Game preview: Missouri's offense vs. Texas A&M's defense
AggieYell.com’s breakdown of the matchup between No. 3 Texas A&M (8-0, 5-0 SEC) and No. 19 Missouri (6-2, 2-2 SEC) continues with a look at the Tigers offense against the Aggie defense.
Missouri offensive depth chart
QB: #5, Matt Zollers (6-4, 214, Fr.)
#14, Brett Brown (6-1, 185, RS-Jr.)
RB: #29, Ahmad Hardy (5-10, 210, So.) OR #20, Jamal Roberts (6, 212, RS-So.)
#22, Tavorus Jones (5-9, 207, RS-Jr.) OR #7, Marquise Davis (6, 217, Fr.)
TE: #87, Brett Norfleet (6-6, 260, Jr.) OR #86, Jordon Harris (6-4, 268, Jr.)
#89, Jude James, (6-2 236 RS-Fr.) OR #12, Vince Brown II (6-6, 240, RS-Sr.)
WR (X): #2, Marquis Johnson (5-11, 190, Jr.)
#6, Xavier Loyd (6-2, 196, Gr.) OR #82, Logan Muckey, (6, 199, Sr.) OR #4, James Madison II (6-3, 210, RS-Fr.)
WR (H): #3, Kevin Coleman Jr. (5-11, 180, Sr.)
#10, Daniel Blood (5-10, 194, Jr.) OR #8, Shaun Terry II (5-11, 175, Fr.)
WR (Z): #0, Josh Manning (6, 213, Jr.)
#1, Donovan Olugbode (6-2, 212, Fr.) OR #11, DaMarion Fowlkes (5-9, 184, Fr.)
LT: #70, Cayden Green (6-5, 324, Jr.)
#75, Jayven Richardson (6-6, 313, RS-Jr.)
LG: #56, Dominick Giudice, (6-4, 312, Gr.)
#50, Jaylen Early (6-4, 321, RS-Sr.)
C: #55, Connor Tollison (6-5, 290, Gr.)
#73, Tristan Wilson (6-4, 302, RS-Jr.)
RG: #77, Curtis Peagler (6-4, 338, RS-Jr.)
#54, Henry Fenuku (6-3, 305, Fr.)
RT: #79, Keagen Trost (6-4, 316, Gr.)
#60, Johnny Williams IV (6-7, 327, RS-So.)
Missouri offensive statistical leaders
Passing: Beau Pribula, 158-227 (69.6%), 1,685 yards, 11 TD, 7 INT
Zollers, 20-29, 213 yards, 2 TD
Rushing: Hardy, 159 carries, 937 yards (5.9 YPC), 11 TD
Roberts, 66 carries, 428 yards (6.5 YPC), 3 TD
Pribula, 71 carries, 220 yards (3.1 YPC), 5 TD
Receiving: Coleman, 51 catches, 55 yards (10.9 YPC), 1 TD
Johnson, 28 catches, 340 yards (12.1 YPC), 2 TD
Manning, 22 catches, 231 yards (10.5 YPC), 1 TD
Texas A&M defensive depth chart
DE: #50, Dayon Hayes (6-3, 264, Gr.) OR #18, TJ Searcy (6-5, 255, Jr.)
#30 Solomon Williams (6-1, 250, RS-Fr.) OR #92 Sam M’Pemba (6-3, 252, RS-So.)
DT: #5, DJ Hicks (6-3, 295, Jr.) OR #11, Tyler Onyedim (6-3, 295, Gr.) OR #17, Albert Regis (6-1, 317, Gr.)
#55, Dealyn Evans (6-4, 314, RS-Fr.) OR #99, Landon Rink (6-2, 294, Fr.)
NT: #17, Albert Regis (6-1, 317, Gr.) OR #5, DJ Hicks (6-3, 295, Jr.) OR #11, Tyler Onyedim (6-3, 295, Gr.)
#88, DJ Sanders (6-3, 315, Fr.) OR #99, Landon Rink (6-2, 294, Fr.)
DT: #11, Tyler Onyedim (6-3, 295, Gr.) OR #17 Albert Regis (6-1, 317, Gr.) OR #5, DJ Hicks (6-3, 295, Jr.)
#59, Chace Sims (6-3, 294, Fr.) OR #99 Landon Rink, (6-2, 294, Fr.)
JACK: #9, Cashius Howell (6-2, 248, R-Sr.)
#15, Rylan Kennedy (6-3, 239, RS-So.) OR #10, Marco Jones (6-5, 258, Fr.) OR #92, Sam M’Pemba (6-3, 252, RS-So.)
LB: #21, Taurean York (5-10, 227, Jr.)
#54, Jordan Lockhart (6-1, 229, So.) OR #27 Daymion Sanford (6-2, 222, Jr.)
LB: #0, Scooby Williams (6-2, 230, Sr.)
#27, Daymion Sanford (6-2, 222, Jr.) OR #23, Noah Mikhail (6-2, 223, Fr.)
NICKEL: #7 Tyreek Chappell (5-11, 180, RS-Sr.)
#19, Bravion Rogers (5-11, 188, Jr.) OR #8, Jordan Shaw (5-11, 182, RS-So.) OR #14, Jayvon Thomas (5-11, 196, Jr.)
CB: #4, Will Lee III (6-1, 189, Sr.)
#6, Julio Humphrey (6-1, 195, R-Jr.)
CB: #2, Dezz Ricks (6-1, 188, R-So.)
#6, Julio Humphrey (6-1, 195, R-Jr.)
#20, Adonyss Currie (6-0, 174, Fr.)
