Aggies Welcome Falcons to Kyle Field

Saturday, September 21

Bryan-College Station

6:30 PM

Texas A&M

Bowling Green

Sep 20, 2024 | Football

Game Notes

By: Texas A&M Athletics Communications

Winners of two straight, Texas A&M returns to Kyle Field on Saturday evening when the Aggies play host to the Bowling Green Falcons. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m.

The game will be streamed on SEC Network+ and on ESPN+, both available inside the ESPN App. Click here for more info.

COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF

Days

Hours

Mins

Secs

Texas A&M vs Bowling Green

Saturday, September 21, 2024 • 6:32 PM CT
Kyle Field • Bryan-College Station

Forecast: sunny, low 90s

WATCH

TV: SEC Network+/ESPN+ (Jay Alter, Rocky Boiman, Ashley Stroehlein)
Watch Live: ESPN App

LISTEN

Radio: Texas A&M Sports Network (Andrew Monaco, Dave Elmendorf, Will Johnson)
1620 AM/94.5 FM (local), SiriusXM 94/192
Listen Live: 12th Man Mobile App

Spanish Broadcast: Click Here (Pedro Luna, Michel Gonzalez)
102.7 FM (local)
Listen Live: 12th Man Mobile App

FOLLOW

Live Stats: Click Here
Social Media: @AggieFootball on X

Bowling Green Falcons (1-1)

RANKING: AP: NR / Coaches: NR
LAST GAME: Sept. 7
- #8 Penn State 34, Bowling Green 27
HEAD COACH: Scot Loeffler (Michigan '98)
- Overall Record: 21-36 (6th season)
- at BGSU: same
- vs. Texas A&M: 0-0

Texas A&M Aggies (2-1)

RANKING: AP: #25 / Coaches: #24
Last Game: Sept. 14
- Texas A&M 33, Florida 20
HEAD COACH: Mike Elko (Penn ‘99)
- Overall Record: 18-10 (3rd Season)
- at Texas A&M: 2-1 (1st Season)
- vs. BGSU: 0-0

Kyle Field from the air during Notre Dame game

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

Texas A&M returns to Aggieland to host Bowling Green as the two programs meet for the first time.
Junior RB Le’Veon Moss has led the Aggie rushing attack in each game this year and eclipsed the century mark for the first time this season after tallying 110 yards on 18 carries at Florida … Moss ranks seventh in the SEC with 88.0 yards per game, while his three rushing scores are tied for eighth in the league.
Texas A&M boasts one of the best rushing offenses in the country, ranking ninth with 263.0 yards per game on the ground.
The Aggies’ new-look offensive line has controlled the battle in the trenches ranking first in the SEC and tied for 10th nationally allowing 6.0 tackles for loss, while the 2.0 sacks given up this season rank second in the league.
Junior WR Cyrus Allen has been a main target in the Texas A&M air attack early this season, hauling in 10 passes for 181 yards and one score and ranking 10th in the SEC averaging 18.1 yards per catch ... Allen caught three passes for 81 yards, including a season-long 73-yard touchdown reception against the Gators and has caught a pass in 16 consecutive games dating back to his days at Louisiana Tech.
Sophomore DB Marcus Ratcliffe is one of four players in the SEC with two interceptions as he made it back-to-back games with a pick, while junior DB Bryce Anderson recorded the first Aggie defensive touchdown of the season when he took his first interception of the year 45 yards to the house.
Sophomore LB Taurean York has been the nucleus of the defense since his arrival in Aggieland and his leadership has continued into his second season ... He boasts a team-best 18 tackles on the year, good for 13th among league players and fifth among second-year players.

