Quotes, Notes & Video: Texas A&M 47, Sam Houston State 28

Kevin Sumlin

On Johnny Manziel...

"I don't know. I know that he is playing very well. He has been a catalyst for us and his numbers speak for themselves. From a numbers standpoint, it is hard to argue that he is not one of the best players in the country right now."

On the team's impressiveness...

"The fact that we came into a situation with upperclassman having a new coaching staff, completely new offense and defense philosophy, new league, and how those guys have bought into what we are trying to do.  For them to come out and play week-to-week is a tribute to the seniors, they have shown tremendous leadership this year. They have really gotten better as the season has progressed. The most impressive thing that they have done is deal with the adversity of change."

On pushing Johnny Manziel for Heisman...

"I don't think it was my thinking. It was the university's thinking. There are a lot of moving parts and the university and our marketing department made that decision."

On Johnny Manziel's throws...

"The last two weeks and even back to Mississippi State, the throws he has made have been critical to us getting better offensively. Kliff Kingsbury has done a great job of working with him throughout the year to develop his confidence in the passing game. I think it's an understanding by him of the defense and our personnel. It has definitely helped us offensively."

On playing out the season...

"We come in every week and there is always something. You just have to handle things week to week. We get back with the players Monday and try to improve and reset the game plan for this week."

Uzoma Nwachukwu

On a physical game...

"We're the type of team that our mindset is that we're going to be physical and we're always going to attack. We're going to try to be the most physical team on the field. We just have to be a little bit smarter and not fall into that type of game where they're going to hit you after the whistle and we're going to react to that. We just have to be a little bit smarter and clean those things up."

On Johnny Manziel...

"That's the type of guy he is. He's a fiery guy. He likes to compete. If you push his button, he's the type of guy that that's his on button. That's where he excels and plays better. It's great to see a fiery competitor out there and to see the passion out of him. We're going to probably make fun of him a little bit for getting pumped like that but it's great to see him fiery."

"It's going to be an adjustment, because you go through the whole Thanksgiving routine and you know exactly what's going to happen and you know the whole practice schedule. It's going to be an adjustment but I think it's one that our guys are definitely ready for. We're going to prepare like we're playing anybody."

Patrick Lewis

On the upset last week...

"We were really excited that we were able to win last week, but in order to accomplish what we wanted we had to take care of this week; we did a pretty good job of that today. We took care of this week and what we need to get ready for Missouri next week. We haven't beaten them here in a while so this game coming up is really important."

On the offense setting a tone...

"We practice that, every day we have a fast start against the defense and work on executing our offense and do what it is created to do which is play fast, play physically, play smart, and score touchdowns."

On Johnny Manziel's kick...

"He had been practicing kicks a couple days but actually made them in practice so we thought he was going to make it today."

On helping with Manziel's Heisman run...

"We come out and do our job. We know what kind of player Johnny is. He creates his own way of doing things and he gets it done. We just try to play hard for him. Just try to block until the whistle. We want him to win a Heisman; that would be good for him and good for us because we helped him get there. We just play hard and if it comes it comes; if it doesn't we will be a little disappointed but we will be alright."

On Johnny Manziel's performance...

"Based off of other games he would probably say it's an average day but it was still a pretty good day for him. He is always all over the field and has always been that special player for us. He has done a really good job up until this point, and we are going to keep working at it in practice this week and get ready to beat Missouri."

On his thoughts as an upperclassman...

"As a team we expected to be where we are right now.  We believed we had enough talent to win all of our games and we were in all the right situations to win games and unfortunately two times we didn't get that done. As a senior class we did a good job of buying into the program. We grabbed this team by the hand and pulled them along. It has really worked out well for us so far."

Sean Porter

On improvements in the team...

"I think we've done a good job of just keeping everyone together. I think we've done a good job of all staying on the same page each and every week."

On competing with top teams...

"I've always thought we have the talent to compete with anybody in the nation but I think it took all of us coming together. I think that Coach Sumlin and his staff really helped us to do that and clean up some of the little mistakes that we make this summer. I think we finally put the pieces together to do what we were supposed to be doing all along."

On potential for a 10-win season...

"It's amazing. We are very, very excited about it. We went through a lot of ups and downs last year and we had a really good team last year, too. That's just how it fell. Last year we couldn't do it and this year we are right on track."

Jonathan Stewart

On the defense tightening up in the second quarter...

"I think guys got going. Defensively we came out a little flat. We could barely get through the first two third downs. The third down is the money down. We want to stop teams at eight percent and at the start of the game we didn't do that. I think that in the second quarter guys got more into the game and we started playing our brand of football. We were doing everything that we wanted to do and we just make plays. That's all it was. Guys made plays."

On the physicality of the game...

"We expected them to try to run the ball and to try to out-physical us. They have 290 rushing yards a game. We knew that it was going to be a physical game and that we needed to be aggressive. We just play between the whistles. They got a little a little cheeky after the whistles. We just needed to be smart and play our brand of Aggie football."

On what a win against Missouri would mean next weekend...

"It would be great, especially for the senior class. We've had every type of season you could have. We've had a very good season, we've had an average season and we've had a blowout season so it would mean a lot. We're really looking forward to next weekend. Especially the senior class. We know it's our last time being able to do it in front of the 12th Man on Kyle Field. We're going to be ecstatic and we're going to prepare hopefully better than we've prepared any other week this week."

Steven Terrell

On the defense in the second quarter...

