News release from Texas A&M Athletics:
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION – The No. 25 Texas A&M football team picked up its third straight win Saturday night, defeating Bowling Green 26-20.
Marcel Reed led the Aggies (3-1) as the freshman threw for 173 yards on 16-of-29 passing to go along with two touchdowns. The signal caller also racked up a team-best and career-high 91 rushing yards on 12 carries in the win. Le’Veon Moss followed with 90 yards on 16 carries, marking his third straight game with 80-or-more yards on the ground. The junior also added a catch for 20 yards.
On the defensive side, the Aggies racked up 7.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks. Scooby Williams led the Maroon & White with seven tackles, four of which were solos. Shemar Turner made his presence known up front, logging a game-high 2.0 tackles for loss to go along with a sack.
Randy Bond matched his career-high with four field goals from 28, 29, 34 and 42 yards out in the win.
The Aggies registered the lone score of the first quarter as Reed connected with Theo Melin Öhrström for a 27-yard touchdown on the opening drive. Prior to the touchdown pass, the Maroon & White converted a fourth-and-1 as Reed hit Terry Bussey on a crossing pattern to keep the drive alive.
In the second, the Falcons (1-2) cut into the lead, 7-3, with a 33-yard field goal with 13:35 remaining in the half. Texas A&M responded on its ensuing drive as Bond connected on a 28-yard field goal to make it 10-7 at the 10:17 mark.
Bond added another field goal in the closing seconds of the half, this time from 29 yards out, to give the Maroon & White a 13-3 lead at the break. The field goal capped off an 18-play 77-yard drive that lasted over six minutes.
The Aggies remained in front in the third thanks to a 5-yard touchdown pass from Reed to Jahdae Walker that was sandwiched between two Falcon scores. Following a blocked punt by Bowling Green, the Falcons looked to even the score with a 28-yard field goal, but Jackson Kleather missed wide right and the Maroon & White took a 20-17 advantage into the fourth.
A pair of Bond field goals from 34 and 42 yards out gave the Aggies the cushion they needed in the fourth as the lead stretched to 26-17 with 7:15 left. Following a pair of turnovers from both sides on back-to-back possessions, Bowling Green totaled the final points of the night on a 23-yard field goal with :38 left in the game. On the ensuing kickoff, the Maroon & White secured the onside kick attempt to seal the win.
——————————————————————————————————————————-
Texas A&M Football Post Game Notes
Texas A&M 26, Bowling Green 20
Kyle Field (Bryan-College Station, Texas)
Team Notes
- The Aggies have scored on all four opening drives this season, after connecting on a 27-yard pass to the end zone on their first possession against Bowling Green.
- Texas A&M limited Bowling Green to 89 rushing yards on 23 attempts. It marked the second consecutive game the Aggies held an opponent under 100 rushing yards. Opponents have averaged 70.5 rushing yards over the last two games after averaging 189.0 the first two games.
- The Aggies equaled a season-high 7.0 tackles for loss, matching the 7.0 TFL registered against Notre Dame.
- Texas A&M was 2-of-2 on fourth down conversions. The Maroon & White were successful on fourth-and-1 in the first half on the touchdown drive and fourth-and-3 in their second field goal drive of the second quarter.
- The Aggies amassed over 400 yards of total offense for the third consecutive game, also marking the third straight contest with over 200 rushing yards.
Individual Notes
- Freshman QB Marcel Reed completed 16-of-29 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns. It marked his second consecutive game with multiple TD passes.
- Reed’s career-high 91 yards on the ground made him the first Aggie quarterback to rush for 75-plus yards in back-to-back games since 2019 when Kellen Mond ran for 76 yards at Ole Miss (10/19) and 76 yards against Mississippi State (10/26). It marked the first time Reed has led the Aggies in rushing yards.
- After catching the first touchdown pass of his career a week ago at Florida, sophomore TE Theo Melin Öhrström brought in a 27-yard strike to put the Aggies on the board early in the first quarter.
- Sophomore DB Marcus Ratcliffe snuffed out a late Bowling Green drive with an interception in the end zone, giving him three straight games with a pick.
- Ratcliffe became the first Aggie to record an interception in three straight games since Jason Glenn did the deed in 2000 against Kansas State, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma.
- Senior DL Shemar Turner registered 2.0 tackles for loss in the game, marking the second time in his career he has had multiple solo tackles for loss in a game, also doing so against Arkansas last season.
- Turner and Junior DL Shemar Stewart each recorded a sack in the contest, giving the Aggies their second consecutive game with multiple QB takedowns.
- Junior LB Scooby Williams led the Aggies in tackles with a season-high seven, including four solo takedowns. The tally was one short of his career high.
- Junior DE Nic Scourton logged a season-high six tackles, including five solo jobs. He also recorded one TFL and one QB hurry.
- Graduate K Randy Bond broke into the top-15 on A&M’s all-time scoring list with 14 points in the game, moving into 13th place with 230 career points. He moved to ninth place on the Aggies’ kicker-only career scoring list.
- Bond equaled his career high with four made field goals, previously set last season against ULM. He has made three-or-more field goals in a game six times in his career, while it also marked the 15th career game with multiple field goals.