The game was delayed nearly three hours due to lightning at halftime, significantly reducing the crowd from the announced total of 97,946.

The Aggies (1-0) struggled to get going offensively, as Sam Houston’s defensive line handled A&M’s offensive line and shut down the running game. The Aggies missed a 52-yard field goal on their second possession before breaking through on their third.

King (20-31, 3 touchdowns, 2 interceptions) hit a wide open sophomore receiver Yulkeith Brown on a deep ball down the left sideline that became a 66-yard touchdown. It was the first career catch for Brown (2 catches, 68 yards, 1 TD), and the first scoring pass for King since he returned from a broken leg suffered in week 2 of last year.

After that, the Aggie offense went back into unimpressive mode, struggling to move the ball consistently — or at all on the ground — and seeing one drive ended by an interception in the end zone by Sam Houston safety BJ Foster when King tried to hit double-covered receiver Evan Stewart (5 catches, 57 yards).

"Offensively, (we) come out too slow. I thought up front, they did some nice twists and stunts," coach Jimbo Fisher said. "They got us in the run game."

The Aggies stretched their lead to 10-0 on the first career field goal by Caden Davis, a 40-yarder, with 4:59 to go in the second quarter. On the Aggies’ next possession, King hit senior wideout Ainias Smith (6 catches, 164 yards, 2 TD) on a 25-yard pass over the middle at midfield. Smith was sprung by an outstanding block by Brown and sprinted the rest of the way for a 64-yard score.

"I saw the safety go ahead and come down. Middle of the field was wide open. Got my head around as soon as I seen it. Haynes [King] threw a nice ball. And then I had turned around seeing Yulkeith [Brown] make that spectacular block," Smith said.

The first two touchdown passes by the Aggies were the third and fourth-longest scoring passes of Fisher’s tenure.

"The thing we did do in the first half was created big plays," Fisher said.

After the prolonged halftime, which saw some Aggie players coming into the stands to talk with fans, the Aggies took the kickoff and went right down the field to score again — this time, largely with the run. Running back Devon Achane (18 carries, 41 yards, 1 TD) punched it in from a yard out with 8:52 to go in the third quarter to make the score 24-0.

"In the first half, we didn't play well at all. I though in the second half, I thought we came out and did a nice job," Fisher said of the offensive line.

After such a long delay, the Aggies seemed intent on putting the game away immediately.

"Coming out in the second half, no offense to those other guys, but we was trying like drills," Smith said. "We wasn't trying to play no games."

After a bad interception to end another drive, King rallied and found a wide open Smith for a second long touchdown, a 43-yard score, with 11:10 to go in the game.

While the Aggie offense experienced fits and starts, Sam Houston’s offense never had a chance. The Bearkats (0-1) were held to 10 first downs, were 1-12 on third down conversions and only entered the A&M red zone once — and promptly threw an interception.

Sam Houston totaled 107 yards of rushing, but 60 of those yards were from quarterback Jordan Yates (14 carries, 60 yards rushing; 14-28, 91 yards passing) running for his life. The longest play for the Bearkats all day was an 18-yard fake punt by Jadon Cardell. Overall, they mustered 198 yards of total offense.

SHSU threatened once, moving the ball to the A&M 20 at the start of the third quarter, but Yates threw a pass under pressure that linebacker Andre White tipped and was picked off by safety Jardin Gilbert.

The Aggies pressured Yates constantly and knocked him down a number of times, but were credited with only three sacks. 1.5 of those sacks went to true freshmen LT Overton, playing in his first game.

Large numbers of A&M’s top-ranked recruiting class played Saturday, and the defensive linemen were often dominant. Defensive tackle Walter Nolen, defensive end Shemar Stewart and DE/LB Enai White frequently applied pressure to Yates to force him out of the pocket.

"You didn't realize there were freshmen out there," Fisher said. "The guys played well. They caught the ball, they covered, they rushed, they blocked."