Mizzou’s defense started 2024 red-hot. Saturday? ‘We didn’t do much of anything well’

In the only ranked-on-ranked matchup of the weekend, No. 9 Missouri wasted no time in stripping all of the intrigue and excitement from its bout against No. 25 Texas A&M, turning in one of its worst defensive performances in recent memory in a 41-10 loss Saturday at Kyle Field.

Few things went well for the Tigers in their first loss since Nov. 4, 2023, a 30-21 defeat at Georgia. But of the mishaps and missed opportunities, Missouri’s defensive struggles stood out as a key factor in the road letdown.

“We didn’t do much of anything well on the defensive side of the ball,” Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said.

The Tigers’ defense, in one of its most lackluster showings of the past few seasons, allowed 41 points and 512 yards, the most the team has allowed since it gave up 49 points and 533 yards to last year’s Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels and LSU.

In the first half alone Saturday, Missouri gave up 305 yards and three touchdowns, all of which were on the ground. The highlight of the half came with 13 seconds left when, finally, the Tigers forced a punt. For the few Missouri fans still celebrating, though, the ensuing punt from Aggies punter Tyler White pinned Mizzou at the 1-yard line

“I don’t know how (White) got it to screwball like that. That was pretty impressive to make it slide out on the half-yard line,” Texas A&M coach Mike Elko said. “Those things matter and field position matters.”

That was a theme for the Missouri defense throughout the game — even when something went well, it didn’t result in positive momentum.

When Texas A&M sophomore quarterback Conner Weigman threw one of his his first errant passes with 10:55 remaining in the second quarter, it looked like Missouri would cash in. Tigers cornerback Toriano Pride Jr. nearly intercepted the pass, which hit him in the chest, but was just credited with a pass breakup.

So, instead of the Tigers taking over deep in enemy territory with a chance to cut into the Aggies’ 17-0 lead, Texas A&M retained possession and marched down the field, capping off an 11-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown run from running back Le’Veon Moss to make it 24-0.

Weigman, who was a game-time decision, was excellent in his return from a shoulder injury that sidelined him for three games. He torched the Tigers’ highly touted defense, completing 18-of-22 passes for 276 yards, 193 of which came in the first half.

“He’s a great player,” Drinkwitz said. ”He was very accurate today and did a great job scrambling. He threw the football extremely well, and we were never able to make him uncomfortable.”

Missouri’s defense, a unit that entered Saturday’s SEC matchup as a top-20 team against the run, allowed 236 rushing yards, four rushing touchdowns and 6.6 yards per carry.

“They use different looks and stuff like same-side counters, powers, different counters out of different looks,” defensive tackle Kristian Williams said. “It’s a lot to handle. ... At the end of the day, 236 yards is unacceptable. So we just have to go back to the drawing board and get better.”

On the first play of the second half, any hopes of a comeback were promptly squashed; Moss ran for a 75-yard touchdown, gashing the Tigers’ run defense and extending Texas A&M’s lead to 31 points.

“We came out on the first drive of the second half and gave up a 75-yard touchdown,” Drinkwitz said. “So, (we did not have) much of a response.”

Moss finished the game with 12 carries, 138 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 11.5 yards per attempt. He also caught two passes for 35 yards. His 173 total yards from scrimmage were just 81 yards fewer than the total yardage accumulated by Missouri’s offense.

Joining Moss in the ground attack was running back Amari Daniels, who tallied nine carries for 34 yards and two touchdowns, both of which came in the first half.

“We dominated the rushing game, we won on third downs and we won on touchdowns in the red zone,” Elko said. “We did the things we need to do to be successful playing the game of football.”

One of Missouri’s most significant issues against Texas A&M was its third-down defense, an area in which the unit had thrived during the first four games. The Aggies went 7-for-11, 63.6%, on third down, consistently finding ways to sustain drives.

Texas A&M started that process early, as seen on its first drive of the game when it faced a third-and-6 in Tigers territory. Missouri, with a chance to hold the Aggies to a long field goal attempt, allowed Daniels to rush for 25 yards, finally stopping him one yard short of the goal line. He punched it in on the following play, giving the Aggies a 7-0 lead with 9:17 left in the first quarter.

On third-and-13 with 9:31 left in the second quarter, during the same drive as Pride Jr.’s dropped interception, the Tigers once again failed to get off the field. Weigman found wideout Jahdae Walker down the left sideline for a pickup of 40 yards. It was Weigman’s longest completion.

Three plays later, on third-and-7, Weigman scrambled up the middle for a gain of 15 yards, setting up another first down. Texas A&M capped off that drive with a touchdown, making it 24-0.

Those third-down miscues led to a rough showing for the Tigers’ defensive, which also missed several tackles and had multiple blown coverages at various points in the first half. Missouri struggled to apply much pressure on Weigman and the Aggies’ offensive line, finishing with only five tackles for loss and one sack, courtesy of defensive end Zion Young.

Although Texas A&M exposed a Missouri defense that many assumed to be the strength of the team entering Week 6, the unit receives an opportunity to rediscover its defensive prowess when it faces UMass at 11 a.m. next Saturday in Amherst, Massachusetts.

“We’re going to have to get on the plane, get home, figure out this game tomorrow and then put it to bed on Monday,” Drinkwitz said. “And then we’ll focus on the next opponent, which is UMass.”

Copyright 2024 Columbia Missourian