Aggies double up Gators, move to 6-0

COLLEGE STATION — No. 5 Texas A&M took the best shot a resurgent Florida Gators team could give them, but they ended up being the latest SEC opponent ground down by the relentless Aggies.

A&M (6-0, 3-0 SEC) tallied 417 yards of total offense and held the Gators (2-4, 1-2 SEC) to a field goal after the first quarter as the Aggies doubled up Florida 34-17 before 105,086 at Kyle Field Saturday night.

“That was as complete a team (win), complementary win, as we’ve had,” coach Mike Elko said. 

Early scoring fest

It looked like the Aggies were in for a shootout after Florida, feeling confident after stunning then-No. 9 Texas last week, took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards in eight plays, moving the ball in chunks before quarterback DJ Lagway’s easy 1-yard toss to tight end Amir Jackson for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead less than four minutes into the game.

“That first drive, they hit us with a little tempo,” linebacker Taurean York said.

It didn’t take A&M long to reply, taking just two plays to even the score. Quarterback Marcel Reed, who has heard repeated criticism about his inability to throw the deep ball, immediately cranked up a perfect one to receiver Mario Craver, who had gotten behind double coverage. 

“I was actually kind of disappointed that Florida got the ball first, because I knew what the first play was going to be,” Reed said. “I put it up there, and Mario ran right under it and caught it.”

With that catch, Craver surpassed Noah Thomas’ season high for receiving yards for the entire 2024 season.

The 67-yard pass set the Aggies up at the Florida 8-yard line. The next play was called for Reed, who ran a quarterback draw to pay dirt without being touched.

A&M struck again on their second possession, with the key play being Reed’s 28-yard connection with tight end Nate Boerkircher that moved the ball to the Florida 38. The final 33 yards of the drive came courtesy of a pair of catches by freshman running back Jamarion Morrow, with the last, a 22-yarder, being his first career touchdown.

Reed started the game 8 for 8 for 160 yards and a touchdown, a needed hot start after struggling in the first half in the first two conference games against Auburn and Mississippi State. 

“I thought Marcel was in a really good rhythm, delivering the ball really well,” Elko said.

Florida didn’t go away, as Lagway threw a pair of perfect passes to receivers Vernell Brown III for 31 yards and J. Michael Sturdivant for 26 before freshman Dallas Wilson caught his third touchdown pass in two games a 6-yarder to tie the game.

But Florida remained unable to stop the Aggie offense, which chewed up 75 yards in 11 plays and took five minutes, 34 seconds off the clock. It finished with a punishing 22-yard touchdown run by running back Le’Veon Moss, who stiff-armed two Gators on his way to the end zone.

The Aggies weren’t done scoring, but Florida essentially was.

“We didn’t really start particularly well on defense. They go right down the field. Offensively, we answer. We start really hot right offensively, get ourselves a lead which allows the defense to kind of settle in,” Elko said.

Florida would punt on its remaining four possessions of the first half, gaining a total of 19 yards in the process. The Aggies didn’t do much either, with Randy Bond missing a 43-yard attempt on a drive that made its way to the Florida 25 before stalling. To make matters worse, Moss (5 carries, 46 yards) suffered what appeared to be a leg injury and did not return.

After giving up 157 yards of offense to Florida in the first quarter, A&M held the Gators to just 33 in the second stanza. The Aggies went into halftime still up 21-14, but Elko challenged his defense to do more.

“I said two turnovers will win us the game in the second half,” Elko said.

It didn’t take long for the Aggies to start working on their coach’s request. On Florida’s first possession of the second half and already backed up in a 3rd and 16 situation, Lagway threw a quick pass to Brown, who was immediately hit by linebacker Daymion Sanford, who forced a fumble that was recovered by fellow linebacker York at the Gators’ 29-yard line. 

A&M was able to move the ball down to the Florida 16, but were forced to settle for a 26-yard field goal from Bond to make it 24-14.

Florida offense sputters

Florida was able to muster one final effective drive on their next possession, moving the ball to the A&M 33 before Florida coach Billy Napier inexplicably called for a run by running back Jadan Baugh on 3rd and 8, then kicked a field goal after the run came up two yards short of the sticks.

The Gators were back to within a touchdown, but they may as well have been trying to get to Mars instead of the end zone as the Aggie defense clamped down. A&M continued its remarkable streak of stopping opponents from converting on third downs, holding the Gators to one conversion in 10 tries. 

“We get them to 3rd and 7, 3rd and 7 to 10, that’s when we come out, we’re going to go out there and do our thing,” York said. “We knew (if) we get them to third down, we were going to have them in shambles.”

Florida had just 162 yards of offense after the first quarter, a far cry from the 157 they tallied in the first 15 minutes.

Perhaps feeling the pressure, Napier decided to go for it on 4th and 6 from the Aggies’ 49-yard line with 12:53 remaining in the game, an idea that backfired terribly.

Aggies pull away

At that point, as happened against Mississippi State, the dam broke. 

A&M proceeded to go in a 12-play, 50-yard drive that took up more than eight minutes of game time. Eleven of the 12 plays were runs, with the only pass being a 14-yard completion to KC Concepcion on 3rd and 4 and the Florida 21. The Aggies, who came in ranked 113th in third down conversions, converted nine of 17 Saturday night.

The drive ended with a 2-yard run by Rueben Owens for his first touchdown of the season and a 31-17 lead. 

The defense, which held Florida to just 76 yards rushing, began to tee off on Lagway as Florida became one-dimensional. The Aggies got their second turnover after defensive end Dayon Hayes sacked Lagway and recovered a fumble at the Florida 23. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty moved the ball back to the 38, but A&M running back EJ Smith — the son of legendary Gator Emmitt Smith — picked up 27 yards on six carries to set up a chip shot field goal for the final margin of victory.

“We’re playing together offensively and defensively, and it’s going to get us a long way,” Reed said.