Jamal Roberts runs for 222 yards and 2 TDs to lead No. 14 Missouri past Texas A&M 27-6
Jamal Roberts had 34 carries for a career-best 222 yards and two touchdowns and Cayden Lee caught seven passes for 94 yards and a touchdown to help No. 14 Missouri beat Texas A&M 27-6
ST. LOUIS -- Jamal Roberts had 34 carries for a career-best 222 yards and two touchdowns, and Cayden Lee caught seven passes for 94 yards and a touchdown to help No. 14 Missouri beat Texas A&M 27-6 on Saturday.
The Tigers (5-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference), who have won two straight, also got a pair of 50-plus yard field goals from Blake Craig while Austin Simmons completed 14 of 28 passes for 147 yards and a touchdown.
“It wasn't my best game,” Simmons said. “I've got to give the credit to the O line. They battled their tails off throughout the entire game, especially in the run game. You look at Jamal’s little muddy runs. It was a gritty little game we had today.”
Marcel Reed led Texas A&M (3-3, 1-3) by completing 19 of 39 passes for 189 yards, but he was intercepted twice and lost 18 yards on seven carries.
“We thought we had a decent plan of some things we felt like we could execute well but clearly we didn't,” Aggies coach Mike Elko said. “It was a huge missed opportunity not converting early to get the lead and playing from behind again. We're not built right now to play from behind. Again, it's me. It's nobody else. It's me.”
Roberts sealed the game with a 54-yard touchdown run with 2:49 remaining after he extended Missouri’s lead to 20-3 on a one-yard scoring run at the end of the third quarter that was awarded on video review after he was initially ruled down short of the end zone.
“You’ve got to see it as a boxing match, and you’ve got to see the body shots wear people down,” Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “When you have an identity, you just keep playing to your identity and figuring it out. You really trust your scheme and who you are when the game’s on the line. That’s what we do.”
The Aggies came close to scoring their first touchdown of the game early in the fourth quarter, but Nicholas Rodriguez tackled Ashton Bethel-Roman for a two-yard loss and the Aggies had to settle for a 27-yard field goal from David Olano.
Simmons connected with Lee for a 32-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter to give Missouri a 7-3 lead after Olano kicked a 53-yard field to give Texas A&M its only lead with 4:46 left in the first quarter.
TJ Searcy tipped a pass attempt from Simmons to Daymion Sanford, who returned it to Missouri’s 14-yard line with 9:53 remaining in the first quarter.
It was Simmons’ first interception after not throwing a pick in his first 139 passing attempts with the Tigers.
Missouri wore a heart-shaped sticker on their helmets with the initials “DJ” on it to honor freshman offensive lineman Johnnie “DJ” Jones, who underwent a heart transplant at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville on Wednesday.
Texas A&M: Struggled to move the ball against Missouri’s defense as Reed was sacked three times and hurried 13 others. Elko lost for the first time in nine October games with the Aggies and falls to 5-6 against ranked opponents during his tenure in College Station.
“We have to find ways to get better,” Elko said. “I said that to them, I said that to our coaches, I said that to myself. Our job is to put a better product on the field.”
Missouri: Simmons had trouble connecting with receivers other than Lee, who had 13 of the Tigers’ 27 targets, but Roberts broke out in the second half by gaining 157 of his 222 yards.
Texas A&M: Hosts the Citadel next Saturday.
Missouri: Travels to No. 9 Mississippi next Saturday.
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