MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Texas A&M relied on big performances from freshmen all season, and the Aggies’ bowl game was no different.
Kyle Allen threw for four touchdowns and ran for a fifth Monday, and Texas A&M erased an early 10-point deficit to defeat West Virginia 45-37 in the Liberty Bowl.
Allen, a true freshman making his fifth career start, went 22 of 35 for 294 yards to make up for an early interception that KJ Dillon returned for a touchdown. The Aggies’ season leaders in sacks (Myles Garrett), all-purpose yards (Speedy Noil) and interceptions (Armani Watts) also were true freshmen.
”Next year we’re going to be a much more experienced team, and we’re going to work hard in the offseason because we know what’s at stake and how our work ethic this year didn’t produce the record we want,” Allen said. ”It’s going to be great for us, winning this game, for confidence.”
Malcome Kennedy caught two of Allen’s touchdown passes, and Tra Carson rushed for a career-high 133 yards on 25 carries. Allen’s 14-yard rushing touchdown in the final minute of the first half put the Aggies (8-5) ahead for good.
Texas A&M has won bowl games in four straight seasons for the first time in school history. The Aggies won the Chick-fil-A Bowl last year, the Cotton Bowl two seasons ago and the Texas Bowl in 2011.
”That’s something that nobody can ever take from them and puts (the seniors) in a separate class by themselves,” coach Kevin Sumlin said.
West Virginia’s Skyler Howard went 20 of 45 for 346 yards and three touchdowns while making his second career start in place of Clint Trickett, who announced Friday he was giving up football because of multiple concussions.
Kevin White had seven catches for 129 yards and a touchdown for West Virginia (7-6). Josh Lambert made all three of his field-goal attempts.
”Too many stalled drives,” coach Dana Holgorsen said. ”When you play a game that you’re going to have to score 46 points to win it, you can’t settle for that many field goals. … I thought we moved the ball well. We just didn’t score enough points.”
The game lived up to its billing as a shootout between two fast-paced offenses that had scored over 30 points per game while allowing more than 25 this season. This wound up as the second-highest scoring day in the Liberty Bowl’s 56-game history, trailing only Louisville’s 44-40 victory over Boise State in 2004.
The first quarter alone featured 34 combined points, with West Virginia leading 20-14.
Texas A&M outlasted West Virginia by outrushing the Mountaineers 235-126 and holding West Virginia below 4 yards per carry. The Aggies had allowed 5.1 yards per rush this season.
Perhaps the biggest play of the game came in the first quarter.
Texas A&M trailed 17-7 when it went for it on fourth-and-5 from the West Virginia 40. The move paid off when Allen found running back Trey Williams for a touchdown.
”That’s a play we had put in this week specifically for that blitz they were bringing us,” Allen said. ”They brought everyone and they left four people to cover the receivers, but we knew they wouldn’t cover the running backs.”
Texas A&M pulled ahead 21-20 early in the second quarter on Allen’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Kennedy. Just 39 seconds later, West Virginia went back in front 27-21 on Howard’s 49-yard TD throw to White.
Texas A&M took over from there.
The Aggies got a 28-27 lead with 53 seconds left in the half as Allen went to his right and saw a defender converging, then headed to his left and ran down the sideline for a touchdown. Texas A&M scored 17 points on its first three series of the third quarter to pad its advantage to 45-30.
West Virginia cut the deficit to 45-37 on Howard’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Wellman with 2:32 remaining, but the Mountaineers’ offense wouldn’t touch the ball again.
REYNOLDS MOVES TO TOP OF LIST
• Sophomore transfer WR Josh Reynolds took sole possession of Texas A&M’s single season receiving TDs record with his 13th touchdown grab of 2014 early in the first quarter of the Liberty Bowl.
• Reynolds broke the old mark of 12 originaly set by Jeff Fuller in 2010 and matched by Mike Evans in 2013.
• The Aggies’ receiving TDs record has been matched or broken five times since 2008 when Fuller broke Bob Long’s record of eight, which had stood since 1968 (40 years)
Texas A&M Receiving TDs Leaders
Player TDs Year
Josh Reynolds 13 2014
Mike Evans 12 2013
Jeff Fuller 12 2010
Ryan Swope 11 2011
Jeff Fuller 9 2008
ALLEN BREAKS PASSING TDS MARK
• Freshman QB Kyle Allen broke the Aggies’ freshman bowl record with four passing touchdowns, which also matches A&M’s overall bowl record set by Johnny Manziel last year against Duke in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. Manziel also held the freshman passing TDs record with two against Oklahoma in the 2013 Cotton Bowl.
