On Saturday, No. 19 Texas A&M used 554 yards of total offense to glide past Utah State, 44-22.
Both opening drives for each Aggie squad were ineffective. A&M’s initial first down came courtesy of Le’Veon Moss, who rushed for 10. However, the home squad stalled out at midfield as Ashton Bethel-Roman dropped a strike from Marcel Reed.
The visitors felt the early effects of Tyreek Chappell with back-to-back tackles, one for loss, as the Maroon & White forced a quick three-and-out.
A&M’s offense came alive on the following drive. Starting off at their own 45, KC Concepcion’s 12-yard reception moved the home squad uphill. Rueben Owens II burst around the edge to pick up nine, and Terry Bussey capped off the successful march with a 34-yard touchdown catch, the first receiving score of his career.
A roughing the passer penalty on Taurean York propelled Utah State upfield, and the USU offense did the rest. Quarterback Bryson Barnes found Brady Boyd for 10 and 24-yard receptions. On fourth-and-3, wide receiver Anthony Garcia lobbed it up to Miles Davis in the end zone on a gadget play, but a failed two-point attempt kept A&M ahead, 7-6.
A pair of Moss carries moved the chains for A&M. The offense kept it moving inside the red zone thanks to two penalties against Utah State. Reed found 21 with his legs, but Mike Elko’s squad settled for a 37-yard field goal by Jared Zirkel after Reed was sacked on third down.
After four plays, Utah State’s offense was quickly off the field. Reed & Co. went back to work with QB1 scrambling for 11 just before the first quarter expired. Reed threw to Concepcion in the flat, breaking a few tackles to gain 15. The visitors’ fifth penalty inched the Maroon & White closer to the goal line, where Reed took it in for a touchdown a play later.
Kyle Field erupted as Cashius Howell wreaked havoc on Barnes. #9 bulldozed past Utah State’s left tackle three-straight times, recording sacks of six, seven and eight yards to spoil any chance of a Utah State response. Yet, A&M failed to take advantage of Howell’s dominance, turning it over on downs in Utah State territory.
A&M’s rushing attack powered A&M’s third touchdown drive. Owens scampered for 18 to initially move the sticks, and Amari Daniels saw action soon after. Rotating backs to stay fresh, Moss hauled it in the end zone from 21 yards out.
Just before the half, Utah State mustered up another scoreless possession while A&M set its two-minute offense in motion. Catches of 17 and 15 from Bethel-Roman and Mario Craver advanced the chains, and a 24-yard rush from the quarterback placed the home team inside the red zone. Reed’s rifle to Concepcion allowed A&M to take a 24-point lead at half as Zirkel missed the PAT.
After the break, Utah State’s Davis was one tackle away from taking it to the house on the opening play, yet he only gained 30 yards when Will Lee III wrapped him up. The visiting Aggies were gifted a pair of first downs due to A&M penalties, setting up a 16-yard touchdown pass from Barnes. The two-point attempt after the score was successful, making it a 30-14 ballgame.
A 45-yard kickoff return from Bussey was wasted as A&M’s offense came out flat. Utah State gave the ball back rather quickly as Marco Jones was credited with his first sack of his young career.
Back-to-back completions from Bussey kicked off another touchdown drive for the home squad. The transfer duo of Craver and Concepcion each hauled in a grab before Concepcion snatched one in the end zone.
Back on offense, Reed scrambled to gain a yard, awkwardly landing and coming out of the game and not returning. With Miles O’Neill under center, he completed his first pass of 2025 to Bethel-Roman. Soon after, O’Neill threw a pick to Utah State’s Noah Avinger.
After another inefficient drive for the visitors, O’Neill made up for his miscue, delivering a 72-yard bomb to wide-open Craver. The 12th Man kickoff team returned, helping out with field position as Wesley Watson stopped Miles at USU’s 13-yard line.
