The Texas A&M Aggies secured the program’s first away game victory in three seasons following a 33-20 outing against the Florida Gators in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 14. The Maroon and White have plenty of important takeaways on both sides of the ball from their visit to the swamp in Gainesville, Florida.

Reed capitalizes on the opportunity

News came out late this week about redshirt sophomore quarterback Conner Weigman being listed as questionable on A&M’s injury list heading into its game versus Florida. Injuries have been the main story of Weigman’s career in Aggieland, so it was certainly not an unfamiliar sight. The Texas A&M coaching staff proved to have an insurance plan by the name of redshirt freshman QB Marcel Reed.

“We prepare all our quarterbacks equally — it’s not like we only prepare one guy and scramble to get a backup ready,” coach Mike Elko said. “Marcel got plenty of reps with both the ones and the twos in practice, so we were confident in him. I’d say after Thursday’s practice, it became clear that Connor wouldn’t be ready, and we made the decision to start Marcel.”

The thought of Reed starting undercenter was by no means a worry, as he had lots of success last season when he came in for the injured starter junior QB Jaylen Henderson in the Texas Bowl versus the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Dec. 27, 2023. Offensive coordinator Collin Klein had Reed looking efficient in the backfield as the offense looked smooth throughout all four quarters.

With 178 passing yards and 2 touchdowns through air to go along with 83 rushing yards and 1 touchdown on the ground, Reed put his dual threat abilities on full display. He was efficient for the Aggies while also taking chances downfield. Florida tried to blind the A&M underclassmen QB with exotic blitz early and often. However, his presence in the game forced Florida’s defense to focus on scrambles outside of the pocket, leading to broken holes in the secondary that Reed capitalized on.

The wrecking crew

After allowing 198 total rushing yards to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in week one, some concerns were raised regarding the Aggies ability to limit opposing teams rushing attacks. The wrecking crew made a statement in the swamp with a dominant defensive performance, silencing all doubts after holding Florida to only 52 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. 

Another successful note on today’s performance was the two sacks that helped A&M stop any potential momentum Florida was looking to build. The three Aggies who came up big in bring down the quarterback included junior defensive linemen Cashius Howell, junior DL Shemar Stewart and senior linebacker Solomon DeShields.

One of the biggest factors in the A&M ability to stuff the run was its limitation of big plays by Florida. Out of the seven total rushers for the Gators the longest run anyone went for was 14 yards, a much lesser performance for the home team after a 156 yard rushing showcase against Samford in week two.

“We didn’t give up the big one,” Elko said. “We were more consistent with our fits and tighter with our defensive lines. I’d guess that most of their 52 rushing yards came when we were in prevent defense at the end of the half and the game. Our run efficiency was much better today.”

Offensive line dominates

With varying degrees of success in recent seasons, the “Maroon Goons” aka the A&M offensive line has left lots to be desired from a blocking standpoint in recent years. The big guys up front managed to dominate the Gators defensive line paving the way for an Aggies rushing attack masterclass.

Seven different Aggies rushed the ball against the Gators, accumulating 310 total rushing yards on 55 attempts. Most of those were handled by A&M’s two headed monsters in junior running back Le’Veon Moss and junior RB Amari Daniels. Moss and Daniels played key factors in a seven minute 15 play, 99 yard touchdown drive right before halftime.

The Maroon and White men up front also managed to keep new starting QB Reed unpressured and clean in the pocket — not allowing a single sack on the day. Things might finally be turning around for the Texas A&M offensive line, which could indicate success for the team as a whole.

“When you win the rushing battle 310 to 52 yards, that’s going to win you a lot of football games,” Elko said. “I’m really proud of how our offense played, especially the O-line and running backs. Every kid who played on the O-line today, every running back, played with the demeanor we wanted them to play with.”

The best offense is a good defense

The three total turnovers not only allowed for the Aggie defense to cut off a handful of Gator offensive drives. It also allowed for the Maroon and White defense to create some offense of its own. A&M Junior safety Bryce Anderson picked off Florida’s redshirt senior QB Graham Mertz halfway through action in the third quarter.

The turnovers helped propel the Aggies to their first road win in three years, as the age old saying of, “Whoever wins the turnover battle wins the game,” proved true. If the fightin’ farmer defense can continue creating turnovers on their side of the ball then offensive success is sure to follow.