QUICK HITS

Texas A&M showed its offensive explosiveness recording 10 rushes of 10-plus yards and completing five passes of 15-plus yards against the Gators.
The Aggie rushing attack racked up 310 yards against Florida, just one week after rushing for 333 yards against McNeese ... It marked the first time the Aggies have rushed for 300-plus yards in consecutive games since 2012 when they totaled 352 yards at Auburn and 361 yards at Mississippi State.
Freshman QB Marcel Reed made the first start of his career in Week 3, leading the Aggies to victory in their SEC opener for the third-straight season ... Reed threw for 178 yards, including a pair of 20-plus yard touchdown passes ... He added 83 yards on the ground and scored a touchdown of his own.
Junior RB Amari Daniels has played a key role in the Aggies’ success in the run game, ranking among the top-20 in the SEC with 54.3 yards per game and two touchdowns ... At Florida he joined the 1,000 career yards club, upping his total to 1,014.
The Texas A&M secondary intercepted three passes against Florida to bring its total to five picks on the season, which ranks first in the SEC and is tied for seventh in the nation.
The Aggies have controlled the pace of the game early in the year, ranking third in the SEC averaging 31:56 in time of possession.
Sophomore DL Nana Boadi-Owusu was named the 12th Man ahead of the 2024 season, becoming just the sixth student-athlete in program history to hold the season-long honor.

MILESTONES TO WATCH FOR

Sophomore QB Conner Weigman continues to climb the Texas A&M record books in career completions and passing yards, and is in need of four touchdown passes to crack the top-15 all-time, entering the game with 18 career scoring strikes.
Graduate WR Moose Muhammad III ranks 14th in career touchdown receptions at Texas A&M with 11 entering the week and his next scoring grab will move him into a tie with Chad Schroeder (2003-06) for 13th ... Muhammad is also seven catches and 50 receiving yards away from cracking the top-30 all-time at A&M.
Junior WR Noah Thomas is looking for a pair of touchdown catches to move into the top-20 all-time at A&M.
Graduate K Randy Bond aims to break into the top-five of A&M’s career field goals list, entering the week with 44 to-date as he chases Todd Pegram (2002-05) and Tony Franklin (1975-78) who are tied for fourth with 56 makes ... Bond’s 216 career points are just three shy of the top-10 of the Aggies’ kicker-only all-time scoring list and just six points away from the top-15 of the all-time scoring list.

WEIGMAN RETURNS AS QB1

After suffering injuries in his first two seasons, sophomore Conner Weigman returns for A&M under center in 2024.
Last season, Weigman made it back-to-back 300-yard passing games, three for his career, after tallying 336 at Miami and racking up 337 against ULM ... Weigman also finished the ULM game 25-of-29 passing for a school record 86.2 completion percentage.
He put on a show against New Mexico to start the 2023 campaign, connecting on five touchdown passes and finishing the opener going 18-of-23 for 236 yards through the air ... His five touchdown passes were the most in regulation by an Aggie QB since Johnny Manziel (2012-13) threw five touchdown passes against Mississippi State in 2013 and the tally is tied for fifth on A&M’s single-game chart.
Weigman cracked the top 20 on A&M’s all-time career passing touchdowns list in just seven career appearances and is just four scoring passes away from moving into the top-15 all-time.
Making his first career start against No. 15 Ole Miss, Weigman put up 338 yards on 28-of-44 passing and four touchdowns ... His passing yards were the most in a game by a true freshman in program history and his four passing TDs were the most by any A&M freshman.
Weigman was a highly touted prospect out of Bridgeland High School and was rated the No. 1 quarterback by Rivals and ESPN ... He was named a 2022 Under Armour All-American and was a multi-sport athlete that was also rated as one of the top baseball prospects in Texas.

MAROON GOONS

The Texas A&M offensive line has seen a new look in 2024 but returned great experience from a year ago ... The line is anchored by junior Trey Zuhn III, who was named a season-long team captain prior to the season and has been a staple at left tackle over the last two years.
Zuhn started all 13 games last season and has logged 27 career starts as he helped clear the way for a 1,000-yard rusher in 2022 and helped A&M rack up over 400 yards of total offense in eight games last year.
The Maroon & White rank 10th in the country and lead the SEC, allowing just 6.0 tackles for loss, while also ranking 19th nationally and second in the SEC giving up just 2.0 sacks so far in 2024.
The offensive line has been a key piece of A&M’s early-season success in the run game as the Aggies boast the No. 9 rushing offense in country, averaging 263.0 yards per game and have racked up over 300 yards on the ground in two of the three games this season.
In the offseason, sophomore Chase Bisontis made the move to left guard after starting all 12 regular season games he played in at right tackle and the bowl game at right guard as a freshman in 2023 ... The Aggies added veteran experience with junior transfers Ar’maj Reed-Adams, who made 15 starts in 31 games played at Kansas and Kolinu’u Faaiu, who played in 16 games with eight of those being starts at center through three seasons at Utah.
Offensive line coach Adam Cushing joined head coach Mike Elko in Aggieland after two seasons at Duke where his o-line kept its quarterback protected, ranking 12th among Power 5 schools allowing just 17.0 sacks and seventh nationally giving up just 51.0 tackles for loss in 2022 ... Duke also ranked in the top-18 among Power 5 schools in sacks and tackles for loss allowed in 2023.

