close
close

Texas A&M beats Florida in football in Week 3: Score-by-score recap

Texas A&M beats Florida in football in Week 3: Score-by-score recap

play

The Texas A&M football team dominated Florida in their first SEC game of the season.

Saturday's game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium was postponed due to weather, but that couldn't stop the Aggies from pulling out a 33-20 victory that wasn't even that close.

The Aggies earned their first SEC road win in years (literally) on Mike Elko's first try.

Last week, Texas A&M earned its first win of the season against McNeese State, easing the pain of the Aggies' opening loss to Notre Dame. Florida will likely start two quarterbacks on Saturday: six-year veteran Graham Mertz and freshman phenom DJ Lagway.

WATCH TEXAS A&M VS FLORIDA

RECAP: 3 insights Mike Elko shows what Jimbo Fisher struggled with

Texas A&M quarterback Conner Weigman was deemed questionable and did not play. Marcel Reed started in his place. Lightning strikes delayed the game towards the end of the first quarter.

Here is the news on the Texas A&M vs. Florida game:

Score updates for Texas A&M vs. Florida

After narrowly avoiding a loss of possession when Mertz fumbled out of bounds, the Gators converted the ball with a 2-yard run by Ja'Kobi Jackson to make it 33-20. Florida's 2-point attempt failed.

Lagway was inconsistent for most of the game, but he seemed to find something of a rhythm late in the third quarter. He didn't force anything, threw short passes and took advantage of what was open, and finally finished the game with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Chimere Dike. Texas A&M leads 33-14.

The Gators' best offensive plays came with Mertz on the field, passing for 147 yards to 12 for Lagway. However, a third down pass up the middle is deflected and intercepted by Bryce Anderson, who carries the ball back for a touchdown. Texas A&M leads 33-7.

A testament to how good Reed was, Tyler White didn't punt the entire first half. He finally jogged onto the field in the third quarter as Texas A&M took three points for the first time today and was eliminated.

The first-year quarterback can't seem to find his rhythm. Texas A&M's defensive line confuses him and on the third attempt they finally get to him for their first sack of the day.

After a first down run, Reed rolls left and throws a pass to Cyrus Allen, who runs 73 yards and scores another touchdown. The young quarterback is completely unfazed by this moment. Aggies lead 26-7 after the 2-point conversion fails.

Florida leaves halftime with a vengeance, Mertz hits Elihah Badger for a 54-yard touchdown that is called back for holding. The Gators stay in Aggie territory and storm to the 5-yard line thanks to a facemask from the Texas A&M defense.

A false start puts Florida at the Aggies' 10-yard line and Scooby Williams botches a run and loses 4 yards. Mertz hits Badger on the next play for a 14-yard touchdown, giving the Gators life in the swamp. The extra point and Texas A&M still leads 20-7.

Texas A&M has 302 yards of offense, Florida has 73. It was an impressive first start from Reed, who had two touchdowns, 105 yards passing and 49 yards running. His numbers are appealing, but the real story of the game is in the trenches. The Aggies' offensive and defensive lines were absolutely dominant.

The Aggies convert a fourth-and-one, but two penalties on the ensuing play push them back 25 yards. Trikweze Bridges is penalized for targeting after a tackle on Noah Thomas, forcing Texas A&M to the Florida 23-yard line. After a holding penalty against Florida, Reed takes the ball, runs with it to the 1-yard line and scores for another touchdown.

A rainstorm has flooded the swamp. The Gators, however, seem unfazed, Mertz returns as quarterback and leads his team into Texas A&M territory for the first time today. The offense comes to a halt at the opponent's 37-yard line and the Gators force the Aggies to the one-yard line with the ensuing punt.

The offensive line has begun to impose its will on Florida's defensive line. Moss, Daniels and EJ Smith all took over the runs and led Texas A&M to the Gators' 26-yard line. Reed is stopped short of a first down as the game goes into the two-minute timeout.

On third and fifth, Reed makes his first real mistake of the day, throwing the ball right into the chest of a Gators defender, who throws an easy interception pass. It looked like the quarterback expected Muhammad to turn around and catch the ball, but the receiver seemed shocked by the pass. Texas A&M settles for a 49-yard field goal, hit by Randy Bond.

