Rachel Perreault | Director, Athletics Communications – 12thman.com
HOUSTON – The Texas A&M football team battled No. 22 Oklahoma State to the final play before falling 31-23 Wednesday night at the TaxAct Texas Bowl inside NRG Stadium.
Down 24-6 at the half, Texas A&M (7-6) forced two second half turnovers and outscored Oklahoma State 17-7 in the final two quarters before failing to convert on a Hail Mary as Oklahoma State (10-4) intercepted the pass as time ran out.
Entering the game with a depleted roster, Texas A&M lost starting quarterback Jaylen Henderson on the first play to injury. Reserve quarterback Marcel Reed completed 20-of-33 passes for 361 yards, while rushing 10 times for 29 yards and one touchdown. Jahdae Walker led the receiving corps with eight catches for 137 yards, while Max Wright added four catches for 62 yards and Moose Muhammad III finished with three catches for 68 yards.
Sam Mathews filled the stat sheet to lead the Aggie defense with a career-high 14 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss, one pass breakup and one interception. Taurean York and Bryce Anderson added eight tackles apiece.
Trailing by a field goal halfway through the opening frame, Texas A&M evened the score following a Randy Bond 37-yard field goal. Oklahoma State answered with a touchdown on the ensuing drive as the Aggies trailed 10-3 after the first quarter.
The Maroon & White opened the second quarter on its own 27-yard line as Reed completed consecutive passes, including a 39-yard shot to Jaden Platt. The Aggies threatened in the red zone following a defensive pass interference call, before the offense sputtered as Bond nailed a 24-yard field goal making it 10-6.
Oklahoma State tacked on a pair of touchdown scores on the ground as the Aggies faced a 24-6 deficit at the half.
Dalton Brooks sparked the Aggies on the opening series of the second half with his first career interception. Texas A&M capitalized as Reed connected with Wright on a pair of passes for 48 yards, before Amari Daniels capped a six play, 60-yard scoring drive with a 2-yard rushing score to make it 24-13.
A&M trailed 31-20 late in the third quarter after Reed recorded his first career rushing touchdown with a 20-yard scamper to answer a quick touchdown drive by the Cowboys.
Ole Sarge’s charges threatened early in the final stanza as Daniels broke through the defense before fumbling at the Cowboys 6-yard line. The Aggies held Oklahoma State at bay and came within one score after Bond made his third field goal of the night, a 51-yarder that bounced over the crossbar.
Trailing 31-28 with 5:07 remaining, the Cowboys aimed to end all hope with a 47-yard goal attempt that sailed wide right leaving 17 seconds on the clock. Reed completed a 27-yard pass to Walker before serving up a Hail Mary that fell into an Oklahoma State defender’s hands as time was extinguished.
——————————————————————————————————————————-
Texas A&M Football Post Game Notes
No. 22 Oklahoma State 31, Texas A&M 23
NRG Stadium (Houston, Texas)
Team Notes
Texas A&M tallied over 400 yards of offense for the eighth time this season, racking up 445 yards against the Cowboys.
The Aggies’ 372 yards through the air marked the third consecutive game with 250+ yards passing and the fourth-most by A&M in a bowl game.
The Maroon & White was a perfect 4-for-4 in the red zone against Oklahoma State.
Today’s captains against Oklahoma State were RB Earnest Crownover, TE Max Wright, DB Sam Mathews and LB Chris Russell Jr.
Individual Notes
Freshman QB Marcel Reed saw the field for just the third time this year, throwing for the most yards by an Aggie QB this season as he finished the game with 361 yards, completing 20 of his 33 attempts.
Reed’s passing total marked the fourth time this season an Aggie QB has thrown for over 300 yards as well as the third-most passing yards by an Aggie in a bowl game.
Reed also led the rushing efforts as his 20-yard dash to the end zone helped him total 29 yards on 10 carries.
Junior transfer WR Jahdae Walker led the receiving corps and registered his third 100-yard game as he put up career bests with eight catches for 137 yards. Both his receptions and yards totals rank among the top five by and Aggie receiver in a bowl game.
Graduate TE Max Wright tallied a career-high 62 yards on four catches to close out his six-year career as an Aggie.
Sophomore RB Amari Daniels made his sixth trip to the end zone this season, seventh of his career, when he barreled into the end zone from 2 yards out for A&M’s first touchdown of the night.
Graduate DB Sam Mathews led the defense with a career-high 14 tackles, the first double-digit tackles game of his career, while also recording his first interception in the fourth quarter.
Sophomore DB Bryce Anderson matched his career high for the second time this season and fourth time in his career with eight takedowns in the game.
Freshman DB Dalton Brooks registered the first pick of his career early in the second half to help set up A&M’s first touchdown of the day.
Junior PLK Randy Bond moved into the top 10 on A&M’s career made field goals list, sending three through the uprights to up his total to 39, putting him in ninth on the all-time list.
Bond’s 26 made field goals this year were the second-most in a season in program history, behind only Randy Bullock’s 29 makes in 2011.
Bond’s 11 points in the game upped his season total to 126 points, tying him for third on A&M’s single-season scoring list with Johnny Manziel from the 2012 season.
Bond was just 1 yard shy if his career long, sending a 51-yard field goal through the uprights late in the fourth quarter to finish the season 5-of-6 from 50-plus yards.