Texas A&M used a balanced offense and a stingy second-half defense to top UTSA, 45-14, on Saturday before 100,635 fans at Kyle Field.
The Aggies (6-3) rushed for 267 yards, including an opponent-record 217 by Isaiah Spiller, and passed for 211 in winning for the second time in as many meetings with the Roadrunners (3-5). Texas A&M held UTSA to 231 yards of offense, surrendering just 75 after halftime.
Lowell Narcisse led the UTSA offense, rushing for 54 yards and a touchdown and passing for 90 yards. Zakhari Franklin hauled in four passes for a team-high 46 yards, while Sincere McCormick had two grabs for 43 yards to go along with 43 yards on the ground.
Defensively, Cassius Grady tallied a career-high nine tackles (seven solo), including a sack in the first quarter. Andrew Martel added seven stops, 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack, while Carl Austin III and Kelechi Nwachuku pitched in six tackles apiece.
The Roadrunners struck first, driving 67 yards on six plays on their second possession, capped by a 2-yard touchdown scamper around left end by Narcisse. The game’s first score was set up by a 44-yard reception by McCormick to the A&M 2-yard line. Hunter Duplessis booted the point after touchdown to give the visitors a 7-0 advantage.
The Aggies quickly answered on a 60-yard TD dash by Spiller on their first play from scrimmage of the ensuing drive. Seth Small’s extra point knotted the score at 7-7 with 8:05 left in the opening stanza.
Texas A&M grabbed the lead late in the first quarter after a 19-yard touchdown run by Cordarrian Richardson.
The Aggies made it 21-7 just before halftime when Kellen Mond found Jalyn Wydermyer open in the end one on a 7-yard pass with 22 seconds on the clock.
Spiller tacked on two more touchdowns — one for 50 yards and another for eight — in the third quarter to push the lead to 35-7.
A quarterback sneak by Mond, who passed for 211 yards, early in the final frame helped give the Aggies a five-touchdown advantage and Small booted a 45-yard field goal with 9:03 left to play to make it 45-7.
UTSA sophomore Dadrian Taylor picked off a Zach Calzada pass and returned it 58 yards for a score with a little less than five minutes to play to help provide the final margin. It marked the Shiner native’s first career interception and it gives the Roadrunners pick-sixes in back-to-back games.
UTSA will travel to Norfolk, Va., to face Old Dominion next Saturday, Nov. 9. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
Texas A&M plays South Carolina on Saturday, November 16. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m.