Aggies Top Bruins in Overtime

Saturday, September 3

College Station

2:30 PM

Texas A&M

1-0

UCLA

0-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

UCLA

Texas A&M

Photo by: Texas A&M Athletics

Sep 03, 2016 | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery Box: A&M 31, UCLA 24 (PDF)

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) -- Trevor Knight threw for 239 yards and a touchdown and ran for two more scores, including one in overtime to lead Texas A&M to a 31-24 victory over No. 16 UCLA on Saturday in his debut with the Aggies.

The Aggies had a fourth-and-1 from the 1 in overtime when Knight waltzed into the end zone untouched for the score in the opener for both teams.

Texas A&M sealed the victory when Justin Evans knocked down Josh Rosen's pass at the goal line on fourth down.

Knight, a graduate transfer from Oklahoma, outplayed Rosen.

Rosen threw three interceptions while working under heavy pressure from a defense led by Myles Garrett.

The Aggies looked to have this one wrapped up when they led by 15 in the fourth quarter after using two third-quarter touchdowns.

But UCLA's offense finally got going after that, scoring twice in two minutes with the second one coming on a 62-yard pass by Rosen to cut it two 2. A 2-point conversion after that TD tied it with 2:39 remaining.

The Bruins were driving again after a third straight punt by A&M when Evans intercepted Rosen's pass for the second time to give A&M a chance to win it in regulation.

But Knight's pass was knocked down in the end zone to force overtime.

Knight wasn't the only former Sooner to shine for the Aggies on Saturday. Running back Keith Ford had a touchdown and 65 of A&M's 203 yards rushing in his first game since setting out a year following his transfer from Oklahoma.

POSTGAME NOTES

GARRETT PACES PASS RUSH

• Junior DE Myles Garrett was a thorn in UCLA QB Josh Rosen's side all game and finished the game with a sack, three tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and two QB hurries.

• Garrett's sack was the 25th of his 26-game career and it moved him into a tie for No. 8 on A&M's career QB sacks list with two-time All-America Ray Childress. Garrett is now just three sacks from entering the SEC's career sacks top 10 list.

• As a team, the Aggies generated five QB sacks and seven QB hurries against the Bruins. Last year, UCLA's high game for sacks allowed was three (twice).

• With the Aggies' Wrecking Crew defense in his face all day, UCLA's Rosen was limited to 56.5 completion percentage and had three interceptions (matching his career high).

REYNOLDS TALLIES 19TH TD

• Senior WR Josh Reynolds moved into a tie for No. 3 on A&M's career receiving TD list with the 19th TD catch of his career.

TAMU Career Receiving TDs

Jeff Fuller 34 2008-11

Ryan Swope 24 2009-12

Uzoma Nwachukwu 19 2009-12

Bob Long 19 1966-68

Josh Reynolds 19 2014-

REVAMPED RUSHING ATTACK

• The Aggies lost 1,000-yard rusher Tra Carson from 2015, but used a couple of newcomers to fortify their rushing attack in 2016. Leading the Aggies' rushing attack, which generated 203 ground yards against UCLA, were true freshman Trayveon Williams and junior transfer Keith Ford. In their first career action at A&M, Williams rushed for 94 yards on 15 carries, including a 42-yard jaunt, while Ford, who played two seasons at Oklahoma, chipped in 65 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.

INTERCEPTIONS

• Senior DB Justin Evans, who logged one INT last season, registered two INTs.

• Junior DB Priest Willis added an INT to give Texas A&M three picks on the afternoon, the most since logging three at Ole Miss on Oct. 24, 2015.

• The three INTs were the most for the Aggies at Kyle Field since logging three against UTEP on Nov. 2, 2013.

KASER WHO??

• Junior Shane Tripucka has an impressive debut as the Aggies' starting punter with a 47.3 average on seven boots, including two 50-plus boots and two punts that were downed inside the 20. Tripucka has spent the past two seasons backing up two-time All-American Drew Kaser, who was drafted by the San Diego Chargers earlier this year.

OVERTIME FACTS

• The Aggies improved to 10-6 all-time in overtime games, including three consecutive OT wins.

• Texas A&M improved to 6-3 in OT games at Kyle Field.

• It marked the first time Texas A&M played OT in a season opener. The earliest A&M played an OT game was in 2007 when the Aggies beat Fresno State in 3OT (47-45) in the second game of the season.

