Football Opens Season with 59-7 Win Over NSU

Thursday, August 30

College Station

7:30 p.m.

Texas A&M

1-0

Northwestern State

0-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

NSU

TAMU

Photo by: Thomas Campbell/Texas A&M Athletics

Aug 30, 2018 | Football

Box Score Highlights Final Stats (PDF)Photos Jimbo Fisher Press Conference Trayveon Williams Press Conference Landis Durham Press Conference Kingsley Keke Press Conference Kellen Mond Press Conference

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) -- Trayveon Williams ran for 240 yards and three touchdowns in just more than two quarters as Texas A&M routed Northwestern State 59-7 in coach Jimbo Fisher's debut with the Aggies on Thursday night.

Williams scored Texas A&M's first touchdown on a 73-yard run, and a 2-yard scamper made it 21-0 in the second quarter. The junior pushed the lead to 42-0 when he burst through the line and simply outran everyone else for a 40-yard score early in the third quarter in his last play of the night.

It was the second-best rushing performance in school history behind the 297 yards Bob Smith ran for against SMU on Nov. 11, 1950, and Williams became the 20th player in Texas A&M history to reach 2,000 career yards rushing (2,095). Kwami Etwi added 83 yards rushing and a score to help the Aggies rush for more than 400 yards (503) for the first time since 2003.

Kellen Mond started at quarterback for the Aggies after vying with Nick Starkel for the job throughout camp and threw for 184 yards and touchdown passes of 7 and 8 yards and added a score on a 1-yard run. Starkel took over in the third quarter with the game out of hand and threw for 63 yards and a touchdown.

The Aggies handled business easily against Northwestern State, an FCS school which plays in the Southland Conference, to help Fisher to a victory in his first game since leaving Florida State for a 10-year, $75 million contract.

Northwestern State split plays at quarterback between Shelton Eppler and Clay Holgorsen. Eppler started and threw for 105 yards and Holgorsen finished with 125 yards passing and touchdown.

ABOUT THE WIN

Tonight's 59 points were the most in a season-opener since Sept. 6, 1997 when the Aggies defeated Sam Houston State, 59-6, at Kyle Field.
The 52-point winning margin was the most in a season-opener since Sept. 6, 1997 when the Aggies defeated Sam Houston State, 59-6, at Kyle Field.
Jimbo Fisher became the first Texas A&M head coach to win his debut game in Aggieland since Dennis Franchione in 2003 (26-11 over Arkansas State).

