(MUFB)—The Missouri Tigers are barely clinging to a top-25 ranking in one of the polls after Saturday’s disheartening loss to third-ranked Texas A&M. They’ve fallen out of the coaches poll but the AP sportswriters gave Missouri four votes, letting them stay at 25th.
Missouri was able to stay in the game for most of the first half before quarterback Matt Zollers fumbled the ball in the air when he was hit while preparing to pass with one minute left in the half. The ball went straight into the arms of A&M defensive back Dalton Brooks. Brooks took it to the two=yard line and A&M got a touchdown just before halftime to go up 14-0.
Zollers hand was “banged up” on the play and he was seen on the sideline afterwards flexing it. He later did some throwing on the sidelines and stayed in the game.
Missouri’s offensive line could have been stouter in protecting Zollers in his first collegiate start and in opening running space for Jamal Roberts and Ahmad Haley, both of whom topped 100 yards rushing, but not until well into the second half when Missouri was two or three scores down.
Missouri also was caught flat-footed in the third quarter by a fake punt turned into a touchdown for A&M.
Missouri’s offense missed the versatility of Beau Pribula, out indefinitely with hia ankle injury, who had added a running dimension to his position.. Zollars was 7 of 22 passing for just 77 yards and had negative yards on three rushing attempts.
The loss ended any hopes, although they were slim to begin with, of making the playoffs. The Tigers have lost three of their last four games with Saturday’s loss marking the first time Missouri has lost two in a row since 2022.
The last game of the year on Faurot Field is next Saturday against Mississippi State. They close on the road with games against Oklahoma and Arkansas. They have to win all three plus their bowl game to hit the ten-win mark for an unprecedent third straight year.
(MIZBB)—-The basketball Tigers are 3-0 in their first week on the court, hanging on for a win against Southeast Missouri State and a dominating victory over VMI.
The Tigers let the Southeast Red Hawks stay uncomfortably close because they couldn’t hit a free throw in the 89-84 win. They were just 19 of 31, a concerning figure because they were 10 of 21 in the season opener against Howard.
Mark Mitchell got his first double-double Sunday with 24 points and ten rebounds in the 106-68 win against VMI. The Tigers outscored the Kaydets 56-28 in the second half, showing a significantly tighter defense than they had displayed in their earlier games.
Ant Robinson’s versatility showed in his stat line—20 points (4 of 5 from the arc), four steals and four assists.
Missouri faces its first big-time test tomorrow night against Minnesota. One of those teams will lose its undefeated season.
(XMU)—Former Tiger place kicker Harrison Mevis has landed with one of the top teams in the NFL and hasn’t missed the chance to be around for a while. Mevis was signed to the Los Angeles Rams practice squad last week and was activated for Sunday’s game against the 49ers. He was six for six in extra points as the Rams won 42-26.
(BASEBALL)—The talent pool for teams looking for a free agent is falling into place. The Cardinals have a dozen minor league guys who want to play for somebody else. Michael Siani, who spent part of last season in the bigs, has been signed by Atlanta. Roddery Munoz has been claimed off of waiver by the Reds. Miles Mikolas has cut ties with the team by becoming a free agent. Mikolas was 18-4 when he joined the Redbirds after three years in Japan. He was 40-65 in the other six years in St. Louis.
The Royals have signed their first free agent, a guy they drafted in 2016. Outfielder Kameron Misner decided to play ball for the University of Missouri instead of signing with the Royals. He was designated for assignment by the Tampa Bay Rays after hitting .213 in 217 plate appearances. When he hit the ball, he hit it hard—nine doubles and five home runs. He also stole eight bases. But 69 of the 217 times he stepped into the batter’s box, he struck out.
He made history with his walk-off home run on opening day, the first player ever to make his first homer a walk-off on an opening day. Kansas City gives up a player or cash to be decided later.
They have guaranteed that Salvatore Perez will retire a Royal. He has signed a two-year extension. They have several players eligible for free agency. Sports Illustrated is reporting that the Tampa Bay Rays are strongly interested in signing Mike Yastrzemski, who joined the Royals in mis-season.
The Royals have lost Randal Grichuk, who has declined a five-million dollar deal to go into free agency. The Royals also have cut Michael Lorenzen loose
The Royals have moved to strengthen their hitting coaching staff by offering a job to Connor Dawson, who at 32 years old already has four years as the Milwaukee Brewers’ hitting coach and time spent as the minor league hitting coordinator for the Seattle Mariners.
(HOCKEY)—The St. Louis Blues got their season off on the wrong skate and find themselves winners of only five of their first sixteen games (5-8-3) and last in their division. They are averaging 2.3 goals per game. They’re giving up almost four goals.
Only the Calgary Flames have fewer wins, at 4-11-1. The Buffalo Sabers also have only five wins. But they have four ties—-5-6-4.