Guzman: Missouri's Rude Awakening? This Time, Texas A&M Had 'Something to Prove'

The Missouri Tigers rode their high horse into Texas with talks of a stadium that wasn't loud enough and a quarterback who they called "the other kid," but ended up leaving Aggieland beat down and in search of answers.

Oct 5, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Missouri Tigers safety Marvin Burks Jr. (1) looks at the scoreboard during the fourth quarter against the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field. / Matt Guzman-Missouri Tigers On SI

COLLEGE STATION, Tx. — The challenge was issued. The No. 9 Missouri Tigers were going to ride into Kyle Field unfazed and ready to play their brand of football.

Their practices, so they said, prepared them to do so. After all, the speakers at Missouri's practices were "louder" than the noise they expected at Kyle Field in quarterback Brady Cook's eyes.

Cook was sorely reminded of his statement in the fourth quarter.

"Our practices are actually louder," all three of Texas A&M's video boards read over a live feed of the quarterback attempting to direct traffic pre-snap.

Matching the tune of the day overall for the Tigers, he wasn't successful.

Two straight false start penalties followed by a snap that surprised Cook on the ensuing fourth-and-long his offense was faced with resulted in a turnover on downs.

The Aggies gained possession once more and marched down the field to tack on their final points of the game and cement their complete domination. And the Tigers never found the end zone again.

Not even with seven straight tries from inside the 6-yard line.

"I'm embarrassed by the performance," Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said following the loss. "Just a really poor performance by my football team, and it starts with me.

It's my responsibility for us to be better."

Oct 5, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies linebacker Daymion Sanford (27) tackles Missouri Tigers quarterback Brady Cook (12) in the first quarter at Kyle Field. / Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

On the afternoon, the Tigers were declared "overrated" by Aggie faithful, reminded of their arguably-too-confident statements on the video board, serenaded to the tune of "Narco" on third-down and given the harshest dose of fourth-quarter noise possible.

If Missouri rode into College Station on a high horse, it left beat down.

Does that blame fall on Drinkwitz? In part, sure. He, too, decided to call out the Aggies' depth chart, declaring that his squad would be facing Marcel Reed and preparing as such.

Perhaps that's why when Conner Weigman went under center as the Aggies' starter, the defense appeared frazzled. Especially since there wasn't any noise factor then.

"You've got to come prepared for whoever comes in the game," Tigers defensive lineman Kristian Williams explained, "because both of them are great quarterbacks. So you've got to prepare for both."

But as much as Drinkwitz shouldered the blame for Missouri's woes, there wasn't something he, nor any of his players, could've controlled — not once they took the field, at least:

The Aggies took everything personal.

"They kind of lit a fire on us," Aggies edge rusher Nic Scourton said. "Coming into our place ... talking down on Kyle Field. I think guys were really motivated to go out there and be dominant."

Le'Veon Moss, the player who finished the day with three touchdowns and 138 rushing yards, would certainly agree with his teammates' assessment.

What I took personally (was) them saying that their practice would be louder than our stadium," he said. "I took that personal because our 12th Man supports us to the end, no matter what happens."

Oct 5, 2024; College Station, Texas; USA; Texas A&M Aggies linebacker Taurean York (21) celebrates with his team after a win over the Missouri Tigers at Kyle Field. / Matt Guzman-Missouri Tigers On SI

To this point, the Tigers have been on the other end. They were the ones with something to prove. They were the underrated underdogs. This week, the latter was true. They were underdogs.

But the Aggies were the ones with something to prove. About themselves and their stadium and fans.

"We're just playing harder," Scourton said, explaining the changes made since Texas A&M lost its season opener to Notre Dame. "We got a chip on our shoulder."

And the Tigers? When it was their turn to back up their words, they fell short. They didn't execute. And they certainly proved they weren't prepared for the noise.

The silver lining in all of it? In being burned in an "embarassing" road loss?

Now, the healing process can begin.

"You've got one of two choices," Drinkwitz said. "You can fall apart, or you can dig deep and find resolve to get better. The season really starts today, and how we respond will determine what kind of football season we're going to have."

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