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Texas A&M football vs. McNeese State score: Aggies roll to first win of the season

tyler j. davis and caleb yum, austin american-statesman
·7 min read

COLLEGE STATION — After falling in its stiff test to open the season against Notre Dame, Texas A&M football bounced back in a big way Saturday by blowing past McNeese State 52-10 at Kyle Field.

The Aggies rushed for 333 yards, quarterback Conner Weigman threw for two touchdowns and the defense picked off two Cowboys passes in the win.

Up next for the Aggies is matchup with Florida in Gainesville.

These were our updates throughout Saturday's game:

A&M TAKEAWAYS: Le'Veon Moss key in Mike Elko's first Aggie win

WATCH TEXAS A&M VS. MCNEESE STATE ON FUBO

Texas A&M vs. McNeese State score updates

Final: Texas A&M 52, McNeese State 10

The Cowboys were no match for the Aggies, who finished with 524 yards on a helpless McNeese State defense. Sixkiller ended the game with 80 yards passing and two interceptions. Moss and Daniels led Texas A&M with 84 and 75 yards rushing respectively and two touchdowns each.

Q4, 10:06 McNeese State scores, but Terry Bussey responds

McNeese State finally scores a touchdown after a mammoth drive that lasted 10:30 and included 19 plays for 75 yards. Sixkiller and the Cowboys cut the deficit to 38, but it wouldn't last long.

Texas A&M's very next drive lasted 13 seconds. Terry Bussey took a run 65 yards to the house, extending the lead to 52-7.

End of Q3 — Texas A&M holding onto 45 point lead

Entering the fourth quarter, McNeese State has six first downs and 143 yards of total offense. The only question now is how much the Aggies will win by.

Q3, 5:55 — Backups in for the Aggies

A few backups have entered the game, but the Aggies' defense is still keeping the shutout alive, stalling McNeese's drive at A&M's 49 yard line.

The ensuing drive sees Reed back in at quarterback with Daniels in the backfield. Reed's first completion of the season comes on a 31 yard pass to Allen. Daniels then finds the endzone on a 7-yard run that pushes the Aggies' lead to 45.

Halftime: Texas A&M 38, McNeese 0

McNeese running back TreVonte' Citizen rushes for 26 yards on the Cowboys' biggest play of the day. That bright spot is quickly dashed as Sixkiller's pass is tipped at the line and picked off by Marcus Ratcliffe.

A&M brings in Marcel Reed at quarterback following the interception. He starts his drive with a quarterback keeper for 11 yards. Daniels rushes for three yards and another keeper by Reed goes for one. The backup's first pass attempt is an incompletion, leading to a 42-yard field goal by Bond.

McNeese runs one play after the kickoff, then lets the clock for the 1st half run out. The Aggies are in cruise control for the rest of this game.

Q2, 4:36 — Weigman finding his rhythm

Coach Mike Elko has his quarterback in a rhythm, with Weigman starting the drive with passes of 11 yards, 9 yards and 14 yards. Weigman is also showing off his athleticism, as he hits a McNeese defender with a nasty spin move on an 18-yard run.

The Aggie quarterback finishes with a three yard touchdown pass to Moose Muhammed III. Weigman went five of five on that drive and currently has 125 yards with 11 completions on 14 attempts.

Q2, 10:27 — McNeese pick leads to Weigman's first TD pass

Sixkiller throws a pick after a pass deflects off of his receiver's hands. Weigman gets the ball at the Aggies' 35 and scrambles for a 7-yard gain.

After two incompletions, Weigman finds Cyrus Allen on a 9-yard throw. The quarterback then gets his first touchdown pass of the season on a 15-yard dime to Noah Thomas.

Q2, 14:20 — Moss scores his second TD of the day

Moss runs it in from 6 yards out to make it 21-0. Texas A&M has had Weigman throw just five passes, but it hasn't needed its quarterback to do much with how dominant the Aggies have been on the ground.

End of Q1 — Texas A&M dominating the trenches

McNeese gets its first down of the day on a 16-yard pass from Sixkiller to Jonathan Harris. The Cowboys stall at their own 46, however, handing A&M another turn on offense. Moss is back in the game as the lead rusher. He and the Aggies' offensive line are mauling the Cowboys' defensive line; the Aggies have 132 rush yards already.

