Mississippi State Bulldogs vs Texas A&M Aggies Box Score on Oct 03, 2015

The Sports Xchange
Oct 3, 2015

Texas A&M quarterback Kyle Allen threw for 322 yards and defensive end Myles Garrett had another big game as the No. 14 Aggies beat No. 21 Mississippi State 30-17 on Saturday night in an SEC game at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas.

Allen completed 25 of 41 passes for 322 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. The Aggies rolled to 516 total yards against a Bulldogs defense that entered the game allowing an average of 349 per game.

Garrett, a sophomore who entered the game with 6.5 sacks, made a key play in the third quarter when he forced a fumble that A&M recovered at its 3-yard line. He finished with seven tackles, including two for loss and a sack, and also broke up a pass.

Texas A&M (5-0, 2-0) has started 5-0 in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1940-41. The Aggies are 2-0 in conference play for the first time 1997-98, when they were in the Big 12.

Mississippi State (3-2, 1-2) ran out of chances when it failed on fourth-and-7 from its 23 with 3:05 left.

Quarterback Dak Prescott was 20 of 34 for 210 yards and led the team in rushing with 96 yards on 18 attempts. Prescott has thrown 225 passes without an interception, the longest streak in the nation.

Mississippi State's attempts of a second-half comeback were curtailed by fumbles on its first two possessions. The first led to a 24-yard field goal by Taylor Bertolet and the second was the one recovered at the A&M 3.

But the Bulldogs hung around and closed to 27-17 on a 5-yard run by Prescott with 12:24 to go. Texas A&M moved ahead 30-17 on a 30-yard field goal by Bertolet with 5:23 left.

A&M coach Kevin Sumlin won his first home game against a ranked team after going 0-5. Sumlin is 8-4 against ranked teams on the road or at neutral sites.

Texas A&M quarterback Kyle Allen passed for 226 yards in the first half as the Aggies took a 24-10 lead at the break.

Texas A&M scored on the opening possession, going for it on fourth-and-goal from the 1. Allen, forced from the pocket, rolled to the right sideline and bought enough time to connect with receiver Ricky Seals-Jones to cap a 91-yard drive.

After Mississippi State got a 38-yard field goal by Westin Graves, the Aggies marched 75 yards on six plays. Allen hit receiver Damion Ratley for a 29-yard score and a 14-3 lead with 3:23 to go in the first quarter. Allen completed his first nine passes.

Prescott wasn't quite as sharp early. Under pressure, he missed a wide-open receiver on a deep throw that would have gone for a touchdown on his team's opening drive. On the next possession, he was off-target for an incompletion on a fourth-and-3 swing pass from the Texas A&M 35.

The Rebels blunted Texas A&M's momentum with a 52-yard touchdown run from receiver Malik Dear to cut the lead to 17-10 with 11:33 to go before halftime. Dear took a handoff around the right end and made several tacklers miss downfield.

The Aggies, who had 330 yards in the first half, took back a two-touchdown lead when running back Tra Carson scored on a 1-yard run 20 seconds before intermission.

NOTES: Texas A&M WR Ricky Seals-Jones was ejected in the second quarter because of a targeting penalty on a blind-side block down field. Seals-Jones had five catches for 34 yards and a touchdown. ... Texas A&M WRs Speedy Noil and Jeremy Tabuyo were not dressed for the game because of undisclosed injuries. Noil has missed the past two games. ... Mississippi State, which has already played three SEC games, goes out of conference for home games against Troy and Louisiana Tech in the next two weeks. ... Texas A&M is off next week in advance of what will be a big home game against Alabama on Oct. 17. ... A 55-yard field goal by Texas A&M's Taylor Bertolet in the first half was the longest at Kyle Field since the Aggies' Terence Kitchens hit from 62 yards in 1999.