Heading into the Homecoming Game against Florida, Death Row Defense was expected to face its toughest test of the season on the ground.
It passed with flying colors.
The Tigers held the Gators’ vaunted rushing attack to just 42 yards on 25 attempts — an average of less than two yards per carry. Most importantly, they held running back Jadan Baugh, who had been receiving Heisman hype, to a measly 13 yards on 12 carries.
Heisman hype no more.
Now, Mizzou faces a different type of test: Texas A&M’s dual-threat
quarterback Marcel Reed.
“They’re both great runners,” linebacker Nicholas Rodriguez said, “Marcel is a great quarterback as well, so that adds another element to it — he could throw the ball as well. He could beat us with his arm and his legs. So we’ve just got to be fundamentally sound and execute our game plan.”
The Aggies’ signal caller averaged nearly six yards per carry on five rushes last year in Columbia when Mike Elko’s squad dispatched MU easily on its way to a College Football Playoff berth.
“Marcel’s been a really good quarterback in this league for a long time, and there’s a reason they were in the playoffs last year. We’re going to have our hands full,” head coach Eli Drinkwitz said, “It’s really going to be about us executing; we’ve really got to do a great job setting edges and tackling on the defensive side of the ball.”
The Tigers set the edge against Florida with the help of Sterling Webb, who shifted out to defensive end to bulk up the line. He recorded two tackles in that role, including his first sack of the year.
“It kind of fit us last week that we were able to move Sterling out to that edge position because of the boundary run game, but now does that speed differential create a negative impact for us?,” Drinkwitz asked, “So those are all the things that we have to try to figure out as we put this game plan together.”
He won’t have to start from scratch. MU has faced plenty of dual-threat quarterbacks over the past few seasons with varying results.
The Tigers got wins over Tommy Castellanos and Diego Pavia in 2024 and got the best of both Jalon Daniels and LaNorris Sellers in 2025.
On the other hand? Losses to Jayden Daniels in 2023, Sellers in 2024 and Pavia in 2025. And the most recent example came just a few weeks ago against Kamario Taylor, who used the threat of his running ability (paired with an NFL-caliber arm) to outgun Batoon’s defense in Starkville.
One key difference has emerged in the defense since that defeat, though: tackling.
“Tackling was something we took in big coming away from Mississippi State, and we harped on extremely, and we tackled pretty well,” cornerback Sione Laulea said, “We only missed five tackles in the game, and that’s something we’re harping on to continuing for this upcoming game. We feel like you tackle the ball, you run the game early, and you stop the run.”
Nicholas Rodriguez helped lead that defensive turnaround. He flew all over the field against the Gators, notching 11 tackles (1.5 for loss) on his way to being named the SEC’s Co-Defensive Player of the Week.
“I’m grateful for it; I mean, I was excited for it,” he said about winning the award, “But it’s a new day; the sun rose. We’ve got a new gameplan, we’ve got a new opponent, we’ve got a new team. We’ve got to get better.”
With starting linebacker Robert Woodyard Jr. and starting edge rushers Langden Kitchen and Darris Smith all listed as questionable for Saturday’s contest, MU may need a similar performance from Rodriguez if wants to neutralize Reed.
The cupboard isn’t bare for the Tigers’ front seven; Rodriguez is coming off his best performance of the year, the defensive tackle room remains intact and the team had its depth players step up when called upon.
But Mizzou will likely need those players to step up once again if it wants to send A&M packing for the first time in the Eli Drinkwitz era.
