Gator Bowl Post Game Review: No. 19 Texas A&M 52, NC State 13

Trayveon Williams scored three touchdowns and set a couple of records while leading Texas A&M to a 52-13 college football victory over North Carolina State on Monday night in the Gator Bowl.

Williams rushed for a Gator Bowl record 236 yards, which included touchdowns runs of 2, 17 and  93 yards. In doing so, he also set a Texas A&M single-season rushing record. Williams’ performance highlighted a dominant A&M rushing attack, which produced a whopping 401 yards and five touchdowns.

Quarterback Kellen Mond also rushed for a touchdown and threw for another, Cullen Gillespia rumbled 13 yards for a touchdown and Tyrel Dodson returned an interception for a TD. Seth Small had a 35-yard field goal as the No. 19 Aggies (9-4) ended a three-game losing streak in bowl games.

A&M also finished off its first season under coach Jimbo Fisher with four consecutive victories. The Aggies figure to move into the Top 15 in the final polls for the first time since 2012.

Mond opened the game with a 62-yard touchdown run on the second play from scrimmage to stake the Aggies to a quick 7-0 lead. The offense bogged down from there, though. A&M’s next four series were fruitless and included an interception that led to North Carolina State quarterback Ryan Finley’s 9-yard touchdown pass to C.J. Riley.The Wolf Pack added two field goals while the Aggies were sputtering to take a 13-7 lead.

Then midway through the second quarter the Aggies offense came alive. Mond connected with Jace Sternberger for a 28-yard gain and Williams broke off a 30-yard run in a four-play touchdown drive. Williams eventually scored on a 2-yard run.

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Freshman saftey Leon O’Neal came up with the first interception of his career in the lopsided victory.

That lifted the Aggies to a 14-13 lead. They extended the margin on their next possession as Williams had a 15-yard run and Mond had a 17-yard sprint as the Aggies advanced to the NC State 6-yard line. On third down, Mond hit a leaping Kendrick Rogers for a 6-yard touchdown pass and a 21-13 lead with 32 seconds left in the half.

While the Wolfpack figured to have the final possession of the half, the Aggies had a chance to add to the margin. Freshman Leon O’Neal, making his first career start, intercepted Finley and returned 25 yards to the 35-yard line. That enabled Seth Small to attempt a 52-yard field goal on the final play of the half, but his kick sailed wide right.

A&M maintained the momentum in the second half as Dodson returned an interception 78 yards for a touchdown and a 28-13 lead. By then the route was on. The only remaining question was whether Williams would break Darren Lewis’ A&M single-season rushing record of 1,692 yards set in 1988.

Williams pulled within 26 yards of the record when he ran 17 yards for a touchdown that gave A&M a 35-13 lead with 5:44 left in the third quarter.

He shattered the mark on his next carry. A&M was on its own 7-yard line following a punt. Williams took a handoff over right tackle, burst into the secondary and easily outran the pursuit for a 93-yard score. Small added the field goal and Gillaspia, the 12th man, shook off a tackler, dragged another and then bowled over two more to get in the end zone for the final score.

RUMBLED: Trayveon Williams entered the game with 1,524 rushing yards and needing 169 to set a new A&M rushing record. He blew that away with a 236-yard rushing performance. He accumulated 170 of those yards in the second half when he had touchdown runs of 19 and 93 yards. Williams’ effort set a Gator Bowl record. He ends the season with 1,760 rushing yards. His career rushing total is 3,615, which is the third-highest in school history behind Darren Lewis (5,012) and Curtis Dickey (3,703).

STUMBLED: There really wasn’t much about which to complain. Mond had a pass deflected and intercepted late in the first quarter. Seth Small missed a 52-yard field goal attempt on the final play of the first half. Tyree Johnson had a face mask penalty which bullied a sack. The defense gave up more rushing yards than usual. That’s about it. Overall, the Aggies had a dominant performance.

UNSUNG HERO: Freshman safety Leon O’Neal was exceptional in his first collegiate start. Moving into the lineup because senior Donovan Wilson is sidelined after undergoing hernia surgery. O’Neal bolstered A&M’s struggling secondary with six tackles, an interception and a pass broken up.

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While Mond’s final stat line may not turn many heads, the Sophomore QB did exactly what his team needed to earn the win.

TURNING POINT: The Aggies trailed 13-7 midway through the second quarter and had failed to score on four consecutive series. Further, Mond was just 7 of 15 for 78 yards at the point. But he opened the next drive with a 28-yard completion to tight end Jace Sternberger. That seemed to jump start Mond and the Aggies. A&M went on to score a touchdown on Trayveon Williams’ 2-yard run to cap that drive. It was the first of four unanswered A&M touchdowns that put the Aggies in control. Mond completed 6 of 8 passes for 64 yards to close the half.

KEY STAT: The Aggies running game rolled up 401 rushing yards against the North Carolina State defense which had been ranked No. 13 in the nation against the run. The Wolf Pack was allowing an average of 109.1 rushing yards per game. A&M had tripled that with 13:56 left in the game when Williams exploded for a 93-yard touchdown run. The Aggies had 34 rushes to average 11.8 yards per attempt.

SCORING SUMMARY

First quarter
A&M: Kellen Mond 62 run (Seth Small kick). Drive: 71 yards, 2 plays, :26. A&M 7, NCST. 0

NCST: Christopher Dunn 43 FG. Drive: 71 yards, 12 plays, 5:53. Big play: Cary Angeline 26 pass from Ryan Finley on second-and-8 to the NC State 31-yard line. A&M 7, NCst 3

Second quarter
NCST: C.J. Riley 9 pass from Finley (Dunn kick). Drive: 27 yards, 5 plays, 1:35. Big play: Eurndraus Bryant intercepts deflected Mond pass at A&M 27-yard line. NCst 10, A&M 7

NCST: Dunn 49 FG. Drive: 35 yards, 7 plays, 2:17. Big play: Ricky Person 20 run to the A&M 35-yard line. NCst. 13, A&M 7

A&M: Trayveon Williams 2 run (Small kick). Drive: 60 yards, 4 plays, :50. Big play: Williams 30 run to the NC State 2-yard line. A&M 14, NCst 13

A&M: Kendrick Rogers 6 pass from Mond (Small kick). Drive: 72 yards, 11 plays, 4:26. Big play: Mond 17 run to the NC State 6-yard line. A&M 21, NCst 13

Third quarter
A&M: Tyrel Dodson 78 interception return (Small kick). A&M 28, NCst 13

A&M: Williams 17 run (Small kick). Drive: 82 yards, 5 plays, 2:30. Big play: Williams 38 run to the NC State 44-yard line. A&M 35, NCst 13

Fourth quarter
A&M: Williams 93 run (Small kick). A&M 42, NCst 13

A&M: Small 35 FG. Drive: 38 yards, 6 plays, 3:14. Big play: Jashaun Corbin 35 run to the NC State 17-yard line. A&M 45, NCst 13

A&M: Cullen Gillaspia 13 run (LaCamera kick). Drive: 34 yards, 6 plays, 3:39. Big play: Debione Renfro stops NC State quarterback Matthew McKay for a 1-yard gain on fourth-and-two to give A&M possession at the NC State 34-yard line. A&M 52, NCst 13