The No. 15 Texas A&M football team bounced back from its upset loss against South Carolina with a 38-3 blowout of New Mexico State on Saturday night at Kyle Field. Here are key takeaways from the Senior Night victory.

National Tight End Day arrives late

George Kittle and Co. celebrated National Tight End Day three weeks ago, but the holiday only arrived in College Station on Saturday. Redshirt sophomore TE Theo Melin Öhrström and senior Fresno State transfer TE Tre Watson were A&M’s two leading receivers and provided redshirt freshman quarterback Marcel Reed with sure hands down the field. 

Öhrström is a huge target, and the former soccer goalkeeper showcased his ability to use all of his 6-foot-6 frame by reaching out for a 30-yard gain on a seam route. Gone are the days when tight ends were only used over the middle of the field; Öhrström showed off his concentration by getting his feet down on a 27-yard out route and Watson used his sure hands to bring in balls going to the outside.

“[Öhrström’s] gotten a lot better since last year, and it’s great to see his improvement,” Reed said. “He’s been a great tight end all year, easy guy to throw to. Big guy with great hands.”

The Aggies have had trouble identifying a true No. 1 target throughout the season, but they may not need to with their committee approach. The pair of tight ends, combined with 6-foot-6 wide receiver Noah Thomas, give Reed plenty of big targets to throw down the field.

Wrecking Crew’s continued dominance

Even though A&M didn’t have a gaudy number of sacks, the Maroon and White defensive line caused plenty of problems for New Mexico State all night. Junior edge rusher Malick Sylla played the best game of his career, dropping junior running back Mike Washington for a loss while giving A&M a pair of sacks, its only two of the night. 

Junior Purdue transfer edge rusher Nic Scourton was his usual disruptive self, constantly appearing in the New Mexico State backfield to muddy its plays. The night’s unsung hero was junior defensive tackle Albert Regis, clogging up the running lanes for the New Mexico State running backs while tipping two passes at the line of scrimmage. 

“Y’all see it, when the quarterback is scrambling, you may see a defensive lineman putting up a hand, trying to block his vision,” Regis said. “Because to some people, y’all may think, ‘Oh, that doesn’t do much.’ But in reality, it makes a major difference on where he’s trying to throw the ball to. So we practice getting our hands up all the time. It paid off today.”

A&M’s front seven is already one of the best in the country, and as long as it converts more of its pressures into sacks, opposing offenses should dread having to face it.

New Mexico State’s gimmick offense fails to deliver

Junior QB Santino Marucci and senior QB Brandon Nunez headed the New Mexico State offense, but their partnership lacked any bite. The pair failed to complete a pass in the first quarter and began the game with nine straight incompletions before finally getting a completion in the second quarter. 

The duo finished a combined 7-of-23 on passing attempts and never seemed to be on the same page as its receivers all night. New Mexico State coach Tony Sanchez used motion almost every play to scheme up some open looks, but the A&M defenders were never fooled. Besides a few good runs by junior RB Seth McGowan, the New Mexico State offense was stuck in neutral all night.

A&M run game doesn’t miss a step

Despite losing its leading rusher in junior RB Le’Veon Moss for the rest of the season, A&M’s rushing attack should continue to chug along with junior RB Amari Daniels at the helm. Daniels only played during the first quarter, but that was enough to make his mark. On the first play of A&M’s second drive, Daniels hit a hole on the right, broke a tackle and raced 71 yards to the end zone for a touchdown.

Graduate Stanford transfer RB EJ Smith took over lead duties for the rest of the night and performed well, rushing for 60 yards and running hard between the tackles. Combine that with Reed’s dynamic scrambling ability, and A&M should continue its ground dominance despite Moss’ absence. 

A Senior Night to remember

Before the game, the A&M faithful honored the Maroon and White senior class, and the players made sure to perform on the field. Graduate WR Moose Muhammad III hasn’t been able to see as many reps as he may like this season, but he showed his ability to get open with a seven-yard touchdown catch.

“He hasn’t had many touches this year, obviously. I went up to him and said, you knew I was going to get it to you, because I talk to him all the time in practice,” Reed said. “Try to, you know, go one-on-ones. I always try to connect. He always tells me 100% when he comes up. We have a good connection and the play just called for him getting the ball.”

Graduate kicker Randy Bond has been a rock for the Maroon and White special teams unit the last three seasons, and he continued to perform, making his only field goal of the night from 37 yards while going 4-of-4 on extra points. Graduate K Drake Bhatia has sat behind Bond throughout his career, but he got his chance to shine, hitting the first extra point of his career on A&M’s final touchdown