Missouri football report card. Our grades for Tigers after 21-point loss to Texas A&M
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No. 17/19-ranked Missouri football’s last chance to make a run at a College Football Playoff berth fell by the wayside Saturday in Columbia, where the Tigers lost 38-17 to undefeated and No. 3/3-ranked Texas A&M.
Mizzou lost for the second straight game and for the third time in its past four matchups.
Here’s how we graded Missouri (6-3, 2-3 SEC) against Texas A&M (9-0, 6-0).
Quarterback: D
Mizzou didn’t put any training wheels on true freshman Matt Zollers. The Tigers let him throw the ball downfield. There’s a case to be made that they let him throw too much.
The quarterback was clearly green. His throws have one setting, and that’s full speed. The rookie put a lot of balls on target and gave his receivers chances, but there were mistakes, miscues and missed opportunities for checkdowns and short gains.
It’s hard to be too critical. It was his first start, and it came against one of the best defenses in the country.
But Zollers was 7-of-22 passing for 77 yards in his first start. That won’t cut it.
The run game: A
Jamal Roberts was, at times, the only spark Missouri had in the first half. His third-quarter touchdown run got MU briefly back in the game, and he tallied well over 100 rushing yards.
After a 40-yard, game-opening run from Hardy, the standout tailback only touched the ball two more times for the remainder of the half. He did not appear to see the field in the second quarter. That’s a curious choice, unless there was an unknown injury.
Both Hardy and Roberts finished with more than 100 rushing yards and the Tigers rushed for 200 yards.
The pass-catchers: F
Other than a spectacular 34-yard catch from Donovan Olugbode in the first quarter, Mizzou’s passing game was essentially a non-factor Saturday.
There were multiple drops. It seemed, at times, like the Tigers were struggling to get open for the rookie QB. Olugbode had three catches for 74 yards. His teammates combined for four catches and three yards.
Defensive front: C
The Tigers had a standout first half but couldn’t maintain that throughout the game as the offense sputtered. Texas A&M attempted 16 runs in the first half and only came up with 23 yards, Marcel Reed faced some pressure, especially on third down.
But the game wore on, chunk plays arrived. Rueben Owens II ran in two touchdowns for the Aggies in the fourth quarter, and most of the damage was done once the game was no longer truly competitive.
Secondary: C
Santana Banner probably could have made a play on KC Concepcion’s 48-yard touchdown reception, but the Mizzou safety was picked up by the Aggies’ blockers on the screen and the speedy wideout was home free.
There’s an argument that corner Toriano Pride Jr. could have made more of a play on the ball on Texas A&M’s first touchdown of the day.
For the most part, Missouri did a fine job at keeping Concepcion and Craver in front of them. Chunk plays were hard-earned, but mistakes added up.
Coaching: F
There was another special teams disaster on the fake punt. Mizzou has been frequently atrocious in that phase for a while now. Against Texas A&M, it cost the Tigers any momentum they had after a third-quarter touchdown and, ultimately, any chance at a comeback.
The offense never really found a rhythm but that was more execution-based than playcalling. The Tigers were run-first, and that was the right call.
The defensive playcalling, again, was strong while the game was still competitive. It’s tough to pin much of the 21-point loss on the defense, which was the only reason Mizzou was at all in the game after halftime.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Missouri football report card. Grading the Tigers after Texas A&M loss
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