ELEVATING THE RUN GAME

Junior running backs Le’Veon Moss and Amari Daniels have made big improvements in the offseason and have been a dynamic duo in the backfield for the Maroon & White early this year.
Moss has set a new career high in every category through the first three games notching 20 carries against Notre Dame, scoring two touchdowns in the McNeese win and tallying 110 yards in the vicotry at Florida for his second-career 100-yard game ... He ranks seventh in the SEC averaging 88.0 yards per game and is tied for eighth among league players with three rushing TDs.
Daniels registered the first multi-touchdown game of his career with two trips to the end zone agaisnt McNeese and joined the 1,000 career yards club with 68 yards on 13 carries in the win at Florida to up his total to 1,014 ... He ranks among the top-20 in the league with 54.3 y/g and two scores on the year.
As a team, the Aggies rank ninth in the country and second in the SEC in rushing offense, averaging 263.0 yards per game, while their seven rushing scores on the season are good for 25th nationally.
The Maroon & White tallied 310 yards on the ground in the win at Florida, marking the first time they have tallied 300-plus rushing yards in back-to-back games since the 2012 season.
In the win over McNeese, A&M racked up 333 yards on the ground and five rushing scores, marking the most rushing yards in a game for the Aggies since rushing for over 500 yards against Northwestern State to start the 2018 season and the most rushing scores since reaching the end zone five times on the ground in the Orange Bowl win over North Carolina to cap off the 2020 season.

Le'Veon Moss runs through the rain at Florida

STEADY BACKER

Sophomore LB Taurean York immediately stepped into a leadership role as a true freshman in 2023, quarterbacking the defense at mike linebacker, and was selected as a team captain by his teammates ahead of the 2024 season.
In the season opener against Notre Dame, York helped lead the defense with nine takedowns in the game ... He enters the week ranking 13th in the SEC with 18 tackles on the season.
York started all 13 games last season, finishing second on the team with 74 tackles, which ranked in the top-20 among SEC players and third among league freshman ... His 8.5 tackles for loss were the most by an SEC freshman a year ago and ranked fourth on the team.
He registered the first double-digit tackles game of his career with 11 takedowns against Auburn, including 2.0 for loss ... On the year, York tallied five-or more tackles in nine of the 13 games.
York was a key contributor to the defense that led the SEC in rushing defense (108.8 y/g) and sacks (42.0), while also standing at second in the league and eighth in the nation with 99.0 tackles for loss and 19th in the country, third in the SEC, in total defense (316.2 y/g).

NEW-LOOK SECONDARY

The Texas A&M secondary has seen a number of new faces in 2024, adding eight defensive backs in the transfer portal while returning sophomores Jayvon Thomas and Dalton Brooks have also made starts this season.
Sophomore DB Marcus Ratcliffe has made an immediate impact for the Maroon & White after spending last season at San Diego State, starting all three games and helping lead the SEC with a pair of interceptions on the season ... Ratcliffe picked off a pass and returned it 12 yards in the win over McNeese and recorded another interception in Week 3 at Florida as time expired in the second quarter.
Junior DB Will Lee III, who came to Aggieland from Kansas State, ranks second on the team with 12 tackles on the year and recorded his first interception as an Aggie in the win over McNeese.
Thomas, who has started all three games at corner, made his first interception late in the fourth quarter at Florida, returning it 15 yards and getting the ball back in A&M’s hands to close out the victory.
Lone veteran Bryce Anderson registered the first touchdown of his career when he came up with a tipped pass and returned it 45 yards to the house at Florida.
As a team, the Aggies rank seventh nationally and lead the SEC with five interceptions on the season.

