Texas A&M Overpowers New Mexico State in Blowout

© Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

No. 15 Texas A&M (8-2, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) returned from a bye week and steamrolled New Mexico State (2-8, 1-5 in Conference USA) 38-3 in a nonconference matchup on Nov. 16 at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas.

A&M dominated from start to finish, responding to a tough road loss by obliterating a far inferior opponent to keep its College Football Playoff hopes intact.

Texas A&M-New Mexico State Game Summary

While Texas A&M came into the game with plenty of questions to answer offensively, the Aggies seemed to have no issues getting the offense going with scores on their first 4 drives and a 387-104 advantage in yardage in the first half. The only real blemish was an interception near the New Mexico State goal line on the last play of the first half.

Redshirt freshman Marcel Reed drew his fifth start at quarterback, accounting for 309 total yards and 3 TDs while winning his fourth game of the season as a starter. Reed threw for 2 TDs and opened the scoring with a strike to wide receiver Noah Thomas, who made a leaping grab in the back of the end zone on Texas A&M's opening drive.

Senior wide receiver Moose Muhammad III also caught a TD pass in the second quarter to give Texas A&M a 24-0 halftime lead.

Running back Amari Daniels answered the call in the running game on A&M's second drive, bursting through the line of scrimmage for a 71-yard TD run as he took over for an injured Le'Veon Moss and gave his team a 14-0 lead. Texas A&M put up 209 yards on the ground with 2 scores in its first game without Moss.

A&M slowed things down with a more methodical approach in the second half, burning more than 6 minutes off the clock on a 14-play, third-quarter scoring drive that ended with a Reed TD run. The defense completely shut down the New Mexico State offense, only allowing three drives to reach the Texas A&M side of the field and less than 200 yards on the night.

Texas A&M put its backups in the game with just over 3 minutes remaining in the third quarter, eventually allowing freshman quarterback Miles O'Neil to get his first collegiate snaps. O'Neil threw a TD pass to freshman wide receiver Ashton Bethel-Roman.

Turning Point

While Texas A&M controlled it all from the opening kick, New Mexico State had a couple of chances to cut into the lead in the first half. Trailing 14-0, NMSU took the ball down to the Texas A&M 46-yard line, but three straight incompletions led to a punt.

Later, New Mexico State reached the Texas A&M 30, but kicker Abraham Montano missed a 47-yard field goal attempt. Montano later converted another attempt to avoid the shutout.

What it Means

Texas A&M stays on pace in the SEC and College Football Playoff hunts for another week. While the performance may have been expected because New Mexico State's defense entered the game as one of the country's worst units, the final two weeks of the regular season will show what the A&M offense has without Moss at its disposal.

© Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Both Texas and Auburn have top-30 run defenses this season, each allowing under 116 rushing yards per game to opponents. They are also among the top 21 total defenses and the top 23 scoring defenses.

New Mexico State drops to 2-8 on the season. It's been a tough year after winning 10 games last season, but that's what happens when your head coach and starting quarterback leave and your offense and defense put up the anemic numbers they have all season.