How Slow First Half Turned To A Cowbell Crushing Night In Aggieland

At the intermission, the Texas A&M Aggies led 7-3 against the Mississippi State Bulldogs, but didn’t perform as well as they had hoped, unlike in recent weeks.

In an operation blackout game with the 12th Man repping black apparel, the defense carried A&M throughout the first half and didn’t have much help offensively.

“I think we had to find a way to get Marcel to settle down,” coach Mike Elko said. “It wasn’t all negative in the first half. It was more about being in an SEC football game. They aren’t easy. They are four quarter games.”

Linebackers Tauren York, Daymion Sanford and Cashius Howell shut down the Bulldogs’ offense. After a pep talk from Elko, the tables turned upside down, and the Aggies’ offense began to generate momentum with the defense continuing to accumulate stops.

A&M went on to outscore Mississippi State 24-6 in the second half and rolled to 5-0 to begin the season for the first time since 2016.

Fired Up Defensively

Aggies celebrating postgame after 31-9 win over Bulldogs. — Oct 4, 2025; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed (10) and teammates celebrate after the win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

To start the night, the Aggies were hungry to get the 12th Man roaring and did so with two sacks to get the sidelines to erupt with excitement.

Bulldogs quarterback Blake Shapen had no help from his offensive line. Terrorizing the front line quickly were Howell and Sanford, who had recorded the first two sacks that forced the first punt.

To end the night, Howell registered three sacks, something he did against Utah State when he had three in a row. He is now the first Aggie to record multiple three-sack games in a season since Von Miller in 2009.

“He is really good,” Elko said. “He is really good at rushing the passer. It starts there. We have gotten him in situations where you can go after people on third down.”

Shapen was held to 15 of 20 in the air with 142 yards and one touchdown. The Aggies were locked in on coverage and easily read what the offense was offering them, especially Sanford, who had a career-high nine total tackles, with four solo tackles and one interception, which was also his career first.

“He had another really, really big night tonight,” Elko said. “He is a phenomenal kid. He works really hard in practice. Mentally, he never blinked when he didn’t win the starting job. I told him his chance will come, and he has to be ready.”

The defensive line for the Aggies was also able to prevent the Bulldogs from pounding the ball on the ground, with five running backs getting touches for only 77 total yards. Without the perseverance and adversity, the Aggies wouldn’t have won the turnover battle with one interception and held the Bulldogs to 1 for 10 on third down.

“We were really good on third down on defense, which I think is critical against an offense like that because the tempo and the pace can’t really get going until they get first downs, so if you can be really good on third down, that really helps,” Elko said.

To add to a thrilling night, it was the third game this season that A&M has allowed 78 yards or fewer. Another notable area of emphasis was that A&M has now only given up one third-down conversion in the last two games.

Impressive.

Although the slow start might not have appeared appetizing, the final product was.

“It shows that they have a lot of confidence and what they are capable of,” Elko said. “ When one side of the ball has struggled, the other side stands up. There also hasn’t been panic.”