COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M achieved multiple program milestones Saturday afternoon at Kyle Field, finishing with a perfect 7-0 home record for the first time in program history while defeating Samford 48-0.
The No. 3 Aggies improved to 11-1 overall with their first shutout victory since 2022. The 12th Man also set a new season attendance record at Kyle Field, adding to the historic nature of the afternoon.
"I just told our guys in the locker room I was just kind of proud of how they handled it. I was proud of the professionalism. I was proud of how they went about their business," Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko said. "Obviously we've got a lot of things going on right now and for us to focus and handle it the way we did and then for the level specifically on defense to not drop as we rolled through an awful lot of guys, we're able to get a lot of guys, a lot of time out there, it's great to see some of our young players get out and get opportunities, a lot of firsts for those guys, and then at the end to be able to get a lot of seniors on the field, and make sure that they finish their career with opportunities to play on Kyle."
Thirty seniors were honored before the game, with redshirt senior running back Amari Daniels delivering a standout performance in what could be his final game at Kyle Field. Daniels rushed for a career-high 106 yards and scored a touchdown.
"It was good to score a touchdown on my last home game at Kyle Field felt good, and, yeah, that's it. I'm just ready for the next opportunity so I can make a play," Daniels said.
"Yeah, that was really important to me, it was really important to our staff to get him in the end zone. It was great to see him go over 100 yards you know, he means a lot to Texas A&M football. He means a lot to this staff," Elko said.
Late in the fourth quarter, senior Preston Landis scored his first career touchdown, creating another memorable moment for the departing players.
"Those are the moments to me that are really cool today…Some of those guys that have those moments, to see some of those senior offensive linemen get in the end zone at the end and celebrate like those things are really cool moments that I think I kind of take away more," Elko said.
"We're all really tight. Like we're a really tight team and we're all brothers on this team. So I think really just seeing all these guys, like, you know, they give it, they're all just like, just like I do, just like everybody else on the team does. So really seeing guys get their opportunity and go out there and shine was really, was really big. So it, it was cool, brought me joy," Jones said.
The Aggie defense dominated throughout the contest, holding Samford to just 77 yards of total offense and three first downs for the entire game. The performance marked the first time since 1996 that Texas A&M's defense has held an opponent under 100 total yards.
"Some people have been knocking our defense, you know, here and there, but you know, we just got to, when we play really well, we're a good defense, and we just got to take advantage and we did what we're supposed to do today, and I think that really showed. You know, even when like, the field goal block and stuff like that, like we really just took pride in what we did today and didn't just try and coast through this game," Jones said.
Next week, the Aggies will wrap up the regular season traveling to Austin to face No. 17 Texas in the Lone Star Showdown with SEC Championship Game implications on the line. A victory would send Texas A&M to the SEC Championship Game for the first time in program history.
The game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on ABC.
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