Game preview: Texas A&M's offense vs. Missouri'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) begins with a look at the Aggie offense against the Tigers defense.

Where, when, weather and TV

Where: Faurot Field, Columbia, Mo.

When: 2:30 p.m. central time, Saturday, Nov. 8

Weather: Partly cloudy with highs in the low 60s

TV: ABC (Joe Tessitore (play-by-play), Jordan Rodgers (color analyst), and Stormy Buonantony (sideline reporter)

How they got here:

Texas A&M:

Beat UTSA 42-24

Beat Utah State 44-22

Beat Notre Dame 41-40

Beat Auburn 16-10

Beat Mississippi State 31-9

Beat Florida 34-17

Beat Arkansas 45-42

Beat LSU 49-25

Missouri:

Beat Central Arkansas 61-6

Beat Kansas 42-31

Beat Louisiana 52-10

Beat South Carolina 29-20

Beat UMass 42-6

Lost to Alabama 27-24

Beat Auburn 23-17 (2 OT)

Lost to Vanderbilt 17-10

Texas A&M offensive depth chart

QB: #10, Marcel Reed (6-1, 185, R-So.)

#16, Miles O’Neill (6-5, 220, R-Fr.)

#13, Brady Hart (6-4, 195, Fr.) OR #9, Jacob Zeno (6-2, 215, Gr.)

RB: #8, Le’Veon Moss (5-11, 210, Sr.)

#4, Rueben Owens II (5-11, 215, R-So.)

#5, Amari Daniels (5-8, 197, R-Sr.) OR #23, Jamarion Morrow (5-9, 205, Fr.) OR #22, EJ Smith (5-11, 211, Gr.)

WR: #7, KC Concepcion (5-11, 190, Jr.)

#18, TK Norman (6-0, 182, Fr.)

WR: #1, Mario Craver (5-9, 165, So.) OR #2, Terry Bussey (5-10, 195, So.)

#0, Izaiah Williams (5-11, 185, R-Fr.)

WR: #3, Ashton Bethel-Roman (6-0, 185, R-Fr.) OR #2, Terry Bussey (5-10, 195, So.)

#11, Kelshaun Johnson (5-11, 168, Fr.)

TE: #17, Theo Melin Öhrström (6-6, 257, R-Jr.) OR #87, Nate Boerkircher (6-4, 250, Gr.) OR #84, Amari Niblack (6-3, 235, Sr.)

#88, Micah Riley (6-5, 257, R-Jr.)

#21, Kiotti Armstrong (6-5, 275, Fr.)

LT: #60, Trey Zuhn III (6-6, 319, Gr.) OR #76, Reuben Fatheree (6-7, 333, Gr.)

#79, Lamont Rogers (6-6, 337, Fr.)

LG: #71, Chase Bisontis (6-5, 315, Jr.)

#73, Ashton Funk (6-6, 322, R-Fr.) OR #77, Tyler Thomas (6-4, 329, Fr.)

C: #54, Mark Nabou (6-3, 322, R-So.) OR #60, Trey Zuhn III (6-6, 319, Gr.)

#61, Koli Faaiu (6-3, 333, Sr.)

RG: #55, Ar’maj Reed-Adams (6-5, 325, Gr.)

#52, Blake Ivy (6-3, 336, R-Fr.)

RT: #78, Dametrious Crownover (6-7, 336, Gr.)

#70, Robert Bourdon (6-6, 318, R-Fr.)

Texas A&M offensive statistical leaders

Passing: Reed, 137-223 (61.4%), 1,972 yards, 17 TD, 6 INT

O’Neill, 4-7, 101 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT

Rushing: Owens, 78 carries, 440 yards (5.6 YPC), 3 TD

Moss, 70 carries, 389 yards (5.6 YPC), 6 TD

Reed, 64 carries, 349 yards, 6 TD

Receiving: Craver, 40 catches, 716 yards (17.9 YPC), 4 TD

Concepcion, 36 catches, 545 yards (15.1 YPC), 7 TD

Bethel-Roman, 10 catches, 216 yards (21.6 YPC), 1 TD

Missouri defensive depth chart

DE: #9, Zion Young (6-5, 265, Sr.) 

#11, Langden Kitchen (6-6, 264, Jr.) OR #90, Nate Johnson (6-5, 252, Jr.) 

NT: #10, Sterling Webb (6-1, 290, Sr.) OR #33, Marquis Gracial, (6-4, 322, RS-Jr.)

#91, Elias Williams (6-3, 270, RS-Fr.)

DT: #7, Chris McClellan (6-4, 323, Sr.) 

#81, Bralen Henderson (6-2, 293, Gr.) OR #95, Jalen Marshall (6-4, 335, RS-Jr.)

JACK: #8, Damon Wilson II (6-4, 250, Jr.) 

#19, Darris Smith (6-5, 240, RS-Jr.) 

WLB: #14, Triston Newson (6-2, 230, Gr.) 

#20, Nicholas Rodriguez (6, 215, So.)

MLB: #40, Josiah Trotter (6-2, 240, RS-So.) OR #5, Khalil Jacobs (6-1, 228, Sr.)

#18, Jeremiah Beasley (6, 237, So.) 

