No. 3 Texas A&M (8-0, 5-0 SEC) is set to take on No. 22 Missouri (6-2, 2-2 SEC) in Columbia on Saturday afternoon, as the Aggies are coming off their second bye week, and are ready to finish out strong with four regular-season games remaining. Facing one of the best defenses in the country, Texas A&M’s offense will need to produce another high-scoring performance.
However, knowing that Missouri is now relying on freshman quarterback Matt Zollers, star running back Ahmad Hardy, who leads the SEC in rushing with 937 yards and 11 touchdowns, will be the focal point for Texas A&M’s defense, which needs to shut down running lanes early and force Zollers to drop back and create an unbalanced game plan. Still, the Aggie run defense has struggled to start games against worse rushing attacks.
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Outside of Missouri senior safety Jalen Catalon’s dismissive comment regarding Texas A&M star quarterback Marcel Reed, head coach Eli Drinkwitz understands that the redshirt sophomore has taken the next step as a pocket passer. To prevent Reed from making an impact, Missouri’s defense will need to pressure the pocket.
“You know that he does as good a job as anybody in self-scout. He knows what he put on tape, and he knows how to correct it,” Drinkwitz said. “He knows what he’s doing… As a team, you have to be really sound in what you do. You can’t think, ‘We got him.’ You just have to be sound.”
If Reed feels pressure, his first instinct is to find the open hole and keep the opposing defense honest, which completely dismantled LSU throughout the game. Overall, Marcel Reed has been vocal about his excitement about playing on the road, which has not changed going into the 2:30 p.m. kickoff.
On Saturday morning, ESPN’s College GameDay crew, including Desmond Howard, Nick Saban, Pat McAfee, Kansas City QB and guest picker Patrick Mahomes, and Kirk Herbstreit, all picked Texas A&M to win its third straight road game. It’s a clean sweep, so we’ll see if the Aggies can hold up their end of the bargain.
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: ESPN’s ‘College Gameday’ crew picks Texas A&M vs. Missouri in Week 11
