No. 6 Texas A&M football took care of business against Mississippi State, 31-9, after what could only be described as a wake-up call in the first half. A 24-point performance in the second half by A&M’s offense led the Aggies to a dominant win over the Bulldogs in front of a blacked-out Kyle Field night crowd.
“It really was more just about, like you’re in an SEC football game,” coach Mike Elko said. “SEC football games are not easy. They’re going to be four-quarter football games, and so get this out of your mind that this thing is going to go clean and smooth, and just go out there and compete and grind. And we did that in the second half.”
Defensive pressure came for Mississippi State graduate student quarterback Blake Shapen immediately after kickoff, with both junior linebacker Daymion Sanford and redshirt senior defensive end Cashius Howell cashing in for a sack each. Sanford stepped into a starting role after junior LB Scooby Williams went down with an injury during the game against Notre Dame.
“You know, mentally, he never, ever blinked,” Elko said. “When he didn’t win the starting job … his chances [came], and he’s played really, really well, and so, he had another really, really big night.”
That momentum carried into the following drive as redshirt sophomore QB Marcel Reed picked up nine yards on a scramble. Junior wide receiver KC Concepcion then confused the Bulldogs on a designed run, good for 16 yards. A trio of incompletions then doomed the Maroon and White’s first offensive drive when Reed couldn’t get the magic going.
Armed with the grace of an up-tempo offense, Shapen and sophomore running back Fluff Bothwell marched down Kyle Field in less than six minutes, but they were halted by a dominant new-age Wrecking Crew that chased the QB out of the pocket en route to forcing a field goal. The Aggie defense totaled four sacks and nine tackles for loss.
“12th Man was phenomenal,” Elko said. “Appreciate everybody coming out in the blackout. You know, it was awesome driving in, seeing how many people were in black tonight. It’s really cool to see them. They’re always behind Texas A&M football, but I think they’re starting to get behind this program, specifically the coach Elko version of Texas A&M football, and that’s just really awesome.
With Mississippi State up 3-0, and Reed having completed just two passes by the end of the first quarter, the 12th Man once again relied on its defense.
Again, Sanford was in the backfield before Shapen could realize the ball wasn’t in Bothwell’s hands. After the Shreveport, Louisiana, native regained possession of the ball for the Bulldogs, he found himself in a third-and-long situation that even Bothwell couldn’t save them from.
Soon after, 6-foot-4 graduate tight end Nate Boerkircher’s rush under-center to pick up a first down in the red zone put A&M within range of a touchdown, but it didn’t give it enough juice to punch a score in as four-straight runs up the middle were stopped by Mississippi State’s defensive line.
The bad times kept rolling for the Aggie offense as Reed threw an interception on a pass intended for redshirt junior Theo Melin Öhrström, but something must’ve been off in the Bryan-College Station water as Shapen threw a pick four plays later to the ever-present Sanford.
Reed amounted to 180 yards and two touchdowns through the air, in addition to 30 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
After a pass inference call on a long-ball intended for freshman WR Ashton-Bethel Roman, A&M had to utilize its two-minute drill practice in order to put up points on the board before halftime.
But the Aggies only needed nine seconds to finish out the drive as Concepcion hauled in a 34-yard touchdown reception from Reed, dragging his defender past the goal line.
With 1:44 left on the clock before heading to the locker room up 7-3, the A&M defense wasn’t ready to stop beating on Shapen, with Howell once again being a thorn in his side with a 12-yard sack.
Reed started to feel himself in the third quarter, completing back-to-back throws, with redshirt sophomore RB Rueben Owens II nabbing one for 19 yards. However, it seemed like Elko’s “Cabo Fund” penalty punishment was on the minds of the offensive line as a false start penalty derailed the promising drive.
Owens emerged as the dominant presence in the Aggies’ backfield, totaling 142 yards on 21 carries.
“Rueben [Owens] was playing so well that it kind of made it an easy decision to just stick with Rueben, ride him tonight,” Elko said. “I thought he had his best two weeks of practice, the last two weeks, I think he is starting to understand, you know, not just being a talented back in open space, but how to hit lines and angles to get into open space a little bit more consistently. And I think you’re just starting to see him become a more complete back.”
Another goal-line defensive stop loomed just as Reed started to pick up the pace, but the Bulldogs couldn’t delay the inevitable as a slant route connection from Reed to Concepcion allowed the latter to log his second touchdown reception of the night.
The Fightin’ Farmers showed out for the blacked-out crowd in the fourth quarter, as Reed looked in dynamic form with two throws over 10 yards, one to Concepcion and another to junior WR Mario Craver, capping off a five-minute drive with his own 7-yard rushing touchdown.
Mississippi State couldn’t ring its cowbells quick enough as it coughed up another turnover, this time junior safety Dalton Brooks found the ball suddenly in his hands after a forced fumble by redshirt sophomore cornerback Jordan Shaw.
A&M continued to put on gashing on offense — this time with even shorter field position — as Owens and Reed combined for 17 yards on the ground before setting up Craver’s 7-yard rushing touchdown against his former squad, effectively sealing the game at 28-9, before a late A&M field goal.
Next, A&M will battle Florida at Kyle Field on Saturday, Oct. 11, in the evening television window on an ESPN Network.
