Reed’s career-high 4 TD passes and Concepcion’s strong debut lead Texas A&M to 42-24 win over UTSA
Reed’s career-high 4 TD passes and Concepcion’s strong debut lead Texas A&M to 42-24 win over UTSA
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Marcel Reed threw for a career-high four touchdowns and KC Concepcion had a TD reception and returned a punt for another score in his Texas A&M debut as the 19th-ranked Aggies rolled to a season-opening 42-24 win over UTSA on Saturday night.
Robert Henry Jr.’s 75-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second half cut Texas A&M’s lead to 21-17. But Reed threw a 1-yard touchdown pass on fourth down on the next drive before adding a 22-yard scoring throw on the following possession to extend the lead to 35-17 late in the third quarter.
“A lot of the big question marks, I think showed to be good,” Aggies coach Mike Elko said. “We wanted to get more explosive on offense, we did. We wanted to get more explosive in the return game, we did. We wanted to see Marcel throw the ball a little bit better, he did.”
Concepcion, a transfer from N.C. State, ran a punt back 80 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter and his 31-yard reception made it 21-10 in the second. He had 72 yards receiving and became the first Aggies player to have a punt return touchdown and a TD grab in a game since Christian Kirk did it in 2017 against New Mexico.
Reed threw for 289 yards and Mario Craver, who transferred from Mississippi State, had a career-best 122 yards receiving with two touchdowns.
“It means everything because I came to Texas A&M to win,” Craver said. “I felt like last year at the team that I was at … I wasn’t utilized enough, so I feel like when I came here, they had a plan for me and that’s just my job.”
Elko wasn’t surprised by the performances of Concepcion and Craver.
“They’re two talented kids that we targeted and that we coveted, that we thought would have a huge impact on what we are doing around here,” he said.
UTSA coach Jeff Traylor was proud of his team’s effort.
“We played about as good as we could have honestly,” he said. “We just couldn’t last with them.”
Like father, like son
EJ Smith, the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith, scored his first touchdown for Texas A&M, a 3-yard run that extended the lead to 42-17 with about 7 1/2 minutes left. Smith, wearing No. 22 just like his father did, is in his second season with the Aggies after four years at Stanford.
The takeaway
UTSA: Henry had his way with Texas A&M’s defense, rushing 16 times for 177 yards and two touchdowns.
“That’s ridiculous,” Texas A&M linebacker Taurean York said. “That’s not what we stand for.”
Henry had a 15-yard TD run in the second quarter, then added his long scoring run after halftime.
Though the name recognition on this team goes to quarterback Owen McCown, who is the son of former NFL QB Josh McCown, Henry is the Roadrunners’ clear star.
Texas A&M: The Aggies struggled to get their ground game going. They finished with 108 yards rushing but had just 35 with about eight minutes left in the third quarter. Reed led the Aggies with 39 yards rushing.
Up next
UTSA: Hosts Texas State next Saturday.
Texas A&M: Hosts Utah State next Saturday.
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This story has been corrected to fix the spelling of KC Concepcion’s last name.
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By KRISTIE RIEKEN
AP Sports Writer