Rushes from EJ Smith and Jamarion Morrow thrust A&M’s offense into opponent territory. From the 33-yard line, Randy Bond assumed the place kicker role, but missed a 50-yard field goal attempt wide right.
Utah State found some late success. Using a 36-yard completion to Kahanu Davis to ignite the drive, the visitors scored three plays later and added on with another two-point conversation.
Brady Hart took the offense over as QB3, but gave the ball right back. With under three minutes on the clock, Barnes & Co. looked to push for a late touchdown, but transfer Sam M’Pemba ruined their plans, recording a strip sack and recovery just before the clock ticked away.
RUMBLED: 554 yards of offense ain’t bad. A&M was efficient in Saturday’s tune-up before taking on No. 9 Notre Dame. A worry for some a week ago, A&M’s running back stable was just fine, averaging 9.2 yards a carry. The passing game remained solid as the Maroon & White gained 319 through the air.
STUMBLED: It was a positive day for A&M, but there is always work to be done. A&M’s secondary gave up five passing plays over 15 yards. Jared Zirkel missed an extra point. Randy Bond missed a field goal. There were no glaring issues, but a few that a high-quality opponent will exploit.
TURNING POINT: It’s not often you see three sacks in a row, let alone from the same player. Cashius Howell woke up the 100,026 in attendance when he blasted his way past Utah State’s front line and sacked Barnes three times on three straight plays. From there, A&M’s offense scored touchdowns on two of the next three drives in the half.
UNSUNG HERO: Usually, if you don’t hear the name of an offensive lineman, it’s because they did their job. Let’s not make that the case. Redshirt freshman Robert Bourdon received the majority of the snaps at left tackle after captain Trey Zuhn III went down in the first quarter. The rookie held his own, helping A&M rush for 174 yards through three quarters.
KEY STAT: A&M is still perfect on red zone trips through the first eight quarters of 2025, scoring a touchdown each time.
Scoring Summary
First-quarter
A&M: 10:51 - Marcel Reed 34-yard touchdown pass to Terry Bussey. Drive: 3 plays, 55 yards. TOP 1:14. Texas A&M 7, Utah State 0
USU: 7:02 - Anthony Garcia 3-yard touchdown pass to Miles Davis. Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards. TOP 3:49. Failed two-point conversion. Texas A&M 7, Utah State 6.
A&M: 2:55 - Jared Kirkel 37-yard field goal. Drive: 8 plays, 55 yards. TOP: 4:07. Texas A&M 10, Utah State 6.
Second-quarter
A&M: 12:51 - Marcel Reed 1-yard rushing touchdown. Drive: 10 plays, 63 yards. TOP 3:55. Texas A&M 17, Utah State 6
A&M: 3:18 - Le’Veon Moss 21-yard rushing touchdown. Drive: 6 plays, 63 yards. TOP 3:19. Texas A&M 24, Utah State 6
A&M: 00:16 - Marcel Reed 12-yard touchdown pass to KC Concepcion. Drive: 8 plays, 77 yards. TOP 1:25. Missed PAT. Texas A&M 30, Utah State 6
Third-quarter
USU: 14:08 - Bryson Barnes 16-yard touchdown pass to Braden Pegan. Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards. TOP 2:15. Successful two-point conversion. Texas A&M 30, Utah State 14
A&M: 6:46 - Marcel Reed 8-yard touchdown pass to KC Concepcion. Drive: 8 plays, 77 yards. TOP 1:25. Texas A&M 37, Utah State 17
Fourth-quarter
A&M: 13:36 - Miles O’Neill 72-yard touchdown pass to Mario Craver. Drive: 4 plays, 83 yards. TOP 1:41. Texas A&M 44, Utah State 17
USU: 4:24 - Bryson Barnes 1-yard touchdown pass to Miles Davis. Drive: 8 plays, 67 yards. TOP 3:21. Successful two-point conversion. Texas A&M 44, Utah State 22
