COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – Texas A&M’s 48-0 win over Samford almost felt more ceremonial than real.
The Aggies honored their seniors prior to their final home game of the season. Most of those starters were out of the game by the start of the second quarter.
Samford’s seniors were playing in their final college football game in front of a 100,000-person Kyle Field crowd, an experience rare for a Football Bowl Subdivision program. Yet, the play calling seemed like the vastly overmatched Bulldogs (1-11) were content to get the game over with as quickly as possible.
Regardless, the outcome was as expected and the Aggies got out of the game healthy and with the win.
“I just told our guys in the locker room I was just kind of proud of how they handled it,” Elko said. “I was prod of the professionalism. I was proud of how they went about their business. Obviously, we’ve got a lot of things going on right now and for us to focus and handle it the way we did and then for the level, specifically on defense, to not drop as we rolled through an awful lot of guys, really give a lot of guys get a lot of time out there.”
Here is the game rundown:
Why did A&M win? Simply put, the Aggies were the vastly more talented squad.
Last week, the Aggies needed 28 points in the second half to overcome a 27-point halftime deficit. Saturday, A&M scored 28 points in the first 18 minutes of the game.
The Aggies’ last score in that series, a 1-yard rush by running back Amari Daniels, was quarterback Marcel Reed’s last play of the game. He threw for three touchdowns, two to Ashton Bethel-Roman and one to KC Concepcion, to go along with 120 yards. Reed completed 10 of 15 passes and had one rush for four yards.
Daniels, who didn’t have a carry since A&M’s win at LSU, was the Aggie offense’s biggest mover of the first half. He picked up a career-high 106 yards on his first nine carries of the game and the rushing touchdown.
“That was really important to me,” Elko said of Daniels’ added playing time. “It was really important to our staff to get him in the end zone. It was great to see him go over 100 yards. He means a lot to Texas A&M football. He means a lot to this staff.”
By the 12-minute mark of the second quarter, the Aggies had gone with second teamers on both offense and defense, including backup quarterback Miles O’Neill. After two stalled drives, the Aggies moved on to freshman quarterback Brady Hart. Senior Jacob Zeno finished out the game for the Aggies at quarterback.
“I thought Miles was, obviously, much better in the second half than he was in the first,” Elko said. “I thought he was a little bit sped up in the first and a little bit antsy and so we kind of went to Brady for a little bit to just kind of settle him down and then he went back out in the second half and I thought operated and executed at a much better level and a much better rate. Obviously, we’ve got a lot of confidence in Brady and his future and what he’ll look like.”
On an interesting note, Jared Zirkel handled place-kicking duties Saturday after Elko gave Randy Bond a vote of confidence this week. Zirkel missed his first attempt of the day, a 36-yarder, before making one from 25 yards to close out the first half.
Who stood out? Reed put on enough of a show in his 10 of 15 performance, including a 58-yard touchdown pass to Bethel-Roman on a post route behind the Samford defense.
Hart went 5 for 9 for 62 yards and rushed once for 9 yards. O’Neill completed 3 of 7 passes for 19 yards and rushed four times for 18 yards. Zeno finished the day 2 for 5 for 27 yards.
Daniels made the most of his opportunity with a 100-yard rushing game. Freshman Tiger Riden Jr. cleaned up a majority of the second half, picking up 45 yards and his first career touchdown on 11 carries.
Bethel-Roman followed up a 100-yard receiving game last week with a 61-yard performance on two catches and a touchdown. Concepcion had five catches for 42 yards and the score.
Defensively, edge Marco Jones led all tacklers with seven, including a tackle for loss.
“Always good to get out on the field and really kind of just get to play pretty free,” Jones said. “So it was good. It was a fun time to enjoy.”
What was a key stat? In the first half A&M held Samford to 25 total yards, including -2 passing yards. The Bulldogs did not convert a first down in the first half.
What does this mean moving forward? While Samford presented little challenge, the Aggies are one step closer to a College Football Playoff berth. A&M also got important in-game experience for its depth players.
However, Elko said he’s not worried about his players looking past Friday’s rivalry matchup against Texas.
“I think the beauty of the next one for us is it kind of hammers itself home, you know?” he said. “So, I think that’s the nice thing about having that rivalry at the end of the season. I’m not sure that there’s anything for Texas A&M to look past other than that game on Friday night.”
Position Breakdown
OFFENSE:
Quarterbacks: C+
- Reed did what he needed to in the game, but wasn’t consistently accurate. A&M’s backups left a little to be desired against a struggling Samford team.
Running backs: A
- Daniels had a career night and Riden gave A&M fans an exciting peek at the future.
Receivers: A
- A&M’s starters did a good job reeling in some slightly off-the-mark passes from Reed. Solid effort all around.
Offensive line: A+
- A&M’s quarterbacks had plenty of time to work through the majority of the game.
DEFENSE:
Defensive Line: A+
- Were a big part of 11 tackles for loss and holding Samford to 31 total rushing yards.
Linebackers: A+
- Samford did not convert a first down until midway through the third quarter, aided by the linebackers.
Defensive Secondary: A+
- If it weren’t for a 24-yard hook and ladder play in the third quarter, the Aggies allowed 22 passing yards.
SPECIAL TEAMS: C
- Another missed field goal puts the position further in question. Also, a late fumbled punt return allowed Samford the chance to erase the shutout.
What’s next? So many postseason implications comes down to the first edition of the renewed Lone Star Showdown in Austin between the Aggies and the Longhorns, Friday at 6:30 p.m.
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