This Saturday, University of Missouri football welcomes its highest ranked opponent this season, as the No. 3-ranked Texas A&M Aggies come to town. It will be the third ranked opponent for the Tigers this year, and with two losses to their name, it is do-or-die time for Mizzou. The Aggies come into the matchup unbeaten, as they’ve tallied two ranked victories this year while the Tigers search for their first.
Aggies’ strengths
This season, the Texas A&M offense has ranked No. 7 in the country in scoring, averaging 37.8 points per game. This high-scoring pattern for the Aggies reached a peak in their recent games, as they scored their two season-highs in the last two games.
The Aggies are led by sophomore quarterback Marcel Reed, who has 1,972 passing yards on the season with 17 passing touchdowns. However, his strengths extend beyond the pass attack. Reed is one of Texas A&M’s three players with over 300 rushing yards so far this season. Sophomore running back Rueben Owens II leads the team in rushing yards with 440 on the season, senior running back Le’Veon Moss is second with 389 and Reed is third with 349.
Texas A&M’s strengths extend beyond the rush attack as the Aggies have two receivers with more than 500 receiving yards this year. Sophomore wide receiver Mario Craver leads the unit with 716 yards this season, and junior wide receiver KC Concepcion follows with 545 yards and an offense-leading seven touchdowns this year.
With all of this offensive firepower, it’ll be crucial that the Tigers’ defense is on its A-game.
Mizzou’s response
Despite offensive shortcomings in recent weeks, Mizzou’s defense has done its job all year long. The Tigers rank 16th nationally in points allowed, holding opponents to 18.3 per game.
Perhaps the biggest strength of this unit lies in its edge rush, as the Tigers have a duo that ranks 14th and 41st nationally in sacks. Junior defensive end Damon Wilson II leads Missouri with 6.5 sacks a game and an interception. Senior defensive end Zion Young is second in sacks for the Tigers with five, but he leads the team in forced fumbles with two.
Mizzou’s biggest question mark for this matchup lies under center, as freshman quarterback Matt Zollers makes his first career start for the Tigers. Zollers comes into this game off the back of a performance where he completed 14-of-23 passes for 138 passing yards and a touchdown.
The top-20 matchup takes place Saturday, Nov. 8, at 2:30 p.m.
