Marcel Reed went 21 for 30 for 233 yards, a trio of transfers had strong team debuts and No. 8 Texas A&M steamrolled Missouri State 50-0 on Saturday in College Station, Texas.
Reed threw touchdown passes to Isaiah Horton and Mario Craver and subbed out early in the fourth quarter with a 40-0 lead. Rueben Owens II led the Aggies (1-0) with 77 rushing yards on 17 attempts while teammates Terry Bussey, Jamarion Morrow and Carsyn Baker all scored rushing touchdowns.
Horton, a transfer from Alabama, finished with a game-high 76 receiving yards on four catches. Texas A&M outgained Missouri State 505-67.
The Aggies’ defense terrorized Skyler Locklear and the Bears (0-1), holding them to eight yards in the second half. Anto Saka (Northwestern) recovered a fumble in his Texas A&M debut and Ryan Henderson (San Diego State) added a fourth-down stuff and a strip sack.
Locklear completed 8 of 17 passes for 30 yards.
Horton’s first catch as an Aggie was a 15-yard touchdown to complete the hosts’ first drive of the season.
Later in the first quarter, Texas A&M punted from near midfield but Jmariyae Robinson muffed the ball, leading to a mad dash to the end zone. Navonn Barrett booted the ball out of bounds and prevented an Aggie touchdown, but his illegal kicking flag resulted in a safety.
After they settled for David Olano’s 28-yard field goal to make it 12-0, the Aggies capitalized on a fumbled pitch by Missouri State. Saka pounced on the ball, and five plays later, Reed found Craver for a 12-yard touchdown strike and a 19-0 halftime score.
Texas A&M rolled 70 yards in 11 plays on the opening drive of the second half, with Bussey taking a sweep left for a 10-yard TD run. The Aggies went 71 yards in 14 plays on the ensuing drive and Morrow plunged in from the 2.
It was 33-0 after three quarters, and freshman Baker tacked on another touchdown on his first career touch. Then Henderson forced Locklear to cough it up, and on the very next play, Brady Hart tossed a 15-yard score to a wide-open Aaron Gregory.
Freshman Asher Murray made a 47-yard field goal later on for the 50-point margin.
