Red sparks fly as 104,877 cheers erupt, all eyes locked on the grass of Kyle Field. One by one, their picture fills the jumbotrons as they file out, running toward the Texas A&M logo where the warm hugs and smiling faces of those they hold most dear — their families — wait to greet the Aggies.
No. 3 Texas A&M football hosted the Samford Bulldogs at home, where it honored 36 players for Senior Day. The sunny, 11 a.m. kickoff marked the Aggies’ penultimate regular-season matchup. The 48-0 shutout now stands as the Maroon and White’s 11th win of the season, extending their undefeated record.
The Aggies kicked off Senior Day with a touchdown drive on their first possession which saw two catches from junior wide receiver KC Concepcion and two carries from redshirt senior running back Amari Daniels. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Marcel Reed then connected with redshirt freshman WR Ashton Bethel-Roman on a fade pass deep in the end zone for a touchdown.
First possession for the Bulldogs went as quickly as it came, forced to punt back to the Aggies and Concepcion, who dashed for a 39-yard return. However, two incomplete passes from Reed ended the Maroon and White’s possession equally as fast.
A&M’s punt put Samford on the Aggies’ 6-yard line where redshirt senior cornerback Tyreek Chappell nearly snagged himself a pick-six. The Bulldogs lost a total of two yards on the possession before they lined up in punt formation.
During the Aggies’ next possession, the red flares sparked once again. A possession heavily dominated by Concepcion and Daniels — both of which were honored during Senior Day — pushed A&M down the field before Reed and Concepcion connected for a touchdown pass, extending its lead, 14-0. Insert red flares.
A quick turnover from the Bulldogs put the ball in the Aggies’ hands once again. Samford almost flipped the script with a near interception that was ultimately ruled an incomplete pass to Concepcion. In three quick plays, A&M advanced down the field before Reed threw a 58-yard bomb to Bethel-Roman for a touchdown to end the first quarter 21-0. Insert cannon.
After a quick turnover from the Bulldogs, a Daniels-carried possession led him right into the end zone, extending the Aggies’ lead, 28-0.
Redshirt freshman QB Miles O’Neill entered the game, but an interception by graduate student safety KeShawn Washington temporarily ended his field time. Enter true freshman QB Brady Hart. While Hart didn’t lead the Aggies into the end zone, he got them close enough for two field goal attempts on two possessions — one of which was good for graduate student kicker Jared Zirkel, closing the half 31-0 for the Aggies.
O’Neill returned for the Aggies to start the second half, where he led them down the field for a touchdown run by freshman RB Tiger Riden Jr.
Samford came out with an explosive play to move the chains for the first time all game as sophomore WR Preston Bird evaded the defense for a 27-yard hook and ladder before junior S Marcus Ratcliffe brought him down. A false start pushed back the pack of Bulldogs. Queue “Mo Bamba.”
Lined up on the 26-yard line, a field goal attempt by Samford was blocked and returned by junior CB Jayvon Thomas to A&M’s 34 yard line.
A few possessions later, the cannon sounded once again for a 39-yard field goal attempt by Zirkel to bring the score up, 41-0.
The next possession saw graduate student QB Jacob Zeno step on the field. With 5:50 left in the fourth, Zeno handed off the ball to senior RB Preston Landis for a touchdown run, to make the scoreboard read 48-0.
The 48-0 win marks the first shutout for A&M since 2022, when it beat Sam Houston 31-0.
“I’ve given a lot of the credit to the players in the locker room, because they’re the ones who believed in this,” coach Mike Elko said. “They believed in this vision, they believed in what we were preaching, they believed in the culture and, before they ever had results, they just kind of did the things that we asked them to do.”
As the athletes honored on Senior Day and their loved ones leave the stadium with laughter in the air and memories of their last regular-season home game at Kyle Field in mind, Elko said there’s one thing he will remember this class for.
“Their legacy,” Elko said. “ … They were the group that when this thing really wasn’t attractive to be a part of, when it wasn’t maybe the right time to be a part of Texas A&M football. … That’s a legacy that no matter how things end, they’ll take with them.”
Next week A&M will look for revenge against No. 17 Texas in Austin as families sulk in their post-Thanksgiving-meal misery and gather around the TV, on Friday, Nov. 28, at 6:30 p.m.
