COLUMBIA, Mo. — Now comes the harder part for Missouri.
The No. 9 Tigers are 4-0 and well-rested coming off an early-season bye week, just in time for the biggest game of their season so far: a road showdown with No. 25 Texas A&M.
It’ll be the first time in 2024 that Mizzou plays away from home, and a national TV designation means there will be more eyes on the game, too.
MU should have nearly its entire roster available, outside of wide receiver Marquis Johnson. The speedster suffered an ankle injury in Missouri’s Sept. 21 game against Vanderbilt, did not practice Tuesday and was listed as questionable on the first injury report of the week.
“Other than Marquis, everybody else is going to be ready to roll,†Mizzou coach Eli Drinkwitz said.
For Texas A&M, quarterback Conner Weigman is listed as questionable with a shoulder injury that Aggies coach Mike Elko has said will make him a game-time decision. Calling that “semantics,†Drinkwitz has prepped the Tigers for Marcel Reed to be A&M’s QB on Saturday.
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Here are three storylines to follow heading into the game:
Nation's only game between ranked opponents
There’s only one game that pits two teams in the AP's Top 25 poll against each other, and it’s Mizzou-Texas A&M. The game will be an 11 a.m. kickoff at the Aggies’ Kyle Field, and it will air on ABC (KDNL, Channel 30, locally) as one of the network’s spotlighted Southeastern Conference games.
It’s a bigger stage for the Tigers than they’ve had for their first four games of the season, despite being ranked inside or close to the top 10 for most of that stretch.
And with Kyle Field able to hold more than 100,000 fans, an unfriendly crowd will be a stark difference from Mizzou’s home sellouts.
Interestingly, it’s the second time this year that MU has been in a given Saturday’s only ranked-versus-ranked matchup: The Tigers’ Sept. 14 game against then-No. 24 Boston College was the only such clash that day.
Another mobile QB
If there’s anything that feels repetitive from a storyline standpoint, it’s that Mizzou is — yet again — expected to face a run-happy quarterback in Texas A&M’s Reed.
“It’s a common theme right now for the opponents that we play,†Drinkwitz said.
The run of runners started with Buffalo’s CJ Ogbonna, then ramped up with BC’s Thomas Castellanos and Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia. How the Tigers wind up attacking Reed could be a blend of the game plans against the prior three quarterbacks.
“I think he’s a really good thrower,†Drinkwitz said. “It’s not like he can sit there and (we) try to do the same rushing attack that we had against Boston College to keep him in the pocket because he’ll pick you apart. But I don’t know that we can afford to let him out of the pocket the way we ended up letting Diego a couple times.â€
And for its part, Missouri’s defense is getting used to dealing with this kind of threat.
“We face a lot of them this year,†defensive end Johnny Walker Jr. said. “He’s a very agile runner. Watched tape on him a lot. He doesn’t run as often as the last guys did, but we’re wanting to limit him running.â€
Establishing the run
Speaking of running, MU’s own rushing attack could be a key factor against the Aggies.
Running back Nate Noel’s usage has steadily increased through the first four games of the season, going from 11 rushing attempts in the opener against Murray State to 12 against Buffalo, 22 against Boston College and 24 against Vanderbilt.
Feasting on the Tigers’ preferred outside zone scheme, Noel has gone over the 100-yard mark in those past two games, including a career high 199 yards against the Commodores.
Through his collegiate career at both Mizzou and Appalachian State, Noel has received 20 or more carries eight times — and gone for more than 100 yards in all of those games. Feeding him could be a key part of the Tigers’ game plan.
Videos: Mizzou coach Eli Drinkwitz, QB Brady Cook, others on looming Texas A&M challenge
Mizzou coach Eli Drinkwitz, quarterback Brady Cook, defensive lineman Johnny Walker Jr. and receiver Theo Wease Jr. talk about the week off and the road game at Texas A&M.
Missouri football head coach Eli Drinkwitz speaks with the media about Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, before …
Missouri football quarterback Brady Cook speaks with the media about the Texas A&M defense on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, before a game at Texa…
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