Game Rundown: Texas A&M continues quest for playoffs with win over New Mexico State

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) - Kyle Field public address announcer Mike Fitch said the words that have been on everyone's mind the entirety of this season as the 15th-ranked Aggies left the field after a 38-3 win over New Mexico State.

"Finally, it's time to beat the hell out of T.U.," Fitch exclaimed as his closing remarks to Saturday night.

The cupcake matchup against New Mexico State served as a tune-up of sorts before the two-game mini season ahead. Before A&M welcomes Texas back to Kyle Field for the first time in over a decade, they travel to Auburn in hopes of keeping Southeastern Conference title game and College Football Playoff hopes alive.

A&M head coach Mike Elko said he liked where his team was at mentally heading into the final two games of the regular season.

"If they can't get excited for this, I don't know why they're playing football," jested Elko. "I'm joking a little bit, but this is everything that you want, right? We haven't been in this position as a program ever."

But, before we get ahead of ourselves now, A&M made sure they didn't do just that Saturday.

Here is the game rundown:

Why did A&M win? The 247Sports.com talent composite rankings tells the story of the game before the opening kick took flight. A&M is the 10th most talented program in the country, boasting seven former 5-star prospects. New Mexico State, tied for the cellar in Conference USA, ranks 129th in the Football Bowl Subdivision in overall talent.

That disparity — which doesn't always play out on the field as it does on paper — was certainly evident under the lights of Kyle Field.

Of A&M's 565 total yards in the game, 273 came in a near-perfect first quarter. A&M posted 17 points in the frame, including a rushing touchdown from running back Amari Daniels and a touchdown pass from quarterback Marcel Reed to Noah Thomas.

By that point the game was over and preparations for the final two games of the season really began.

The second quarter was not nearly as smooth as the first with penalties stalling out a pair of drives.

"The second quarter was a little bit disappointing," Elko said. "I thought we lost focus and then really let off the gas a little bit and challenged them at halftime to go out in the third quarter and put the game away. They did it."

New backup quarterback Conner Weigman got his shot in two drives, which resulted in a three-and-out with two sacks and an interception. After Weigman, freshman Miles O'Neil got his shot and picked up his first career passing touchdown.

Who stood out? A&M tight end Theo Melin Öhrström had a career day, more than doubling up his career receiving yards total in four catches Saturday. The Swedish tight end led A&M's receivers with 111 yards catching five passes on five targets.

Transfer running back EJ Smith took the lion's share of carries for a depleted A&M running back corps. He gained 60 yards on 15 carries. Amari Daniels was given five carries in the game, including a 71-yard touchdown rush in the first, but was rested for the final three quarters, considering A&M is down to two scholarship backs. Both Le'Veon Moss and Rueben Owens have suffered injuries that will most likely keep them out the remainder of the season.

"I just think it was important for us to get him game carries," explained Elko. "You know, he hasn't had a ton of them. He certainly has been out there, but he hasn't really had to carry the load like that. And so, the more you get out there, the more repetition you get, the more you see cuts, see angles, see lines, react to blocks. That stuff just matters."

Reed played the majority of three quarters, completing 20 of 31 passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns. He threw one interception in the final two seconds of the first half.

After the game was out of hand, backup defensive end Malick Sylla made the most of his playing time with a sack and three tackles for loss, making him the team's tackle leader for the game.

Elko said the performance will make the coaching staff try and find different ways to get him more involved.

"What y'all seen tonight is something I see Monday through Friday," defensive tackle Albert Regis said of Sylla.

What was a key stat? The A&M defense held New Mexico state to no pass completions and no passing yards through the first 22 minutes of game time. New Mexico State quarter backs went 0 for their first 8 passes of the game.

What was an important play? Senior wide receiver Moose Muhammad III had not pulled in a reception since the Missouri win on Oct. 5. Saturday, his first catch was a six-yard touchdown grab in the back of the end zone, marking his first receiving touchdown since McNeese, the second game of the season.

A&M fans have waited for Muhammad to break out throughout his career. Now, as the Aggies enter the home stretch and look for postseason berths, his emergence would be a huge addition.

Honorable mention goes to 12th Man Productions cameraman Devonn Mendoza, who sprinted 30 yards for every one of A&M's senior football players during the senior night ceremony before the game.

What does this mean moving forward? A&M got important reps in both phases of the offense, including testing Smith in extended playing time. However, continuing the broken record, A&M must cut down on ill-timed penalties that kill drives. The Aggies finished the game with eight penalties for 71 yards, including defensive tackle Shemar Turner's fourth dead ball personal foul of the season.

"He goes into a pile to protect one of our players and that's what he does," added Elko in reference to Turner. "And, from some degree, you want that, because you want a team that takes care of each other and protects each other. It's an issue, the penalties and we can't have them, because at some point they are going to cost us everything."

Position Breakdown:

Offensive Line: A-

Solid effort all around. A key penalty by TJ Shanahan stalled out one of A&M's first-half drives.

Running backs: B+

It is obvious the Aggies are going to need to lean heavily on Daniels, who sparkled on his 71-yard touchdown run. Will need a little bit more vision from Smith moving forward.

Receivers: A

Not too much to complain about in this group and Melin Öhrström took it to a new level Saturday.

Quarterback: B-

Reed managed the offense well but missed several wide-open receivers against a bad New Mexico State defense. Found a good rhythm but will need more against better competition. Weigman appeared to have lost all confidence. O'Neil moved well in pocket in his one drive.

Defensive line: A+

Two sacks and 10 tackles for loss was a big effort from the Aggie defensive front.

Linebackers: A-

New Mexico State was able to break off a couple of big runs early, but it was a solid effort beyond that.

Secondary: A+

It took a quarter and a half for New Mexico State to gain a yard passing and they finished with 92 total yards through the air.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A

All-around solid effort. The lead allowed for another appearance from the 12th Man kickoff team.

COACHING: A-

Great start and followed that with reigniting a fire under the offense after a a second-quarter lull to finish strong. Penalties still need to be minimized before it's too late.

NOTES: A&M wide receiver Cyrus Allen left the game in the first quarter with an apparent arm injury and did not return. Elko said the injury "probably isn't a good one."

What's next? A&M makes their final road trip of the regular season to take on Auburn, who has one conference win this season. The Tigers took down Louisiana-Monroe 48-14 Saturday.