S: #1, Bryce Anderson (5-10, 186, Sr.)
#29, Myles Davis (6-1, 196, So.) OR #13, Rashad “Tom Tom” Johnson Jr. (6-1, 198, Fr.)
S: #25, Dalton Brooks (6-0, 193, Jr.) OR #3 Marcus Ratcliffe (6-2, 209, Jr.)
#33, Jarred Kerr (5-11, 190, Sr.)
#13, Rashad “Tom Tom” Johnson Jr. (6-1, 198, Fr.)
Texas A&M defensive statistical leaders
Tackles: York, 45
Ratcliffe, 44
Lee, 34
Tackles for loss: Howell, 10.5
Sanford, 6.5
Hicks, 5.5
Sacks: Howell, 9.5
Hayes, 3.5
Hicks, 3
Interceptions: Sanford and Scooby Williams, 1
Forced fumbles: Seven players with 1
Fumble recoveries: Four players with 1
Injury update
Missouri: QB Beau Pribula (ankle) is out.
Tight end Brett Norfleet (shoulder) is questionable.
Texas A&M: LB Scooby Williams, S Bryce Anderson and S Rashad “Tom Tom” Johnson are all out.
Head to head: Missouri’s offense vs. Texas A&M’s defense
| Category | Missouri | National/SEC rank | Category | Texas A&M | National/SEC rank |
| Total offense | 427.8 YPG | 14th, 4th | Total defense | 321.5 YPG | 31st, 7th |
| Scoring offense | 35.4 PPG | 25th, 6th | Scoring defense | 23.6 PPG | 60th, 12th |
| Rushing offense | 235.5 YPG | 10th, 1st | Rushing defense | 118.5 YPG | 33rd, 7th |
| Passing offense | 237.3 YPG | 58th, 10th | Passing defense | 203 YPG | 45th, 7th |
| First downs | 207 | 12th, 4th | First downs allowed | 139 | 20th, 5th |
| 3rd down conversion percentage | 50.4% | 15th, 3rd | 3rd down conversion defense | 22.2% | 1st nationally |
| Red zone conversion percentage | 87.2% | 55th, 10th | Red zone defense | 96.2% | 129th, 16th |
| Sacks allowed per game | 2.25 | 97th, 12th | Sacks per game | 4 | 1st nationally |
| Tackles for loss allowed per game | 4.63 | 38th, 4th | Tackles for loss per game | 8.3 | 3rd, 2nd |
| Turnovers | 9 | 41st, 8th | Turnovers forced | 6 | 120th, 15th |
| Turnover +/- | -2 | 88th, 11th | Turnover +/- | -1 | 80th, 9th |
| Time of possession | 34:44 | 3rd, 1st | Time of possession | 32:11 | 20th, 4th |
What Missouri wants to do
The Tigers have been rush-heavy all year, to the tune of 58.2% of their plays, but they’re likely going to lean on it even more this week and try to win time of possession significantly. The reason for that is simple: Zollers is making his first start at quarterback, and he’s going up against a very aggressive defense.
Coach Eli Drinkwitz said they would try to tailor the offense around Zollers’s strengths, but there’s only so much they can change schematically. One thing that won’t change is a reliance on the run. Hardy is on his way to an All-American nod and there’s little dropoff when Roberts comes on the field. What may be lacking is the running ability of Pribula, who was able to keep plays alive with his legs and contributed with designed quarterback runs.
Missouri’s tackles are very good, with Trost being elite at right tackle. But the Tigers have still struggled with sacks and tackles for loss, which means they’ll likely try to get the ball out of Zollers’s hands pretty quickly. They’re likely going to emphasize the short passing game a lot, with occasional deep shots if they can provide a clean pocket.
If Norfleet, who has a separated shoulder, can’t play, that’s a big loss for Missouri. The tight end leads the team in touchdown receptions with 5 and has been a big target on third down.
Having a true freshman making his first career start against the team leading the nation in sacks per game is not ideal, but few have the running game Missouri has to help. They’ll likely pound away and hope A&M’s tendency to give up the occasional huge run works in their favor.
How A&M may counter
This is very simple: take away the run and force Zollers to beat you. That’s easier said than done, but it’s clearly the way to go in this one.
Both of Missouri’s running backs are capable of hitting big plays, which A&M has given up multiple times this year against opposing run games. They get a high number of tackles for loss, but then they’ll either get out of position, miss tackles or both. They have to be clean in those departments Saturday.
There’s probably going to be more of an emphasis on tackling for the corners and nickels this week as well, considering Missouri’s reliance on the short passing game — something that will likely only increase with Zollers taking over at quarterback. Receivers like Coleman can take full advantage of missed tackles, so they have to be very good in space.
Look for the Aggies to throw a lot at Zollers, just as they did with Garrett Nussmeier in the LSU game. A&M largely brought only four rushers, but it was figuring out which four it would be that was an issue. That level of havoc and confusion behind a subpar offensive line led to a lot of really quick throws (which infuriated LSU fans). But, even after what A&M did to them, LSU has still done a better job of protecting their quarterbacks than Missouri has. I could see more blitzing this weekend, but also a lot of different looks with a lot of guys in the box presnap with most dropping back. The more you give a freshman quarterback to process, the tougher it gets for him.
The Aggies know that they need to expect a lot of motion and eye candy from Missouri before the snap. They also know what kind of runs Missouri prefers. But all that is useless if you can’t take care of the running back on the first tackle attempt. If the Aggies can do that consistently and force the Tigers to throw, then they can unleash their fearsome pass rush and likely have a major advantage.
