Post-Game Review: Texas A&M 45, Louisiana 21

Freshman quarterback Kellen Mond threw three touchdown passes and led a dominant second half performance as Texas A&M rebounded from a slow start to take a 45-21 college football victory over Louisiana on Saturday at Kyle Field.

The Aggies (2-1) scored 31 unanswered points in the second half.

Mood threw touchdown passes to Christian Kirk, Jhamon Ausbon and Camron Buckley. He also rushed five yards another score.

The Aggies trailed 21-14 at halftime after Jordan Davis threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Wright just seven seconds before intermission.

But A&M was dominant in the third quarter.

They drove 81 yards for Mond’s game-tying 5-yard touchdown run with 10:27 showing in the third quarter. After forcing Louisiana into a three-and-out, the Aggies drove 74 yards in 10 plays for Mond’s 12-touchdown pass to Buckley.

The Aggies followed with a 28-yard Daniel LaCamera field goal to take a 31-21 lead into the fourth quarter.

Sophomore linebacker Tyrel Dodson clinched the victory with a 40-yard interception return for a touchdown. Later, freshman running back Jacob Kibodi added a powerful 67-yard touchdown run to complete the scoring.

The A&M defense also had a strong day. Two of the three touchdowns they allowed came after turnovers gave Louisiana the football deep in Aggie territory. They allowed just 309 total yards and held Louisiana to 93 rushing.

Rumbled: A&M can only hope that Kellen Mond’s performance was an indication of what’s to come. Mond completed 21 of 34 passes for 301 yards and one interception. He had three touchdown passes and ran for another.

Stumbled: A&M’s running game was astonishingly unproductive in the first half. Louisiana entered the game ranked 129th in the nation in run defense. The Ragin’ Cajuns had allowed 343 rushing yards to Southeast Louisiana and 424 to Tulsa. Yet, A&M had negative 22 yards at halftime.  Midway through the second quarter A&M faced a third-and-1 at the Louisiana 8-yard line. The Aggies attempted a fade pass. Then, on fourth down they tried a fake field goal. They lost eight yards. However, in the second half they rushed for 201 yards, which included a 67-yard burst from freshman Jacob Kibodi.

Turning point: That started on the first play of the second half when Mond passed 11 yards to Jhamon Ausbon. That was the first play of a 81-yard drive a game-tying touchdown. The Aggies scored a touchdown and a field goal on their next two series and then Dodson returned an interception for a touchdown to give A&M a 38-21 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Unsung hero: Not only did punter Shane Tripucka averaged 48.8 yards, but he also killed one punt inside the 20. Another could have been killed inside the 5-yard line had the coverage team done a better job. Tripucka did not allow a return by Louisiana’s Ryheem Malone, who was third in the nation in punt return yardage.

Key stat: The Aggies forced five turnovers (three interceptions and two fumbles). One interception was returned for a touchdown by Tyrel Dodson. The other two gave A&M possessions that resulted in touchdowns. The Aggies scored a touchdown after one of the fumble recoveries.

A&M: Christian Kirk 1 pass from Kellen (Daniel LaCamera kick). Drive: 4 plays, 51 yards, 1:37. Big play: Damion Ratley 76 pass from Mond.(Daniel LaCamera kick). A&M 7, Lou 0

LOU: Trey Ragas 3 run (Stevie Artigue kick). Drive: 12 yards, 4 plays, 1:51. Big play: Tracy Walker intercepts Mond pass at the A&M 12-yard line. A&M 7, Lou 7

A&M: Jhamon Ausbon 24 pass from Mond. Drive: 24 yards, 1 play, :8. Big play: Clyde Chriss 71-yard KO return. A&M 14, Lou 7

LOU: Ryheem Malone 8 pass from Jordan Davis (Artigue kick). Drive: 37 yards, 6 plays, 3:00. Big play: D.J. Miller recovers Christian Kirk’s fumbled punt at the A&M 37-yard line. A&M 14, Lou 14

LOU: Jordan Wright 1 pass from Davis (Artigue kick). Drive: 81 yards, 13 plays, 2:55. Big play: Davis 19 pass from Darius Hoggins on second-and-14 to the A&M 13-yard line. Lou 21, A&M 14

A&M: Mond 5 run (LaCamera kick). Drive: 9 plays, 81 yards, 2:19. Big play: Kendall Bussey 14 run plus 10-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to the Louisiana 11-yard line. A&M 21, Lou 21

A&M: Camron Buckley 12 pass from Bond (LaCamera kick). Drive: 74 yards, 10 plays, 3:04. Big play: Kendrick Rogers 16-pass from Mond on second-and-13 to the Louisiana 34-yard line. A&M 28, Lou 21

A&M: LaCamera 28 FG. Drive: 67 yards, 11 plays, 3:41. Big play: Kirk 15 pass from Mond to the Louisiana 24-yard line. A&M 31, Lou 21

A&M: Tyrel Dodson 40 interception return (LaCamera kick). A&M 38, Lou 21

A&M: Jacob Kibodi 67 run (LaCamera kick). Drive: 61 yards, 2 plays, :54. A&M 45, Lou 21