Texas A&M
5-2 , 2-2
Missouri
3-4 , 0-3
Aggies Tame Tigers in Columbia, 35-14
Oct 16, 2021 | Football
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Isaiah Spiller, Devon Achane and Ainias Smith accounted for all five A&M touchdowns as the Aggies topped Missouri, 35-14, Saturday afternoon inside Memorial Stadium at Faurot Field.
The Aggies (5-2, 2-2 SEC) dominated the Tigers run defense, rushing for a combined 283 yards and three touchdowns on the day. Spiller finished with 168 yards off 20 carries and a touchdown, while Achane recorded 16 rushes for 124 yards and two scores.
Smith led the way with three catches for 34 yards and two touchdowns.
Missouri (3-4. 0-3 SEC) received the ball first, but the Aggie defense had other plans. Just five plays into the initial drive, Jaylon Jones picked off Missouri QB Connor Bazelak and set the Aggies up in prime field position on the Tigers' 22-yard line. A&M capitalized quickly with a 4-play, 22-yard scoring drive capped off by a 2-yard touchdown pass from Zach Calzada to Smith.
The Maroon & White defense remained stout, forcing a Mizzou three-and-out on the following drive. A&M continued its scoring success as it put together a trio of 10-plus yard plays, before Spiller took a handoff up the middle, running it 48 yards to the house to give the Aggies a 14-0 lead.
After forcing a Mizzou punt, Achane took control, accounting for 68 of the drive's 83 yards and finished it off with a 20-yard TD run. Antonio Johnson jumped in front of a Tiger receiver on the ensuing drive, grabbing his first career interception.
Nearing the eight-minute mark of the second quarter, Missouri answered with a 32-yard touchdown run by Tyler Badie to make it 21-7. The Maroon & White responded with a 7-play, 75-yard scoring drive that was capped off by Calzada connecting with Smith from 11 yards for his second score of the game to give the Aggies a 28-7 advantage at the half.
Coming out of the locker room, Missouri struck first as it put together a 14-play drive that resulted in a 7-yard TD rush by Dominic Lovett. The Aggies marched methodically down the field, ending the 12-play, 75-yard drive with four straight rushes by Achane before he scored from the 1-yard line to go up 35-14 and cap off the scoring for the game.
The Aggies return to Kyle Field next week to face South Carolina next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT.
Gallery: Football vs. Missouri, 10/16
Team Notes
- Texas A&M was 4-for-4 in the red zone against the Tigers and has now scored on 11 of its last 12 trips to the red zone, dating back to the New Mexico game.
- A&M matched its season high, originally set against Kent State, with 29 first downs in the victory.
- The Aggies intercepted multiple passes in a game for the second time this season after also picking off Kent State twice in the season opener.
- A&M’s 21 points in the first quarter were the most it has scored in the opening period since a 21-point performance against then-No. 9 Tennessee in 2016. It’s the most the Aggies have put up in any quarter since the 2020 Orange Bowl when they scored 24 points in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
- The Aggies’ road victory over Missouri marks the first time they have won in Columbia since topping the Tigers 51-14 in 1999.
- Today’s captains against Missouri were WR Ainias Smith, RB Isaiah Spiller, DL DeMarvin Leal and OL Kenyon Green.
Individual Notes
- Junior WR Ainais Smith notched the sixth multi-touchdown game of his career with a pair of scores through the air in the first half. Smith scored on a 2-yard grab in the end zone to give A&M the lead early in the first quarter and later in the half hauled in an 11-yard pass in the second quarter.
- Smith’s 15 career touchdown catches ties him for eighth on A&M’s all-time career list with Malcome Kennedy (2011-14).
- Junior RB Isaiah Spiller recorded the 14th 100-yard game of his career, fourth of the year, racking up a season-best 168 yards against Missouri to up his career total to 2,641 which moves him in to 12th all-time at A&M.
- Spiller’s 48-yard sprint to the end zone in the first quarter marked his fifth touchdown in the last six games.
- Sophomore RB Devon Achane eclipsed the century mark on the ground for the second time this season when he racked up 124 yards against Missouri. His two touchdowns in the game marked the third multi-touchdown game of his career, second of the season.
