COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher warned his team all week that it couldn’t afford a letdown after its upset of top-ranked Alabama. His message got through, as the 21st-ranked Aggies buried Missouri early in a 35-14 victory Saturday.
“We preached it, preached it, preached it, yelled it, preached it, yelled it, preached it,” Fisher said.
Missouri’s run defense, which ranks last in the nation, has been the cure for many hangovers this season. Texas A&M’s running back duo of Isaiah Spiller and Devon Achane took full advantage of the porous defense. Spiller rushed 20 times for 168 yards and one touchdown, and Achane added 16 carries for 124 yards and two scores for the Aggies (5-2, 2-2 Southeastern Conference).
“We didn’t want to be a one-hit wonder,” Spiller said.
Jaylon Jones and Antonio Johnson each intercepted Missouri’s Connor Bazelak in the first quarter, setting up two touchdowns as the Aggies built a 21-0 lead. Spiller ripped off a 48-yard touchdown run and Achane followed with a 20-yard scoring run on a third-and-15 play.
“We knew coming in we had to bring our own juice,” Johnson said. “It was an early game, and it’s not the same (atmosphere) as playing at Kyle Field, where you have 105,000 fans. We knew as a defense, we needed to make turnovers, get the game going and help the offense get going.”
The Tigers (3-4, 0-3 SEC) showed a little more life in the second half, cutting the deficit to 28-14 with a 97-yard drive, capped by Dominic Lovett’s 7-yard TD run on. But Texas A&M’s defense held Missouri in check the rest of the way, holding the Tigers to 328 total yards.
Texas A&M’s Zach Calzada completed 13 of 25 passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns. Both scoring passes went to Ainias Smith.
Missouri’s Tyler Badie rushed 22 times for 68 yards, including a 32-yard touchdown run in the second quarter in which he dragged defensive back Demani Richardson for the final 5 yards. Badie also had seven catches for 53 yards. Bazelak completed 29 of 43 passes for 230 yards.
The Tigers hurt themselves with 13 penalties for 106 yards.
“It starts with not turning the ball over in the first quarter and letting them get 14 points off turnovers,” Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “We’ve got to do a better job stopping the run, but if we’re not going to stop the run, we’ve got to be a lot better on third down.”
Missouri: The Tigers have a week off before visiting Vanderbilt on Oct. 30.