NOTABLES

Texas A&M set a school record with 40 first downs, eclipsing the previous record of 39 set against South Carolina on Aug. 28, 2014.
The Aggies' 40 first downs tied an SEC record set by Vanderbilt in a 1969 game vs. Davidson.
Texas A&M went over 700 yards of total offense for the eighth time in school history and the first time since Sept. 7, 2013 against Sam Houston State. The 758 yards in the game ranks second on Texas A&M's all-time list behind 774 yards registered against Louisiana-Lafayette on Sept. 15, 1990.
The Aggies' 758 yards of total offense ranks sixth on the SEC single-game list.
Texas A&M ran 96 plays from scrimmage, which ranks ninth on the Aggies' single-game list.
The Aggies logged 400 rushing yards and 200 passing yards for just the third time in school history. The Aggies first accomplished the feat against Louisiana-Lafayette on Sept. 15, 1990 (526 rush/248 pass) and again versus Baylor on Oct. 11, 2003 (437 rush/282 pass).
First-year tight end Jace Sternberger had five catches for 56 yards and two touchdowns in his Texas A&M debut. He is the first Aggie tight end with multiple touchdown catches in a game since Michael Lamothe had two TD grabs against Texas Tech in 2010.
Trayveon Williams' 240 rushing yards ranked No. 2 in school history for single game rushing yards behind Bob Smith's 297-yard outburst vs. SMU on Nov. 11, 1950.
It was Williams' third career 200-yard rushing game and he joined the school's all-time leading rusher Darren Lewis as the only Aggies with three 200-yard plus rushing efforts. Williams also had 217 vs. Tennessee in 2016 and 203 vs. UCLA in 2017.
Sophomore QB Kellen Mond accounted for a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown in the same game for the third time in his career and the first time since last year's Alabama game. He finished the game with 184 yards and two TDs on 17-of-25 passing and three yards on six rushes with a 1-yard TD run.
On his two-yard TD run in the second quarter, Williams became the 20^th Aggie to reach 2,000 yards in career rushing yards.
The 73-yard TD run by Trayveon Williams was the longest opening game rush since Rodney "Rock-T" Thomas' 80-yard TD run on the first play from scrimmage against LSU on Sept. 4, 1993
The 73-yard TD rush by Trayveon Williams was his longest since the third game of his freshman season in 2016 – an 89 yarder vs. Auburn. It marked the second consecutive year he broke off a 70-yard run in the opening game of the season with a 72-yard run at UCLA in 2017.
Trayveon Williams' 73-yard TD rush was the longest rush by an Aggie since Kellen Mond's 79-yard rush against Arkansas in game 4 of 2017.
Williams' three rushing touchdowns are the most by the junior in his career, the Houstonian previously recorded a pair of touchdowns on two occasions.
The 52-yard field goal by senior PK Daniel LaCamera matched his career long from last year's Alabama game.

CAPTAINS, 12TH MAN

Game captains were junior RB Trayveon Williams, junior OC Erik McCoy, senior SAF Donovan Wilson and senior DL Kingsley Keke.
The Aggies' 12^th Man for the 27^th straight game was senior Cullen Gillaspia (Katy, Texas / Taylor HS).

Great start to 2018! Celebrate with the #12thMan. #GigEm https://t.co/lijMC6NxGg
— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) August 31, 2018

With 240 yards rushing tonight, @TrayveonW became the Aggies 20th member of the 2,000 yard club#GigEm pic.twitter.com/3o7KLfLuwA
— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) August 31, 2018

Hear from @TrayveonW following his 240-yard, 3-touchdown performance in Thursday's win.#GigEm pic.twitter.com/ZQSTGZ1Hx6
— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) August 31, 2018

Watch as @LandisDurham meets the press after Thursday's win.#NSUvsTAMU #GigEm pic.twitter.com/BYwUejjlSt
— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) August 31, 2018

.@_Jstern caught five passes for 56 yards & a pair of scores in Thursday's win.

Have a look at his night ??#GigEm pic.twitter.com/fdz0EaZGfY
— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) August 31, 2018

.@BucketsAll_Day talks to the media after tonight's 59-7 win over the Demons.#NSUvsTAMU #GigEm pic.twitter.com/iFvysirNPK
— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) August 31, 2018

Hear from @Erik_McCoy_73 right after the win. #GigEm pic.twitter.com/h0zyraBjEt
— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) August 31, 2018

Hear from @TheKellenMond (17-25, 184 yds, 2 pass TD, 1 rush TD) after Thursday's win.#GigEm pic.twitter.com/FlzOCRJgDz
— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) August 31, 2018

More comments from @TrayveonW on the field after the 59-7 win and his 3-score performance. #GigEm pic.twitter.com/r041XWtWh2
— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) August 31, 2018

Watch Coach Fisher's postgame press conference after a dominating 59-7 win.#NSUvsTAMU #GigEm pic.twitter.com/h5L92ADQvR
— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) August 31, 2018

Have a night, @TrayveonW!

?? his night, as he rushed for 240 yards and three scores. #GigEm pic.twitter.com/hTyb3RXv6Z
— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) August 31, 2018

Texas A&M opened 2018 with a 59-7 win on Thursday night.

Highlights from the victory are below. #GigEm pic.twitter.com/rTjsVn6Pql
— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) August 31, 2018