Texas A&M stays perfect, pulls away late from Florida 34-17
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Marcel Reed threw for 234 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score as No. 5 Texas A&M continued its perfect start with a 34-17 victory over Florida on Saturday night.
It’s the first 6-0 start for the Aggies since 2016 and they improved to 3-0 in Southeastern Conference play.
“This doesn't mean anything if we don't finish,” coach Mike Elko said. “It’s been the word since the offseason. It’s the only thing that we’ve talked about. We’re really excited with where we are, but we’re nowhere yet ... we’re focused one week at a time, one game at a time, we’re focused on finishing every opportunity that we have.”
Florida (2-4, 1-2) was unable to build off last week’s 29-21 upset over then-No. 9 Texas that snapped a three-game skid as coach Billy Napier fell to 0-14 on the road against ranked opponents.
Texas A&M scored touchdowns on its first three possessions but managed only a field goal after that until Rueben Owens scored on a 2-yard run that made it 31-17 with about 4 1/2 minutes to go.
Reed said its his job to make sure the offense stays upbeat even when things aren't going well.
“As the quarterback, I have to stay calm and keep everybody else calm," he said. “It’s not always going to be sunshine and rainbows. You want to score on every possession, but it doesn’t work like that all the time.”
That score came after Florida couldn’t take advantage of a turnover and Texas A&M took more than eight minutes off the clock on the drive. The Aggies led by 7 when Jordan Castell intercepted Reed in the end zone on the first play of the fourth quarter. DJ Lagway’s pass was deflected and fell incomplete on fourth-and-6 near midfield to give Texas A&M the ball back to start the drive that ended in the score by Owens.
Napier was asked about the decision not to punt on fourth down.
“I think that the analytics would say at that point you go for it," he said. “But in general, yes that’s one you think about.”
Dayon Hayes sacked Lagway and forced a fumble that the Aggies recovered on the first play of Florida’s next drive and they tacked on a field goal to seal the victory.
“I don’t rock with the losing. I don’t like that,” Lagway said. “We can’t get comfortable with this. It’s not acceptable. And I feel like there’s a lot of guys responding to that, and it’s not acceptable, and I’m tired of it, and I can’t go on like this. We got to fix it.”
The Gators looked good early and it was tied at 14 at the end of the first quarter before Texas A&M outscored them 20-3 the rest of the way.
Lagway threw for 245 yards with two touchdowns and Vernell Brown III had six receptions for 77 yards as the Gators faced their fourth straight opponent ranked in the top 10 of the AP poll.
The Aggies had 183 yards rushing a week after running for a season-high 303 yards despite starter Le'Veon Moss leaving before halftime with an apparent injury. Owens ran for 51 yards and Moss had five carries for 46 yards and a touchdown before limping off the field in the second quarter.
Brown fumbled early in the third quarter and it was recovered by Taurean York on the Florida 29. Texas A&M couldn’t move the ball and settled for a 26-yard field goal that made it 24-14.
Florida cut the lead to 24-17 on a 45-yard field goal with about seven minutes left in the third quarter.
Lagway put the Gators up early with his 1-yard TD pass to Amir Jackson on their first drive.
The Aggies evened it up when Reed scrambled eight yards for a score on the second play and their first possession. A 67-yard grab by Mario Craver set up that score.
Texas A&M took a 14-7 lead on Reed’s 22-yard pass to Jamarion Morrow later in the first quarter.
It was tied again after Lagway found Dallas Wilson for a 6-yard touchdown on the next drive. That touchdown came two plays after Lagway connected with Brown for a 31-yard gain.
Moss ran through a defender and dashed 22 yards for a score that gave A&M a 21-14 lead early in the second quarter.
The takeaway
The Aggies should move up at least one spot after No. 3 Oregon lost at home to Indiana Saturday. The loss drops Napier to 21-23 in four seasons in Gainesville with a tough upcoming schedule which includes games against No. 10 Georgia and fourth-ranked Ole Miss.
Third-down shutdown
Texas A&M’s defense has dominated on third down since the start of SEC play, allowing opponents to convert just 2 of 33 opportunities. The Aggies limited Florida to 1 of 10 on third down conversions Saturday after Mississippi State converted just 1 of 10 opportunities last week. Those performances came after they kept Auburn from converting any of its 13 chances in the conference opener.
Big crowds
The Aggies had a crowd of 105,086 Saturday night for their 10th straight game with at least 100,000 fans.
Up Next
Florida: Hosts Mississippi State next Saturday.
Texas A&M: At Arkansas next Saturday.
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