Mizzou RB Jamal Roberts tries to fight off two tacklers in the Tigers’ game against Texas A&M on Saturday. (Photo: Terrance Williams)

NCAA Football1st2nd3rd4thFinal
#3 Texas A&M (9-0, 6-0)77101438
#19 Mizzou (6-3, 2-3)0071017

COLUMBIA, MO — Despite running backs Ahmad Hardy and Jamal Roberts both rushing for over 100 yards and a sold out home crowd making loud, distracting noise throughout the day, the University of Missouri football team couldn’t hold off No. 3-ranked Texas A&M in a 38-17 loss, Saturday afternoon at Faurot Field.

Hardy started for Missouri and put up 109 yards on 13 carries, including a 40-yard burst on Mizzou’s first play of the game. Roberts came off the bench and posted a game-high 110 yards on 17 carries, including a 4-yard scoring run that was the Tigers’ first score of the game.

Unfortunately, Missouri couldn’t match A&M’s offensive production. The Aggies outgained the Tigers 464 yards to 284, including topping Mizzou in rushing yards 243 to 207 and posting 21 first downs to MU’s 17.

The biggest difference though, was A&M netted 221 passing yards, while Mizzou managed just 77 yards through the air in freshman quarterback Matt Zollers’ first game as a college starting quarterback.

Ahmad Hardy signals first down, after his long run moved Mizzou into good territory in Saturday’s game against Texas A&M. (Photo: Terrance Williams)

Overall, Zollers was seven-for-22 with 77 yards and two lost fumbles.

“He got off to a really slow start,” Mizzou head coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “We didn’t do a good enough job getting him comfortable throwing the football. Completions were tough. They were challenging every throw. But I thought he did a nice job of trying the deep ball.

“But ultimately, we have to do a better job, with a freshman quarterback, protecting him. There can’t be free runners on him and that happened too many times on third downs. Obviously, one of them was a serious momentum changer in the game.”

That play occurred late in the first half, when Mizzou was looking to run out the clock and head into halftime trailing 7-0. But an opportunity opened with just over a minute left, where Drinkwitz decided to get aggressive and see if his club could move the ball at least into field goal range.

It was third down and the Tigers were trying to get a first down and keep the clock moving. But A&M’s defense broke through Mizzou’s offensive line and linebacker Daymion Sanford sacked Zollers and stripped the ball away from him. Teammate Dalton Brooks caught the fumble in the air and returned it to Missouri’s 2-yard line.

A&M scored two plays later and turned a 7-0 lead into a 14-0 advantage just before halftime.

“We were trying to — they had three timeouts,” Drinkwitz explained postgame. “Once we got the first first down, we wanted to see if we could get points. When we got to 3rd-and-9 right there, we went to a max-protection flood concept, but ultimately they had a blitz on, and they were able to swing the mike to the field, and had a free hitter.

“That’s my fault. That’s poor scheme. I gave the OK to try to get the first down there. I should’ve said to throw a screen instead.”

Mizzou defenders bring down a Texas A&M ball carrier during Saturday’s football game at Faurot Field in Columbia, Mo. (Photo: Terrance Williams)

A&M scored again on its first possession of the third quarter to go ahead 21-0. Missouri answered with an eight-play, 40-yard drive, sparked by a 55 yard kickoff return by DaMarion Fowlkes and capped by Roberts’ touchdown run that made the score 21-7.

That brought the fans back into the game and the Mizzou defense pumped them up even more by forcing a quick fourth down on A&M’s next possession. It looked like Mizzou would get the ball back with all the momentum and a chance to cut into A&M’s lead even more.

But the Aggies, who were facing 4th-and-3 from their own 34, pulled off the play of the day, when it fooled Mizzou on a fake punt that gained 48 yards and moved the ball to the Tigers’ 18 yard line.

A&M kicked a field goal to go ahead 24-7, and even though it was only three points, in the stadium it felt like the Aggies had scored three touchdowns on that one drive because the fake punt sucked all the energy out of the building.

“We had max return called because we thought we were going to generate something for (Kevin Coleman Jr.), and when you have max return called, you’re not really in a great position to defend the fake,” he said. “Ultimately, that’s on me. I gave the OK. I said, ‘We can be in max return here. That’s on me as the head football coach.”

