| Opponent | Location | Day/Time (CT) |
|---|---|---|
| at Texas A&M | Kyle Field – College Station, Texas | Saturday / 6:30 p.m. CT |
| Game Media | SEC Network | WatchESPN  | Live Stats | Live Audio |
|
| A&M Prep | Pinkel Press Conference | Quotes |
|
Mizzou Game Notes  Mizzou Depth Chart |
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TIGERS START STRETCH RUN AT TEXAS A&M
The Missouri Tigers (7-2 overall, 4-1 in Southeastern Conference play), hit the final stretch of the 2014 regular season looking to maintain their grasp of first place in the Eastern Division, and they'll have quite a challenge on their hands this Saturday, as they travel to College Station, Texas, to take on the Texas A&M Aggies (7-3, 3-3). Kickoff for the SEC Network telecast is set for 6:30 p.m. (central time) from Kyle Field.
Mizzou comes into the game rested after enjoying its second and final bye week of the 2014 season. The Tigers will carry a win streak of three games into Saturday's road tilt, having dispatched Florida (42-13) on the road, followed by a pair of home wins over Vanderbilt (24-14) and Kentucky (20-10).
Texas A&M will be riding high after they posted a dramatic 41-38 road win at #3 Auburn last Saturday. The Aggies bolted to leads of 14-0 and 35-17 in that game, and they held on to withstand a furious Auburn rally. The Aggies pounced on a pair of Auburn fumbles in the game's final two minutes to secure the win, with both coming deep in A&M territory.
There's only one common opponent to compare the Tigers and Aggies with, and that is South Carolina. A&M opened their 2014 season with an impressive 52-28 win at then-#9 South Carolina, while the Tigers opened conference play on Sept. 27th at South Carolina, and also claimed a road win, with a 21-20 win that featured a huge 4th-quarter comeback from a 13-point deficit with just 7 minutes left in the game.
MIZZOU NO STRANGER TO COLLEGE STATION
In a bizarre scheduling quirk, this will mark the fourth time in five seasons that Mizzou will play at A&M. The stretch started in 2010, as part of the Big 12 Conference, when Mizzou claimed a 30-9 win behind QB Blaine Gabbert. Due to the departure of Colorado and Nebraska from the league, the next season saw Mizzou return to College Station as the Big 12 schedule changed. The Tigers, behind QB James Franklin, posted a big 4th-quarter rally and claimed a 38-31 win in overtime. As fate would have it, both A&M and Mizzou joined the SEC the next season, and the schedule put together had the Tigers return to College Station for a third straight year in 2012. With Franklin out due to injury, the Aggies rolled to a 59-29 victory in the regular-season finale for both teams. In 2013, the Aggies made their first trip to Columbia since 2007, and the Tigers dispatched them by a 28-21 score, with the win wrapping up MU's first-ever SEC Eastern Division title.
Overall, the Tigers and Aggies have played 14 times previously, with A&M holding an 8-6 lead in the series. Mizzou has had the upper hand of late, however, as the Tigers have won 4-of-5 games dating back to 2007. Head Coach Gary Pinkel stands a solid 6-2 alltime against A&M as the Tiger skipper, including a 3-2 mark at College Station. In all, the Aggies hold a 5-3 edge over the Tigers in College Station, but MU has won three of its last five outings at Kyle Field.
LAST YEAR: MIZZOU 28, TEXAS A&M 21
In the 2013 regular-season finale, the No. 5 Missouri Tigers earned a hard-nosed 28-21 win over the visiting 21st-ranked Texas A&M Aggies to claim the SEC Eastern Division title outright, sending MU to its first-ever SEC Championship Game. The win was sealed when junior TB Henry Josey scampered 57 yards for the game-winning touchdown on a 3rd-and-short from the MU 43-yardline with 3:34 left in the game.
Josey's dash will go down in Tiger lore as one of the seminal plays in MU history, most likely, and it capped a win that moved Mizzou to 11-1 overall and 7-1 in SEC play. The game was a high-leverage situation all night long, as the Tigers had to rally from 7-0 and 14-7 deficits to the Aggies, and their star QB Johnny Manziel.
Mizzou took the opening kick of the 3rd quarter and drove 75 yards to tie it at 14-apiece, with TB Marcus Murphy scoring from 2 yards out. Following a defensive stop, Murphy took a punt back 31 yards to set the Tiger offense up at its own 43-yardline. The offense took it from there, as Mizzou marched 57 yards on 8 plays, behind the guidance of senior QB James Franklin, who connected with senior WR L'Damian Washington on a 5-yard TD pass with 6:26 left in the 3rd quarter to give MU its first lead.
The Aggies wouldn't go away, as Manziel led a 9-play, 98-yard drive that tied it at 21-21 with 10:43 left in the game. The defenses stepped up next, as the teams traded punts on four consecutive possessions before Mizzou broke through finally with Josey's game-winning score with 3:34 to play. Mizzou's defense responded by forcing a 3-and-out by A&M, and the Tiger offense successfully killed the final 2:01 of the clock and took a knee to claim the historic win.
Mizzou outgained A&M by a 463-to-379 margin in total offense, including a 225-to-184 edge in rushing and 238-to-195 edge in passing yardage. Franklin went toe-to-toe with Manziel, as Mizzou's signal caller completed 18-of-28 passes for 233 yards and 2 TDs, while Manziel was held in check overall, on a 24-of-35 passing night with 195 yards and 1 TD. Josey was the game's leading rusher, as he carried 13 times for 96 yards and 1 TD.
THOSE WHO WIN IN NOVEMBER…
It's an old adage in football: “Those who win in November will be remembered.” It's a saying that Tiger CoachGary Pinkel espouses every year with his team, that if they want to contend for championships, they have to finish strong.
Pinkel's message has gotten through to his troops in recent years, as Mizzou is 22-7 in the month of November from 2007-present. It's no coincidence that Mizzou has won four conference divisional championships in those previous seven years (2007, 2008, 2010, 2013). If the 2012 season is backed out (MU's only non-bowl season in that stretch, when the Tigers went 1-3 in November), Mizzou's November record stands at a sterling 21-4.