BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION–Devon Achane rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns and Ainias Smith caught two scores, sparking the No. 6 Texas A&M Aggies (1-0) to a 41-10 victory over the Kent State Golden Flashes (0-1) at Kyle Field on Saturday night. The win marked A&M’s ninth consecutive victory, tied for second longest active win streak in the FBS and most consecutive wins for the Aggies since the 1998 season (10).
After a tightly contested first half, the Aggies outscored the Golden Flashes 31-7 after the intermission, including 17-0 in the third quarter.
Texas A&M rolled up 595 total yards of offense, the most since Texas State in 2019. A&M’s triple threat of Achane, Isaiah Spiller and Smith gave the Aggies two 100-yard rushers and one 100-yard receivers in a game for the first time since September 23, 2017 when Kellen Mond (109 rush), Keith Ford (102 rush) and Christian Kirk (110 receiving) did the deed against Arkansas.
With the Maroon & White nursing a 13-3 lead midway through the third quarter, Leon O’Neal woke up the crowd with an electrifying 85-yard pick-six to extend the Aggies lead to 20-3.
Texas A&M kept the momentum, scoring touchdowns on three of its next four drives, including two TD runs by Achane – a 63-yard sprint with 3:49 remaining in the third quarter and a 1-yard plunge with 6:26 remaining in the game. Smith caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Haynes King early in the fourth quarter.
The Aggies rushed for 303 yards in the game. In addition to Achane’s ground effort, Isaiah Spiller logged his 11th career 100-yard game with 113 yards on 17 carries.
King went 21-for-33 passing for 292 yards and two touchdowns in his first career start.
Smith had 100 yards receiving on a career-high eight receptions. Caleb Chapman caught four passes for 91 yards, including a career-long 53 yard reception.
Texas A&M opened the game with a 10-play, 75-yard scoring drive capped off by a 4-yard touchdown pass from King to Smith. On the drive, King was a perfect 6-for-6 for 49 yards, distributing passes to five different players.
Each team added a field goal on their following respective drives to cap off the scoring for the half. Seth Small’s 49-yard field goal with 4:11 left in the first quarter marks his 50th career make.
The Aggie defense held Kent State to 110 passing yards and racked up five sacks. Aaron Hansford led the team with eight tackles. O’Neal had two pickoffs for the first multi-interception game of his career.
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics
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