Football Tops WCU on Senior Night, 41-17

Saturday, November 14

College Station

6:00 PM

Texas A&M

7-3

Western Carolina

6-4

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Western Carolina

Texas A&M

Photo by: Texas A&M Athletics

Nov 14, 2015 | Football

Box Score

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP)-- Kyler Murray threw for 191 yards and three touchdowns and Texas A&M shook off a slow start to cruise to a 41-17 win over Western Carolina on Saturday night.

Western Carolina (6-4) scored two quick touchdowns to tie it at 14 in the second quarter before A&M (7-3) scored 20 straight points to make it 34-14 late in the third quarter.

Freshman Christian Kirk, who finished with 122 yards receiving, grabbed the go-ahead touchdown reception in that span and added another TD catch in the fourth quarter. Murray had touchdown passes of 26, 14 and 16 yards.

Troy Mitchell had 165 yards passing and a touchdown for the Catamounts and Detrez Newsome added 111 yards rushing and a score.

The Aggies bounced back from last week's loss to Auburn and got a break from Southeastern Conference play by hosting this FCS team before wrapping up the regular season with games at Vanderbilt and No. 9 LSU.

Texas A&M's Tra Carson had 109 yards rushing and a touchdown in the first half, but did not play after halftime. It was unclear if he was injured.

Western Carolina linebacker Damian Whitaker was ejected from the game in the third quarter when he threw a punch at A&M lineman Joseph Cheek during a scuffle after a play.

Murray found Damion Ratley three plays later on a 16-yard pass that he bobbled before reeling in for a touchdown to extend the lead to 31-14.

A 52-yard field goal by Taylor Bertolet made it 34-14 with less than a minute left in the third quarter.

The Catamounts scored for the first time since the second quarter when Logan Howard made a 24-yard field goal to cut the lead to 34-17 early in the fourth.

A&M punted on its first drive of the second half, but the Catamounts got a penalty for running into the kicker to give the Aggies a first down. A 47-yard field goal pushed the lead to 24-14.

Kirk broke two tackles on the way to the end zone on a 14-yard touchdown reception that put A&M on top 21-14 with about nine minutes left in the first half.

Texas A&M pushed its lead to 14-0 on a 26-yard reception by Jeremy Tabuyo early in the second quarter. Kirk gave A&M great field position on that drive with a 46-yard punt return.

Newsome ran straight up the middle for 65 yards on Western Carolina's first play on the next possession. Mitchell found him on the next play for a 19-yard catch and run for a touchdown to cut the lead to 14-7.

Kirk fumbled the kickoff after that score and Avery Worsham picked it up and returned it 11 yards for a touchdown to tie it at 14.

Murray's first pass was intercepted by Daniel Riddle. Western Carolina got to the 4, but came away empty when Mitchell was intercepted in the end zone by Justin Dunning.

The Aggies took a 7-0 lead when Carson scored on a 2-yard run with about six minutes left in the first quarter.

Kyle Allen, who was benched in favor of Murray three games ago, took over early in the fourth quarter and was 6 of 6 for 88 yards and a touchdown.

Texas A&M was playing with two of its top receivers after Speedy Noil and Josh Reynolds were suspended for violating team rules. The team did not provide any other details on the suspensions, which were announced Saturday afternoon.

TEAM/GAME NOTES
•   Tonight's win marked the 70th win of Kevin Sumlin's eight-year head coaching career, including his 35th win at Texas A&M.
•   The win over Western Carolina marked Texas A&M's 20th straight win over a non-conference opponent, which is the longest streak in the FBS.
•   It was the Aggies' 21st straight non-conference win at Kyle Field. Texas A&M has never lost a non-conference game at Kyle Field in the month of November in program history.
•   Tonight's win improved the Aggies' record to 7-3, which guarantees Texas A&M of its sixth straight winning season.