He added: “The fake punt, where we had the momentum — really, that’s when the wheels fell off for us defensively … after that, we weren’t able to stop the run. We had really stuffed the run most of the game. But we just didn’t have enough left in the tank.”

In the fourth quarter, Mizzou kicked a field goal and scored a touchdown — a 45-yard run by Hardy — but A&M scored two touchdowns of its own and forced a turnover to make sure the Tigers would not pull off any miracle comebacks.

The loss dropped Mizzou to 6-3 on the season and 2-3 in the SEC. A&M remained unbeaten at 9-0 and 6-0.

The Tigers will be back in action with their final home game of the 2025 season, next Saturday, November 15, when Mizzou will host Mississippi State. Kickoff at Faurot Field that night is scheduled for 6:45 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

SCORING SUMMARY

QtrTimeScoring PlayA&MMIZ
1st01:16A&M – Bethel-Roman,Ashton 4 yd pass from Reed,Marcel (Bond,Randy kick), 9 plays, 59 yards, TOP 04:3770
2nd00:20A&M – Smith,EJ 1 yd run (Bond,Randy kick), 2 plays, 2 yards, TOP 00:37140
3rd11:21A&M – Concepcion,KC 48 yd pass from Reed,Marcel (Bond,Randy kick), 4 plays, 68 yards, TOP 01:36210
3rd06:50MIZ – Roberts,Jamal 4 yd run (Meyer,Robert kick), 8 plays, 40 yards, TOP 04:20217
3rd03:10A&M – Bond,Randy 32 yd field goal, 8 plays, 59 yards, TOP 03:34247
4th11:17MIZ – Robbins,Oliver 49 yd field goal, 10 plays, 52 yards, TOP 03:342410
4th07:40A&M – Owens II,Rueben 57 yd run (Bond,Randy kick), 6 plays, 76 yards, TOP 03:293110
4th06:45MIZ – Hardy,Ahmad 45 yd run (Meyer,Robert kick), 4 plays, 71 yards, TOP 00:493117
4th02:36A&M – Owens II,Rueben 1 yd run (Bond,Randy kick), 7 plays, 65 yards, TOP 04:083817

2025 MIZZOU TIGERS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

DateTimeAtOpponentLocationTVRadioResults
August 28, 2025 (Thursday)6:30 pmHomeCentral ArkansasFaurot FieldTiger Radio NetworkW, 61-6 (1-0)
September 6, 2025 (Saturday)2:30 pmHomeKansasFaurot FieldTiger Radio NetworkW, 42-31 (2-0)
September 13, 2025 (Saturday)12 pmHomeLouisianaFaurot FieldTiger Radio NetworkW, 52-10 (3-0)
September 20, 2025 (Saturday)6 pmHomeSouth CarolinaFaurot FieldTiger Radio NetworkW, 29-20 (4-0)
September 27, 2025 (Saturday)6:30 pmHomeMassachusettsFaurot FieldTiger Radio NetworkW, 42-6 (5-0)
October 11, 2025 (Saturday)11 amHome#8 AlabamaFaurot FieldABCTiger Radio NetworkL, 27-24 (5-1)
October 18, 2025 (Saturday)6:45 pmAwayAuburnAuburn, Ala. / Jordan-Hare StadiumTiger Radio NetworkW, 23-17 2OT (6-1)
October 25, 2025 (Saturday)2:30 pmAway#14 VanderbiltNashville, Tenn. / FirstBank StadiumTiger Radio NetworkL, 17-19 (6-2)
November 8, 2025 (Saturday)2:30 pmHome#3 Texas A&MFaurot FieldABCTiger Radio NetworkL, 38-17 (6-3)
November 15, 2025 (Saturday)6:45 pmHomeMississippi StateFaurot FieldTiger Radio Network
November 22, 2025 (Saturday)11 amAway#14 OklahomaNorman, Okla. / Memorial Stadium11 amTiger Radio Network
November 29, 2025 (Saturday)TBDAwayArkansasFayetteville, Ark. / Razorback StadiumTBDTiger Radio Network