Texas A&M 41, The Citadel 0: Morrow scores three as the defense pitches a shutout

Texas A&M settled this one by halftime. Jamarion Morrow scored three short touchdowns, Marcel Reed added a 37-yard strike to Aaron Gregory, and the Aggies went to the locker room up 28-0 on their way to a 41-0 win over The Citadel on Saturday at Kyle Field.

The defense did the rest. The Citadel finished with 183 total yards and 43 through the air, and never got on the board. A week after managing six points at Missouri, Texas A&M moves to 4-3. The Citadel falls to 2-5.

How it was won

Morrow opened the scoring with a 4-yard run at 8:56 of the first quarter, then added a 1-yard run on the first play of the second, at 14:29. Reed found Gregory for 37 yards at 10:26, and Morrow finished the half with another 1-yard run at 0:30. David Olano converted every extra point.

The second half was slower. Olano kicked a 23-yard field goal at 10:05 of the third and a 20-yarder at 3:22, both drives stalling near the goal line. Brady Hart, in for Reed, closed the scoring with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Gregory at 5:47 of the fourth.

The yardage gap was wide: 501 to 183, with 26 first downs to 12. Texas A&M ran for 264 yards and threw for 237. KJ Edwards led the ground game with 116 yards on 13 carries. Morrow needed only eight carries for 54 yards and his three scores.

Reed was efficient in limited work, 8 of 13 for 130 yards and a touchdown. Gregory caught six passes for 94 yards and both receiving scores. TK Norman added five catches for 88 yards.

The Citadel did one thing well, which was keep the ball. The Bulldogs held possession for 33:59 and committed no turnovers. Gavin Garcia carried 16 times for 46 yards and Xavier Hill 11 times for 35. But the passing game produced almost nothing; Nick Billoups went 2 of 5 for 38 yards, and Isaiah Johnson's 32-yard catch was the longest gain through the air. The Bulldogs converted 5 of 15 third downs. Texas A&M converted 7 of 11. Neither side turned it over.

Against the number

The market closed with Texas A&M favored by 46.5. The Aggies won by 41, so The Citadel covered.

The second half explains it. Up 28 at the break, Texas A&M settled for two short field goals in the third quarter and added only one touchdown after that. The Citadel's long, run-heavy possessions also ate clock and limited how many chances the Aggies had to push the margin past the number.

The total closed at 56.5. With 41 points scored, all by one side, the game went well under. The Citadel's inability to score did most of that work, and the shortened game from its time of possession did the rest.

The full price history is on the game page.

What's next

Texas A&M travels to No. 6 Alabama on Saturday, October 24, on ABC. That is a different assignment. The Aggies are 0-3 against Kentucky, LSU and Missouri, scoring 21, 6 and 6 points in those games, and their four wins have come against Missouri State, Arizona State, Arkansas and The Citadel. Whether the offense that put up 501 yards here can carry over to Tuscaloosa is the question the market will be pricing this week.

The Citadel returns home at 2-5 with an offense that needs more from its passing game. The ball-control approach kept this from getting further out of hand, and it covered the spread, but the Bulldogs will need points to turn that into wins.