FIRSTS

• Making the first starts of their Texas A&M careers were true freshman Colton Prater (LG), redshirt freshman Erik McCoy (C), sophomore Connor Lanfear (RG) and graduate transfer Trevor Knight (QB) on offense and junior transfer Priest Willis (CB) on defense.

• The Aggies' first score of 2016 came on a 7-yard run by junior transfer RB Keith Ford in the second quarter. The TD also marked Ford's first touchdown in the maroon and white.

• Knight, who rushed for eight touchdowns in three seasons at OU, tallied his first rushing score of his Texas A&M career with a 1-yard burst in the third quarter and added the game-winning 1-yard run in OT. Knight also connected on his first passing TD with a 40-yard pass to Josh Reynolds.

MISCELLANEOUS

• Game captains for the Aggies were junior DE Myles Garrett, junior WR Ricky Seals-Jones, senior LB Shaan Washington and graduate QB Trevor Knight. UCLA won the toss and deferred their choice to the second. Texas A&M received the opening kickoff while defending the south endzone.

• The Aggies' 12th Man representative was sophomore LB Cullen Gillaspia (Katy, Texas in his first-ever 12th Man start. A former walkon, Gillaspia was awarded a scholarship at the end of fall camp.

Gillaspia Facts

Parents: Joy and Dan Gillaspia

Brother: Carson Gillaspia

Major: Environmental Geoscience

All District LB and Return specialist at Katy Taylor HS

Also played baseball

Vice President of the student body

Member of the National Honor Society all four years.

Post Game Quotes
Texas A&M 31, UCLA 24
September 3, 2016

Justin Evans, Texas A&M Senior Safety
On the last play…
"It was a good job without safety coverage out there. All I'm thinking is that I have to make a play. He threw it up, I went up for it and made the play."

What the win means for the program…
"It's a great start-off to our season. We have a great quarterback coming in, a great leader. He's just going to get better and better as he goes along. And to get that win, that's good. We came out with a 'W'. But, by no means did we play the best that we could. We are going to come back Monday morning and get better and better."

On the UCLA comeback…
"There was a lack of communication. We got out of sync a little bit and they made some plays. We knew they're going to make some plays that just how it goes. We stepped up."

Jermaine Eluemunor, Texas A&M Senior Offensive Tackle
On the O-Line's performance….
"I think we played great. We are a very young O-line. We have a true freshman starting at left guard, redshirt freshman starting at center, and a redshirt sophomore starting at right guard. Everyone is talented. Overall, we played great and there are always things we can improve on, but to get the win in overtime it really shows how much character you have. They put it on us by running the ball there at the end. We went down to the goal line and it was over."

On Trevor Knight's performance…
"Trevor came in and right from the get-go he was a leader. Trevor's a great guy and I learned a lot from him. Just being around him makes you a better person. We were going to win or lose with him and whatever happens, happens. Trevor made that final drive down to the end zone. On the last play, I didn't know how to feel after I saw Trevor going into the end zone. UCLA has a great d-line and a good number of them will be playing in the NFL. So, I had a lot of confidence in Trevor."

Trevor Knight, Texas A&M Senior Quarterback
On his thoughts on the game…
"The game as a whole, we started off a little slow, picked it up a little bit, sputtered a little bit. It gives us an opportunity to come out Monday and have an incredible practice because we know that we can go up from here. I'm never going to come in here and be upset about getting a win. That's a top 20 team we just played and a heck of a quarterback in Josh Rosen, so I'm never going to come in here and be upset. That's a big time win. First game for me in Kyle Field, it was special."

On final touchdown…
"That's football. It's a game of split second decisions and inches and we were on the right side of that line today."

On his first game playing for the Aggies…
"It's one that I'll remember forever because it's a big time game and we won in overtime. There's a lot of memories from that but it was my first game as an Aggie and to come out and get that win at home and play in front of the 12th Man, it's special. Now I know what it feels like and there are no better fans in the country than what I experienced today."

Myles Garrett, Texas A&M Junior Defensive End
On the pressure…
"We were forcing throws and that was the game plan. See if he can throw on the run and throw under pressure. We did our job."

On stopping the run…
"We had couple problems executing and a couple drives where we had a 10-plus yard run slip out there but other than that we played pretty stout. "

Getting the win…
"When adversity hits, what are you going to do? Are you going to bicker and whine that they finally got it clicking and came back on us, or are you going to stand together and pushed through? I think we showed that."

