Aggies’ Take Home the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl Title Behind William’s Record-Setting Game

Written by Paul Fritz

The Texas A&M Aggies put out a solid performance on both sides of the ball in their dominant defeat over North Carolina State by the score of 52-13.

Texas A&M made a statement on their first drive of the game when Quarterback Kellen Mond found a hole and ran 62 yards for the touchdown on just the 2nd play of the game.

Momentum turned towards the Wolfpack’s favor after defensive end Darian Roseboro tipped a pass by Mond that fell into the hands of Eurndraus Bryant for the interception at the Aggies’ 27-yard line. Quarterback Ryan Finley connected with C.J. Riley in the end-zone to give them a 10-7 lead. NC State added to their lead on their next drive with a 49-yard field goal from kicker Christopher Dunn, to increase their lead to 6.

Texas A&M promptly answered when running back Trayveon Williams broke free for a 30-yard rush which set him up for a 2-yard touchdown. Despite losing their lead at 14-13 in the 2nd quarter, the Wolfpack showed enough discipline on defense to make this an intriguing game.

Unfortunately for the Wolfpack, their offense failed to see the end-zone for the rest of the game. On top of that, Aggies’ Trayveon Williams put out a stellar performance for the Gator Bowl, running for 236 yards and 3 total touchdowns.

On his performance, Williams said, “Persistence. You know, persistence and balance. Being able to be balanced while I’m weeding out blocks. But definitely, without my offensive linemen and without my wide receivers, everybody, none of this would be possible.”

In the final minutes of the first half, Mond led the Aggies’ down the field and capped off the drive with a 6-yard touchdown to Kendrick Rogers, giving them a 21-13 lead going into the locker room.

NC State started to lose their grip on the game early in the 2nd half when Aggies’ linebacker Tyrel Dodson intercepted a pass by Finley. This was especially damaging because the Wolfpack were in the Aggies’ side of the field on their 25-yard line. Dodson returned it 78-yards for the touchdown, making it 27-13.

With Mond connecting with his receivers and Williams unstoppable on the rush, the Aggies’ rolled smoothly throughout the entire 2nd half, scoring a total of 31 unanswered points.

On their successful season, Texas A&M Head Coach Jimbo Fisher said, “I can’t ask more from a team to come in, in one year, and the changes we tried to make. First of all, I want to give a special thanks to these seniors. That’s the senior’s first bowl win ever and God bless these seniors and what they’ve done here at Texas A&M.”

Share This Story:

Related Content