Missouri gets screwed by refs right away at Kyle Field with awful call and no-call

Make no mistake, the Missouri Tigers were certainly not the sharpest bunch play-to-play on Saturday as they entered a raucous Kyle Field for a Top 25 showdown with the Texas A&M Aggies, a matchup with massive College Football Playoff implications. Unfortunately, Mizzou fans had to be thinking that the refs in College Station on Saturday were only worried about one team's Playoff chances.

On the first possession of the game, it looked as if the Tigers might get things cooking but then ended up in a fourth-and-2 situation on the Texas A&M 40-yard line. Eli Drinkwitz elected to go for it, as you'd want a head coach to be in that situation in regards to aggressiveness. And it looked like it might work out as Theo Wease Jr. broke down the seam.

That's when there was clear contact between the Missouri wideout and an A&M defensive back and a flag hit the ground, looking like a surefire defensive pass interference call. Instead, the refs picked the flag up, no penalty for a turnover on downs — and it sent Drinkwitz into a seemingly deserved fit.

That would've been bad enough but it only got worse from that point on in the first half.

Missouri gets screwed by refs early against Texas A&M

The Aggies scored after the picked-up DPI flag and then knocked through a field goal to go up 10-0. Missouri then seemingly found the answer they needed as Brady Cook saw a blown coverage on the outside and found Luther Burden III for a 75-yard touchdown.

Only he didn't; another yellow flag hit the turf as Mizzou was penalized for an illegal man downfield on the offensive line as Cook broke contain in the pocket to extend the play and make the throw.

By the letter of the law, that might be the right call. However, as even ESPN broadcasters Joe Tessitore and Jordan Rodgers mentioned on ABC, that's a call officials often let slide in that type of situation, especially when it truly had little effect on the play that was made.

Texas A&M, to be sure, dominated the majority of the action in the first half and had Missouri on their heels. However, one definitely has to wonder how much of a game this could've been if the Tigers jumped out to the lead or were even able to answer two early Aggies scores with a big play of their own, even if their defense was getting shredded.