Texas A&M receiver KC Concepcion does it all

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Long after most of his Texas A&M teammates headed to the locker room, KC Concepcion was still on Kyle Field flashing his smile for pictures with fans. As an assistant coach held his helmet and reminded him it was time to leave the field, the junior receiver smiled politely and granted a few more pictures and autographs Saturday night.

Most of the fans surrounding Concepcion late were kids, but there was at least one older lady who pleaded for his attention before he posed with her for a picture. 

On a night when Texas A&M’s defense delivered another dominant performance, Concepcion did it all on offense while helping the Aggies beat Mississippi State 31-9 before a raucous, sellout crowd of 108,572 at Kyle Field.

Another defensive gem

Texas A&M struggled offensively in the first quarter, but linebackers Daymion Sanford and Taurean York, defensive end Cashius Howell and the rest of the defense limited Mississippi State until the offense got rolling.

Down 3-0, the Aggies mounted a methodical, 17-play, 83-yard drive late in the first quarter before stalling short of the end zone. On first-and-goal from the 1-yard line, Le’Veon Moss rushed for no gain. After Moss staggered off the field, Reuben Owens ran for no gain on second down. 

Owens appeared to run it in for a touchdown from one yard out on third down. The call was reversed after replay review. Owens was ruled down half a yard short of the goal line, forcing a fourth and goal from the 1-yard line. Mississippi State’s defense stopped Owens at the Bulldogs’ 2-yard line.

Blackout breakthrough 👊 pic.twitter.com/yF95mkaXI2

— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) October 5, 2025

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The Aggies finally got the lead when quarterback Marcel Reed hit Concepcion for a 34-yard touchdown. Concepcion caught the pass at the 5-yard line and then fought his way through a tackle attempt from about the 3-yard line, dragging a defender into the end zone with an extra push from tight end Nate Boerkircher with 1:51 to play in the second quarter. 

Climbing ladder

“Obviously, we were really struggling at that point,” Texas A&M coach Mike Elko said. “And we certainly didn’t want to try to punch it in from the 2 at that point. Because that wasn’t really what we wanted to do. 

“And so there was an unbelievable effort by him, a second effort by him to kind of grind his way through it and finish that thing in the end zone. And then, obviously, going up high and climbing the ladder on the second touchdown when it was still a really, really tight game. That was another really big play.”

The No. 6 Aggies (5-0) headed into halftime with only a 7-3 lead. After getting down to the 3-yard line late in the third quarter, the Aggies turned to Concepcion after they were stuffed at the 2-yard line on first-and-goal. Reed’s first pass to Concepcion on second down was broken up by Kelley Jones and the left side of the end zone.

Reed then looked for Concepcion on third down, finding him in the middle of the end zone for a touchdown to give the Aggies a 14-3 lead after the point-after try with 3:30 left in the quarter.

“He didn’t have a ton of catches tonight,” Elko said of Concepcion, “but the two big ones he had really impacted the game.” 

KC Concepcion finished with 118 all-purpose yards. He caught four passes for 61 yards and two touchdowns. Concepcion also had three punt returns for 35 yards with a long of 18 yards. He also had two carries for 22 rushing yards on jet sweeps.

“You have an intense competitor who’s got the strength to get through arm tackles and break more tackles than I think you would give him credit for,” Elko said of the 5-foot-11, 190-pound Concepcion. “And then I think that kind of gives the energy behind how he plays the game.

“Because when you break tackles, that gets the crowd going. I think that’s kind of what you feel.”

Mario Craver burns former teammates

The Aggies pulled away with 17 points in the fourth quarter, beginning with Reed’s seven-yard touchdown run. Mario Craver, a Mississippi State transfer, added a seven-yard touchdown run with 9:13 left in the fourth quarter. 

Craver finished with a game-high 80 receiving yards, 35 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown on two carries. Owens finished with a career-high 142 yards on 21 carries.

 “It opens it up a lot,” Owens said of jet sweeps by Craver and Concepcion. “Having guys like that, that can get around the edge with speed, the (opposing) team … can’t stack the box. So we just — as the game was going, we was able to gash them, gain for longer goals.” 

The Aggies finished with 299 rushing yards while holding the Bulldogs to only 77 rushing yards on 31 carries.  

Sanford, whom Owens called his best friend on the team, finished with his first career interception, one sack, two tackles for a loss and nine tackles. For the second time this season, Howell had three sacks. 

Third down terrors

Unlike his previous three-sack game of the season when he got sacks on three consecutive plays, Howell spread his sacks around against Mississippi State. York added a team-high 10 tackles. 

One week after Auburn was 0-for-12 against the Aggies on third down, Mississippi State was almost as bad while going 1-for-13 on third down.

Texas A&M receiver KC Concepcion’s effort on the final two yards of his 34-yard touchdown reception helped light up Kyle Field. #GigEm pic.twitter.com/VYe1xKnhx3

— Jose de Jesus Ortiz (@OrtizKicks) October 5, 2025

“We’ve been good so far (on third down defensively),” Elko said. “We’ve got six more (games) to go. No, I’m joking, of course. Obviously it’s a big part of the game. It’s a big part of what we do. We’ve been able to put together two really good plans. 

“Obviously, the distance helps, too. I think the last two games, we’ve been able to keep them in some more third-and-long type situations, and that’s always helpful as well. We’ve got to continue to do that.”