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Texas A&M thumps Louisiana-Monroe 47-3 behind Weigman's 337 passing yards
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Conner Weigman threw for 337 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score in less than three quarters to lead Texas A&M to a 47-3 rout of Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday.
Texas A&M (2-1) easily handled Louisiana-Monroe (2-1), which plays in the Sun Belt Conference, to bounce back after dropping out of the Top 25 following a 48-33 loss at Miami last week.
“It was a very efficient day,” Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said. “Was what we needed.”
Both of Weigman’s touchdowns came in the first half as A&M built a 27-3 lead after the kickoff was delayed by an hour due to lightning in the area.
The Aggies added a 34-yard field goal on their first drive of the third quarter to make it 30-3.
A 21-yard scoring run by Rueben Owens extended the lead to 37-3 with about six minutes left in the third quarter. The Aggies got a stop on defense and backup Max Johnson took over for Weigman with about five minutes left in the quarter.
“Last week going into Miami — that was a punch in the mouth,” Texas A&M defensive lineman Fadil Diggs said. “And we wanted to put our effort on film and change that so other people can think differently of us.”
Jahdae Walker had a career-high 110 yards receiving with a touchdown and Ainias Smith added 127 yards receiving for his fifth career 100-yard game.
Smith was happy to see the team get back on track after last week's disappointment.
“It was huge,” he said. “I’m glad we came out the way we did. The whole mentality was really just let's attack this week. Let all of that go … we have to move forward and that’s what we did today.”
Fisher wasn't surprised to see Walker have a big game after seeing his hard work and dedication in practice.
“Getting him going is big because he has size, speed, athleticism,” Fisher said. “He’s a really good player.”
Jiya Wright threw for 95 yards and ran for 34 for the Warhawks, who entered the game having won their first two games for the first time since 2018.
Texas A&M used five different running backs that combined for 158 yards rushing. The group was led by Owens, who finished with eight carries for 51 yards.
“That is a physical position, so you have to have numbers there," Fisher said.
The Aggies piled up 557 yards of offense, while holding Louisiana-Monroe to just 222. The Warhawks didn’t convert a third down until late until the fourth quarter and finished 1 of 12.
Texas A&M got a 30-yard field goal on its first drive. The Aggies made it 10-0 when Weigman connected with Walker on a 12-yard touchdown pass with about 2 ½ minutes left in the first quarter.
The Warhawks put together a good drive after that, getting to the 6-yard line. But an incomplete pass by Wright on third down forced them to settle for a short field goal that cut the lead to 10-3.
Weigman extended the lead to 17-3 when he scampered 19 yards for a TD with about 9 ½ minutes left in the first half.
Texas A&M added another field goal after that before a 4-yard touchdown run by Amari Daniels made it 27-3 with less than a minute until halftime.
Johnson threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Raymond Cottrell to leave the Aggies up 44-3 with about 11 minutes remaining.
Randy Bond’s fourth field goal was from 52 yards to make it 47-3 with seven minutes left.
THE TAKEAWAY
The Aggies looked good against a lesser opponent but will have much more of a challenge next week when they begin SEC play with a visit from Auburn.
HEY, OLD FRIEND
Fisher played quarterback for Louisiana-Monroe coach Terry Bowden at Samford and was an assistant on his staff for more than a decade at Samford and Auburn.
Fisher said facing his old coach wasn't “as awkward as I thought it would be.” He added that they had a short, but nice chat after the game.
“We’re just glad we’re still able to do it,” he said. “We’ve been doing it for a long time. Very fortunate to be able to do it for a long time.”
JOHNNY FOOTBALL
Former Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel, who won the Heisman Trophy in 2012, attended Saturday’s game. Manziel received a loud ovation when he was introduced and shown on the big screens just before the start of the third quarter.
UP NEXT
Louisiana-Monroe: Is off next Saturday before hosting Appalachian State on Sept. 30.
Texas A&M: Hosts Auburn next Saturday.