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“We started fast, we built a lead. The second quarter was disappointing, we lost focus and then really let off the gas,” coach Mike Elko said.

The Aggies (8-2, 5-1 SEC) jumped out to a quick 17-0 first quarter lead and racked up 565 yards of offense — the most since the 2021 season opener against Kent State — while blitzing the now 2-8 Aggies of New Mexico State 38-3.

A&M received the opening kickoff and went straight down the field. One play after tight end Tre Watson (4 catches, 67 yards) had a 33-yard catch, run and hurdle of an NMSU defender, quarterback Marcel Reed (20-31, 268 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception; 41 yards rushing, 1 touchdown) found a leaping wide receiver Noah Thomas (2 catches, 23 yards) in the middle of the end zone for a 16-yard score, completing a 75-yard drive in just 3 minutes, 22 seconds.

New Mexico State picked up a first down on their first play from scrimmage on a 16-yard run by Seth McGowan, but were forced to punt four plays later. The Aggies took over at their own 29 and only had the ball for one play — a 71-yard touchdown run by Amari Daniels to put A&M up 14-0 with nine minutes, 43 seconds to go in the first quarter.

Daniels would only carry the ball five times on the night for 84 yards, as the A&M coaching staff decided to protect their new lead back and get EJ Smith (15 carries, 60 yards) some work.

“(He had) an average of 16.8 yards per carry, so I’m happy with him,” Elko quipped.

A&M’s offense was on the move again after a quick three and out, with Reed completing passes of 19 yards to tight end Theo Ohrstrom and 22 yards to wideout Jahdae Walker (3 catches, 48 yards) to move the Aggies into the red zone. But after NMSU stuffed a 3rd and 1 run at the 18, Randy Bond came on and kicked a 37-yard field goal.

Ohrstrom ended the game with five catches and 111 yards, both career highs. Reed said he had to get Ohrstrom over the century mark because he couldn’t keep another promise.

“He made a joke with me early in the week. He said, ‘I need a touchdown this week.’ I was like, ‘Alright, I'll try to get you a touchdown this week,’” Reed said. “We couldn’t get him one today. But I looked up at the mini-jumbtron or whatever it is and saw he was close to 100 yards. I said, ‘We can’t get you a touchdown, but we can get you 100 yards today.’”

Between them, Ohrstrom and Watson had nine catches for 178 yards, the first time all season that the tight ends have been utilized to that extent.

“I really didn't expect them to be in like a cover three look as much as they were. But when they went into it, we tried to … put some same balls in there, and tight ends got open and they're big targets,” Reed said. “So we fed them today.”

The first quarter stats were extremely one-sided, with A&M racking up 273 yards to NMSU’s 50 — all of which came on the ground. The Aggies would finish their next drive with a six-yard touchdown pass from Reed to Moose Muhammad, his first scoring reception of the year.

“It felt good getting him the ball. He hasn't had many touches this this year, obviously. And you know, I went up to him said, ‘You knew I was going to get it to you,’” Reed said.

But, from there, A&M put it into cruise control.

A&M would punt on their next two possessions and the best drive of the quarter belonged to NMSU, an 11-play drive that covered 67 yards before sputtering out at the Aggies’ 30. But NSMU kicker Abraham Montano was short on a 47-yard attempt, keeping the score at 24-0.

During the drive, A&M defensive tackle Shemar Turner picked up his fourth personal foul in the last three games and immediately went to the bench and did not return.

A&M was able to drive down to the NMSU 16 before the end of the half, but Reed threw an interception at the goal line with two seconds left to kill hopes of another score.

“(It was) certainly a big learning moment at the end of the first half. That's obviously something that we can't do. And so … it’s, it's an up and down night,” Elko said of Reed. “But I thought he took (deep) shots. I thought he took some big strides, the most passing yards he's going for, and then he threw some really good footballs out there.”

The Aggies awoke from their slumber on their first drive of the second half, marching 76 yards in 14 plays with Reed scrambling the final five yards for a touchdown to make the score 31-0.

“We challenged them at halftime to go out in the third quarter, put the game away (and) they did it, and then we were really able to kind of empty the bench in the fourth quarter,” Elko said.

One of the first players off the bench was starting quarterback Conner Weigman, who came into the game in the middle of the third quarter and was sacked twice on his first three snaps. Weigman ended up completing just two of his five pass attempts for 37 yards and an interception in the end zone to kill a promising drive.

Montano kicked a 48-yard field goal with 13 minutes, 37 seconds to go in the game to spoil the shutout, but true freshman quarterback Miles O’Neill (5-6, 51 yards,1 TD) engineered a final scoring drive, taking nearly five minutes to go 53 yards before finding receiver Ashton Bethel-Roman for a five-yard touchdown, the first of both of their careers.

“It was great to see a lot of those guys get out there, whether it was, you know, Miles O'Neill getting his first touchdown pass, or Ashton Bethel-Roman getting his first touchdown recession, or Drake Bhatia as a senior getting to kick an extra point and Connor Able getting to snap it, or the 12th man kickoff team getting out there,” Elko said.

As the game ended, defensive end Malick Sylla got his second sack of the night, which were the first two of his career. Most of the team ran onto the field to swarm Sylla in celebration.

“It's just love. We all love each other. You know?” Defensive tackle Albert Regis said. “It's a family. It's a brotherhood.”

Even if the win wasn’t the demolition many of the 105,815 at Kyle Field were hoping for, the night ended with the Aggies tied with Texas at the top of the SEC standings after Tennessee lost 31-17 to Georgia.

“We haven't been in this position as a program ever,” Elko said. “There's been no time ever where Texas A&M has been in the SEC (and) in the last two games, controlled their own destiny to go to Atlanta, and so that's what you work for.”