Roberts joins elite company with back-to-back 200-yard rushing games

A defensive back flung himself at Roberts, but hardly managed to even get his fingertips on Roberts' ankle, allowing him to continue bouldering 54 yards to the end zone.

The score put #14 Missouri up 27-6, putting an exclamation point on and marking the final score of Missouri’s win over the Aggies.

“He has a belief in himself that he knew he was ready for it,” Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “And when somebody believes in themselves, all it takes is other people to believe in him too and it can really be a special thing. I think he's got a lot of confidence in the way our offensive line blocks for him, our tight ends block for him and it's impressive to watch.”

The explosive run also put Roberts over 200 yards for the second straight game, putting him in rare air. In the last 20 years, only two other SEC running backs have achieved that mark in back-to-back games against FBS opponents: LSU's Leonard Fournette and Alabama's Derrick Henry. They both did it in 2015, a year when both were consensus All-Americans and Henry won the Heisman Trophy.

Roberts' achievement took the second-most carries out of the three to get there: 58 compared to 60 for Henry and 45 for Fournette. 

In the last two games, Roberts has been persistent, continuing to pack a punch even when the run game is struggling to be efficient early. Roberts finished the game against the Aggies with 222 yards on 34 carries.

Roberts had nine carries of 2 yards or fewer, not including a 2-yard touchdown run he punched in. His first three carries went for a net of 4 yards. In a halftime interview with ABC, Drinkwitz said that the inefficiency on second-down runs was one of the main factors that was holding the offense back.

But by maintaining his physicality, at least one of Roberts’ 34 carries was bound to break down an exhausted Texas A&M defense.

"The defense hung in there for a while," Texas A&M coach Mike Elko said, "But ultimately I think we wore down."

Early on, the Aggies constantly only gave him an inch. He knocked them down until he could break off enough space to run the distance.

“You just keep running the ball at them and just hitting them consistently, man, they're going to give up,” Roberts said. 

A linebacker through the majority of his high school career at St. Mary’s, Roberts said he still carries the mindset of a defender. He is coming to hit them.

“Just having that physicality growing up, being in the trenches, being grimy, having that dog in me, man, I love it,” Roberts said of his running style.

Missouri linebacker Nicholas Rodriguez said that his, ‘Welcome to college football’ moment was defending Roberts, a redshirt freshman when Rodriguez was a true freshman, in practice.

“He lowered that shoulder every time, I was like ‘Oh my goodness,” Rodriguez said.

Missouri’s offensive line and Roberts continue to play with energy and have the confidence in each other, exemplified best by the blocking from the front and the burst from Roberts on the 54-yard score.

“They know who I am as a running back and they know we can get it done up front,” Roberts said.

Similarly, against Florida in Week 5, Roberts broke off runs of 77 and 80 yards in the second half after having to fight for short yardage on most of his runs in the first half. He finished the game with 211 yards on 24 carries.

“He sees each and every hole, sees each and every crease throughout the game,” quarterback Austin Simmons said. “I think he just keeps on progressively getting better as the game goes on — that's something I haven't seen before.”

Drinkwitz provides updates on Jones after heart transplant

Missouri wore a sticker on the back of its helmets in the shape of a heart that read, “DJ” in recognition of Missouri freshman offensive lineman Johnnie “DJ” Jones, who received a heart transplant Wednesday night. Members of the coaching staff wore pins to recognize Jones.

Simmons said he’s checked in with Jones multiple times throughout his treatment.

“I just really love the fact that he's been positive throughout this whole entire period in his life,” Simmons said. “It's a rough patch, and he's been going through a lot mentally — and physically, of course. He's been talking to us in our group chat with the team, and it's just great hearing from him a lot.”

After revealing Jones’ need for a transplant in a press conference Tuesday, Drinkwitz talked to Marty Smith of ESPN with more details on Jones’ condition.

Jones was diagnosed with heart failure, Drinkwitz said to Smith. Missouri’s medical staff first detected the issue in the summer before sending him to Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, for a second opinion.

The team learned Sept. 30 that Jones was being placed on an ECMO machine, which pumps blood outside of the body to a heart-lung machine to remove carbon-dioxide and inserts oxygen into the body.

“Once you go on that, time starts really becoming of the essence,” Drinkwitz said to Smith. “Like 21 days (to live).”

Hours after Drinkwitz said Tuesday afternoon that Jones needed help in a hurry, Jones called Drinkwitz and the coaching staff, informing them that the medical team had found an available heart to transplant.

“It was unbelievable joy,” Drinkwitz said. “Our team and staff were so excited, but then everything had to go right from harvest to recovery to inspection.”

The surgery started at 10 p.m. Wednesday and continued through Thursday morning.

“DJ is heavily sedated right now, recovering from surgery,” Drinkwitz said. “So far so good as far as the body accepting the new heart. “

A fundraiser started by Jones’ family to help cover the medical costs had surpassed $37,000 by Saturday afternoon.

After Drinkwitz announced Jones’ situation, Jones and the program have received an outpouring of support from the college football community. With Jones and his family needing a place to stay while he underwent treatment, somebody from Florida State called and offered a condo for the family to stay close to the hospital.

“It's just unbelievable what college football people can do,” Drinkwitz said after the game. “Just so appreciative of the fans saying ‘Let's just help,’ because people helping people is a powerful thing. DJ knows we're pulling for him.”

Simmons’ impressive interception streak ends

Simmons threw his first interception of the season on MU's first drive of the game. His pass on third-and-3 was tipped at the line and floated into the hands of Texas A&M linebacker Daymion Sanford.

Simmons made it through 140 attempts on the year before the interception. Entering Week 6, he was the only Southeastern Conference quarterback with at least 100 attempts who had not thrown an interception.

It was the longest streak without an interception for a Missouri quarterback since Brady Cook set the SEC record with 326 in 2023. In the first six games last year, Missouri had already given up five interceptions.

The streak was a notable improvement for Simmons’ ability to protect the football. His previous longest streak was 35, carrying through backup action in 2024 and his first game as a starter at Ole Miss in 2025. In 2025, he averaged one interception for every 15 of his attempts.

"But the thing about Austin is nothing really fazes him," Drinkwitz said. "He's still always dialing it up and putting it in tight spots and trusting himself."

Tigers get well quickly

Missouri had a hefty availability report Saturday night, but that was cleared Saturday morning. After listing seven starters as questionable on every availability report from Wednesday-Friday, all seven players were active Saturday.

That included edge rushers Darris Smith and Langden Kitchen both making their returns after missing Week 5 with injuries.

Smith played on very few snaps, with Drinkwitz saying he wasn’t quite ready to return.

Two Missouri players exited the game with injuries, however, with defensive tackle Sterling Webb and linebacker Jeremiah Beasley both needing to be helped off the field by trainers in the second half.

Bolton, other greats return for Hall of Fame induction

Former Missouri and current Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton returned to Columbia for Saturday’s game, coming to town for his induction into the Mizzou Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday.

Bolton and the rest of the Hall of Fame inductees were recognized at a break during the first quarter of the game. The other members of the class include quarterback Drew Lock, assistant coach Andy Hill, softball’s Ashley Flemming, wrestling’s Daniel Lewis and track and field’s Nicki Webber Moore.

Bolton hyped up the crowd ahead of the game by banging the “Big MO” drum. Lock was unable to make the return to Columbia, as he’ll suit up for the Seattle Seahawks when they host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. He did, however, join Friday night’s induction ceremony on a Zoom call.