- Junior TE Jalen Wydermyer extended his streak to 30 straight games with a reception as he also moved up A&M’s all-time career receiving yards list, upping his career total to 1,231 after tallying 29 against Missouri. He currently ranks second among tight ends and No. 27 among all Aggies.
- Sophomore DB Jaylon Jones recorded his first interception of the season, second of his career, when he picked off Missouri on its own 39-yard line on the opening drive of the game. Jones returned the ball 17 yards to set up an early touchdown for the Aggies.
- Sophomore DB Antonio Johnson also record a first quarter interception, the first of his career which he returned 6 yards.
- Graduate DL Micheal Clemson added a tackle for loss to make it five straight games with at least 1.0 TFL.
- Freshman LB Edgerrin Cooper made a career high eight tackles in the game to lead the Aggie defense, including seven solo takedowns.
- Graduate LB Aaron Hansford finished with a career-high 2.0 tackles for loss.
Postgame Quotes: Jimbo Fisher
Proud of our guys to come on the road, get a win. This is always a tough place to play. And I didn't pay attention, my guess is there’s some demons in A&M’s history at Missouri after some big games and big wins. I like not being aware of those things, but proud of our kids. We came up and we challenged them to start fast, which we did. I thought the defense did an excellent job. We got turnovers early in the game. I thought we took them and converted them offensively. Big third down conversions in the red zone for the offense that we're able to get touchdowns. Didn't have to kick field goals. Got stops in critical spots. And then we got the running game going. We got that first drive after the turnover then took it and got like an 80 or 90 yard drive. I mean, hit some big runs. The backs ran the ball really well, got the running game going. Zach was really hot in the beginning, doing some nice things. And we're up 21-0. Then we get another turnover and we break a run down to the 15 and get a critical holding penalty. That hurt us man. Could have been up 28-0. And then come back and pick up the first down and missed a field goal. Missed two field goals today. Had a bad snap on second one and missed a field goal. That's uncharacteristic.
Then we get in a lull offensively, just miss the throw here, had plays here and didn't hit them. The defense, we give up a drive and all of a sudden is 21-7 and it’s a two-play game. You say it’s 14 points but that’s two plays. But then, we did it twice in the game offensively, we took the ball and marched down. We had a big loss, missed a block, we were going to take a shot there but one of our linemen missed a block and got a sack. We had a 17-yard loss and they got a penalty for tackling our guy on the screen, which is a penalty. But it wasn't a first down. We overcame and had 3rd-and-17 and hit a big critical third down. Zach made a great throw to Ainias and Ainias made a nice catch. Then we were able to finish that drive off and we were able to get back 28-7. I thought we could have knocked them out right there before half. we had a chance, had Achane on a route right there. And we just tried to be too perfect instead of leading it out there, the safety come, we had him. Could have knocked them out.
We come out the second half, missed a run, then missed a throw that would have been a big play. Then 3rd and 17, we had to run and come up a yard short. Then we gave up a 97-yard drive defensively. That can't happen up 28-7 when you’ve got them pinned back. You pin them back right there and hold them. But again offensively came back the next drive and pounded it right back and scored and went up 35-14. So I like that part of it, but there’s still a lot of sloppiness in there in our game that we’ve got to get cleaned up, with more consistency. I like the way we ran the ball. The game was physical. Defensively, got the turnovers early and did that. But there’s still a lot of things both sides that we’ve got to play better. But still, going on the road, after a big emotional win last week, I was very proud of our kids. And hopefully we’ll get better this week.
Spiller and Achane combined for it looks like 292 today. I was hoping you'd talk a little bit about their performance.
They did a good job. They ran the ball well. And I said there's still some more out there. I think they could get, we could have got them in the passing game a little more, to get them both in the passing game for some things really would have been good. That's the things we’ve got to be able to do. We’ve got to have balance, but they ran hard and did a good job. Our line, tight ends and our receivers blocked well.
You said Zach started off hot. How would you evaluate him?
Still played really well. In the big drives of the game, and picking up the 3rd and 17, and then at the end of the game, I mean, still making some very critical plays. Is there a lot he can do better? Yes. And he's got to. And we'll talk about those things. But he's still making some third down throws in the red zone early. He got those on those drives that we had to come back when it was 21-7 and 28-14. He hit some big…he hit a 3rd down and 17 play in there. He's still making a lot of plays. He's still progressing. I thought he played a solid game, but there’s still a lot more he can do.
