Traumatized Aggies are holding their breath despite 20-point victory

Click HERE to view Texas A&M’s postgame press conference.

Game #2: No. 19 Texas A&M 44, Utah State 22
Records: Texas A&M (2-0, 0-0), Utah State (1-1, 0-0)
Box Score

One minute, Aggies (Texas A&M variety) were breathing easy. The next, they held their breath.

No. 19 Texas A&M’s lopsided 44-22 college football victory over Utah State was secure well before the fourth quarter on Saturday afternoon.

But with three minutes and 44 seconds remaining in the third quarter, quarterback Marcel Reed, obviously in pain from a hit that might have been late, lay prone on the green grass of Kyle Field.

The sight seemed to knock the wind out of the 100,026 in attendance.

Suddenly, a dark cloud of uncertainty ominously hovers over the Aggies, a vital clash with No. 9 Notre Dame looming next week.

In a postgame press conference, A&M coach Mike Elko offered a measure of reassurance that all is OK with Reed and All-SEC offensive tackle Trey Zuhn III, who exited early in the first quarter.

“I anticipate Trey and Marcel being fine,” Elko said. “Trey could have come back. We chose not to just because of the way the game was being played.

“I fully anticipate Marcel will be fine for next week.”

Will Huffman, TexAgs

Marcel Reed was injured after scrambling for one yard with 3:34 left in the third quarter and did not return. He accounted for 286 yards of offense and four total touchdowns.

Elko has typically been a straight-shooter. He isn’t the type to dodge questions with word salads of coach speak.

But forgive Aggies if they’re unsure. Too many recent A&M football seasons have been damaged by costly quarterback injuries. It’s understandable if they worry that another pin has been jabbed into the déjà voodoo doll that has left them in torment.

Reed is off to an excellent start. In two games, he has accounted for eight touchdowns. He threw three touchdown passes and rushed for another against Utah State.

Indeed, there were moments from Reed — and other Aggies — that were absolutely breathtaking.

Reed opened the scoring with a deep 34-yard scoring strike to Terry Bussey. He also connected on two more touchdown passes to KC Concepcion.

Later, Miles O’Neill, who filled in for Reed, threw deep downfield for a 72-yard touchdown to Mario Craver.

Those two deep balls were the kind of big-play strikes A&M did not have last season.

“Our ability to push the vertical passing game is something we had to do to become an offense that is a little bit more complete and a little bit more dynamic,” Elko said. “If people are going to load the box on us and try to load up on the run game, we have to be able to execute those things.

“It was really good to see Marcel hit the one to Terry. Certainly good to see Marcel hit the one to KC coming across the field. And then, it’s good to see Miles O’Neill go out and launch one. All three of those were big steps for us as a program moving where we want to go.”

Another big step — 68 of them, actually — was the yardage gained by Le’Veon Moss, who showed he’s regaining the All-SEC form of a year ago before his season ended prematurely with a knee injury. Moss’ output was highlighted by a 21-yard blast for a touchdown.

Defensively, the Aggies held Utah State to 78 rushing yards. That total was aided by six sacks.

Defensive end Cashius Howell stunningly posted three sacks on three consecutive plays.

“I was just in like a flow state at that point,” Howell said before he dropped Utah State quarterback Bryson Barnes to complete the trifecta. “And they threw it. History.”

Not all was celebrated, though.

• Twice, the Aggies turned the ball over on downs deep in Utah State’s end of the field.

• Utah State’s first two touchdowns were aided by defensive penalties. A roughing the passer call ignited Utah State’s first scoring drive. On the second, A&M was penalized 15 yards for pass interference and grabbing the face mask. Both infractions occurred on third-and-long.

Once again, A&M gave up an explosive run on the first play of the second half. This time, Utah State’s Miles Davis bolted for 30 yards.

The Aggies seemed to lose focus in the fourth quarter.

“We probably could have done a little bit better job of focusing start to finish the way we need to,” Elko said. “But I think we know what’s around the corner.”

Of course, that’s Notre Dame. A victory in South Bend might signal A&M is turning the corner from a solid program to one that’s a legitimate contender for the College Football Playoff.

A&M almost defeated Notre Dame last season but was tormented by subpar quarterback play.

The Aggies can beat Notre Dame. But they’ll need to tighten up the run defense. They’ll need to cut down on penalties. They’ll need to capitalize on all scoring opportunities.

They’ll need Reed.

Traumatized Aggies will hold their breath, hoping he will play.