Texas A&M stays unbeaten in SEC play, fends off Mississippi State 34-24
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Le’Veon Moss rushed for two touchdowns and No. 14 Texas A&M held off Mississippi State for a 34-24 victory on Saturday.
Moss had 65 yards on 17 carries. His 3-yard TD run gave the Aggies a 31-17 lead with 3:24 left in the third quarter.
In his second game back after being sidelined by a shoulder injury, Texas A&M quarterback Conner Weigman was 15 of 25 for 217 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions. Jabre Barber had six catches for 92 yards.
The Aggies (6-1, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) have won six in a row since losing to Notre Dame.
“It’s a road win and those don’t come easy in this league,” A&M coach Mike Elko said. “Going on the road in this conference, nothing comes easy, and they certainly didn’t make it easy. Give credit to our guys, I thought we battled and scrapped through adversity.”
Michael Van Buren passed for 242 yards and three touchdowns for Mississippi State. But the freshman also threw an interception.
“I think he is getting better and better,” Bulldog coach Jeff Lebby said. “This is a young man that’s got a bunch of ability that’s getting thrown into the fire as an 18-year-old. I’m incredibly proud of his process. He’s got to get better.”
The Bulldogs (1-6, 0-4) have dropped six consecutive games. The matchup with the Aggies was their third consecutive game against a top-15 opponent.
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Texas A&M finished with 367 yards on offense, compared to 353 for Mississippi State. The Aggies went 9 for 14 on third-down conversions, hitting on nine of the first 11. The Bulldogs were 5 for 16 on third downs.
“I thought (A&M) did a really good job of throwing and catching,” Lebby said. “We had some opportunities to get off the field and weren’t able to. We’ve got to continue to be better on third down. We’ve got to be better on both sides of the ball on third down.”
The defensive front for Texas A&M controlled the line of scrimmage. The Aggies finished with three sacks as a team and 11 tackles for loss.
Mississippi State scored on its first possession, putting together a 12-play, 92-yard drive. Van Buren threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Davon Booth on fourth-and-three.
But Moss scored on a 9-yard run in the second quarter and Amari Daniels had a 6-yard TD run to help the Aggies to a 21-17 halftime lead.
Randy Bond kicked a 44-yard field goal in the fourth to help Texas A&M close it out.
BIG PICTURE
Texas A&M: Barber was Weigman's top target, but Noah Thomas had a 20-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter. Eight different players caught at least one ball for the Aggies.
Mississippi State: While the record might not show it, the Bulldogs are improving under Lebby. The team has some manageable games coming up in the next few weeks to close the season.
UP NEXT
Texas A&M hosts LSU next Saturday.
Mississippi State hosts Arkansas next Saturday.
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