OFFENSIVE NOTES
•   Senior RB Tra Carson rushed for 109 yards as he continued his quest for his first career 1,000-yard rushing season, which would also mark the first 1,000-yard season by a running back in the Kevin Sumlin era (2012 to present). After tonight's game, Carson has 864 rushing yards in 2015.
•   It was Carson's third straight game to reach the century mark in rushing yards. It marks the first time Carson has strung together three in a row and the first time a Aggie RB has done it since Christine Michael hit 100 vs. Missouri, Iowa State and Baylor in 2011. QB Johnny Manziel also hit the century mark vs. Arkansas, Ole Miss and Louisiana Tech in 2012.
•   Senior RB Brice Dolezal logged career-highs with 18 rushes and 84 yards. His previous bests were 17 carries and 83 yards against Ball State.
•   True freshman QB Kyler Murray connected on a trio of touchdown passes, marking the first time he's had multiple passing TDs in a game. Murray became the third TRUE freshman QB with three passing touchdowns in a game, joining teammate Kyle Allen (2014), Reggie McNeal (2002) and his father, Kevin Murray (1983).
•   True freshman WR Christian Kirk reeled in a career-high nine catches for 122 yards and two touchdowns against the Catamounts, which pushed his season totals to 63 receptions and 828 yards. He is the first true freshman to break the 60-catch barrier and the 800-yard barrier in program history. He also matched the true freshman receiving TDs record of six originally set by Uzoma Nwachukwu in 2009.
•   Kirk also piled up 198 all-purpose yards, which raised his season total to 1,463. Kirk became the fourth true freshman to surpass the 1,400-yard level in school history, joining Cyrus Gray (1,592 in 2008), Dante Hall (1,551 in 1996) and teammate Speedy Noil (1,418 in 2014).
•   Sophomore QB Kyle Allen was 6-for-6 with 88 yards and one TD pass. The TD pass was the 31st of his career, tying him with Gary Kubiak (1979-82) for eighth place on the Aggies' career list.

DEFENSIVE NOTES
•   The Aggies had 10 TFL for the game, their fourth game of the season with double digits in the TFL column, bringing their season tally to 90. Entered the night fourth in the country with 8.9 TFL per game. Last season, A&M ranked 60th with 76 (5.85 per game).
•   True freshman LB Riley Garner, a product of A&M Consolidated HS in College Station, had four special team tackles against the Catamounts. He entered the game with a team-best eight special team stops.
•   True freshman DB Justin Dunning, registered his first career INT. He returned the pick for seven yards.

SPECIAL TEAM NOTES
•   Senior PK Taylor Bertolet connected on 47- and 52-yard field goals, which was the 15th and 16th of 2015 and the 30th and 31st of his career. He became the 10th player in school history to reach the 30 FG plateau for his career. Bertolet's 16 FGs are the most by a Aggie PK since Randy Bullock connected on 29 in his All-America season in 2011.

MISCELLANEOUS
•   Game captains were OC Mike Matthews, RT Germain Ifedi, DE Myles Garrett CB Brandon Williams. The Catamounts won the toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff.
•   Senior DB Sam Moeller was the Aggies' 12th Man for the 36th straight game, which is a school record.

SENIOR NIGHT AT KYLE FIELD
•   Tonight's win over Western Carolina marked the final game at Kyle Field for 18 Texas A&M seniors. The class of 2015 improved their overall record to 35-15, including a 19-9 mark at Kyle Field.
2015 Seniors
Brandon Alexander      TE          Brenham, Texas
Taylor Bertolet              PLK        Reading, Pa.
Devonta Burns              DB         Arlington, Texas
Tra Carson                     RB          Texarkana, Texas
Joseph Cheek                OL          Seguin, Texas
Brice Dolezal                 RB          Austin, Texas
De'Vante Harris             DB         Mesquite, Texas
Sabian Holmes              WR        Southlake, Texas
Drew Kaser                    P            Strongsville, Ohio
Nathan Kellman           OL          Corona, Calif.
Mike Matthews             OL          Missouri City, Texas
Sam Moeller                  DB         San Antonio, Texas
Julien Obioha                DL          New Orleans, La.
Caden Smith                 TE          Roscoe, Texas
Blaine Townsend          RB          Wichita Falls, Texas
Brandon Williams        DB/RB   Brookshire, Texas
Alonzo Williams           DL          Abbeville, La.
Kevin Wilson                DB         Daphne, Ala.

Texas A&M 41, Western Carolina 17
November 14, 2015
Kyle Field
Post-game Quotes

Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M Head Coach
On the seniors…
"For our seniors, a group that I call "pioneers," because they're the first four-year group to move through the SEC, to finish up their careers on Kyle Field with a win is great. I'm happy for these seniors to have their last memory of running through the smoke here at Kyle Field and walking off that field victorious."

