COLUMBIA, Mo. – A 21-point outburst in the first quarter by No. 21/18 Texas A&M (5-2, 2-2) proved to be too much for the Missouri Tigers (3-4, 0-3) to overcome in a 35-14 Aggies victory on Faurot Field.
Texas A&M opened the scoring with a two-yard touchdown pass from Zach Calzada to Ainias Smith after the Aggies got the ball at the Missouri 22-yard line following an interception by Jaylon Jones of a Connor Bazelak pass. The play before, Bazelak had completed a 16-yard pass to Keke Chism that took the ball into Aggie territory, but the gain was negated by an illegal shift penalty.
The A&M tailback tandem of Isaiah Spiller and Devon Achane each scored in the first quarter; Spiller on a 48-yard run up the middle that closed out an 89-yard drive, and Achane on a 20-yard dash that came with the Aggies facing a third-and-15 situation.
But after the first quarter, the Tigers played Texas A&M even, matching the Aggies on the scoreboard and outgaining them in total yards, 279-248.
Tyler Badie scored Mizzou’s first touchdown on a 32-yard run in the second quarter on a run where he just refused to go down, carrying a defender the final eight yards to the end zone. The run capped a 66-yard scoring drive and marked his 13th TD of the season. Prior to his scoring run, A&M had limited Badie to nine rushing yards on seven carries.
Calzada answered with another TD pass to Ainias Smith late in the quarter to give Texas A&M a 28-7 halftime lead.
Missouri closed to within 28-14 in the third quarter when Bazelak led the Tigers on a 97-yard, 14-play drive that culminated with the first career touchdown by Dominic Lovett on a seven-yard misdirection run around the left end. During the drive, Tauskie Dove caught big passes of 24 and 26 yards, and Mizzou took advantage of a fourth-down pass interference penalty at midfield by Jones.
Late in the period, Mizzou had A&M needing 17 yards on a third-down play at its own 45-yard line but Calzada hit Smith for 21 yards down to the MU 34, and five plays later Achane plunged into the endzone from one-yard out to make the score 35-14.
Spiller rushed 20 times for 168 yards and Achane gained 124 yards on 16 carries.
Badie was the workhorse for Missouri, rushing 22 times for 68 yards and catching seven passes for 53 yards. Bazelak completed 29 of 43 passes for 230 yards, with two interceptions.
Defensively, Jaylon Carlies had a first-half pass interception at the goal line, his third pick of the season.
UP NEXT
Mizzou takes a week off and will be back in action on Oct. 30, playing against the Vanderbilt Commodores in Nashville, Tennessee. Game time will be announced by the SEC on Monday, Oct. 18.
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