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Published Sep 7, 2024
Aggies overwhelm Cowboys, 52-10
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Mark Passwaters  •  AggieYell
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COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS -- After struggling offensively against Notre Dame last weekend, Texas A&M came out and scored on their first possession Saturday. And they didn't stop.

The Aggies (1-1) had a 38-0 lead at halftime and scored on their first eight possessions as they routed FCS foe McNeese (1-2) 52-10 before 92,345 at Kyle Field Saturday. It was the first win of the Mike Elko era at A&M.

"I think when you get into these games, it's really important that you play to your standard and to your level. And I think we did that in the first half. I think we were really efficient on the first half," Elko said.

Efficient would be a good way to describe it, as the Aggies went 75 yards in just five plays to score in two minutes, 16 seconds. Le'Veon Moss (9 carries, 84 yards, 2 TD) started a game with a 14-yard run, followed with a 31-yard rush two plays later before finally punching the ball in from 2 yards out for the score.

"It was very important (to start fast)," Moss said. "I mean, we like to run the ball."

It was Amari Daniels' turn on A&M's next possession, as the Aggies took advantage of a short McNeese punt to go just 46 yards in six plays -- even though A&M was called for illegal formation and wide receiver Moose Muhammad was hit with a personal foul, twice knocking the Aggies back out of the red zone. Daniels (12 carries, 75 yards, 2 touchdowns) was unfazed, eventually scoring on a 1-yard run to put A&M up 14-0.

Moss took the reins again on A&M's third possession, carrying five times for 31 yards and scoring his second touchdown. With 14:20 to go in the second quarter, it was 21-0 A&M and the game was, for all intents and purposes, over.

But the Aggies weren't done scoring yet.

Two plays into McNeese's next possession, Cowboys quarterback Kamden Sixkiller (9-19, 80 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT) through a pass under pressure that was deflected and picked off by Aggie cornerback Will Lee.

"My man ran a mesh route. I ended up seeing the quarterback throw the ball, so I broke off of my man," Lee said. "And it just so happened, luckily, it got tipped, and I was in the area."

A&M tried to get Weigman (11-14, 125 yards, 2 TD) going through the air, throwing the ball four times on the seven-play, 35-yard drive that ended with Weigman's first touchdown pass of the year, a 15-yard lob to Noah Thomas.

On A&M's next drive, Weigman completed three consecutive passes to players who had not caught a pass in an A&M uniform -- tight ends Theo Ohrstrom and Shane Calhoun and wide receiver Jake Bostick. His final pass of the 80-yard march was to a more familiar face: Muhammad, who had his second of two catches on the day and his first touchdown of the season, a 3-yard crossing route which left him wide open.

With A&M up 35-0 with 4:36 to go in the first half, Weigman's day was done.

"I think Conner was efficient. He was 11-14. He got out there, he did what we asked him to do," Elko said. "I thought he saw things well. Maybe missed one that I think he would have liked to have back. But I think, for the most part, he did what he wanted to do."

Redshirt freshman Marcel Reed (5-11, 71 yards; 7 carries, 43 yards) came in and went the rest of the way, finishing the first half by getting the A&M offense in position for a 44-yard field goal by Randy Bond to put the Aggies up 38-0.

Daniels scored his second touchdown with 5:55 to go in the third quarter, before McNeese went on a 19-play drive that lasted 10 minutes, 40 seconds to chew up much of the second half and got them on the scoreboard. One play later, the Cowboys offense was back out on the field, as freshman sensation Terry Bussey took a jet sweep 65 yards untouched for his first career touchdown in an A&M uniform.

"I think he's an extremely talented kid. We've known that for a long time," Elko said. "Every week he's getting better at learning how to be a receiver."

For the game, A&M ended up with 529 yards of total offense, including 333 on the ground -- a far cry from last Saturday's defeat.

"I feel like we performed to the standard," center Koli Faaiu said. "Definitely after looking at the film from last game, we wanted to come and pretty hard in the running game. We just came out there, put our heads down, and fired off the ball."

The Cowboys would kick a field goal on the game's final play to eek out a cover, but the Aggies were able to go to the locker room knowing they had accomplished most of what they wanted to do.

"I think we went out and did what we were supposed to do. We have got to continue to improve. We have got to continue to detail up what we're doing. We got to continue to get better and a lot of that stuff will be (seen) next week in the Swamp," Elko said.

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