COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KRHD) — Texas A&M football defeated Arizona State 48-20 Saturday at Kyle Field in College Station, with a dominant fourth-quarter defensive performance sealing the win in front of more than 107,000 fans dressed in red, white, and blue on the anniversary of Sept. 11.
Head coach Mike Elko said the story of the game came down to executing a winning formula.
"We have a winning football formula, and we followed that to a T. Win the turnover margin — we did it 4 to 1. Win on special teams — I thought we dominated the game on special teams. Score touchdowns in the red zone, hold people to field goals in the red zone — we were able to do that. Play penalty-free football — we did that. And win in the fourth quarter — we did that," Elko said.
Elko drew a contrast between this year's team and last season's.
"There were times last year where we looked really pretty play in and play out, right? We threw and caught the ball better at times. We stopped people better at times, but didn't do the, you know, didn't do the winning things, made too many penalties or turned the ball over or didn't create turnovers, right? Today at times we played ugly, but we did the winning things," Elko said.
After trading punts in the first quarter, a muffed punt helped the Aggies strike first with a Ruben Owens score. Texas A&M took a 17-0 lead into halftime, but Arizona State crept back into the game, pulling to within 4 points heading into the fourth quarter. The fourth quarter belonged to the Aggies. Mario Craver scored a touchdown, and the defense added 2 more scores, including a 45-yard pick-six from Julio Humphrey that sealed the game.
Special teams set the tone early. TK Norman, filling in for an injured Miles Davis at gunner, recovered a muffed punt inside the 10-yard line on the game's first punt. Arizona State also attempted a fake punt, but the Aggies were ready. Elko said the team had prepared for the Sun Devils' tendency to take chances on special teams.
"Fake punts, surprise onsides kicks, that's kind of been their MO a little bit. And so certainly had prepped for those things to happen, and I thought our kids recognized it really, really well on the spot, and they did a nice job defending it," Elko said.
Linebacker Dalton Brooks said film study made the difference on the fake punt stop.
"That was the guy in the 3 spot. So just watching him, you know, he bubbled out. I ran, made the tackle, and that's what it was. This year, everybody got to know what everybody's doing, and that's a big thing we emphasize this year — everybody watching film," Brooks said.
The connection between quarterback Marcel Reed and receiver Isaiah Horton provided a spark in the red zone. Horton caught 2 touchdowns, including a 4-yard score. Elko said Horton gave the offense exactly what it needed.
"We needed that big receiver, right? And you saw where the big receiver can help you in the red zone. That's a one-on-one ball that he goes down and does a great job making a contested catch and keeping his feet. We're able to find him in the back of the end zone on 3rd down. That was a really, really big play," Elko said.
Wide receiver Terry Bussey said Horton's veteran presence has elevated the entire receiving room.
"He steps in as a leader. He's real vocal in that room. With his experience, just helping us — we ain't been doing it as long as he has been doing it. So just taking in everything he's seen and doing," Bussey said.
The fourth-quarter defensive eruption began when defensive lineman TJ Cersei sacked the Arizona State quarterback, forcing a fumble that Marco Jones returned for a touchdown. Elko said the play was a massive momentum swing.
"Obviously he hit the quarterback, the ball went up in the air, we caught it, we scored. That was a huge play. Any defensive touchdowns are a big play. Defensive touchdowns in a 4-point game are even bigger plays, and it was just a really, really big response," Elko said.
Jones described the pick-six as a blur.
"That play doesn't happen without TJ. He did a great job, gets home, does everything he needs to do, reaches, gets the ball up in the air, and then I just kind of — time kind of just slowed down a little bit and I was like, I just gotta go get it. And I went and got it, I just started running and then I was in the end zone. So it's kind of a blur, but it was cool," Jones said.
Humphrey's interception followed shortly after. Elko said the play validated the work Humphrey put in during the offseason.
"Another kid who didn't have the role that he wanted to last year, didn't play at the level that he wanted, we wanted, didn't get the reps, all of those things. And to his credit, stays, went to work, had a really, really strong offseason, and has become a really, really good corner and a difference maker for us. It was great to see him rewarded that way," Elko said.
Brooks said the defensive turnovers were the product of an offseason-long emphasis.
"To be able to turn our practice into something that we use into the game — we made a big emphasis on it, and to see it show up in the game today, it really did mean a lot," Brooks said.
Jones said the defense views the performance as just a starting point.
"It's still early, right? Like we still want to create as many turnovers as humanly possible. For us it's just a start — the first step to a whole staircase. It's something we're looking forward to and excited about, but we just gotta keep building on it," Jones said.
Elko credited the team's depth for sustaining the fourth-quarter push, noting the defense rotated as many as 10 to 11 defensive linemen and 3 cornerbacks throughout the game. He also pointed to several unsung contributors, including Sam Lapemba, who caused a key fumble in the fourth quarter, and Braveon Rodgers, a fourth-year player who made plays on special teams.
"You got TJ Cersei, who's not getting a ton of third-down rushes, and goes out there and makes a big sack. You got Sam Lapemba, who played about 20 plays last year, didn't transfer, stayed here, worked, developed, and he's the one who causes the big fumble in the 4th quarter. You got Braveon Rodgers, who is in his 4th year, still hasn't really gotten the starting nod but has just worked and worked and worked and gotten better, and he's a menace on special teams," Elko said.
Jones said the team's success came from everyone playing together.
"We never sit here and try to prove ourselves or anything. This game is really, when we play on Saturdays, just for the team. All the guys — young guys, older guys, guys who played a lot, guys who haven't — just all played as one team, just did their thing and just played together and got a good win," Jones said.
The Aggies finished with just 1 penalty for 5 yards. Elko said the discipline felt different from a year ago, and Bussey said playing clean football has been a point of emphasis all season.
"We try to finish the game with no penalty, so that's a big focus point for us and our team, so just trying to go out there and play a clean game of football," Bussey said.
Elko took a moment after the game to acknowledge the 12th Man, who filled Kyle Field with red, white, and blue on the anniversary of Sept. 11.
"I think it starts with just what a scene. Thank you for the 12th Man, 107,500, again over 107,000, and just the scene of red, white, and blue when we ran out of the tunnel and what that stands for on the anniversary of 9/11," Elko said.
Bussey said the moment was not lost on the players.
"I've seen on social media that they were gonna try to do that, and I mean, that's, it's hard to get everybody coordinated, but coming out the tunnel, just seeing everybody coordinate like that, I mean, it's real special. We got the best fan base in the nation, so I mean to come out there at 11 o'clock in the morning and have everybody rocking like that, it was pretty special," Bussey said.
Texas A&M improves to 2-0 and opens SEC play next week against Kentucky. Elko said the opportunity has the team's full attention.
"Our guys always get fired up for SEC games. It'll certainly get their attention that we're gonna play a really, really good football team next week, and so it'll be a great opportunity for us," Elko said.
