Aggies Win 2OT Thriller, 45-38

Saturday, October 8

College Station

2:30 PM

Texas A&M

6-0 , 4-0

Tennessee

5-1 , 2-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Tennessee

Texas A&M

Photo by: Sam Craft/Texas A&M Athletics

Oct 08, 2016 | Football

Box Score Final Stats: A&M 45, Tenn 38 (2 OT)Photo Gallery

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Trevor Knight had a 1-yard touchdown run in the second overtime and No. 8 Texas A&M withstood another late Tennessee rally to beat the No. 9 Volunteers 45-38 on Saturday.

After Knight bulled in for the touchdown, Armani Watts intercepted Joshua Dobbs' pass on the next play for Tennessee's seventh turnover to end the game.

"The big takeaway from this was we were able to withstand some things, not play great but make enough plays to win the game without some of our better players being 100 percent," coach Kevin Sumlin said.

The teams exchanged field goals in the first overtime.

Knight threw for 239 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 110 yards and three more scores.

The Volunteers (5-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) had rallied from double-digit deficits to win four of their last five games, including last week's last-play victory over Georgia. They trailed by 21 points in the third quarter Saturday thanks to six turnovers before tying it on Alvin Kamara's 18-yard touchdown reception with 41 seconds left.

"Proud of the resolve, but the turnovers didn't give us an opportunity," Tennessee coach Butch Jones said.

Texas A&M (6-0, 4-0) had a chance to win it in regulation, but Daniel LaCamera's 38-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left.

The Aggies could have put this one away with less than 2 minutes remaining, but freshman Trayveon Williams had the ball knocked from his hands and out of the back of the end zone just before he crossed the goal line on a 71-yard run.

Texas A&M was facing third-and-2 when Knight dashed 62 yards for a touchdown that pushed the lead to 35-21 with about three minutes left. Kamara's 4-yard run about a minute later made it a one-score game.

The Aggies built a 21-7 lead in the first quarter after three fumbles by Tennessee. Knight threw touchdown passes of 13 and 2 yards and had a 7-yard TD run in the opening frame.

ABOUT the WIN..
•   With the win, the Aggies improved to 6-0 for the first time since 1994 when Texas A&M won its first seven games and finished with an undefeated 10-0-1 worksheet.
•   With the SEC victory, the Aggies improved to 4-0 in SEC play, marking the first time A&M has won its first 4 conference games since joining the SEC in 2012. It's the first time that A&M has won its first four conference games since the Aggies opened conference play in 2004.
•   The victory marked the 12th victory over an AP Top 25-ranked team by head coach Kevin Sumlin since taking over the Aggies in 2012. It's the second-most ranked wins behind R.C. Slocum's 17 in 14 seasons from 1989-2002.
•   It was Sumlin's fourth win over an AP top 10-ranked team and it was his first at Kyle Field.
•   It's the first time A&M has beaten a AP top 10 team at Kyle Field while ranked in the top 10 since the No. 2 Aggies beat No. 5 Texas, 20-10, in 1975.
•   It was the Aggies' first win over a top 10 team at Kyle Field since the 2010 squad upset No. 9 Nebraska, 9-6.
•   It was Texas A&M's first win in the series between the two schools. Tennessee had posted wins in the 1957 Gator Bowl and the 2005 Cotton Bowl.
•   Texas A&M improved to 2-0 this season and 4-0 under Coach Sumlin in overtime games. It was the first 2OT win for the Aggies in Sumlin's tenure.

ABOUT the TAKEAWAYS...
The Aggie defense came up with a season-high seven takeaways against the Volunteers.
•   The seven takeaways (5 fumble recoveries and 2 INT) were the most since the Aggies gained seven against Oklahoma State on Oct. 15, 2005.
•   The five fumble recoveries were the most since the Aggies posted six against Louisiana-Lafayette (then Southwestern Louisiana) on Sept. 20, 1997.

300+ Rushing Yards
•   The Texas A&M ground game continued to put up impressive numbers, accumulating 353 rushing yards on 50 carries (7.1 YPC).
•   Two Aggies finished with more than 100 yards rushing for the second time this season. Freshman Trayveon Williams lead the way with 217 rushing yards on 28 carries, continuing to be amongst the NCAA leaders in YPC, having registered 9.0 YPC entering the day. Joining Williams above the century mark was senior quarterback Trevor Knight, 110 yards on 15 carries.
•   Williams' 200-yard output was the first by an A&M player since Johnny Manziel in the 2013 Cotton Bowl against Oklahoma. It was the most ever by a Texas A&M true freshman.
•   Knight's 3 rushing touchdowns were the most by an Aggie since Tra Carson against South Carolina on August 28, 2014.
•   The Maroon & White have registered at least 200 yards on the ground each game this season and over 300 for the second time on the year (366 yards against Arkansas).
•   Texas A&M ranked 13th nationally in rushing yards per game (258.6) before the day's games started.

200/200 Balance
•   For the sixth straigth game the A&M offense mustered 200 yards rushing and passing. Finishing with 353 on the ground and 239 yards through the air. In 2015 the Aggies accomplished the feat four times in 13 games.
•   Texas A&M entered the day as one of just 28 teams (four in the SEC) to average 200/200 this season.

Disruptive defense
•   Texas A&M added 8.0 TFL against the Volunteers, the Aggies entered the day with an eye-catching 50.0 TFL in five game.
•   Eight Aggies registered at least 0.5 TFL in the contest, with Jarrett Johnson and Zaycoven Henderson leading the charge with 1.5 TFL each.

EXPLOSIVE PLAYS
•   The Aggie offense continued to show an explosive side, tallying 10 plays of 20 yards or more. The offense came into the game with 30 plays of 20 yards or more.
•   Texas A&M entered the contest with 13 offensive plays of 40 yards or more, the second most in the NCAA, adding three such plays against the Volunteers.

NOTABLES
•   Senior WR Josh Reynolds reeled in his 22nd career touchdown catch in the first quarter, which is the third-most in school history behind Jeff Fuller's 34 and Ryan Swope's 24.
•   True freshman RB Trayveon Williams' 7-yard TD run in the third quarter gave him four straight games with at least one rushing score.
•   The 684 total yards gained by Tennessee were the most allowed by Texas A&M in program history. The previous high was 669 by Kliff Kingsbury and the 2003 Texas Tech Red Raiders.

GAME CAPTAINS, 12TH MAN
•   Game captains for the Aggies were graduate transfer QB Trevor Knight, senior DB Alex Sezer Jr., senior LB Shaan Washington and junior DE Myles Garrett. Also a captain without going to midfield was junior WR Ricky Seals-Jones. Tennessee won the toss and deferred their choice to the second half. The Aggies received the opening kickoff.
•   The Aggies' 12th Man representative was sophomore LB Cullen Gillaspia (Katy, Texas) in his sixth straight start. A former walkon, Gillaspia was awarded a scholarship at the end of fall camp. A jarring hit by Gillaspia caused a fumble that was recovered by the Aggies.