Texas A&M 56, Vanderbilt 24: Aggies Bouce Back, Roll

Texas A&M bounced back from its upset loss to Auburn last week by shellacking Vanderbilt to the tune of 56-24.

For three of the four quarters, the Aggies outright dominated the game. In the first, third, and fourth quarters, A&M had a 49-7 edge in points. Johnny Manziel started off with no ill effects from his shoulder injury a week ago, and he finished with four TDs on yet another 300-yard day. He didn't do very much running, as the coaches likely were trying to protect him by leaving him in the pocket as much as possible. He didn't need any heroics with his legs, though, as Vandy wasn't much of a threat.

Absent Austyn Carta-Samuels, the Commodores went with freshman Patton Robinette. He looked the part of a freshman on the road, as he wasn't able to do a whole lot. Vandy's best quarter was easily the second, when the team managed to cut A&M's 28-0 lead to 28-17. After a field goal drive, James Franklin went for the surprise onside kick and his team recovered. The Commodores would turn that into a touchdown, and a few drives later, a Manziel interception led to another short touchdown drive. Kevin Sumlin looked very agitated in his halftime interview, and for good reason.

Robinette threw a touchdown pass to Matthews to begin the second half, but the bad news there is that it wasn't Jordan but A&M's Howard Matthews. That set the tone for the game post-intermission, with the Aggies being the only team able to do much on offense. It wasn't a perfect day—they did turn it over four times—but it was more than enough against a Vandy team that was dearly missing Carta-Samuels. Robinette gave way to Josh Grady for a short time in the second half but Grady wasn't effective either and eventually left with an injury. The biggest thing for Vandy was that Jordan Matthews broke the SEC's all-time record for receiving yards during the game.

For A&M, it was a good way to respond to losing a week ago and a sign that the team will probably hold it together the rest of the way. For Vanderbilt, it was a reminder of how this just isn't going to be its year after a great 2012 campaign.