It was a battle of the Aggies on Saturday night, as Texas A&M hosted Utah St. Texas A&M opened up a 21-point lead early in the fourth quarter quarter, then held on for a 38-31 win in front of a Kyle Field crowd of 73,599. Jerrod Johnson threw for 322 yards and 4 TDs, with Uzoma Nwachukwu catching 3 of the TD passes and scoring a fourth TD on a reverse, to lead Texas A&M.
After Texas A&M was forced to punt on their first possession, Utah St drove 94 yards in 7 plays and Robert Turbin scored on a 50-yard run to give Utah St a 7-0 lead with 10:31 left in the first quarter.
Texas A&M went 3-and-out and was forced to punt. A&M got a break when Utah St fumbled on their first play from srimmage and defensive end Matt Moss recovered for Texas A&M. After an 8-yard run by Christine Michael, Jerrod Johnson threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Uzoma Nwachukwu. Randy Bullock's extra point tied the game 7-all midway through the first quarter.
Utah St drove 84 yards in 8 plays and Diondre Borel scored on a 1-yard dive to give Utah St a 14-7 lead at the 5:12 mark in the first quarter.
Christine Michael returned the ensuing kickoff to the 45-yard line. After two Cyrus Gray runs netted 14 yards, Uzoma Nwachukwu scored his second touchdown of the night, this on a 39-yard reverse.a Bullock's extra point tied the game 14-14 with 3:38 still left in the first quarter.
The Texas A&M defense stiffened and forced Utah St to punt on their next two possessions.
Early in the second quarter, Texas A&M mounted a 15-play, 75-yard drive, before having to settle for a 31-yard Randy Bullock field goal, to give A&M its first lead of the game 17-14 with 6:24 left in the second quarter.
Unfortunately for Texas A&M, star wide receiver Jeff Fuller suffered a knee injury after making a 15-yard third-down reception to extend the drive.
One the ensuing Utah St possession, Diondre Borel tossed a pass to Stanley Morrison and Morrison took it 49 yards to the A&M 40-yard. The A&M defense clamped down and forced another Utah St punt. A&M moved the ball out to their 40 before a 45-yard Ken Wood punt pinned Utah St at their 15-yard line.
Utah St was forced to punt after being held three-and-out and Dustin Harris returned the punt to the Utah St 31-yard line. A personal foul on the punt return moved the ball down to the Utah St 16-yard line. On A&M's first play from srimmage, Uzoma Nwachukwu caught a 16-yard pass from Jerrod Johnson to score his third touchdown of the night. Bullock's extra point extended A&M's lead to 24-14 with 1:36 left in the firstr half.
Neither team could move the ball and the half ended with Texas A&M leading Utah St 24-14.
At halftime, A&M led in total yards, 322 to 234, and in first downs, 16 to 12. Jerrod Johnson had completed 13-of-25 passes for 188 yards and two TDs, both to Uzoma Nwachukwu.
Utah St opened up the third quarter by driving to the A&M 25-yard line before having to settle for 42-yard field goal to pull to within a touchdown, 24-17. A&M responded quickly when Jerrod Johnson struck Uzoma Nwachukwu on a 50-yard touchdown pass to give the Aggies a 31-17 lead with 12:20 left in the third quarter.
After an exchange of punts, Texas A&M drove 78 yards on 17 plays, and on the second play of the fourth quarter Jerrod Johnson threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Tannehill to extend the A&M lead to 38-17.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Utah St mounted a 10-play, 96-yard drive, with Diondre Borel throwing a 19-yard tochdown pass to Omar Sawyer to cut the A&M lead to 38-23, with 5:30 left in the fourth quarter. Utah St attempted a field goal but A&M recovered. A&M drove to 24-yard line before Randy Bullock missed a 41-yard field goal attempt.
Utah St drove 76 yards and Diondre Borel scored on a 4th-down, 3-yard quarterback to slice the A&M lead to 38-30 with 25 seconds left in the game. Utah St attempted an onside kick and recovered at their 42-yard line. The Aggies defense forced a fumble to end the game and preserve the win.
It proved to be a battle of offenses as Texas A&M rolled up 573 yards and 30 first downs and Utah St put up 521 yards and 31 first downs.
For Texas A&M, Jerrod Johnson completed 21-of-41 passes for 322 yards and 4 TDs, and rushed for 78 yards on 11 carries. Uzoma Nwachukwu caught 3 passes, all for TDs, for 101 yards, and scored a fourth touchdown on a 39-yard reverse. Christine Michael rushed for 94 yards on 17 carries, before going out with an injury.
Utah St quarterback Diondre Borel completed 24-of 47 passes for 334 yards and 1 TD and rushed for 34 yards and 2 TDs. Robert Turbin rushed for 121 yards and 1 TD on 13 carries and caught 5 passes for 61 yards. Stanley Morrison caught 6 passes for 126 yards.
Texas A&M (2-0) now prepares to host UAB next Saturday.