On the offense…
"We had a lot of yards, 300 at halftime. We had an early interception and the last one before the half was a Hail Mary. We moved the ball well. We didn't necessarily finish drives in the first half the way we should. We didn't have a lot of penalties as a football team. Operationally we could be better, but whenever you win with almost 97 plays and 600 yards, that's not bad."

Texas A&M 41, Western Carolina 17
November 14, 2015
Kyle Field
Post-game Quotes

Mike Matthews, Texas A&M Senior Offensive Lineman
On running out of the tunnel for the last time…
"It was a pretty exciting experience for me, running out knowing that all of my family was at the game. It was surreal. It was the last time and it didn't hit me until I ran out in that moment. It was a memory I will never forget. It was a game I'll never forget. I have a lot of great memories on this field. I love this stadium. It was a great experience."

On the offense…
"You just have to finish those drives off. Finishing drives off with field goals is good, but we want to put the ball in the end zone. We weren't able to do that a couple times. Our goal is to put points on the board, but we want seven instead of three."

On what the team can take away from this game…
"I think we got our confidence back a little bit. It's a win, and that's a confidence booster for us. This next week we are going to face a good Vanderbilt team that has been playing good defense. We have already moved on to the next one. We are trying to be 1-0 that week. They are playing for a bowl game. We know that will bring everything they have, but we are playing for bragging rights and a better bowl game. It will be a big game."

Tra Carson, Texas A&M Senior Running Back
On his final game at Kyle Field…
"It's a special place. Texas A&M, Kyle Field, playing in front of the 12th Man, I am definitely going to miss it. It seems like time flies. It seems like just yesterday I was getting here. I have enjoyed my time playing in front of the 12th Man."

On what the offense can build on…
"We finally started getting into the end zone. We started slow, but we picked it up. We scored 41 points which is good."

Texas A&M 41, Western Carolina 17
November 14, 2015
Kyle Field
Post-game Quotes

Alonzo Williams, Texas A&M Senior Defensive Lineman
On the defense…
"We had a couple of misreads and misalignments. We went in at halftime, corrected them and played better."

On improving from last week…
"Any win is a good win. It's a confidence booster. A couple of guys had a bruised ego, but everybody is riding a lot higher than they were last week. Our linebackers are playing with a lot more confidence. They're reading their keys better. That made us better."

On Senior Night…
"It's a great experience to play our last game at Kyle Field, especially with a win. That's always something you can go back and think on and talk about with former teammates. It's always good to get a good win on your senior night."

Brandon Williams, Texas A&M Senior Defensive Back
On Senior Night…
"Time flies. It seems like yesterday I was a freshman, transferring from Oklahoma. Now I'm a senior, and that was my last game here. It's a surreal experience. I'm surely going to miss A&M and the 12th Man."

On the defense…
"Our goal going into the game was controlling the big plays. We knew Western Carolina was a small school but they had players. [With] The type of defense we play there's a lot of situations where we're man to man. We had to battle."

On Vanderbilt next week…
"Going into every week we focus on trying to be 1-0 and not try not to look past that week. We have some stuff to work on, clearly, and we'll hit on that this week in practice."

Texas A&M 41, Western Carolina 17
November 14, 2015
Kyle Field
Post-game Quotes

Mark Speir, Western Carolina Head Coach
On the matchup…
"First of all, congratulations to Texas A&M. This is a class group with a proud tradition at this university. It was a great opportunity for our players our fans and our football program to be able to come down and play in this venue against a quality SEC opponent."

Thoughts on the performance…
"I was proud of how we came out and didn't let the atmosphere and the moment at a school like Texas A&M overwhelm us. Our guys came and we just tried to execute like we always do. In the first half, we created turnovers, which was big especially in a game like this. We had big plays in the special teams creating a score off of a turnover. Detrez Newsome ran for 111 yards today. We've played two SEC opponents and he's gained over a 100 in both of the efforts. Defensively, we came up with some big plays and big stops. But, Texas A&M's size and depth overwhelmed us in the long run. We've got a couple of people injured and banged up. We've got to get on this plane and get our players bandaged up because we got a big game against Virginia Military Institute and try to get our seventh win."

Troy Mitchell's performance…
"I thought Troy Mitchell, our only Texas native, had a pretty good game considering the opponent. Threw for 165 yards and ran for some big gains. Proud of Troy to be able to come back to his home state and play well. That guy has meant a lot to our program and its really special for him for have this type of game here."