Aggies maul Panthers, 52-3
COLLEGE STATION — The Aggies got their pre-Thanksgiving cupcake Saturday and devoured it.
No. 16 Texas A&M (8-3, 4-3 SEC) finished their non-conference schedule with a complete destruction of Prairie View, cruising to an easy 52-3 win over the Panthers before 98,423 fans at Kyle Field.
The stats were predictably one-sided: A&M out-gained Prairie View 447-154 and scored on their seven possessions. The Panthers had a mere 7 yards of passing offense.
It didn’t take long for the Aggies to take command, essentially finishing the game in the first quarter. A&M picked up two sacks on Prairie View’s first three plays, then gave the Panthers a heavy dose of running back Isaiah Spiller (9 carries, 70 yards, 1 TD), who carried seven times on a 10-play drive. Spiller’s final 11 yards came on a touchdown run, putting A&M up 7-0.
Prairie View then made a questionable decision, deciding to go for it on 4th and 1 from their own 33. Quarterback Juwon Pass tried a sneak out of the shotgun and didn’t get close, giving the Aggies the ball at the Panthers’ 34. Four plays later, Devon Achane (10 carries, 45 yards, 2 TD) punched it in from a yard out to make it 14-0.
The defense got into the mix on Prairie View’s next drive. On 3rd and 10 from their own 25, nickel Antonio Johnson came on a blitz untouched and drilled Pass, forcing a fumble. Senior Aaron Hansford picked up the ball at the Panthers’ 17 and ran it into the end zone for the first touchdown of his career.
The Aggies picked up a field goal on their next possession before redshirt freshman Moose Muhammad (5 catches, 77 yards, 2 TD) took over the game. After defensive end Fadil Diggs partially blocked a Prairie View punt that rolled dead at the A&M 36, the Aggies drove to the Panthers’ 33. On 3rd and 6, quarterback Zach Calzada (10-14, 150 yards, 2 TD) found a crossing Muhammad over the middle, and the former 4-star outran the Prairie View secondary to the end zone and a 31-0 lead.
After an Achane touchdown ended the first half, the Aggies got the ball back to start the third quarter. Muhammad ended the drive with a sparkling one-handed catch in the corner of the end zone for a 30-yard score to put A&M up 45-0.
After the first drive of the second half, the starters began to filter out of the game but the scoring continued. Freshman running back Amari Daniels (8 carries, 70 yards, 1 TD) scored his first career touchdown from 8 yards out on the fourth play of the fourth quarter for the final margin.