Paul Finebaum on Missouri's loss to Texas A&M: 'I don't see their road back'

Missouri was not spared during the slate of upset losses throughout college football during Week 6. Losing to Texas A&M 41-10, the Tigers dropped 15 spots in the latest AP Top 25 Poll heading into Week 7.

Falling out of the top 10 to No. 21, the Tigers have a couple more opportunities during the regular season to prove their rankings aren’t a fluke — something SEC analyst Paul Finebaum believes may be the case.

“They have not proven anything,” Finebaum told ESPN’s Matt Barrie on Sunday. “They have played into the perception of Missouri being a fraudulent Top 10 team, which, I mean, they’re not — they’re a good team. They’re just a fraudulent Top 10 team, and I don’t see their road back. They have Alabama in a couple of weeks in a game that suddenly has gotten really mysterious.

“But I’m more taken away with what a great job Mike Elko is doing. I thought [Texas A&M] would be better than they were under Jimbo Fisher, but I didn’t think they would look that good.”

Before Missouri’s loss to the Aggies, they began the season outscoring their first two opponents, Murray St. and Buffalo, 89-0. They followed that up with a 27-21 win over a ranked Boston College team before defeating Vanderbilt in double overtime at home.

At the time, fans questioned Missouri’s status after the Commodores took them to the limit. However, that argument may not be relevant after Vanderbilt followed that performance up with a 40-35 win over a top-ranked Alabama team.

Despite their undefeated start, Missouri couldn’t find an answer on the road against Texas A&M. The Aggies led 24-0 at halftime, and would never appear to find a rhythm before leaving Kyle Field with a loss.

Missouri will take on UMass in Week 7 in a sort of get-right game to tune them up before Auburn comes to town in Week 8. Kickoff between the Tigers and Minutemen is set for Saturday at Noon ET live on ESPN2.