Aggies Win Texas Bowl, 24-21

Friday, December 27

Houston, Texas

5:45 PM

Texas A&M

Oklahoma State

Photo by: Craig Bisacre/Texas A&M Athletics

Dec 27, 2019 | Football

Box Score Final Stats Postgame

HOUSTON (AP) -- Kellen Mond ran for a career-high 117 yards and threw a touchdown pass as Texas A&M scored 24 straight points to overcome an early deficit and beat Oklahoma State 24-21 in the Texas Bowl on Friday night.

Mond ran 67 yards to give the Aggies (8-5) a 21-14 lead early in the fourth quarter. Mond cut to the right to avoid a couple of defenders and outran everyone else. Tre Sterling had a shot to tackle him around the 25, but Mond ran away from his diving attempt.

The Cowboys (8-5) went for it on fourth-and-1 from the Texas A&M 34 on their next possession, but Spencer Sanders was stopped for no gain.

The Aggies added a 24-yard field goal to make it 24-14 with about three minutes to go.

Oklahoma State cut the lead to three on a touchdown reception by Braydon Johnson with about a minute left. The Cowboys attempted an onside kick, but A&M recovered it to secure the victory.

Chuba Hubbard, who finished the regular season as the nation's leading rusher, ran for 158 yards, and Johnson had 124 yards receiving and two touchdowns for the Cowboys.

Hubbard finished the season with 2,094 yards rushing to become the second player in school history to reach 2,000, joining Barry Sanders.

Mond, who threw for 95 yards, fumbled twice early and the Aggies trailed 14-0 after the first quarter and were down by seven at halftime.

He had just 35 yards passing in the first half, but got going on Texas A&M's first possession of the second half. He had a 28-yard completion on a drive that ended with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jhamon Ausbon which tied it at 14-14 early in the third.

Mond fumbled on A&M's first drive and it was recovered by Oklahoma State. But the Cowboys came away empty when Matt Ammendola missed a 53-yard field goal.

The Cowboys took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter when they capped a 97-yard drive with a 42-yard touchdown reception by Johnson. Hubbard had a 37-yard run to power that drive.

Dru Brown connected with Johnson on a 57-yard pass later in the first quarter to give Oklahoma State a first down at the 9. The Cowboys pushed the lead to 14-0 when Brown dashed into the end zone on the next play.

Brown threw for 184 yards and two touchdowns.

Mond fumbled again early in the second quarter, but once again the Cowboys couldn't turn the mistake into points and they had to punt it away.

The Aggies cut the lead to 14-7 on the next drive on a 1-yard touchdown run by Isaiah Spiller.

Oklahoma State had a chance to pad the lead just before halftime, but Ammendola's 46-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left.

THAT WILL DO IT! #TexasBowl | #GigEm pic.twitter.com/inn5Sv4Oir
— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) December 28, 2019

just listen... it's... beautiful ????#GigEm pic.twitter.com/cRMPbsyQys
— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) December 28, 2019

When your head coach wins his ??th game: #GigEm pic.twitter.com/qINcoRCMXq
— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) December 28, 2019

Team Notes

The win over Oklahoma State moved Texas A&M to 19-22 all-time in bowl games.
The victory marked the first under head coach Jimbo Fisher that the Aggies came back to win after trailing at the half.
A&M improved to 4-0 in neutral site games under Coach Fisher.
The win is A&M's first top-25 win of the season.
For the first time this season, the Aggies held their opponent to zero percent on fourth downs. It was also the second time the team has made two stops on fourth downs in a single game.
Today's captains against Oklahoma State were WR Jhamon Ausbon, S Keldrick Carper, P Braden Mann and OL Colton Prater.

Individual Notes

The win over Oklahoma State marked the 100^th win of Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher's career. Fisher is the eighth Texas A&M head coach to have reached the century mark (Bear Bryant, Dana Bible, Jackie Sherrill, Madison Bell, Dennis Franchione, R.C. Slocum, Homer Norton).
Sophomore DE Tyree Johnson tallied 2.0 sacks against the Cowboys, the most by an Aggie in a game this season.
Freshman S Demani Richardson led the defense with eight tackles, including a season-high 2.0 tackles for loss.
Richardson logged his fourth game of the season with eight-or-more tackles, a team best.
Junior QB Kellen Mond's 67-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter and his 10-yard toss to junior WR Jhamon Ausbon in the end zone in the third quarter marked the 15^th time in his career he has rushed and passed for a touchdown in the same game.
Mond finished the Oklahoma State game with 117 rushing yards, surpassing the century mark for the third time in his career and first time this season.
Mond was named the Academy Sports & Outdoors Texas Bowl MVP.
Freshman RB Isaiah Spiller's 1-yard rush into the end zone in the second quarter moved his season touchdown total to 10, making him the third true freshman in A&M history to rush for double-figure touchdowns in a season.
Sophomore PK Seth Small's 24-yard field goal in the fourth quarter was the 38^th made field goal of his career, tying him for eighth all-time with Daniel LaCamera (15-18).