Nothing to it:
Defense notches 1st shutout since 2004 as QB Allen returns as starter
Texas A&M puts together its first shutout since 2004 in beating Vanderbilt 25-0.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Texas A&M junior receiver Josh Reynolds, hunched over on the sideline late in the first half against Vanderbilt on a cold, windy Saturday night, worked hard to catch his breath while teammates patted his back.
Hurting never felt so good for Reynolds, who seconds before had worked even harder sprinting 95 yards along the right sideline in turning in one of A&M’s top plays this season. A play much needed for a slowstarting offense and a quarterback in search of a shot of confidence.
The Aggies defeated Vanderbilt 25-0 before a crowd of 32,482 at Vanderbilt Stadium, a victory highlighted by Reynolds’ touchdown catch along the sideline from quarterback Kyle Allen.
A&M also notched its first shutout since 2004, a 31-0 victory over Wyoming, and held the Commodores to 148 total yards, including 23 passing.
“We have our swagger back,” Allen said.
The play by Reynolds was a penance of sorts for the rangy receiver, who missed last weekend’s 4117 victory over non-conference opponent Western Carolina because of an undisclosed violation of a team rule. Fellow receiver Speedy Noil missed the Western Carolina contest for the same reason, and he finished with four catches for 80 yards against the Commodores.
Change under center
The Aggies (8-3, 4-3 SEC) had lost three of their four previous conference games, and A&M coach Kevin Sumlin on Saturday inserted the sophomore Allen as starting quarterback over freshman Kyler Murray. Allen had started the season’s first seven games before faltering against Alabama and Mississippi in doubledigit losses, and Murray started the following three games.
But Murray showed he has a long way to go before he’s an every-weekend quarterback in the SEC, while Allen looked sharp in the final quarter of play against Western Carolina. That carried over to the Vanderbilt contest, A&M’s first game in history in Nashville, at least when the Aggies needed some big plays to extend drives.
Chief among them was the strike to Reynolds, which tied for second-longest touchdown catch in school history (the record is 96 yards from Randy McCown to Chris Taylor vs. Tulsa in 1999).
On Saturday night, the Aggies faced a third-and-9 from their own 5-yard line, leading 6-0 with 2:25 remaining to halftime. Following what turned out to be an ill-timed timeout by Vanderbilt (4-7, 2-5), Allen lofted a perfect pass to a sprinting Reynolds along the right side. Reynolds evaded two attempted diving tackles by Vanderbilt defenders en route to the breathtaking — at least for the winded receiver — highlight-reel score.
Kicker stars again
But that wasn’t the only thing that pleased Sumlin on the night.
“Kyle was accurate, we had great red-zone defense and (kicker Taylor) Bertolet was again a weapon for us,” he said.
The Aggies added Bertolet field goals of 31, 25, 46, 46, 41 and 23 yards to go with the lone touchdown pass. Bertolet tied the SEC and A&M record with six field goals. The Aggies’ Alan Smith kicked six in 1983 in A&M’s 38-17 victory over Arkansas State.
The Aggies improved on their regular-season victory total from a year ago (7-5 in 2014, which improved to 8-5 with a Liberty Bowl win over West Virginia), with a final regular-season game to go at backpedaling LSU on Saturday night.
“We’re back on the right track,” said A&M running back Tra Carson, who finished with a game-high 126 yards on 22 carries against Vanderbilt.
The LSU game will mark the return of A&M defensive coordinator John Chavis to Baton Rouge, La., where he spent the previous six seasons before Sumlin swiped him away from the Tigers in January.