After a tough loss to Notre Dame a week prior, Texas A&M football had to make a statement in an early kickoff against McNeese State on Saturday.

The Maroon and White did just that, as they dominated the Cowboys from start to finish in a 52-10 win for the first win of coach Mike Elko’s tenure in Aggieland.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Conner Weigman appeared more and more comfortable in the offense as the game progressed, finishing the day with 125 yards and two passing touchdowns before being taken out of the game towards the end of the second quarter with A&M already up 35-0.

“Conner was efficient,” Elko said. “He did what we asked him to do. I thought he saw things well.”

However, the focal point of the Aggies’ offense was their rushing attack. Junior running backs Le’Veon Moss and Amari Daniels combined for four of A&M’s seven touchdowns, with three of those being the first points A&M had all game.

“We established the line of scrimmage,” Elko said. “We hit the holes the right way.”

The Aggies got the ball first to start the game, and they wasted no time setting the tone for their offense with their first play coming from a 14-yard run from Moss. Two plays later, Moss blasted through the Cowboys’ defense on an outside run that turned into a 31-yard gain that took A&M to McNeese’s 22-yard line.

A&M then set up Moss for a 2-yard score to start the game with a 7-0 lead after a quick pass from Weigman to senior wide receiver Moose Muhammad III turned into a 20-yard gain.

A quick three-and-out from McNeese led to the Aggies getting the ball at the Cowboys’ 46-yard line after a rough punt from freshman Tyler Larco. Then, a pass from Weigman to junior WR Cyrus Allen gave the Aggies a 12-yard gain to take them to the 34-yard line.

The Aggies fed Daniels for five rushes for 39 rushing yards. The drive ended with a run up the middle by Daniels that was originally called down at the 1-yard line before an A&M challenge led to the play being called a touchdown, which put A&M up, 14-0.

The second quarter began with Moss scoring a 7-yard touchdown to put A&M up three touchdowns. Following the drive, junior cornerback Will Lee III intercepted McNeese freshman QB Kamden Sixkiller to set A&M’s offense up at McNeese’s 35-yard line. A&M followed that with a quick drive that was capped with Weigman throwing a 15-yard touchdown pass to junior WR Noah Thomas.

With less than five minutes left in the second quarter, Weigman finished off a drive where he completed five of five passes and ran for an 18-yard scramble with a 3-yard touchdown pass over the middle to Muhammed to extend the Maroon and White’s lead to 35.

The next drive saw sophomore safety Marcus Ratcliffe pick off Sixkiller for the second time in the game to set up A&M’s offense at the Cowboys’ 40-yard line. A&M then put in redshirt freshman QB Marcel Reed to take over its offense and went into the half up 38-0 after graduate placekicker Randy Bond made a 42-yard field goal.

The second half started with the Cowboys getting their second first down of the game before the Aggies forced them to punt to A&M’s 8-yard line right after.

A&M’s offense came in and marched down the field with both Daniels and Reed rushing the ball for significant gains. A 31-yard pass to Allen set up Daniels to get into the end zone off a 7-yard rushing touchdown to put A&M up, 45-0.

The Cowboys were able to get on the board as Sixkiller completed a 10-yard pass into the right corner of the endzone to redshirt freshman WR Jalen Wright to complete a 19-play drive.

On the first play on the next drive, a jet sweep from Bussey turned into an explosive 65-yard rushing touchdown that had Aggie fans throughout Kyle Field chanting his name.

To end the game, the Cowboys drove A&M down the field to take a field goal as the game clock expired, making the final score 52-10.

The Maroon and White will next head to Gainesville, Florida to face the Florida Gators in the Aggies’ first SEC game of the season on Saturday, Sept. 14.

“We know how Florida gets,” Lee III said. “I feel like us being together as a family and understanding what we’re gonna do, we’ll be fine.”