Texas A&M makes it to McNeese's 5-yard line, and that's the end of the first quarter.

Q1, 7:19 — Texas A&M's defense holds, offense makes it 14-0

McNeese's starting quarterback Clifton McDowell is out with an injury and he's being replaced by one of the coolest names you'll ever hear: Kamden Sixkiller (yes, he does wear the No. 6). Unfortunately for Sixkiller, his first drive for the Cowboys ended in a three-and-out.

A terrible punt puts A&M on McNeese's 46 yard line. Weigman completes his third consecutive pass and the running game keeps grinding, with Amari Daniels and Terry Bussey both seeing playing time. The Aggies march down to the 7 yard line, but an unsportsmanlike penalty pushes them back 15. Daniels gets it back with a 19-yard rush, then punches it in for six. The extra point by Randy Bond is good.

Q1, 12:44 — Aggies strike quickly

Texas A&M's first offensive drive was ruthlessly efficient. Running back LeVeon Moss had 47 yards and quarterback Connor Weigman completed both of his passes for 28 yards. Moss ran it in from 4 yards out before McNeese even had time to blink.

If the Aggies keep this up, they'll score 70 points.

Aggies to start on offense

McNeese won the toss and deferred. Texas A&M will receive the ball to start the game.

Texas A&M vs. McNeese State time today

  • Date: Saturday, Sept. 7.

  • Time: 11:45 a.m.

  • Location: Kyle Field in College Station.

Saturday's Aggies game will kickoff just before noon on SEC Network.

BUY TEXAS A&M-MCNEESE STATE TICKETS HERE

What channel is Texas A&M vs. McNeese State on today?

  • TV channel:

  • Streaming: SEC Network, Fubo.

  • Radio: 1150 AM, 93.7 FM

Texas A&M vs. McNeese will be broadcast on the SEC Network streaming service. Kyle Field will be play host the nonconference game. FUBO offers a free trial to new subscribers hoping to watch college football.

Texas A&M vs. McNeese State history

  • Series record: Texas A&M leads, 1-0.

  • Texas A&M's last win: 38-24, Sept. 1, 2001.

Texas A&M, of the SEC, and McNeese State, of the Southland Conference, have played just once before, in another early-September game nearly 25 years ago. That game was also played in College Station, and McNeese State led for most of the day. But the upset bid fell short when the Aggies scored 28 points straight to finish the game.

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Texas A&M vs. McNeese State predictions

The Dallas Morning News is predicting a blowout: 56-3, Aggies. College Football News is as well, forecasting a 52-0 win. Aggies writers for Aggies Wire see a closer game on tap, but all four listed predictions have A&M by at least 30 points.

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Texas A&M vs. McNeese State weather update

Expect a mild, pleasant day in College Station — unlike last week's 90-plus-degree night game vs. Notre Dame. The kickoff temperature is expected around 80 degrees with a game high ushing 87 degrees. It'll be a sunny, gusty day with winds whipping at about 15 mph.

Texas A&M 2024 football schedule

  • Aug. 31: Notre Dame 23, Texas A&M 13

  • Sept. 7: vs. McNeese State | 11:45 a.m. | SEC Network (Fubo)

  • Sept. 14: at Florida* | 2:30 p.m. | ABC, ESPN+ (Fubo)

  • Sept. 21: vs. Bowling Green | 6:30 p.m. | ESPN+, SEC Network +

  • Sept. 28: vs Arkansas* (Arlington, Texas)

  • Oct. 5: vs. No. 10 Missouri* | 11 a.m.

  • Oct. 12: BYE

  • Oct. 19: at Mississippi State*

  • Oct. 26: vs. No. 19 LSU*

  • Nov. 2: at South Carolina*

  • Nov. 9: BYE

  • Nov. 16: vs. New Mexico State

  • Nov. 23: at Auburn*

  • Nov. 30: vs. No. 3 Texas

*Denotes an SEC game.

Texas A&M football news

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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas A&M football vs. McNeese State replay: Aggies cruise to a win