A&M Grabs Road Win at Ole Miss, 24-17

Saturday, October 19

Oxford, Miss.

6:30 PM

Texas A&M

4-3 , 2-2

Ole Miss

3-5 , 2-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Texas A&M

Ole Miss

Photo by: Craig Bisacre/Texas A&M Athletics

Oct 19, 2019 | Football

Box Score Box Score Photo Gallery

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) -- Buddy Johnson returned a fumble for a 62-yard go-ahead touchdown, and Isaiah Spiller added a clinching 22-yard touchdown run late as Texas A&M rallied to defeat Ole Miss 24-17 on Saturday night.

Trailing 14-10 midway in the third quarter, Elijah Blades and Justin Madubuike sacked Ole Miss quarterback John Rhys Plumlee, jarring the ball free. Johnson scooped up the loose ball and raced untouched past the Ole Miss sideline to build a 17-14 lead.

Texas A&M (4-3, 2-2 SEC) followed with a blocked field goal by Madubuike and the clinching 55-yard drive, capped by Spiller's scoring run with 2:34 remaining. The second-half surge settled a game that featured five lead changes, three missed field goals and four turnovers.

Kellen Mond was 16 of 28 for 172 yards passing and added 76 yards rushing on 15 attempts for the Aggies. Braden Mann kept Ole Miss in poor field position with five punts for a 52.2 yard average, with a final fourth quarter kick of 55 yards that rolled out at the Ole Miss 1-yard line.

The Rebels (3-5, 2-3) scored on touchdown runs of 69 and 2 yards from freshmen Jerrion Ealy and Snoop Conner, respectively, to build the third quarter lead. The Rebels got a 35-yard field goal from Luke Logan with 1:59 left but failed to recover the ensuing onside kick.

POSTGAME NOTES

Team Notes

The victory marked the third straight for A&M in the series with Ole Miss.
The Aggies allowed just 155 passing yards, marking the fewest allowed in a victory in a SEC West game since joining the league.
The Aggie defense had a strong start, forcing a three-and-out on the opening drive for the first time this season.
Today's captains against Clemson were WR Jhamon Ausbon, LB Buddy Johnson, P Braden Mann and OL Colton Prater.
Ole Miss won the toss and deferred.

Individual Notes

The Aggies were led in all-purpose yards by true freshmen WR Ainias Smith (105) and RB Isaiah Spiller (82).
Freshman TE Jalen Wydermyer matched or surpassed season highs in receptions and yards by halftime against Ole Miss, finishing the game with four catches for 67 yards.
Junior QB Kellen Mond improved his career record to 18-9, moving into eighth all-time in a tie with Stephen McGee (2005-08).
Mond became the fifth Aggie to surpass the 500 career completions mark, increasing his total to 512 against Ole Miss.
Junior WR Jhamon Ausbon's five receptions upped his career total to 123, tying him with Ricky Seals-Jones for ninth on A&M's all-time list.
Junior LB Buddy Johnson recovered a fumble in the third quarter and returned it 62 yards for A&M's first non-offensive touchdown of the season. The fumble return was the longest fumble return the Aggies have had since Nov. 26, 2004 against Texas.
Johnson's fumble return for a touchdown was A&M's first since the UAB game in 2018 and the second-longest play of the 2019 season.
Johnson tallied 10 tackles in the victory, making it back-to-back games with double digit tackles. This marked the first time an Aggie has had 10-plus tackles in consecutive games since Tyrel Dodson did so in 2017 against Mississippi State and Auburn.
Junior DT Justin Madubuike forced the third quarter fumble, the first forced fumble of his career.
Madubuike blocked a 35-yard field goal attempt in the third quarter, this was the second blocked kick of his career.
Sophomore DE Tyree Johnson tallied a career best eight tackles in the win.
Freshman LB Andre White Jr., recorded his first career sack in the fourth quarter, good for an 11-yard loss.
Freshman DE DeMarvin Leal made a season-high five tackles.
Leal and classmate S Brian Williams made their first career starts as Aggies.
Sophomore Seth Small made a 24-yard field goal in the first quarter to make it 13 straight games with a field goal.
Freshman PR Ainias Smith recorded a season long with a 34-yard punt return in the first quarter.
Junior LB Braden White played in his seventh game as the 12^th Man.

POSTGAME QUOTES

TEXAS A&M HEAD COACH JIMBO FISHER

Opening Statement:
"I commend Ole Miss for playing a very tough, hard fought football game. Our kids played hard and got a real win. When we go back, we will look at the film, make corrections and then move on."

On the fumbled snap:
"This game had a little bit everything and I mean, both sides were back and forth. You have to learn to win on your bad days when you're not playing your best, you got to find a way to come on top. And I give our kids credit that the perseverance to make the plays when they had to make them and do that."

On the offensive line:
"We found some good running lanes and we had some nice runs. We gave up a couple protections. I have to see why, but I still think we're getting better."

On depth:
"You could never have enough depth and the quality of your guys. That's why your freshman and those young guys, they got to keep development in the year goes on. You need those bodies to be able to play quality football and quality minutes."

On his best two defensive players:
"They have been really good. I mean, that's why I say that's what's your best player supposed to do. That's their job to do."

TEXAS A&M WIDE RECEIVER JHAMON AUSBON

On driving the ball:
"We drove the ball fine. Just didn't execute well enough on offense. Our numbers were fine, we just couldn't put it in. We couldn't stop shooting ourselves in the foot when time came to make plays. The defense played well, we just have to find a way to lock in and score points when it counts."

On Kellen Mond:
"He's tough, man. He wants the ball when it's third down. Even though we had some ups and downs in the game, he took it upon himself and made some plays when the time came."

On walking out with a win:
"At the end of the day, we came to play. It was an SEC road game which is never easy. You can't complain with a win. Obviously, room for improvement but we'll come back and learn from this."

TEXAS A&M LINEBACKER BUDDY JOHNSON

On the win:
"It is big for us. That changed momentum. That gave us momentum. We have to cause turnovers to help our team get momentum and that's how we won tonight."

On never quitting:
"One thing with this team and with this defense, we are always talking about never quitting, always fighting, and scratching and clawing. This team understands we have to keep fighting no matter what the situation is no matter what the score is that's something we did big tonight. I'm blessed to be on this team."

TEXAS A&M DEFENSIVE LINEMAN JUSTIN MADUBUIKE

On the win:
"It's a great push for us for the rest of the season. Coming to Ole Miss, we create our own energy because Ole Miss is in their home. So, we have to bring our own juice and our own best foot to the table. And that's what we did tonight and we got the win."

On blocking:
"I just try to put myself in a position to make big blocks for my team. Blocking the ball and sack the quarterback. All those little things to get a win like the one we got tonight."