Texas A&M puts complete game together to beat Florida

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – After learning that Texas A&M had committed a season-low three penalties Saturday night, linebacker Taurean York raised an eyebrow and wondered if he and his fellow Aggies had earned golf cart rides to their cars after dominating Florida.

The undefeated Aggies (6-0, 3-0 in the SEC) have overcome a rash of penalties this season. They’ve shown an ability to win shootouts with quarterback Marcel Reed leading the offense on a night the defense struggled. The Aggies have also won on nights the defense carried a sputtering offense.

In a true mark of a championship-caliber team, the No. 5 Aggies have shown they can beat opponents in different ways. In the sixth game of the season, they finally put all facets together for a 34-17 victory before a crowd of 105,086 at Kyle Field.

“Yeah, the thing that I’m most impressed about today is how we played as a team,” Texas A&M coach Mike Elko said. “I think that is the thing that stood out to me the most. That’s the first time in a game where we had the swings like that.  

“We had the games where — offensively, we played well at Notre Dame (but) defensively we didn’t and  offense kind of carried us. The last two weeks, until the fourth quarter at Mississippi State, it was kind of more the defense carrying us.” 

Quick start

A week after beating the Texas Longhorns, the Gators marched down the field for a seven-play, 75-yard scoring drive on their first possession. DJ Lagway capped the drive with a one-yard touchdown pass to Amir Jackson.

The Aggies countered immediately with their own 75-yard, two-play drive in 54 seconds. Reed connected with Mario Craver for a 67-yard pass. Then Reed broke free for an eight-yard touchdown run. 

“I was actually kind of disappointed that Florida got the ball first because I knew what the first play was going to be,” Reed said. “But we’ve been practicing that all week. And I put it up there and Mario ran right under it and caught  it.”

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Freshman running back Jamarion Morrow added a 22-yard touchdown catch with 6:19 to play in the first quarter. Lagway countered with a 75-yard scoring drive, which Dallas Wilson capped with a six-yard touchdown catch.

Running back Le’Veon Moss bullied his way for a 22-yard touchdown run to give the Aggies the lead for good with 13:04 to play in the second quarter.

Gonna take more than that to stop him pic.twitter.com/7hYEMyfJbP

— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) October 11, 2025

“Today we kind of responded to the game and the way that the game was playing,” Elko said. “And so we needed the offense to make plays early to settle the defense down, and they did it. We needed the defense to make plays to pick the offense up, and they did it.”

The Aggies forced a fumble and recovered it at the 29-yard line early in the third quarter. Randy Bond capitalized with a 26-yard yard field goal to go ahead 24-14. Trey Smack’s 45-yard field goal cut the Aggies’ lead to 24-17 with 7:08 to play in the third quarter. Texas A&M responded with 10 unanswered points.

Third down dominance

Afterward, there was a buffet list of impressive stats. The Aggies held Florida to 74 rushing yards and 245 yards in total offense. Texas A&M has held each of its three SEC opponents under 100 rushing yards this season. The Aggies also had three sacks, one apiece from Albert Regis, Dayon Hayes and Cashius Howell.

Florida converted on only 1 of 10 third downs. The Aggies have held Auburn, Mississippi State and Florida to a combined 2 of 33 on third-down conversion attempts. They also forced four fumbles, recovering two of them.

OUR HOUSE. OUR FOOTBALL. pic.twitter.com/y2Z2l0xr4N

— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) October 12, 2025

“We just want to be the more physical, dominant team,” Regis said. “And third down, we know we can get in a position where we can rush the passer. I  mean, there’s not many teams who are going to block us, truthfully.” 

On offense, the Aggies finished with 417 total yards. They rushed for 183 yards on 43 carries even though Moss left with an apparent injury. Reuben Owens finished with a team-high 51 rushing yards and one touchdown on 17 carries. Moss had 46 rushing yards and a touchdown on only five carries. 

Reed completed 16 of 21 pass attempts for 234 yards and a touchdown with one interception. Florida kept KC Concepcion and Craver out of the end zone, but the Aggies’ dynamic duo combined for 123 receiving yards. Concepcion had four catches for 46 yards. Craver added two catches for 77 yards.

‘Target on our back’

“The target on our back is definitely getting bigger,” Reed said. “We’re just focused on going 1-0 each and every week. So whatever it is next week, we’ve got to try to  prepare for the best type of game on Saturday again. 

“So, we’re not really worried about this win anymore. We’re going to celebrate it tonight, but tomorrow we’re back to work.”

First, however, they needed to carry their bags from the locker room to the parking garage. Because they had finally limited their penalties under four, York was eager to see if Elko would keep his promise.

“You said we had three penalties today?” Reed asked a reporter. “That’s what’s up. We’re about to get  some golf carts back to the (parking garage). That’s good. We made a little deal with Coach Elko. 

“But honestly, that’s great. Strides we’ve been making, obviously, we’ve been hitting home on the  penalties that have been killing us and setting us behind. I’m glad to see we only got three (for 30 yards). I’m even more happy we get the golf carts to the parking garage.”