Missouri football has played no other SEC team more than the Texas A&M Aggies. The two teams have met 15 times, with the Aggies leading the all-time series 8-7. With the Tigers set to face the Aggies today, let’s look back at some of the most memorable games between the two schools that date back to 1957.
5: No. 16 Texas A&M 73, Missouri 0 (Sept. 18, 1993): The Aggies hand the Tigers one of their worst losses in program history.
It was a dark era of Missouri football between 1984 and 1996. In that timespan, the Tigers didn’t have a single season winning more than five games. Whatever optimism the Tigers gained from a 31-3 victory over Illinois in Week 1 was wiped out the following week.
In a Week 2 trip to College Station, Texas, the Tigers didn’t stand a chance against the No. 16 Aggies. Texas A&M built a 28-0 lead by halftime and extended it to 66-0 by the end of the third quarter. The final result would be the second-worst loss in program history as the Aggies sent Missouri packing with a 73-0 blowout. The only loss worse was a 77-0 loss against No. 4 Oklahoma on Nov. 8, 1986.
The Tigers finished 3-7-1 in Bob Stull’s fifth and final year as head coach. Larry Smith took over the following year and finally led a winning program four years later.
4: Missouri 38, No. 16 Texas A&M 31 (Oct. 29, 2011): The Tigers win a thriller in overtime in College Station.
It would be both Missouri and Texas A&M’s last season in the Big 12 before jumping to the SEC a year later. The Tigers played an up-and-down start to the 2011 season, losing to three ranked opponents on the road on their way to a 3-4 start. It would be a different story against the No. 16 Aggies.
Missouri sophomore quarterback James Franklin started off the scoring with an electric 20-yard touchdown run where he scrambled and broke four tackles. But then senior quarterback Ryan Tannehill — led the Aggies to respond quickly and build a 28-17 halftime lead, forcing the Tigers to claw their way back.
After both teams being held scoreless in the third quarter, Franklin rushed for his second touchdown early in the fourth quarter, making it a four-point game. After forcing a Texas A&M three-and-out, the Tigers drove down the field with sophomore running back Henry Josey scoring from 11 yards out, giving the Tigers a 31-28 lead with under eight minutes to play.
Franklin and Josey had a field day on the ground. Josey gained 162 yards on 20 carries, while Franklin added 97 more on 24 carries.
The Aggies kicked a field goal the following possession, and since neither team could score in the final 4:10, the game went into overtime. Missouri got the ball first and Franklin found sophomore wide receiver Marcus Lucas in the end zone on third-and-8. The Aggies’ offense failed to score on their overtime possession, clinching a thrilling 38-31 Tigers victory and kick-started a strong back half of the season where Missouri finished 8-5.
3: No. 6 Texas A&M 17, No. 13 Missouri 14 (Nov. 14, 1998): A late mistake cost the Tigers a chance at a division title.
After Larry Smith took over in 1994, Missouri started a rebuild back to relevancy. It reached its first bowl game in 1997 after a 13-year drought. In 1998, it was battling ‘90s powerhouses Kansas State and Nebraska for a Big 12 North Title behind the strong running game of senior quarterback Corby Jones and senior running back Devin West.
At its highest ranking since 1981, the No. 13 Missouri took on the No. 6 Texas A&M. The Tigers needed to win out against the two best teams in the Big 12 — Texas A&M and Kansas State — to reach the Big 12 Championship Game.
Missouri tied the game up at 14 in the fourth quarter with a nine-yard Jones touchdown pass to freshman tight end Dwayne Blakely, but tragedy struck not long after. The Tigers muffed a punt at their own 30 with 5:26 remaining, setting up the go-ahead Aggies’ field goal with 1:30 left to play.
The loss eliminated the Tigers from Big 12 North contention, but Missouri finished the season ranked No. 21 with an 8-4 record and an Insight Bowl victory.
2: Missouri 34, Texas A&M 27 (Nov. 15, 2014): Russel Hansbrough, Ish Witter and the defense come up big, keeping the Tigers’ SEC East hopes alive.
In 2014, the Tigers started 3-0 in non-conference action, but lost to Indiana at home. After a come-from-behind win at South Carolina, the Tigers were embarrassed 34-0 at home against the Georgia Bulldogs, giving them the tiebreaker over Missouri in the SEC East standings. But Georgia lost to Florida, meaning the Tigers could win out to claim their second SEC East crown.
Texas A&M was one of the teams that attempted to stand in the way of the Tigers’ quest for back-to-back SEC East titles. The Aggies took a 13-6 halftime lead, but the Tigers outscored A&M 28-7 in the third quarter. A touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Maty Mauk, two long touchdown runs of 49 and 45 yards by junior running back Russell Hansbrough and a 16-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Ish Witter gave the Tigers a 34-20 lead. The Aggies made it a 7-point game early in the fourth quarter when freshman quarterback Kyle Allen found senior wide receiver Malcome Kennedy from short distance.
The play of the game came with under three minutes to play. The Aggies drove all the way down to the Tigers’ two-yard line and faced a fourth-and-one with the game on the line. Allen rolled to the right side of the field and attempted to throw back senior tight end Cameron Clear on the other side of the field. But before Clear could get the first down, The Tigers stopped him a yard short.
Missouri ran out the clock to extend its winning streak to four games, keeping them atop of the SEC East, which they would go and win for the second consecutive season.
1: No. 5 Missouri 28, No. 19 Texas A&M 21 (Nov. 30, 2013): Ol’ Mizzou proves they belong in the SEC.
When Missouri jumped from the Big 12 to the SEC, many questioned if the Tigers belonged in the conference. In 2012, Gary Pinkel’s squad finished it’s first year of SEC football 5-7, missing out on bowl eligibility for the first time since 2004. However, the Tigers fired back in 2013. After a 10-1 start, the only team sitting in the way of the No. 5 Tigers and an appearance in the SEC Championship Game was 2012 Heisman Trophy-winning sophomore quarterback Johnny Manziel and No. 19 Texas A&M.
In a back-and-forth game, the Tigers’ defense held Manziel in check with just 216 total yards of offense. Meanwhile, Franklin and Josey, who came up big two years earlier against the Aggies, came up big once again.
Franklin tossed two touchdown passes to sophomore wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham and senior wide receiver L’Damian Washington and added 80 yards on the ground. Josey, on the other hand, came up with one of the most iconic plays in Missouri football history.
Facing a third-and-1 from their own 43-yard line, Josey took a handoff from Franklin and outraced everybody to the end zone for a 57-yard touchdown. Faurot Field erupted and the score gave Missouri the lead for good with 3:34 left.
After Texas A&M elected to punt with two minutes to play, Franklin and Hansbrough put the game on ice with back-to-back first downs to ice the game. The fans poured onto Faurot Field celebrating the first of two SEC East titles, proving that the Tigers could compete in the SEC.
Edited by Mason Arneson | marneson@themaneater.com
