The Sports Xchange
Nov 19, 2016
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Texas A&M All-American defensive end Myles Garrett racked up 4 1/2 sacks and the No. 25 Aggies snapped a two-game skid by outlasting UTSA 23-10 Saturday at Kyle Field.
Aggies quarterback Jake Hubenak, filling in for injured starter Trevor Knight, passed for 248 yard and a touchdown in his second consecutive start. True freshman running back Trayveon Williams ran for 80 yards, including a 47-yard score in the third quarter.
The Aggies improved to 8-3 with their first win in November. Texas A&M started the month with high aspirations after debuting at No. 4 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings.
Losses to a pair of unranked SEC West foes -- Mississippi State and Ole Miss -- dashed any playoff hopes and sent the Aggies plummeting in the rankings.
Texas A&M did not overpower the Roadrunners, who were without leading rusher Jalen Rhodes, and alternated quarterbacks Dalton Sturm and Jared Johnson. UTSA hung close despite only 252 yards of offense.
The visitors were down only 10-7 after Josh Stewart (six receptions for 76 yards) pulled in an acrobatic one-handed 10-yard touchdown catch from Johnson in the second quarter.
UTSA (5-6) heads into its regular-season finale needing to beat Conference USA foe Charlotte at home next week to qualify for a bowl for the first time since the program moved into FBS status in 2014.
The Aggies finish the regular season with a Thanksgiving home game against SEC West rival LSU.
Texas A&M jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter behind Hubenak's 16-yard touchdown pass to Josh Reynolds (seven catches for 93 yards) and the first of three field goals by Daniel LaCamera.
Garrett, a junior, is considered a potential high first-round pick in next year's NFL Draft. He spent much of the afternoon in the Roadrunners' backfield in the late-season nonconference matchup.
Garrett upped his season total to 8 1/2 sacks and 32 1/2 for his career, sixth on A&M's all-time lost. Denver Broncos star Von Miller sits fifth with 33 career sacks.
NOTES: Broncos Super Bowl-winning coach Gary Kubiak, a former Texas A&M quarterback, received the school's Lifetime Achievement Award. ... A&M DE Daeshon Hall played his team-leading 50th career game. ... UTSA's three-game road stretch is the longest in the program's short history. ... Kevin Sumlin joined R.C. Slocum as the only A&M coaches to win at least eight games in each of their first five seasons. Alabama's Nick Saban is the only other SEC coach with at least eight wins in the last five years. ...The Roadrunners are 0-5 all-time against ranked FBS teams. ... UTSA will return to Kyle Field in 2019.