HOUSTON -- After Oklahoma State beat Texas A&M 30-29 in 2011, Cowboys coach Mike Gundy said his team was more physical and better conditioned than the Aggies. Eight years, one conference change and two coaches later, the Aggies hit back Friday night.
The Aggies ran for 248 yards and their defensive line dominated much of the game as A&M rallied from a 14-0 first half deficit to take out their former Big 12 foe 24-21 in the Texas Bowl. The win gives the Aggies an 8-5 record in Jimbo Fisher's second season, with all five losses coming to teams in the top eight in the Associated Press poll. The Cowboys also ended the season 8-5.
It looked like loss six was in the offing early on, as quarterback Kellen Mond (13-19, 95 yards, 1 TD; 12 carries, 117 yards, 1 TD rushing) fumbled on A&M's second play from scrimmage. Even though Oklahoma State took over at the Aggie 25, they came up with nothing after Tyree Johnson's sack of Dru Brown forced the Cowboys into a 53-yard field goal attempt which Matt Ammendola missed badly.
The Cowboys flipped the script on their next possession, marching 97 yards in just five plays. A&M’s defense looked overmatched, as star running back Chuba Hubbard (19 carries, 158 yards) picked up 36 yards easily and Brown (15-28, 184 yards, 2 TD) found Braydon Johnson (5 catches, 124 yards, 2 TD) for an equally simple 42-yard touchdown pass after corner Myles Jones and safety Demani Richardson collided.
Another Aggie punt from the Oklahoma State side of the field led to another Cowboys touchdown, with Brown setting up his own 9-yard run with a 57-yard completion to Johnson the play before. With the Cowboys up 14-0 with 1:34 to go in the first quarter, things looked bad for the Aggies. Adding the Cowboys had racked up 179 yards and two touchdowns in just nine plays, things looked even worse. After the Aggies fumbled at the Oklahoma State 3 on their next possession, it seemed like disaster loomed.
Instead, the Aggie defense took over the game. After Tyree Johnson ended a 6-play Cowboys drive that went precisely nowhere with his second sack, Oklahoma State punter Tom Hutton shanked his first effort of the night and the Aggies were in business on the Cowboys 22.
Six plays later, running back Isaiah Spiller (19 carries, 77 yards, 1 TD) punched it in from a yard out to cut Oklahoma State’s lead in half at 14-7. That would be the margin at halftime, but not much longer.
After forcing a three and out on Oklahoma State’s first possession of the second half, the Aggies started to show some changes to the offense made necessary by the loss of every scholarship back save for Spiller -- who was slowed by turf toe. The changes made the A&M offense look like it had returned to its Big 12 days, as coach Jimbo Fisher started utilizing the speed option with Mond, Spiller and wideout-turned-halfback Ainias Smith (7 carries, 54 yards; 2 catches, 13 yards).
Helped by an offsides penalty which wiped out a sack on 3rd and 5, the Aggies marched 60 yards in 7 plays to tie the game. The big plays were a 28-yard pass to tight end Jalen Wydermyer on a 3rd down and a 19-yard run by Smith on an option pitch from Mond. Mond capped the drive with a 10-yard pass to Jhamon Ausbon, the only catch of the night for A&M’s leading receiver.
On the other side of the ball, the Aggies were overwhelming Oklahoma State’s offensive line at the point of attack, giving up only 21 yards in the third quarter. With the Cowboys unable to move the ball against the more physical A&M front seven, momentum had firmly shifted to the Aggies.
It was up to the offense to find a way to take advantage of it.
They did just that on a drive that started on their own 12 with 11:47 left in the game, and it all came on the ground. Mond started the drive with a 16-yard keeper, with Spiller adding 6 yards on the next carry. Then Mond ran the option to the right and decided to keep the ball, breaking through a hole and past thhe Oklahoma State secondary for a 67-yard touchdown which put the Aggies ahead for the first time.
After a 42-yard run by Hubbard got the Cowboys into A&M territory on the next possession, it looked like the Cowboys might counter. But when normal starting QB Spencer Sanders entered the game on 4th and 1 from the Aggie 33, A&M sold out on the idea that the running quarterback would keep the ball instead of handing it to the nation’s leading rusher. They guessed right, with DeMarvin Leal and Keldrick Carper stopping Sanders behind the line of scrimmage.
The Aggies would seal the win with a 9-play, 59-yard drive that included another 30-yard run by Mond, likely clinching the Texas Bowl MVP. Seth Small’s 24-yard field goal capped the possession, which lasted 5:08.
With A&M playing a prevent defense, Oklahoma State was able to pull out of theirr offensive doldrums and score on their final possession, but once the Aggies recovered an onside kick with just over a minute left, they had the win, payback and a positive feeling to enter the offseason with.
