COLUMBIA, Mo. – Missouri's first full game of the Matt Zollers' era was not a continuation of the flame shown against Vanderbilt, but instead a downpour to put the fire out. The Tigers' Zollers-led offense suffered their biggest loss of the season in a 38-17 loss at the hands of Texas A&M.
Missouri is now 6-3 on the season, and is all-but-officially eliminated from the College Football Playoff.
Missouri was held to just 277 total yards, its lowest total of the season. Freshman quarterback Matt Zollers completed just seven of his 22 passes, throwing for 77 yards and zero touchdowns in the process.
Zollers' 77 passing yards was the lowest by any Missouri quarterback to play a full game this season. 74 of those yards were from Donovan Olugbode, whose 74 receiving yards and three catches both led the team.
No Tiger other Tiger had more than one catch or double-digit receiving yards, as Kevin Coleman Jr., Ahmad Hardy, Jamal Roberts and Josh Manning each had one catch for less than 10 yards.
Hardy broke 1,000 rushing yards on the season with a 45-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. He likely would've broke it much earlier, given his 44-yard first quarter, but he was sidelined for much of the second quarter, leaving Roberts to take over the backfield in his place.
Roberts had a bounce-back game, rushing for 110 yards on 17 attempts, while tacking on a touchdown, his second-highest rushing total of the season, and highest in a Southeastern Conference game.
Hardy and Roberts each rushed for 100 yards or more, the first instance of such since Week 2 against Kansas.
The Tigers had a season-low one sack, coming from Darris Smith, his first in conference play. Mose Phillips III also forced a fumble – his first of the season – recovered by Marvin Burks Jr. Triston Newson led Missouri with 11 tackles, more-than-doubling his previous season-high of four tackles against Kansas and tying the second-highest mark of his career.
Missouri's first score didn't come until the 6:50 mark in the third quarter, where it faced a 21-0 deficit from two Marcel Reed passing touchdowns and an EJ Smith rushing touchdown. Roberts took a direct snap for a 4-yard rushing touchdown, bringing scraping away at a Texas A&M lead to bring the score to 21-7.
Missouri had seemingly stopped the Aggies' next drive following Roberts' touchdown, forcing Texas A&M to a fourth down in their own territory. Instead, the Aggies converted on fourth down and then some, as safety Dalton Brooks rushed down the sideline for a 48-yard gain, setting up his team in scoring position.
Texas A&M kicker Randy Bond then drilled a 32-yard field goal to push the lead to three scores, a 24-7 Aggie lead. The Aggies would keep a multi-score lead for the remainder of the game, with a pair of rushing touchdowns from Rueben Owens II cushioning the lead.
Missouri will next host Mississippi State Nov. 15 for its last home game of 2025, before traveling to Norman, Ok. and Fayetteville, Ark. for road games against Oklahoma and Arkansas.