"We came out kind of flat as a team and defensively we had to knuckle down and make sure everyone had their assignments. We just weren't playing up to our brand of football. We needed to pick it up. Everyone did their job and stepped it up and we made a lot of plays. We just needed to bare down and get harder on ourselves."

On losing the shutout...

"We just need our twos to play better and finish games. We still came out with the win, it might not have been as pretty as we wanted it to, but a win is a win. The score sometimes doesn't matter. We need to get some younger guys in there and give them some experience."

On Johnny Manziel's kick...

"He made it in practice so I expected him to make it in the game. I really didn't realize he was out there. I head the crowd get excited and I looked up and saw him. I wish he would have made that one; that might have made ESPN or something."

On Sam Houston State scoring...

"As long as we get the win it doesn't matter. We like to see the younger guys who have been working hard all year get some playing time. Unfortunately they didn't hold them to the shutout like we wanted them to. We just want them to get reps and some experience, so next time it won't be their first time being out there. We are not too disappointed. We would have rather have them have played better and get the shut out."

On the excitement of success...

"It feels great. This team has been through a lot. We have had seasons that we weren't ranked at all and we have been on winning streaks. It has been up and down. It feels good to be on the top again and to play meaningful games in November. We are trying to play for the best bowl game we can get and it's been a great year for us."

On the team's reputation...

"What other people think doesn't really matter. We know what we are capable of and coming into the year we knew we could have success. We don't really get caught up in whether people think we are SEC ready or the big boys in football. We just try to do our best every week."

Post-game notes

* Redshirt freshman QB Johnny Manziel became the first Southeastern Conference player, first freshman and fifth NCAA FBS player to have 3,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in a season. The other four FBS quarterbacks were Vince Young of Texas in 2005, Dan LeFevour of Central Michigan in 2007, Colin Kaepernick of Nevada in 2010 and Chandler Harnish of Northern Illinois.

* Manziel was a scoring machine against the FCS Sam Houston State Bearkats, accounting for five touchdowns -- three through the air and two on the ground.

* Manziel logged his eighth straight game with 300 or more total yards, while breaking the school record for total offense in a season. He’s generated 4,161 total yards which broke the old mark of 4,085 set by Jerrod Johnson in 2009. Manziel is the third Q&M QB to surpass the 4,000-yard plateau in school history.

* Manziel rushed for 100 yards and two scores on 16 carries, marking his sixth 100-yard rushing game of the season. For the season, Manziel has rushed for 1,114 yards and 17 touchdowns, which is a QB school record and ranks No. 10 overall in the A&M record book.

* He passed for 267 yards and two scores on 14-of-20 passing against SHSU. It was his sixth straight 200-yard passing game, and the eighth 200+ game of the season. For the season, Manziel has passed for 3,047 yards and 21 TDs. Manziel is the third A&M QB to surpass the 3,000-yard plateau, joining Ryan Tannehill (3,744 in 2011) and Jerrod Johnson (3,579 in 2009).

* The Aggies’ 47-28 win over Sam Houston State improved their season record to 9-2, and A&M will be seeking its first 10-win season since 1998 when the Aggies host Missouri next Saturday.

* It was the Aggies’ first win at Kyle Field since the month of September they tallied a 58-10 win over Arkansas on Sept. 29. A&M played five of their last six games away from Kyle Field, and compiled a 5-0 record in those road contests.

* A&M improved to 11-0-0 against Sam Houston State.

* Today’s win was the ninth of the year for the Aggies and gives first-year A&M coach Kevin Sumlin the winningest debut season in school history. Sumlin had been tied with R.C. Slocum (8-4 in 1989) and D.X. Bible (8-0 in 1917).

* Senior WR Uzoma Nwachukwu had a huge day while becoming the fourth Aggie to surpass the 2,000-yard plateau in career receiving yards. Nwachukwu posted a career-high 160 yards and a touchdown on four catches. His previous best receiving game was 141 vs. Oklahoma State as a freshman in 2009. The previous three Aggies with 2,000 yards were Jeff Fuller, Ryan Swope and Terrence Murphy.

* Senior WR Ryan Swope grabbed one catch for six yards against Sam Houston State, giving him at least one catch in 43 straight games. The school record is 46 by Jeff Fuller, who had at least one catch in every game of his career.

* Redshirt freshman WR Mike Evans led the Aggies with six catches (for 81 yards and two touchdowns), giving him at least four catches in every game this season. He matched the 11-game streak of four-catch efforts set by Jeff Fuller over the 2009-10 seasons.

* The Aggies rolled up 527 yards of total offense, marking their 10th straight game with 400 or more total yards.

* The Aggies are 19 yards from reaching the 6,000-yard plateau in total offense for the third time in school history. Through 11 games, the Aggies have gained 5,981 yards, which ranks No. 3 in school history. The school record is 6,373 yards set in 13 games last year.

* The Aggies’ 5,981 yards ranks No. 7 in SEC history. Only six offenses have surpassed 6,000 yards in a season, led by Auburn’s 6,989 yards in 14 games in 2010.

* A&M scored a touchdown on its opening drive, marking the eighth straight game with a TD on its first drive.

* A&M has scored first in 16 straight games, dating back to 2011.

* Game captains for the Aggies were: senior center Patrick Lewis, senior safety Steven Terrell, senior linebacker Sean Porter and senior wide receiver Ryan Swope. Texas A&M won the toss and elected to receive. It broke a streak of eight coin toss losses

* Making his seventh 2012 start and 19th of his career at 12th Man was defensive back C.J. Jones, a senior from Klein Forest HS in Houston.