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Aggies cruise to 35-14 win at Mizzou

COLUMBIA, MO. -- So much for the hangover.

Devon Achane and Isaiah Spiller each ran for more than 100 yards Saturday.
Devon Achane and Isaiah Spiller each ran for more than 100 yards Saturday.

No. 21 Texas A&M (5-2, 2-2 SEC) went into Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium and blasted a hapless group of Missouri Tigers (3-4, 0-3 SEC), running at will en route to a 35-14 victory. The Aggies ended the game with 431 yards of total offense, including 283 on the ground.

After defeating then-No.1 Alabama 41-38 last weekend, a road trip to Columbia to face an explosive offense seemed like a class trap game for the Aggies. Instead, the Aggies showed they meant business right out of the gate, jumping out to a 21-0 lead after just one quarter.

The fun for the Aggies began almost immediately, forcing a turnover on Missouri’s sixth offensive play. Facing a 2nd and 15 from their own 34, Tigers quarterback Connor Bazelak (29-43, 230 yards, 2 INT) threw a pass right to A&M corner Jaylon Jones, who returned the ball 17 yards to the Missouri 22. Four plays later, quarterback Zach Calzada (13-25, 148 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT) found wideout Ainias Smith (3 catches, 34 yards, 2 TD) for a 2-yard scoring pass to give the Aggies a 7-0 lead.

After a three and out for the Tigers, running back Isaiah Spiller (20 carries, 168 yards, 1 TD) got rolling. He gained 61 yards on just two carries, with the second being a 48-yard sprint to the end zone in which he was barely touched by the Missouri defense.

“Jahmir (Johnson) and Kenyon (Green) blocked out — it was supposed to go outside, but the hole was inside. It was just me and the safety,” Spiller said.

Another quick possession for Missouri meant it was time for Devon Achane (16 carries, 124 yards, 2 TD) to break loose. After a pass interference call on the Tigers on 3rd and 7 at the A&M 31 kept the drive alive, the sophomore carried for a pair of 20 yard runs, including a touchdown on a 3rd and 15 to make it 21-0.

“We had enthusiasm (before the game). You could see it in the locker room,” Fisher said.

They had a chance for more points after an interception by Antonio Johnson — the first of his career — set A&M up in Missouri territory, but Seth Small’s 54-yard field goal attempt was well short.

The normally high-scoring Tigers finally got on the board with 8:09 to go in the half, with one of its few big runs — a 32 yard sweep by Taylor Baddie (22 carries, 68 yards, 1 TD; 7 catches, 53 yards) that made the score 21-7. It wouldn’t stay close for long, as A&M went 75 yards in 8 plays on their next drive, which was capped off by Calzada’s second touchdown pass to Smith.

“Twice in the game, we were able to come right back and score,” coach Fisher said.

The Aggies had another shot at points before halftime, but Calzada threw an interception trying to hit a double-covered Achane on the goal line to short-circuit the drive.

After being booed off the field by much of the crowd of more than 47,000 at halftime, the Tigers came out with a bit more fire after halftime. They forced an Aggie punt, then went 97 yards in 15 plays to cut the score to 28-14.

A&M looked like they were in trouble on the next drive after Calzada was sacked for a 17-yard loss that knocked them back to their own 35, but a defensive holding call got 10 yards back. On 3rd and 17, Calzada fired a bullet over the middle to Smith for 21 yards and a first down, and what little confidence Missouri had disintegrated.

“That was as big a play as there was in the game,” Fisher said. “It was big, because at that point, they’re still two plays away.”

They wouldn’t be for long. After an 11-yard catch and run by Jalen Preston got the Aggies another first down, Achane picked up the remaining 16 yards on 3 carries to put A&M up 35-14.

“We pounded the ball right back,” Fisher said. “But 97 yards, that can’t happen.”

It didn’t happen again, because the Aggies kept an offense that had averaged 38.7 points per game from getting even close to scoring range for the final 23 minutes of the game. The Tigers ended the game with 328 yards of total offense, nearly 140 yards less than their season average.

Fisher said that he was proud of the effort of his players, but, while the Aggies never seemed to be seriously threatened by Mizzou, there was a lot for his team to clean up.

“There’s still a lot of sloppiness in there,” he said. “There's still points out there we could have gotten.”

The Aggies return home to face South Carolina, which was 3-3 coming into today, next weekend.

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