Marcel Reed passed for two touchdowns and Dalton Brooks made two big plays to help No. 3 Texas A&M record a 38-17 victory over No. 22 Missouri in Southeastern Conference play on Saturday afternoon at Columbia, Mo.
Rueben Owens II rushed for 102 yards and two touchdowns, and E.J. Smith also had a score on the ground for the Aggies (9-0, 6-0 SEC), who have won their first nine games for the first time since 1992.
KC Concepcion and Ashton Bethel-Roman added scoring receptions for Texas A&M. Reed completed 20 of 29 passes for 221 yards to help the Aggies hold a 464-284 edge in total offense.
Jamal Roberts rushed for 110 yards and one touchdown, and Ahmad Hardy added 109 yards and one score for the Tigers (6-3, 2-3), who have dropped three of their past four games. All of those losses were against ranked opponents.
Matt Zollers struggled in his first career start for Missouri and completed just 7 of 22 passes for 77 yards and fumbled twice. The freshman became the starter due to Beau Pribula sustaining a dislocated ankle in the Tigers’ most recent game, a 17-10 loss to Vanderbilt on Oct. 25.
Brooks’s first big play occurred when Missouri had the ball late in the first half. Texas A&M’s Daymion Sanford notched a strip-sack of Zollers, and Brooks caught the ball in the air at the Tigers’ 28-yard line and returned it to the 2-yard line with 57 seconds left.
Two plays later, Smith scored from the 1 with 20 seconds left, and the Aggies led 14-0 at the break.
Texas A&M added on early in the third quarter as Concepcion caught the ball just behind the line of scrimmage and broke free. He raced 48 yards for the score to give the Aggies a 21-point advantage with 11:21 left in the third quarter.
The Tigers found the end zone for the first time when Roberts scored from the 4 with 6:50 left in the third quarter.
Missouri then forced a punt, and Brooks delivered another big play for the Aggies. He was the up-back and caught the snap and headed it to the right and into the clear. He later navigated to his left and was caught at the Tigers’ 16-yard line for a 48-yard gain.
The successful fake set up a 32-yard field goal by Randy Bond to give Texas A&M a 24-7 lead with 3:10 left in the period.
The Tigers tacked on a 49-yard field goal by Oliver Robbins with 11:17 left in the contest.
However, Owens broke loose for a 57-yard scoring run to give the Aggies a 31-10 with 7:40 remaining.
Hardy answered with a 45-yard scoring scamper with 6:45 left.
But Owens’s 1-yard scoring run with 2:36 left sealed Texas A&M’s victory.
