For nearly a month, it appeared as though the Missouri Tigers and Texas A&M Aggies were heading in two completely different directions.

Missouri, who suffered a 34-0 loss to Georgia at the beginning of October, won its next three SEC games as the Tigers prepared to enter the stretch run of their season. Although the offense had been inconsistent, Missouri’s defense had found its groove in those three victories — allowing no more than 14 points in any single game. Suddenly, Missouri was back in first place in the SEC East and in line to repeat as division champions.

Texas A&M, however, was experiencing a much different kind of streak. After the Aggies’ 5-0 start to the season, the wheels came off.

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Defensively, Texas A&M was a mess. In three SEC games from Oct. 4 to Oct. 18, Texas A&M allowed 142 points and lost all three games. Offense was arguably an even bigger issue. What used to be a high-powered offense behind Kenny Hill suddenly couldn’t seem to get anything going. The Aggies were completely shut out by Alabama in an embarrassing 59-0 effort and questions arose about if Hill was still the best option at quarterback.

Once the Aggies made the switch to Kyle Allen at quarterback, the early returns weren’t encouraging. Managing just 21 points against UL Monroe at home, many began wondering if they were witnessing the collapse of Texas A&M this season.

Not anymore, however.

The Aggies, who shocked everyone as a 23-point underdog this past weekend, upset No. 3 ranked Auburn on the road, defeating the defending SEC champions 41-38. All of the sudden, it seemed the offense rediscovered its idenity. Allen looked in complete control as a true freshman throwing for nearly 300 yards and four touchdowns.

Now, Texas A&M returns home and Missouri suddenly looks to have its hands full this upcoming weekend containing an explosive Aggies offense.

“They’re very unique,” Mizzou head coach Gary Pinkel said of Texas A&M’s offense. “They have a lot of different things that they do. It’s a very good system no matter who the quarterback is that runs their plays.”

“They scored 41 points [at Auburn] pretty easily I’d say,” sophomore linebacker Michael Scherer said. “They got a great offense and they can move the ball down the field and hit big plays. It’s going to be a tall task for us.”

The stakes are high for this weekend’s game in regard to Missouri’s postseason aspirations. Missouri is just one game ahead of Georgia in the loss column and Florida is lurking in the background with an outside chance of winning the division.

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The simplest way for Missouri to win the division is to win out its remaining three SEC games. However, UGA and Florida only have one SEC game left, so all eyes will be on the Tigers as they attempt to navigate the rest of their schedule.

Of course, Missouri has been in this position before. Last year’s game against Texas A&M was the regular season finale for the Tigers. It was a “win-or-go-home” game for Missouri, who needed to win in order to advance to the SEC Championship game. Not only did the Tigers win the game, but they held a Johnny Manziel-led offense to just 21 points.

The Tigers will also lean on their past success at Kyle Field. Because of scheduling after SEC expansion and both teams’ former memberships in the Big 12, these two adversaries were quite common opponents. Saturday’s game will be Missouri’s fourth trip to Kyle Field in the last five seasons and the Tigers are 2-1 in those three previous trips.

“I think our players really like the environment there. It’s a great environment to play college football,” Pinkel said on Monday. “One of the great things about playing this league is that there’s a lot of great venues. This is another one.”

Pinkel added that his team’s focus is just on Saturday. The bigger picture of the SEC East race will take care of itself.

“It’s been good playing [Texas A&M] over these years, but I really just look at the schedule and go out and play. Now we’ve got to lock in and go. The opportunities are out there. Everyone knows what they are.”