers have only faced each other twice since Drinkwitz became coach in 2020, with the maroon and white holding a 2-0 advantage.
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5. History behind the Tigers’ nickname
According to Missouri’s athletic program: “Soon after Missouri’s first football team was organized in 1890, the athletic committee adopted the nickname ‘Tiger’ in official recognition of those Civil War defenders.” A contest to name the mascot was organized by cheerleaders in 1984. After a few weeks, a choice with presidential undertones was selected.
“The winner, a student, submitted the name Truman (after Missouri-bred President of the United States Harry S. Truman). The name stuck and has been popular ever since.”
Reach Texas A&M beat reporter Tony Catalina via email at Anthony.Catalina@statesman.com.
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