• Allen’s 294 passing yards were also a freshman bowl record and ranked No. 4 among all Aggie passers (1-Manziel, 382 yards 2013 Chick-fil-A Bowl; 2-Jerrod Johnson, 362 yards 2009 Independance Bowl; 3-Ryan Tannehill, 329 yards 2011 Meineke Car Care)
ALLEN IS FIRST TRUE FRESHMAN…
• Kyle Allen is the first true freshman QB to start and win a bowl game since Bucky Richardson led the Aggies to a 35-10 win over Notre Dame in the 1988 Cotton Bowl.
KASER BREAKS LECHLER’S RECORD
• 2014 Ray Guy Award semifinalist Drew Kaser deposited a trio of punts inside the West Virginia 20-yard line to bring his seaon total to 22, which breaks the old school record of 21 set by All-American and perennial NFL All-Pro Shane Lechler in 1998.
CARSON, RUSHING ATTACK SHINE
• Junior RB Tra Carson posted his first 100-yard rushing game as a collegian with 133 yards on 25 carries. It was also Texas A&M’s first 100-yard rushing game by a running back since Ben Malena had 112 yards on 17 carries against Mississippi State in 2012.
• For the game, the Aggies rushed for 235 yards and two touchdowns on 48 carries. It was the Aggies’ third 200-yard plus rushing game of 2014: 225 vs. Lamar and 268 at SMU.
FUTURE BRIGHT ON DEFENSE
• The Aggies’ top two tacklers were true freshmen: linebacker Otaro Alaka (seven total, six solo) and safety Donovan Wilson (eight total, eight solo). The true freshman pair also contributed 2.5 tackles for loss, one pass breakup and a QB hurry.
• Fellow true freshman Myles Garrett contributed three tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss and a half-sack. For the season, Garrett had a SEC freshman record 11.5 QB sacks
12TH MAN, GAME CAPTAINS …
• The Aggies’ 12th Man against the Tigers was Sam Moeller, a junior from San Antonio, Texas. He has served as the Aggies’ 12th Man in every game in 2013 and 2014 (26 straight starts), which is the second-most in school history (record is 30 by Nick Lamantia, 2006-08).
• Game captains were senior Malcome Kennedy and juniors Julien Obioha and Drew Kaser. Texas A&M won the toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff.
STUDENT ASSISTANT REMOVED
• When Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin was made aware of student assistant Michael Richardson’s actions on the sideline, he was told to remain in the locker room for the remainder of the game.
GAME HONORS
• Freshman Kyle Allen was voted the Autozone Liberty MVP following his record-setting performance.
• Texas A&M Offensive MVP Honors went to junior Tra Carson following his 133-yard day.
• Freshman Otaro Olaka garned Texas A&M Defensive MVP Honors following his seven tackle day.
Texas A&M Football knocks off West Virginia 45-37. Trey Carson was named offensive player of the game.
Top Performers
Passing: S. Howard (WVU) – 346 YDS, 3 TD
Rushing: T. Carson (A&M) – 25 CAR, 133 YDS
Receiving: K. White (WVU) – 7 REC, 129 YDS, 1 TD
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Texas A&M student assistant Michael Richardson was told by coach Kevin Sumlin to remain in the locker room for shoving two West Virginia players on the sideline during the first half of the AutoZone Liberty Bowl on Monday.
Cameras showed Richardson striking West Virginia players who ventured out of bounds during the first half on two separate occasions. He used his elbow to strike WVU cornerback Daryl Worley in the back of the head and shoved running back Andrew Buie in another incident.
Sumlin was made aware of Richardson’s actions at halftime, and Richardson was not allowed to return to the sideline for the second half, according to school athletic officials.
A class of 2012 signee out of DeSoto (Texas) High, Richardson played linebacker as a true freshman for Texas A&M before suffering a career-ending neck injury in a Nov. 17, 2012, win over Sam Houston State. He had surgery shortly thereafter and has served as a student assistant coach for the Aggies since his playing days concluded.