Back at Kyle Field after last week’s beatdown of Florida, No. 25 Texas A&M football survived a late comeback by Bowling Green to come out with the 26-20 win Saturday night.

Questions at quarterback continued this week as redshirt sophomore QB Connor Weigman continued to deal with a shoulder injury suffered during the Week 1 loss to Notre Dame. Weigman was a game-time decision, but coach Mike Elko decided to sit Weigman and give redshirt freshman QB Marcel Reed his second career start.

Reed, the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week, was productive again in Weigman’s stead, but had a shakier performance than he would have liked. He continued to prove what an asset his legs were, rushing for a team-leading 91 yards through a combination of designed runs and scrambles. Reed showed his ability through the air as well, with 173 passing yards and two touchdowns, but missed some open receivers when it came to throwing deep.

“When you talk about settling him down, it’s across the board,” Elko said. “We’ve got to make sure we’re getting the right calls against the right looks. Sometimes that’s the quarterback. Sometimes that’s the line. We’ve got to make sure we’re running the routes at the speed and tempo we’ve got to run them.”
The Aggies’ ground attack continued to show out, rushing for over 200 yards for the third consecutive week. The thunder-and-lightning duo of junior running backs Le’Veon Moss and Amari Daniels was contained in the first half but gashed the Falcons for big gains in the second.

Elko and offensive coordinator Collin Klein helped ease Reed into the game, calling for quick passes that got the ball out of his hands early. Steady completions to senior wide receiver Jabre Barber and senior tight end Tre Watson set the Maroon and White up at the 27-yard line. Reed dropped back and stood strong in the pocket before unleashing a strike to sophomore TE Theo Melin Öhrström who reached over a Falcon defender to snag a touchdown reminiscent of his play against the Gators last week.

Bowling Green senior QB Connor Bazelak led his team out for its first drive with a quick out to the right for a short gain. Junior RB Terion Stewart followed it up with a scamper to the right for a quick 14 yards. The drive stalled after the Aggie pass rush pressured Bazelak into a series of incompletions. Junior punter John Henderson showed why he’s an asset, pinning the Aggies at their own 10-yard line for one of his three punts inside the 20.

Stewart gave A&M fits all night, making defenders look silly by showing off his shiftiness on an 8-yard run. Bowling Green decided to open up the field with its first deep attempt of the night, but the incomplete pass was negated by a pass interference call on junior DB Will Lee III. A holding penalty erased a 21-yard touchdown pass to junior TE Harold Fannin Jr., leading to a 33-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Jackson Kleather that closed the gap to 7-3.

Looking to gain some momentum, Bowling Green coach Scott Loeffler called a surprise onside kick that went out of bounds. Given a short field, Reed was unable to capitalize with deep passes to junior WR Cyrus Allen falling incomplete.The Aggies settled for a 28-yard field goal that pushed the lead to 10-3.

Later, after a pair of QB runs took the Aggies to their own 40, Reed was unable to connect with a wide open Thomas streaking open in the middle of the field. An offensive holding call and a sack gave the Aggies a third and forever, but a 20-yard screen to Moss gave A&M a choice with a 4th-and-3. Elko elected to go for it, and an 8-yard out route by junior wide receiver Noah Thomas gave the Maroon and White a new set of downs. Reed marched the Aggies to the red zone, but was unable to end the drive with a touchdown. Senior K Randy Bond came in and made the 29-yard field goal, putting the Aggies up 13-3 going into halftime.

An out-of-bounds penalty on the kickoff gave the Falcons the ball on the 35-yard line to start. On the first play of the half, Bazelak lofted a pass to Fannin on a corner route, who showed off his RAC ability by juking out sophomore defensive back Marcus Ratcliffe for a 65-yard touchdown.

Looking to answer back, Reed scrambled for 18 yards on a read option before finding senior WR Jahdae Walker on a dig route for a 29-yard gain. Walker finished off the drive with a 5-yard touchdown, making it 20-10, Aggies.

Bowling Green co-offensive coordinator Max Warner went deep into his playbook as payback. Bazelak handed the ball off to Stewart, who pitched it to junior WR Rahkeem Smith on the reverse before getting leveled. A key block by Bazelak led to Smith running untouched into the end zone, closing the gap to 20-17.

Faced with another three-and-out after a couple runs up the middle, A&M’s special teams made a costly mistake, allowing sophomore WR Trey Johnson to block the punt. Set with excellent field position, a failed trick play sent the kicking team out to attempt a 28-yarder, but Kleather missed it wide right.

Moss and Daniels were bottled up for most of the night, but they wore down the Falcon defense in the fourth quarter, pushing the Aggies back into the red zone. An offensive pass interference call stalled the drive, but another Bond field goal made it 23-17. After getting the ball back from a three-and-out, Bond made it a two-possession game with his fourth field goal, making it 26-17, Aggies.

The Falcons weren’t fazed, leaning on their best weapon, Fannin, to march them down the field. Looking to close the gap with under two minutes remaining, Bazelak overthrew the ball into the waiting hands of Ratcliffe for the first turnover of the game.

The game looked to be over, but a perfectly placed rabbit punch forced a Moss fumble that Bowling Green recovered. A field goal closed the gap to 26-20, but sophomore TE Donovan Green recovered the onside kick to end hopes of a comeback.

The Aggies hope to extend their winning streak to four games against Arkansas at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 2:30 p.m.