Credit to Rachel Perreault | Director, Athletics Communications – 12thman.com
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Conner Weigman tossed five touchdown passes, including four in the first half as the No. 23 Texas A&M Aggies rolled to a 52-10 victory over the New Mexico Lobos in Saturday’s season-opener at Kyle Field.
Weigman’s scoring strike tally was the most for an A&M quarterback in a season opener and ranks fifth in the Aggie record book. Playing in just the first three quarters, he finished the day 18-for-23 for 236 yards. Weigman’s five touchdown passes marked the most by an Aggie in a regulation game since Johnny Manziel in 2013.
The receiving duo of Evan Stewart and Noah Thomas combined for 189 yards and five TDs on 14 receptions. Stewart caught eight passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Stewart had his first career multi-touchdown game. Thomas registered three touchdown receptions, all in the first half, the most for an Aggie since Mike Evans in 2013. He hauled in six catches for 74 yards.
The Aggies scored a touchdown on their first five drives of a game for the first time since 2017. They averaged 8.1 yards per play in the first half, facing just three third downs en route to 275 yards.
The scoring started with a 15-yard Weigman-to-Thomas connection with 5:00 remaining in the first quarter. Weigman hit Stewart for a 35-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the second quarter.
After New Mexico cut the lead to 14-7 on the next drive, the Aggies sandwiched Weigman-to-Thomas scores around a Le’Veon Moss 2-yard scoring dive, closing out the half with a 35-7 lead.
Weigman’s last touchdown toss, an 8-yard completion to Stewart, came with 2:30 remaining in the third quarter, stretching the Aggie cushion to 42-10.
Max Johnson tacked on a 12-yard TD pass to Moose Muhammad III and Texas A&M came up just one aerial score shy of the school record of seven set in 2002.
——————————————————————————————————————————-
Texas A&M Football Post Game Notes
No. 23 Texas A&M 52, New Mexico 10
Kyle Field (Bryan-College Station, Texas)
Team Notes
- Texas A&M is 17-2 in season openers at home since 2000 and 10-2 in season openers since joining the SEC in 2012.
- The Aggies moved to 31-4 when scoring first and are 29-1 when leading after the first quarter under Coach Fisher.
- Texas A&M’s six touchdown passes were one shy of the school record set against Texas Tech in 2002.
- The Aggies’ 52 points were the most since topping Prairie View A&M on November 20, 2021, and the most in a season opener since 2018 (Northwestern State – 59-7).
- Texas A&M scored touchdowns on its first five drives for the first time since November 11, 2017, against New Mexico (55-14).
- The Aggies’ 35 first half points were the most since scoring 38 against Prairie View A&M on November 20, 2021, and the most against an FBS opponent since putting up 48 against New Mexico on November 11, 2017.
- The Aggie defense held New Mexico to 91 yards on the ground on 32 carries for a 2.8-yard average.
- The A&M defense held the Lobos to 3-of-12 on third-down conversions, including just 2-of-9 passing for 13 yards in the air.
- Texas A&M went 5-for-5 on red zone trips, capping them all with touchdowns.
- Today’s captains against New Mexico were OL Layden Robinson, DL McKinnley Jackson, DL Fadil Diggs and WR Ainias Smith
Individual Notes
- Sophomore QB Conner Weigman made his fifth career start under center and finished the game 18-of-23 with 236 yards and five touchdown passes.
- Weigman’s five touchdown strikes are the most in regulation by an Aggie QB since Johnny Manziel (2012-13) threw five touchdown passes against Mississippi State in 2013 and the tally is tied for fifth on A&M’s single-game chart.
- Weigman matched his career high in scoring strikes in the first half alone, connecting on four passes to the end zone, including three to sophomore WR Noah Thomas and one to sophomore WR Evan Stewart.
- Weigman entered the season as the only SEC quarterback with at least 85 pass attempts that had not thrown a pick. He has attempted 154 career passes and has yet to turn the ball over.
- Sophomore WR Noah Thomas logged the first multi-touchdown game of his career with three scoring receptions in the first half. Thomas came up with in a 15-yard pass in the back of the end zone to put the Aggies on the board in the first quarter and added 34- and 9-yard touchdown grabs in the second quarter.
- Thomas’ three TD receptions were the most by an Aggie since Christian Kirk’s (2015-17) Belk Bowl effort against Wake Forest in December 2017. The last A&M player to catch three scoring passes in the first half was Mike Evans (2012-13) against Auburn on October 19, 2013.
- Sophomore WR Evan Stewart recorded the third 100-yard game of his career and his first game with multiple trips to the end zone. Stewart finished the victory over New Mexico matching a career high with eight receptions for 115 yards and two touchdowns.
- Graduate WR Ainias Smith made it 28 straight games with a reception, a streak that dates back to the 2019 season.
- Junior WR Moose Muhammad III hauled in his ninth career touchdown reception with a 12-yarder in the fourth quarter to move into 24th on the A&M all-time list.
- Junior RB Amari Daniels averaged 7.3 yards per carry, logging 51 yards on seven totes.
- Sophomore RB Le’Veon Moss registered his second career touchdown run with a 2-yarder midway through the second quarter.
- Graduate DB Josh DeBerry filled out the stat sheet, leading the team with a career-high 10 tackles while adding a pick, a solo sack and a QB hurry.
- Sophomore DL Walter Nolen tallied a career high in tackles with seven, including one TFL.
- Junior LB Edgerrin Cooper had eight tackles including a career-high 3.0 TFL.