His first touchdown came on a 23-yard pass to Mike Evans on A&M’s second drive of the half.
Matt Joeckel started at quarterback for A&M and threw for 190 yards and a touchdown to help the Aggies to a 28-21 lead at halftime.
Manziel came in on Texas A&M’s first offensive play of the second half and the Aggies capped his first drive with a 44-yard field goal.
Manziel’s first play of the season was a 12 yard run and he also scrambled on the second one, going seven yards. He was sacked on third down and the Aggies settled for the field goal.
Manziel extended A&M’s lead to 38-21 with the touchdown pass to Evans.
Ben Malena grabbed an 18-yard pass from Manziel early in the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 45-28.
Rice failed to convert on fourth down on its next drive and Manziel took advantage of the short field two players later when he hit a wide-open Evans in the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — After serving his first-half suspension, Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel threw three TD passes and scrambled for 19 yards as No. 7 Texas A&M posted a lopsided 52-31 win over Rice.For Rice, Taylor McHargue threw for 180 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions and Charles Ross had 107 yards rushing with two scores for the Owls.
Ross got Rice within 10 points with a 1-yard run seconds into the fourth quarter.
The Aggies struggled early in the first half, possibly due to the suspensions of five defensive starters. Cornerbacks Deshazor Everett and De’Vante Harris, defensive tackle Kirby Ennis, defensive end Gavin Stansbury and linebacker Steven Jenkins all sat out for Texas A&M. Backup safety Floyd Raven was also suspended for this game.
The suspensions of Harris, Stansbury, Jenkins and receiver Edward Pope are for two games and were announced just minutes before kickoff, meaning their first game action will be against top-ranked Alabama on Sept. 14.
Everett’s suspension was for a half and he started on defense after the break and he was ejected from the game in the fourth quarter for targeting.
The Aggies relied on the running game in the second quarter to complete a touchdown drive with a 1-yard run by Carson to even the score.
A&M’s first lead came on a 71-yard catch and run by freshman Ricky Seals-Jones that made it 21-14. Carson pushed the lead to 28-14 with his second score on a two-yard run.
Rice jumped out to a 7-0 lead after a 1-yard run by Ross. That drive was helped by a career-long 57-yard run by McHargue. With Manziel watching from the sidelines sporting a visor, A&M evened it up when Ben Malena scored on a 4-yard run later in the first quarter.
The Owls took a 14-7 lead when McHargue found Charles Ross on a 19-yard touchdown pass with seven minutes left in the first quarter.