What do you think of the quick start?
Oh, I was happy about it. I was excited. I mean, we came out of the gate, we had energy, enthusiasm. You could see it in the locker room. We really did. But what my disappointment is that we didn't maintain that. We’ve got to go ahead and finish. And we had the holding call. We got something else. And, you know, those things happen, but they shouldn't happen. They don’t have to happen.
Back to back games where your defense has come up with some turnovers.
just magnificent. Yeah, turnovers are the key to it. Anybody who says turnovers ain't the most important thing…whoever says that is crazy, alright? Turnovers are still the most important to be able to make big plays. And that was the one thing defensively we hadn't been getting and we’re finally starting to get them. It changes the game, changes the field position, changes the momentum point. It changes everything. You’ve got to be able to play and get them.
Postgame Quotes: Antonio Johnson
What did it feel like to come home and get a win to boot?
Oh, I feel good, coming home. A lot of friends, a lot of family, a few teammates, high school teammates were on the opposing team. It was my first career pick, so it's going to be one of those I never forget.
How do you guys feel about coming out and holding that offense, which was averaging 40-some points a game, to just 14?
We knew coming to the game that they had a really good offense. They were going to try to get us with different eye violations, motions, and they were going to try to get us early with tempo. So we came in on defense with the mentality that we just had to stand up and play good defense, and that's what we did.
Did you notice a little bit more motion and a little bit more play fakes in the second half that kind of caught your eye a little bit too much?
Yeah, most definitely. We came into the second half, we knew they were going to do that--try to just get things going on offense. They got us a little bit, but we rallied back on defense and we got stops when we needed to.
Coach talked about putting Alabama behind you on Monday, and that was a key point.
Oh, yeah. As players, we knew that this was…coach is always just saying there's going to be a trap game. Telling us, they’re just as good a team when they’re going. We just knew as a team that we’ve got to put the game behind us and move forward. So that’s pretty much what we did.
Postgame Quotes: Isaiah Spiller
Knowing this team struggled against run defense, how important was it for you to carry the offense and know that you're going to get a lot of touches and to perform the way that you did?
It was very important. Me and Devon, we had it on our mind. Coach made a big point that the run game was going to be very important. We had to bring our own energy because of the morning game. So I think we did a good job of that this week.
Was it holes or chasms that you saw in some of those runs?
Yeah, the o-line did a great job today. They were blocking. It was just reading it, you know, hitting it, so that's what I did today.
Is there any friendly competition between you and Devon on the yards, or who gets the most touchdowns or anything?
In the game? Not really. Me and him are just always focusing on winning. We are a very win-oriented team. We’re always putting the team in front of ourselves. So, that's kind of our motto.
How much did you make an emphasis or point of putting Alabama behind you?
Really since Saturday after the game, it was the emphasis. So I feel like we really honed in on that this week. You know, it was an early game, so we didn't want to come out low and not be ready. We didn't want to be a one-hit wonder. So we definitely did what we had to do and we’re going to do what we have to do next week too.
Team Stats
TAM 7, MIZ 0
TAM - Smith,Ainias 2 yd pass from Calzada,Zach (Small,Seth kick) 4 plays, 22 yards, TOP 01:58
TAM 14, MIZ 0
TAM - Spiller,Isaiah 48 yd run (Small,Seth kick), 5 plays, 89 yards, TOP 01:33
TAM 21, MIZ 0
TAM - Achane,Devon 20 yd run (Small,Seth kick), 8 plays, 84 yards, TOP 03:13
TAM 21, MIZ 7
MIZ - Badie,Tyler 32 yd run (Mevis,Harrison kick), 5 plays, 66 yards, TOP 02:34
TAM 28, MIZ 7
TAM - Smith,Ainias 11 yd pass from Calzada,Zach (Small,Seth kick) 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:24
TAM 28, MIZ 14
MIZ - Lovett,Dominic 7 yd run (Mevis,Harrison kick), 14 plays, 97 yards, TOP 05:34
TAM 35, MIZ 14
TAM - Achane,Devon 1 yd run (Small,Seth kick), 12 plays, 75 yards, TOP 05:39