Solomon Deshields charges on a third-and-11 blitz and brings down Lagway, who eventually falls to the ground and scores a 15-yard sack. Reed steps up the field again and converts another third down attempt with a pass to Jabre Barber.

Due to lightning strikes, play was suspended at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The game will be suspended for at least 30 minutes.

It seems like the Gators have decided to go with their rookie and bring Lagway onto the field.

Florida has Graham Mertz at quarterback in place of former top recruit and freshman DJ Lagway. The Aggies defense forces a punt after Mertz throws a high pass on third-and-13 that Marcus Burke can't catch.

LeVeon Moss starts the next drive with a 27-yard run. On another third down, Florida sends a rusher out of the secondary who Reed spots and sends a ball to Amari Daniels who goes 22 yards. The Aggies try fourth and fifth and Reed's pass is incomplete. However, a holding call by Florida results in a first down.

Then, on the second attempt, Reed throws a dime right down the seam for a 29-yard touchdown to Melin Ohrstrom. The redshirt freshman surprised the Gators early on.

The backup made his presence felt on 2nd-and-21 with a 31-yard run to the Aggies' 45-yard line in the Swamp. Reed also showed up on 3rd-and-10, completing a pass up the middle to Moose Muhammad III for 20 yards. Then on 3rd-and-13, the first-time starter showed his composure by rolling to his right and delivering a 15-yard pass that put the Aggies at the Florida 12-yard line.

Reed gets another third down and scores a touchdown, which is negated by a block and the back. The Aggies settle for a field goal, but the important thing is that Reed looked confident and competent.

Although quarterback Connor Weigman is still warming up, Elko has opted to use backup Marcel Reed as Weigman is dealing with shoulder issues. The redshirt freshman is a dual-threat quarterback who offers an advantage in the run game. However, Elko mentioned that Weigman may get some plays at some point.

Texas A&M vs. Florida today

  • Date: Saturday, September 14th.
  • Time: 2:30 p.m.
  • Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida.

Saturday's Aggies game begins at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN.

WATCH TEXAS A&M VS FLORIDA ON ESPN

More: Texas A&M's Mike Elko: Florida quarterbacks DJ Lagway and Graham Mertz pose unique challenges

What channel is the Texas A&M vs Florida game on today?

  • TV channels: : ESPN, ABC.
  • Streaming: SEC Network, Fubo.
  • Radio: Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD (station listing)SiriusXM 374

Texas A&M vs. Florida will be broadcast on the SEC Network streaming service. The conference game will take place at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. FUBO is offering a free trial to new subscribers who want to watch college football.

History of the Texas A&M and Florida football teams

  • Series record: 3-3
  • Texas A&M's last victory: 41-38, 10 October 2020.

Texas A&M and Florida last played each other in 2022, but the Aggies' last win came in 2020. Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond and Gators quarterback Kyle Trask went head-to-head, with Texas A&M winning on a last-second field goal. Florida was ranked No. 4 at the time, and Texas A&M shot up in the polls after the win.

More: Sports coverage at the Austin American-Statesman is growing. Here's what you can expect from us

Predictions for Texas A&M vs. Florida

College Football News agrees that Texas A&M will leave the Swamp with a win. CFB-HQ at Sports Illustrated analyzed the game using an analytics model that gives the Aggies a 56 percent chance of winning. Sportswriters Chris Hummer and Brad Crawford of 247Sports both predicted Florida to win at home. The Dallas Morning News expects Texas A&M to win on the road.

Texas A&M Football Schedule 2024

  • 31 August: Notre Dame 23, Texas A&M 13
  • 7 September: Texas A&M 52, McNeese 10
  • 14 September: in Florida* | 2:30 p.m. | ABC, ESPN+ (Fubo)
  • 21 September: vs. Bowling Green | 6:30 p.m. | ESPN+, SEC Network+
  • 28 September: against Arkansas* (Arlington, Texas)
  • October 5: vs. No. 10 Missouri* | 11am
  • October 12: BYE
  • October 19: at Mississippi State University*
  • October 26: against No. 19 LSU*
  • 2 November: in South Carolina*
  • 9 November: BYE
  • 16 November: against New Mexico State
  • 23 November: in Auburn*
  • 30 November: against No. 3 Texas

*Denotes an SEC game.

Texas A&M football news

Related Post