The boys are back.
On Saturday, No. 8 Texas A&M cruised to the win column with a 50-0 victory over Missouri State at Kyle Field.
Mike Elko & Co. kicked off opening day by quickly forcing Missouri State’s offense off the field. A Julio Humphrey pass breakup and T.J. Searcy/Ray Coney TFL set the visitors behind the sticks, sending out Holmon Wiggins’ offense.
Out of the gate, returning starter Marcel Reed led A&M’s offense 58 yards downfield. The longest gains came from rushes by Reed and RB1 Rueben Owens II, behind the starting offensive line of Wilkin Formby, Trovon Baugh, Mark Nabou Jr., Blake Ivy and Tyree Adams. The first score of the season came when Reed found fellow Nashville native Isaiah Horton in the end zone, 7-0.
Another effective defensive drive followed. As for the offense, they stalled at their own 18 after an offensive pass interference call on Horton.
Following a third punt from Missouri State, an 18-yard toe-tapping grab from Terry Bussey propelled the Aggies across midfield. What appeared to be a promising drive quickly turned sour as Baugh and Tyler Thomas gave up back-to-back sacks.
As the first quarter expired, the Bears muffed Tyler White’s punt and illegally kicked it out of the back of the end zone, resulting in a safety.
Jamarion Morrow saw some reps in the backfield, rushing for a gain of 11. Next play, a wide-open Bussey was a bit overthrown in the end zone. Two consecutive penalties on the offensive line backed the Aggies. Attempting to earn a new set of tries on third down, Horton fumbled inside the red zone, and Missouri State’s Joel Boamah recovered it.
Earning their initial first down of the game on the drive, the Bears barely moved into A&M territory. A fourth-down sack from San Diego State transfer Ryan Henderson handed the Reed & Co. prime field position.
A&M used it to put points on the board, but not in the way they would have liked. Reed dropped it in the bucket to an in-stride Horton for a pickup of 36. From there, ineffective rushes and an incompletion in the red zone led to David Olano knocking a 28-yard through.
Thankfully for the sputtering offense, the defense came through. Missouri State RB1 Jambres Dubar fumbled, and Northwestern transfer DL Anto Saka pounced on the loose ball. It led to another difficult-to-watch red zone outing until Reed tossed it to Mario Craver for the second touchdown of the game, just before halftime.
A chain-moving completion to Craver was the first positive of the second half. Freshman Aaron Gregory continued the march with a third-down snag, the first of many catches in his college career. A&M’s third touchdown of the night came on a jet sweep to Bussey to make it 24-0.
The Aggie defense forced another three-and-out, highlighted by a pass breakup from Marcus Ratcliffe. Wiggins’ group supported their defense’s stout play with a 14-play touchdown drive that saw several Aggies haul in their first catches in Maroon & white, including Micah Riley and Kelshaun Johnson. Jamarrion Morrow was the one to punch it across the goal line.
The freshman backs shined on the ensuing offensive march. The speedy KJ Edwards had pickups of 11, 13, and eight before Carsyn Baker punched it in up the middle.
Newbies continued to flash as Henderson forced a fumble and DJ Sanders scooped it up. Entering the game for Reed, Brady Hart capitalized immediately by finding Gregory, 47-0.
As the fourth quarter progressed, A&M’s twos came out to shut down the game. Missouri State was able to cross the 50 for a second time, but did not do anything with the possession.
A 47-yard field goal by Asher Murray came as a result of a 12-play, 56-yard, clock-draining drive for the Aggies. Skyler Locklear and the Bears gave it one last go, finishing with their sixth three-and-out before the Aggies ran out the clock.
RUMBLED: Mike Elko’s defense pitched a shutout. Missouri State totaled 67 yards and only made it into A&M territory once. Bears QB Skyler Locklear was held to a 47 percent completion, only throwing for 30 yards on Saturday. The Aggies won the turnover battle with the help of Ryan Henderson, who had a strong night.
STUMBLED: It was a rough initial outing for A&M’s rushing attack. Behind a new-look offensive line, the stable struggled mightily to find any production on the ground against a subpar defensive line. Averaging 3.5 yards in the opening half, the Aggies could not establish the run, and the entire offensive operation struggled because of it. After the break, things appeared a lot more fluent.
TURNING POINT: Although the offense didn’t look glamorous, A&M’s defense kept this one squarely in favor of the home squad. The Aggies pulled away in the second half, scoring four straight touchdown drives.
UNSUNG HERO: Have a debut, Ryan Henderson. The first-year Aggie found a way to be impactful in his debut. In the second quarter, he sacked Locklear on fourth down to give his offense prime field position in their own territory. He also forced the Aggies’ only turnover of the night, sacking the signal-caller again in the fourth quarter. Both plays from Henderson ultimately led to points on the board.
KEY STAT: Allowing Missouri State only 67 yards of offense, the Aggies set a program record on Saturday. The previous-best was 70 yards against North Texas in 1996.
Scoring Summary
First-quarter
A&M: 9:32 - Marcel Reed 15-yard passing touchdown to Isaiah Horton. Drive: 8 plays, 58 yards. TOP 4:05. Texas A&M 7, Missouri State 0
A&M: 0:26 - Missouri State illegal kick in the end zone. Safety. Texas A&M 9, Missouri State 0
Second-quarter
A&M: 3:22 - David Olano 28-yard field goal. Drive: 6 plays, 40 yards. TOP: 2:36. Texas A&M 12, Missouri State 0
A&M: 0:29 - Marcel Reed 12-yard passing touchdown to Mario Craver. Drive: 5 plays, 23 yards. TOP 2:11. Texas A&M 19, Missouri State 0
Third-quarter
A&M: 9:56 - Terry Bussey 10-yard rushing touchdown. Drive: 11 plays, 70 yards. TOP 5:04. Texas A&M 26, Missouri State 0
A&M: 2:09 - Jamarion Morrow 2-yard rushing touchdown. Drive: 14 plays, 71 yards. TOP 6:41. Texas A&M 33, Missouri State 0
Fourth-quarter
A&M: 13:35 - Carsyn Baker 12-yard rushing touchdown. Drive: 4 plays, 54 yards. TOP 1:57. Texas A&M 40, Missouri State 0
A&M: 12:52 - Brady Hart 15-yard passing touchdown to Aaron Gregory. Drive: 1 play, 15 yards. TOP 0:05. Texas A&M 47, Missouri State 0
A&M: 4:04 - Asher Murray 47-yard field goal. Drive: 12 plays, 56 yards. TOP: 5:16. Texas A&M 50, Missouri State 0
