Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Tip in OT spurs Aggies’ victory
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Trevor Knight got a tip from assistant coach Jim Turner before facing fourth down from the 1-yard line in overtime in Texas A&M’s 31-24 victory over No. 16 UCLA on Saturday.
The offensive line coach noticed how UCLA’s defense had approached several plays and told Knight what he should do.
“Coach Turner said … ‘You’re going to have an opportunity to pull this ball and walk it into the end zone,’ ” Knight said.
And that’s exactly what did.
Knight threw for 239 yards and a touchdown and ran for two more scores, including that one in overtime to lead Texas A&M past UCLA in his debut with the Aggies.
Texas A&M sealed the victory when Justin Evans knocked down Josh Rosen’s pass at the goal line on fourth down.
“All I’m thinking is: ‘Man, I’ve got to make a play. I’ve got to make a play,’ ” Evans said. “He threw it up. I went up for it and made a play.”
Knight, a graduate transfer from Oklahoma, outplayed Rosen.
Rosen threw three interceptions while working under heavy pressure from a defense led by Myles Garrett.
The Aggies looked to have this one wrapped up when they led by 15 in the fourth quarter after scoring two third-quarter touchdowns.
UCLA’s offense finally got going after that, scoring twice in two minutes with the second one coming on a 62-yard pass by Rosen to cut it to 2. A two-point conversion after that TD tied it with 2:39 remaining.
The Bruins were driving again after a third consecutive punt by A&M when Evans intercepted Rosen’s pass for the second time to give A&M a chance to win it in regulation. But Knight’s pass was knocked down in the end zone to force overtime.
“I took too long to get going, and that can’t happen,” Rosen said. “It’s a quarterback-driven sport, and you can’t have a quarterback play that bad in the first half. It’s completely unacceptable.”
Knight wasn’t the only former Sooner to shine for the Aggies on Saturday. Running back Keith Ford had a touchdown and 65 of A&M’s 203 yards rushing in his first game since sitting out a year following his transfer from Oklahoma.