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Flummoxed and floundering, the No. 9 Tigers never left the starting blocks in a 41-10 defeat to the No. 25 Aggies on Saturday in College Station, their first loss of the season.

Mizzou was consistently outpaced, outclassed and outplayed in its most lopsided defeat since a 66-24 loss to Tennessee in 2022.

MU didn’t pick up 100 yards of offense until late in the third quarter when it scored its first points of the game. At that point, the Aggies had gained 440 total yards. They finished with more than 500.

Quarterback Brady Cook was a meager 13 for 31 with 186 passing yards, though he did complete a few deep passes. He was sacked six times. Running back Nate Noel was a non-factor, with just 10 carries for 30 yards.

The Aggies, meanwhile, started Conner Weigman at quarterback — something of a surprise decision, given the success Marcel Reed had with Weigman out — to tremendous effect. The reinstated Weigman completed 82% of his passes for 276 yards while picking up 33 on the ground. Texas A&M's running backs combined for five touchdowns and more than 170 yards.

While it is only early October, the blowout loss likely has negative implications for Mizzou’s chances at making the College Football Playoff and will drop the Tigers in polls.

Eli Drinkwitz sensed the first punch was coming seconds before it landed.

The Missouri coach’s offense had turned the ball over on downs to open the game, stalling just across midfield despite a 27-yard completion to wideout Luther Burden III on its first play from scrimmage. Texas A&M had advanced the ball down to the Tigers’ 26-yard line in response.

And Drinkwitz wanted a timeout. He started to run up the sideline, making a “T� with his hands. The Aggies snapped the ball, handed it off to tailback Amari Daniels, and watched him burst through a defensive flaw Drinkwitz must have noticed all the way down to the 1-yard line.

Daniels punched in the touchdown from that short range, giving A&M an early 7-0 lead over Mizzou.

The Aggies added a field goal on their next drive, benefitting from another explosive play — this time, a catch, run and handful of missed tackles that got wide receiver Noah Thomas into MU territory.

Trailing 10-0, Missouri seemed to have a response. Cook rolled to his right to extend a pass play, allowing Burden to ad lib a route and shake loose over the top of the defense. The pair connected for what looked like a 75-yard touchdown, only for an ineligible man downfield penalty to call the play back. A salt-in-the-wound delay of game penalty before the next snap canned the drive.

Texas A&M drove 65 yards for Daniels to score his second touchdown of the day on another goal-line carry, taking a 17-0 lead just inside the second quarter.

Another big play helped the Aggies tack on another lengthy scoring drive. The Tigers forced a 3rd and 13 attempt from A&M, which turned into a 40-yard gain as wide receiver Jahdae Walker wrestled a catch away from MU corner Dreyden Norwood. A punch-in score from running back Le’Veon Moss put Texas A&M up 24-0 with 6:34 left before halftime.

Mizzou’s last actionable possession of the first half symbolized the start of the game. On a 3rd and 10, Cook escaped the pocket and took off, running from one sideline back across the field to the other. A few dozen yards covered yielded just 12 yards of actual progress — which was wiped out by an illegal formation penalty that rendered the play fruitless from the start. MU picked up three of its four first half first downs on that drive but still punted from A&M’s side of the field.

Drinkwitz tried to give the Tigers a chance at finding some magic — or maybe just a sliver of momentum — before halftime, calling his final timeout of the first half to force the Aggies to punt with 15 seconds on the clock. In another play that summed up the first 30 minutes, the ball rolled slowly out of bounds inside MU’s one-yard line, forcing the visitors’ bonus play to be Cook prioritizing safety by avoiding a safety and throwing the ball away.

“We haven’t fought back yet,� Drinkwitz told the Mizzou radio broadcast on his way to the locker room.

The start of the second half brought another explosive punch to the Tigers’ collective gut. Moss took the first play of the third quarter 75 yards to the house for his second touchdown of the day, bumping the deficit up to 31-0.

Needing to embark on a near-miraculous comeback, the ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ offense went three and out, with Cook getting sacked on third down by standout edge rusher Nic Scourton.

Texas A&M added a 38-yard field goal to go up 34-0 just over halfway through the third quarter.

MU broke up the Aggies’ shutout bid on its first third-down conversion of the day, which came through a 59-yard touchdown to wide receiver Theo Wease Jr. Cook once again extended the play with a well-timed rollout, then heaved the ball deep to where the wideout had breathing room downfield for his first catch of the day.

The game seemed to be morally over on a third and 23 early in the fourth quarter. Two false starts on left tackle Marcus Bryant set up the long yardage, the the Tigers checked the ball down to the running back. Even though they went for it on a last-ditch fourth down, Burden walked off the field slowly between plays with his head drooped. 

Moss' third touchdown of the day stretched the score to 41-7 and a one-word chant floated loudly and clearly from the Texas A&M student section: "Overrated."

Mizzou (4-1, 1-1 SEC) is on the road again next weekend, facing UMass (1-5) in Amherst, Massachusetts.