DEPTH ON THE D-LINE

Texas A&M boasted one of the most talented and unpredictable defensive lines in the nation last season, led by the veteran experience and consistent production of senior Shemar Turner.
While Turner is the only returning starter on the line, the Aggies consistently used a full second rotation throughout the year that included juniors Shemar Stewart and Albert Regis, and have added Big Ten standout Nic Scourton.
After tallying 10.5 tackles for loss and 6.0 sacks in 2023, ranking among the top-20 in the league in both categories, Turner started the 2024 season with a career-high seven takedowns against Notre Dame.
In the win at Florida, the Aggies limited the Gators to just 52 yards on the ground and one rushing score ... Junior Cashius Howell picked up his first sack as an Aggie while Stewart also got to the quarterback.
The line played a vital role in the Aggies leading the SEC and ranking 13th in the Power 5 in total defense (316.2 y/g) last season ... A&M also ranked 10th in the Power 5 and led the SEC in rushing defense (108.8 y/g), holding six teams to double figures on the ground: New Mexico (91), Miami (77), Arkansas (42), Alabama (23), South Carolina (33) and ACU (93).

SPECIAL TEAMS SUCCESS

Graduate K Randy Bond was one of the nation’s leading scorers a season ago, ranking in the top-six nationally with 126 total points on the year, while also sitting in fourth and leading the SEC averaging 9.7 points-per-game and sending 26 field goals through the uprights.
He recently eclipsed the 200-point mark for his career adding 10 points in the win over McNeese ... His 44 career made field goals are good for sixth all-time at A&M while his 84 career PATs rank among the top-15 in program history.
Last season, Bond registered a new career-long with a 52-yarder against ULM and he later connected from the same distance against South Carolina and Mississippi State.
Three Aggies on the 2024 roster have registered a blocked kick in their careers ... Senior DL Shemar Turner blocked a pair of field goal attempts last season, getting his hand on the ball in back-to-back weeks against Ole Miss and Mississippi State, and junior DL Albert Regis blocked a field goal attempt in the win over Miami in 2022 ... Prior to arriving in Aggieland, graduate DB Trey Jones III registered a blocked kick against Eastern Michigan in 2022.

THE ELKO EFFECT

Known as one of the top defensive minds in the country, head coach Mike Elko has consistently produced highly disruptive and productive defenses throughout his career, most recently putting the Texas A&M defense on the map during his time as defensive coordinator and carrying the same standard as the head coach at Duke.
In 2023, Duke led the ACC and ranked 16th nationally in scoring defense (19.0 ppg) while registering a top-five rush defense among league teams and standing in 17th in the country with 67 passes defended ... In Elko’s first season as a head coach, the Blue Devils ranked in the top-35 in the nation in scoring defense, rush defense, rushing touchdowns allowed and passes defended.
After not finishing in the top-50 nationally in total defense for more than a decade, Elko’s first stint in Aggieland as defensive coordinator from 2018-21 coincided with consistent top-35 finishes, including a top-10 ranking in the 2020 final FBS total defense standings.
Elko has produced top-50 defenses in 11 of the last 12 years with multiple programs (Duke, Texas A&M, Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Bowling Green).

NEW FACES

The 2024 Texas A&M football roster features 55 newcomers as the Aggies have welcomed 29 freshmen and 26 transfers to campus this offseason.
The Maroon & White added 16 student-athletes from Power 5 programs, while junior LB Scooby Williams (Florida), graduate DB Jaydon Hill (Florida), freshman DB Dezz Ricks (Alabama) and senior K Jared Zirkel (Georgia) bring previous SEC knowledge and experience to Aggieland.
Junior DL Nic Scourton also helps highlight the group of newcomers, receiving lots of preseason recognition as he was named to the Nagurski Trophy, Bednarik Award and Lombardi Award Watch Lists and earned Preseason All-America accolades from The AP, Sport News and ESPN ... In 2023 Scourton had a breakout season at Purdue where he led the Big Ten in sacks and was fourth in the league in tackles for loss.

NON-CONFERENCE GRAVEYARD

Kyle Field is a graveyard for non-conference opponents with the Aggies enjoying a 40-3 record against non-Big 12 or SEC opponents on their home field since 2010.
Since joining the SEC, the Aggies are 35-3 against non-conference foes at Kyle Field.