Christian Kirk, Texas A&M Sophomore Wide Receiver
On overtime win and adversity…
"Adversity is key to developing your team and seeing who we are as a group. The way we battled and took that all on, was great."

On moving forward…
"There's still something that we need to develop. It's just that killer instinct. Each team is going to fight back and if we're going to be a playoff caliber team, that's one thing that we preached after the game, not to get too lax and keep the pressure on."

Otaro Alaka, Texas A&M Sophomore Linebacker
On what the linebackers took from off-season criticism…
"When we were hearing all offseason that we were struggling we took it personally as a linebacking core and as a defense. We played well, but I know we can play a lot better. We just got get back to practice and keep on working hard."

Pressuring Josh Rosen…
"We know we have two of the best defensive ends in college football so we are always going to bring pressure. But, there was a game plan to put some pressure on him, and put some heat on him to see if he can deal with it."

Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M Head Coach
On today's win…
"Anytime you win a game like that against a quality opponent, that's a good team. You're looking at one of the best quarterbacks in the country (Josh Rosen). I think he proved that today too. For us today, after the game, I was proud of our guys to get the win, number one, but the way things happened, we have a lot to work on. Against a quality opponent like that, the learning point today was we can't have lapses like that. Quality football teams will make you pay. But the good news is, we found a way to win the game. That's going to go a long way with these guys. The demeanor of this team is a bit different. We have a lot of things we have to correct. We can play better, and as our schedule goes, we will need to play better."

On the 12th Man…
"I want to thank the fans. I thought early in the game, and particularly throughout the game, they were a factor. From a communication standpoint, there were times today where Kyle Field was as loud as it's ever been."

On Trevor Knight…
"What I like about him is before you can get to him… he's already in that state where he's coaching himself. I think communication with him was critical."

On Justin Evans…
"What a performance. Here's a guy that doesn't say a word. He just does his deal. He's a physical guy. He always plays with great effort. When you say a guy has a nose for the ball, it's usually the guy that's hustling like crazy. He did a lot for us today in the return game, but he also did a lot for us defensively."

On the running backs…
"The ability to change speeds becomes important. The fact that we rotated backs to keep them fresh, I think that was a real factor. The rushing yards, when you get to 200, you're going to take that every week."

On special teams…
"I thought our biggest concern going into today was our young specialists. We missed a field goal early, Lacamera came back, made his field goals, made his extra points. I thought Tripucka was outstanding today. Knocked two down inside the fifteen and still averaged 47 (yards per punt). We've been spoiled around here by punters. He's got big shoes to fill and I thought he responded today. Those plays were critical in the game."

Jim Mora, UCLA Head Coach
Opening statement…
"First of all, congratulations to Texas A&M. They played a great game. They're an outstanding team. They're tough. They're physical, and they got us at the end in overtime. The men I really want to honor right now are the guys in our locker room. I've asked them over the offseason to mature, to develop strength in character, strength of will, a toughness—mental, physical, emotional. I thought they put all of those things on display today. We came up short and that's terribly disappointing to us. We didn't come here to come close. We didn't come here to lose in over time. We came here to win. But, hidden in that loss are some tremendous things. The most important thing for me is what I feel growing in that locker room. That's a good football team. UCLA is a good football team filled with guys who really care. We have to perform better. That's all of us. That's coaches, that's staff, and that's players. We all have to perform better, especially when we get in a game that's going to come down to the wire like it did today. But, I want to commend the players on our football team for what they are becoming. I think they are becoming something special and I'm really proud of them."

On coming back to tie it…
"I thought we played good defense the whole day. They got a couple things on us, but they are a good team. I think what brought us back is just a will that we have, a determination that is developing, a belief in each other, a belief in what we are doing, a belief in the process that we've established. We didn't look at the scoreboard. We didn't look around us. We just concentrated on the next play. That's something that I want to see this team continue to develop. I think it's going to be something that carries us a long ways this season."

On Josh Rosen…
"He knew that he made mistakes. The first interception, he was trying to get rid of it. That's the next step in him maturing as a young player. We've talked about it a lot. Those are decisions that he has to make better. He's going to shoulder all of the blame, but he was responsible for bringing us back as well. We've got to train him better at protecting the football and making better decisions. I didn't see him effected by the environment. I didn't see our team effected by the environment."