NMSU falls to No. 15 Ranked Texas A&M, 38-3

COLLEGE STATTION, Texas (KVIA) -- NM State (2-8, 1-5 CUSA) was outmatched on Saturday evening at Kyle Field as Texas A&M (8-2, 5-1 SEC) defeated the Aggies 31-0.

In the game, Texas A&M managed scoring drives on each of its first four possessions to jump out to a 24-0 lead which would prove to be too much for NM State to overcome. On the night, the visiting Aggies tallied 122 rushing yards, led by 75 yards from Seth McGowan. NM State did force two turnovers in the contest while the offense did not turn the ball over once. This marked the first time this season that NM State forced more turnovers than their opponent.

FIRST QUARTER

Following an opening touchdown drive for Texas A&M, the Aggies found success on their first play from scrimmage as Seth McGowan found the left edge and scampered for 16 yards. However, the Aggies would punt the ball back to the home side just three plays later.

Texas A&M would find the end zone again on the first play of its next drive as Amari Daniels found a crease and rushed 71 yards to put NM State behind by 14 points with 9:43 remaining in the opening period.

Later in the quarter, NM State would allow another scoring drive as a 37-yard field goal capped off a nine-play 56-yard drive to increase Texas A&M’s lead to 17 points before the quarter’s end. NM State’s following possession would result in its third punt of the quarter. With this punt, George Eberle would pin the Aggies at their five-yard line.

Scoring plays: TAMU - N. Thomas 16-yard touchdown reception (Kick by R. Bond); TAMU - A. Daniels 71-yard rushing touchdown (Kick by R. Bond); TAMU - R. Bond 37-yard field goal

End Q1: NM State 0, Texas A&M 17

SECOND QUARTER

Despite needing to start its drive inside the shadow of its end zone, Texas A&M would still manage to find the end zone as it drove 95 yards in just four minutes and eight seconds to score its third touchdown of the game and put the Aggies behind by 24 points.

After the Aggie offense went three-and-out, the Aggie defense forced its first three-and-out of the game to hold the Texas A&M offense without points for the first time of the night.

Two possessions later, NM State pieced together its best drive of the evening as it traveled 67 yards on 11 plays after beginning the drive on its three-yard line. Unfortunately, the drive would stall and a missed field goal from 47 yards out kept the Aggies off the scoreboard.

With 1:31 remaining on the clock, Texas A&M drove the ball deep into the NM State territory seeking points before the end of the half. However, with two seconds on the clock, NM State cornerback Keonte Glinton intercepted a Marcel Reed pass at the goal line to keep Texas A&M from adding to its total.

Scoring plays: M. Muhammad III 6-yard touchdown reception (Kick by R. Bond)

End Q2: NM State 0, Texas A&M 24

THIRD QUARTER

With its first drive of the third quarter, Texas A&M chewed up six minutes and 38 seconds while using 14 plays to drive 76 yards while capping off the possession with a 5-yard rushing touchdown to move the Aggie deficit to 31 points.

Scoring plays: TAMU - M. Reed 5-yard rushing touchdown (Kick by R. Bond)

End Q3: NM State 0, Texas A&M 31

FOURTH QUARTER

NM State ended the shutout effort in the fourth quarter as they ended a drive that began in the third quarter with a 48-yard field goal from the left foot of Abraham Montaño.

The Aggie defense would then produce its second turnover of the night on the ensuing Texas A&M possession as Tayden Barnes out-battled the Aggie receiver for an interception in the north end zone. With possession, NM State moved the ball across midfield, however, the drive would end with a turnover on downs with just over five minutes remaining in the game.

Texas A&M would add a touchdown on its final drive of the game to set the score at 38-3 where it would stay for the remainder of the game.

Scoring plays: NMSU - A. Montaño 48-yard field goal; TAMU - A. Bethel-Roman 5-yard touchdown reception (Kick by D. Bhatia)

Final: NM State 3, Texas A&M 38 

UP NEXT

The Aggies will now prepare for a road battle with Middle Tennessee next Saturday which will mark their final game away from home of the season. NM State will kickoff against the Blue Raiders at 12:30 p.m. MT. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ for those unable to attend.

For complete coverage of the NM State football program, visit NMStateSports.com - the official home of Aggie athletics - and follow the Aggies on Facebook (NM State Football), Twitter (@NMStateFootball) and Instagram (@NMStateFB).

Noteworthy

For the third time in his career, Buddha Peleti notched two sacks - equaling his career high. Tonight, the pair of sacks came on consecutive plays.

NM State drops to 0-2 all-time against Texas A&M and falls to 1-34 all-time against teams from the Southeastern Conference.

The Aggies are now 0-5 in games away from Aggie Memorial Stadium.

Abraham Montaño connected on his eighth field goal of 40 yards or longer this season. The Fresno State transfer is now 8-11 from this distance this season.

With interceptions by Keonte Glinton and Tayden Barnes, the Aggies equaled their highest interception mark of the season. For both players, this was their second career interception.

Josiah Charles tallied a career-high four tackles in the contest.