STAR: #13, Daylan Carnell (6-2, 225, Gr.) 

#3, Mose Phillips III (6-2, 200, Jr.)

ROVER: #6, Jalen Catalon (5-10, 204, Gr.) 

#15, Santana Banner (6-3, 210, RS-So.)

FS: #1, Marvin Burks Jr. (6-1, 207, Jr.) 

#4, Trajen Greco (5-11, 200, So.) 

CB: #12, Drey Norwood (6, 187, RS-Sr.) 

#24, Nick DeLoach Jr. (6, 187, RS-So.)

CB: #2, Toriano Pride Jr. (5-10, 190, Jr.) OR #0, Stephen Hall (6, 206, RS-Sr.)

Missouri defensive statistical leaders

Tackles: Trotter, 53

Banner, 30

Catalon, 27

Tackles for loss: Young, 9.5

Trotter, 8

Wilson, 6

Sacks: Wilson, 6

Young, 5

Jacobs and Webb, 3

Interceptions: Four players with 1

Forced fumbles: Young, 2

Beasley and Garcia, 1

Fumble recoveries: Wilson and Keys, 1

Head to head: Texas A&M’s offense vs. Missouri’s defense

Category	Texas A&M	National/SEC rank	Category	Missouri	National/SEC rank
Scoring offense	37.8 PPG	11th, 2nd	Scoring defense	16.8 PPG	13th, 3rd
Total offense	459.3 YPG	19th, 5th	Total defense	245.8 YPG	5th, 1st
Rushing offense	200.1 YPG	23rd, 3rd	Rushing defense	90.4 YPG	13th, 4th
Passing offense	259.1 YPG	33rd, 5th	Passing defense	155.4 YPG	7th, 1st
First downs	139	20th, 5th	First downs allowed	110	5th, 1st
Third down conversion percentage	42.6%	46th, 8th	Third down defense	27.7%	5th, 2nd
Red zone conversion percentage	93.8%	11th, 4th	Red zone defense	85.7%	83rd, 11th
Sacks allowed per game	.88	10th, 1st	Sacks per game	2.88	13th, 5th
Tackles for loss allowed per game	2.63	1st nationally	Tackles for loss per game	6.6	26th, 6th
Turnovers	7	14th, 3rd	Turnovers forced	7	114th, 13th
Turnover +/-	-1	80th, 9th	Turnover +/-	-2	88th, 11th
Time of possession	32:11	20th, 4th	Time of possession	34:44	3rd, 1st

What A&M wants to do

Keep doing what it has been doing: stay balanced, yet aggressive, and keep the pass rush away from Reed.

Even though Missouri’s rush defense has been stout, they have had less success in SEC play. Vanderbilt ran for 136 yards (including an 80-yard touchdown), and Auburn’s Jeremiah Cobb ran for 111 yards on 19 carries with a long of 41. This is the best offensive line that Missouri has seen though, and Owens, Smith and Morrow should all get their shot against it. A&M has been able to wear down opponents as the game has gone on, and the Tigers defense hasn’t stayed on the field much this year. If the Aggies can grind out yards on the ground, they will make life tougher for Mizzou.

Missouri’s pass defense is ranked extremely high, but they were lit up by the only two real passing quarterbacks they’ve faced: LaNorris Sellers threw for 302 yards and 2 touchdowns while Ty Simpson of Alabama threw for 200 yards and 3 scores. The Gamecocks, especially, thrived on the deep ball, with three different receivers having catches of 30 yards or more (a fourth had one for 24). Neither team has a receiver duo as potent as Concepcion and Craver, much less secondary targets who can get deep like Bethel-Roman and Bussey. If the offensive line can hold up against Missouri’s pass rush, then Reed may get to take a few shots deep. As it is, expect a lot of motion and a lot of the crossing routes that have been so effective all season.

One thing the Aggies need to do is keep their third downs in manageable situations. Mizzou isn’t as good as A&M on third downs, but they’re really, really good all the same. The Aggies have converted more than half of their third downs over the last three games, but this will be a different animal. Converting a lot of third and short situations will allow the Aggies to win the time of possession battle and possibly wear the Tigers defense down.

How Missouri may try to counter

Safety Jalen Catalon let the cat out of the bag yesterday when he said, “We just need to make (Reed) play quarterback.” In other words, they want to keep Reed in the pocket and force him to make difficult throws.

This is the ultimate good-on-good matchup, with an A&M offensive line that has stymied pass rushers for a month against one of the best duos in the nation in Young and Wilson. Of course, to get Reed in a position where he must throw, that means Missouri has to stop the run.

Run stopping has been a strength for Missouri this year, holding opponents to 90 yards a game. Their game plan is simple: have the defensive line hold up their offensive opponents with minimal push and allow their linebackers (Trotter in particular) to come up and make the tackle. They have plenty of bulk at the tackle spots that can make life very difficult for opposing guards and centers.

The Tiger secondary, including seventh-year senior Catalon and former Aggie corner Norwood, can be picked on (as mentioned above). That makes a big pass rush vital for them. If Young and Wilson can beat Zuhn and Crownover (and Fatheree), then they’re in good shape. If they can’t, they’ll have to get creative because they can’t allow Reed to sit in the pocket and find his big play receivers.