Texas A&M vs. Texas State score: Aggies roll Bobcats 41-7

It’s good to be back. With 98,016 in the stands at Kyle Field, the Texas A&M Aggies did not disappoint.

That was not the case early though, as the Texas State Bobcats held their own, stalling out the Aggies first drive. The A&M defense held fast, and a Kellen Mond strike to Quartney Davis from 21 yards out to put the Aggies up 7-0. Leon O’Neal intercepted Tyler Vitt to set up the Aggie offense on the next possession. Yes, you read that right, O’Neal forced a turnover. The Aggie offense relied on the run this drive, with JaShaun Corbin punching it in from the 1. The Aggies punted twice in the first half.

Kellen Mond ran into the end zone for touchdown, and threw a short pass to Corbin for another. The Aggies shot up 28-0 in the first half and were looking great at this point. Myles Jones picked off the Bobcats on the ensuing drive. There was one miscue for the Aggie offense besides the two punts, and that was Kendrick Rogers fumble trying to fight his way into the end zone in the final seconds.

The second half slowed down drastically on offense, but the defense stayed sharp. Mond threw an interception on the first drive of the second half, but the Bobcats were immediately picked off by Myles Jones again. The four interceptions are the most in a single game since 2006, when they pulled that feat off against the Texas Longhorns. It is also now over half of the interception total of last season. Although Seth Small kicked a field goal on that drive, the defense continued to hold up.

Freshman Isaiah Spiller then entered the game. Spiller had a solid gain of seven yards on his first carry, then broke off an 85-yard carry down to Texas State two-yard line. That run was one of the longest runs in A&M history. Jhamon Ausbon caught a pass from Mond to put the Aggies up 38-0. Another Seth Small field goal later, the Bobcats would score one touchdown in garbage time, though an important time to some out there. The final score was 41-7. And if you had Texas A&M covering the spread, that half point is absolutely brutal. My condolences.

Kellen Mond impressed on Thursday night. He went 19-for-27, threw 194 yards with 3 touchdowns and one interception. He also rushed for 25 yards and a TD. He also threw this absolute dime:

Corbin ran for 103 yards on 22 carries and 2 TDs (one passing TD from Mond). Spiller was your leading rusher with 106 yards on just seven carries.

Quartney Davis and Jhamon Ausbon each had six receptions, combining for 160 yards and two scores.

The defense held tough for the entire game. Did the Bobcats score? Only during garbage time. Jayden Peevy, Tyree Wilson and Roney Elam all recorded sacks.

Outside of three penalties, one interception and one stalled drive, A&M showed the college football world what they can do.

Next week, the Aggies travel to Death Valley to take on the mighty Clemson Tigers, who defeated the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 52-14 on Thursday night.