Le’Veon Moss ran for two of Texas A&M’s three touchdowns as the No. 14 Aggies defeated host Mississippi State 34-24 on Saturday in Southeastern Conference action from Starkville, Miss.
Moss finished with 65 yards on 17 carries, while Amari Daniels chipped in 47 yards and a touchdown on 12 attempts. Conner Weigman went 15 of 25 for 217 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions for Texas A&M (6-1, 4-0 SEC).
While the Aggies have won six straight games since dropping their season opener, the Bulldogs (1-6, 0-4) have lost six in a row since winning their Week 1 contest. Mississippi State quarterback Michael Van Buren was 22 of 41 for 242 yards with three touchdowns and an interception.
The Bulldogs jumped out first, scoring on fourth-and-3 from the 14 when Van Buren hit Davon Booth for the first points of the game. However, the Aggies answered late in the first quarter as Weigman found Noah Thomas for a 20-yard touchdown to even the score.
Moss made it 14-7 with a 9-yard TD run early in the second. He was stood up at the goal line initially before powering his way into the end zone.
Later in the period, Scooby Williams’ interception of Van Buren set up the visitors at the Mississippi State 28-yard line. Shortly thereafter, Daniels’ 6-yard scoring run extended the Aggies’ lead to 21-10. However, the Bulldogs’ answered right back as Van Buren and Mario Craver hooked up for a 4-yard TD pass in the waning seconds of the half.
Texas A&M scored the first 10 points of the second half to open a 31-17 lead on Moss’ 3-yard TD run – another play in which he powered through Mississippi State defenders before crossing the goal line.
However, Van Buren’s 12-yard TD pass to Kevin Coleman Jr. once again made it a one-possession game with 13:41 to play. The hosts were unable to get any closer, though, as they punted on their next possession before Randy Bond’s 44-yard field goal with 6:13 remaining essentially sealed the outcome.
–Field Level Media
