News release from Texas A&M Athletics:
STARKVILLE – The No. 14 Texas A&M football team remained perfect in SEC action Saturday afternoon as it secured a 34-24 road win over Mississippi State at Davis Wade Stadium.
With the win, the Aggies (6-1, 4-0 SEC) are off to their best start in league play since winning four straight in 2016.
Conner Weigman finished the afternoon 15-of-25 passing for 217 yards and a score. Le’Veon Moss paced the rushing attack and the Aggies’ scoring efforts after making it back-to-back games with at least two trips to the end zone.
On the defensive end, Taurean York led the way as the sophomore racked up a career-high 12 tackles to go along with 1.5 tackles for loss and a 0.5 sack. Dalton Brooks followed with a career-high nine tackles, while Daymion Sanford set a career-high with seven tackles, all of which were solos. Scooby Williams matched Shemar Turner for the team lead in tackles for loss with 2.0, adding the first interception of his career.
After the Bulldogs (1-6, 0-4 SEC) converted a pair of fourth downs on their opening drive en route to a 14-yard touchdown pass, Weigman and the Aggies answered with a 13-play 74-yard scoring drive to even the score at 7-7. The sophomore capped off the drive with a 20-yard dime to Noah Thomas in the back corner of the end zone. The touchdown catch marked the 10th of Thomas’ career, which moved him inside the top 20 in program history.
Behind a powerful 9-yard run from Moss, the Maroon & White took their first lead of the day, 14-7, with 10:29 left in the half. Following a 24-yard field goal from Mississippi State, the Aggies stretched their advantage to 21-10 with under two minutes remaining, courtesy of a 6-yard rushing touchdown from Amari Daniels. The score marked the fifth of the season for the junior.
The Bulldogs answered on the ensuing drive with a 4-yard touchdown pass to trim the lead to 21-17 at the break.
In the third, the Aggie defense ratcheted up the pressure as it held Mississippi State scoreless and to just 24 yards of offense. On the offensive end, the Maroon & White tacked on 10 points to their lead, 31-17, behind a 28-yard field goal from Randy Bond and a 3-yard touchdown run from Moss.
Following a Weigman interception to open the fourth, the Bulldogs capitalized with a 12-yard touchdown pass to trim the lead to 31-24 with 13:41 left in the game. After the two squads traded punts, Bond iced the 34-24 win for the Aggies with a 44-yard field as 6:13 showed on the clock. The graduate student has now made multiple field goals in back-to-back games and 17 times in his career.
The Aggie defense held strong to close out the game as Mississippi State turned it over on downs on each of its final two possessions.
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Texas A&M Football Post Game Notes
No. 14 Texas A&M 34, Mississippi State 24
Davis Wade Stadium (Starkville, Miss.)
Team Notes
- The victory made it four straight in SEC action to match the Aggies’ best start in league play since 2016 when the Maroon & White started 4-0.
- Texas A&M tallied three rushing scores on the day, marking the third time this season they have registered multiple rushing scores in a game.
- The Aggie offense finished 9-of-14 (64.3%) on third downs, the highest third down conversion percentage this season, while the defense held Mississippi State to just 5-of-16 on third down in the game.
- Texas A&M’s defense matched a season-high with 11.0 tackles for loss and have now recorded at least 7.0 or more tackles for loss in four straight games.
- The Maroon & White secondary has recorded an interception in five of the last six games.
- In the third quarter, the Aggie defense held the Bulldogs scoreless and to only 24 yards of offense.
Individual Notes
- Sophomore QB Conner Weigman continued to climb the Texas A&M record books, upping his career touchdown passes total to 19 to rank 17th, while his 2,593 passing yards are good for 19th and his 211 completions come in at 18th all-time.
- Junior WR Noah Thomas’ first quarter touchdown grab marked his third of the season and the 10th of his career, which moved him into a tie with six other Aggies for 19th on A&M’s all-time receiving touchdowns list.
- Junior RB Le’Veon Moss scored multiple touchdowns in a game for the third time this season after reaching the end zone on 9- and 3-yard runs. It marked the first time an Aggie running back has rushed for multiple touchdowns in consecutive games since De’Von Achane in 2021 scoring twice against Ole Miss and Prairie View A&M.
- Moss and junior RB Amari Daniels each registered a rushing touchdown in the game, marking the third time this season the duo has scored in the same game.
- Senior WR Jabre Barber put up season-best numbers against the Bulldogs, hauling all six of his targets for 92 yards, including a 58-yard grab.
- Sophomore LB Taurean York led the Aggie defense with a career-high 12 takedowns, marking the second double-digit tackle game of his career.
- Sophomore DB Dalton Brooks added a career-best nine tackles in the victory.
- Sophomore LB Daymion Sanford tallied a career-high seven tackles and two breakups in the game while also matching his career best with 1.0 tackle for loss.
- Junior LB Scooby Williams added six takedowns in the win, including a career-best 2.0 tackles for loss and his first career pick.
- Graduate K Randy Bond’s four extra points in the game upped his career total to 98, moving him into 10th all-time at A&M.
- Bond racked up 10 points in the victory by way of four extra points and a pair of field goals to register double-digit points in a game for the 11th time in his career. He connected on multiple field goals for the fifth time this season and the 17th time in his career.