Manziel mania continues in 47-28 rout

College Station - Everything just keeps going right for Johnny Manziel.

Unfortunately, that includes extra point attempts.

The 87,101 fans at Kyle Field on Saturday found they’d been deceived. They’d been led to believe that Manziel, Texas A&M’s sensational freshman quarterback, can do it all.

He can’t.

Oh sure, he can run, pass and set records. He did all of that in abbreviated work as the No. 8 Aggies (9-2) cruised to a 47-28 victory over Sam Houston State (8-3), the third-ranked team in the FCS.

But after throwing an 89-yard touchdown pass to Uzoma Nwachukwu on his only play of the third quarter, Manziel lined up to attempt the extra-point and shanked it wide right.

Don’t start calling him Johnny Foul Ball, though. The kid still passed for 267 yards, rushed for 100, accounted for multiple touchdowns and set a couple of records as he continued his bid for the Heisman Trophy.

He can split defenses. So what if he can’t split the uprights.

“That’s something he’d been working for on a couple of weeks,” A&M coach Kevin Sumlin said. “He made one on Thursday. We thought we'd give him a shot.”

But was that a good idea? After all, Manziel is involved in what looks to be a very close Heisman Trophy race. In fact, just this week A&M finally launched a web site promoting his Heisman campaign.

Surely, Heisman voters wouldn’t hold one errant extra-point against Manziel. Well, not as long as Kansas State’s Collin Klein doesn’t kick one.

“I don’t know that it will cost him anything,” Sumlin said with a grin.

It shouldn’t.

Actually, Manziel’s Heisman candidacy was enhanced because everything went right.

Klein, considered by many the Heisman frontrunner, threw three interceptions in No. 1 Kansas State’s stunning 52-24 loss to Baylor.

Also, Oregon running back Kenjon Barner, another strong contender, had a rather pedestrian showing in an overtime loss to Stanford.

Meanwhile, Manziel accounted for five touchdowns for the fifth time this season in leading the Aggies to yet another impressive win. A&M actually led 47-0 until a collection to backup defensive players allowed Sam Houston State four meaningless touchdowns.

Manziel rolled up 367 yards in total offense to become the first freshman and the first SEC player to accumulate 3,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in the same season, a feat only four other players have ever accomplished.

“I know that he is playing very well,” Sumlin said. “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.”

Sam Houston State head coach Willie Fritz certainly wouldn’t argue.

“Johnny Manziel is the real deal. He is pretty quick,” Fritz said. “They showed us why they are a top 10 team in the country.”

It just took a while.

Just a week ago, the Aggies posted one of the most remarkable victories in school history with a 29-24 upset of defending national champion Alabama.

Even though Sam Houston State was ranked third among Football Championship Series (or Division I-AA as it used to be known) teams, had played for the FCS national championship last season and had scored at least 41 points in seven straight games, facing the Bearkats just doesn’t inspire the same intensity.

An emotional letdown was predictable.

The Aggies scored a touchdown on their opening drive for the eighth consecutive game, but they obviously weren’t as sharp as usual.

Sam Houston State stopped A&M’s next two offensive series. Meanwhile, the Bearkats moved the football with some degree of success and even converted three of their first four third downs into first downs.

“We came out kind of flat as a team,” safety Steven Terrell said. “Defensively, we had to knuckle down and make sure everybody got their assignments. We weren’t playing our brand of football. We got in the huddle and said to pick it up. Everybody knew we had to pick it up.”

The Aggies began to assert their dominance in the second quarter when Manziel lobbed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Mike Evans for a 14-0 lead.

The proverbial flood gates opened later in the quarter after linebacker Donnie Baggs intercepted a pass by Sam Houston State quarterback Brian Bell.

Three plays later, Manziel ran four yards for a touchdown. The Aggies added two more touchdowns in the next three-and-a-half minutes – a six-yard run by Trey Williams and a one-yard run by Manziel – to take a 34-0 halftime lead.

Then, after the A&M defense forced a punt on Sam Houston State's opening possession of the second half, Manziel threw an 89-yard touchdown pass to Nwachukwu.

That’s the kind of play that will show up on highlight shows and might impress Heisman voters.

It will surely impress them more than his ensuing extra-point attempt.

“In practice, he kicked them pretty well,” Nwachukwu said. “I’m surprised he missed it. Come on, Johnny, you’re better than that.

“We’ll rag him on that.”

That would seem the right thing to do.