TEXAS A&M AGGIES NOTES:
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• The Aggies are set for their 44th bowl game in program history and their fourth appearance in the Texas Bowl where they boast a 2-1 record. • Texas A&M holds a commanding 18-10 lead in the all-time series with the Cowboys, most recently claiming a 24-21 victory over Oklahoma State in the 2019 Texas Bowl. • Sophomore transfer Jaylen Henderson became the third Aggie QB to start a game this season when he was called to action against Mississippi State … He accounted for four touchdowns against the Bulldogs and over 200 yards of total offense, and has gone on to throw for over 250 yards in each of his last two starts. • The A&M offense has tallied over 400 yards of total offense in seven of the team’s 12 games this season, most recently tallying 448 yards against ACU, while ranking 17th in the Power 5 and fifth in the league averaging 34.2 points per game. • Junior DL Shemar Turner has been a consistent disruptor on the line this season, recording at least 1.0 tackle for loss in eight of the team’s 12 games … Turner is tied for 11th in the SEC with 6.0 sacks and 14th with 10.5 TFLs on the year … Turner has also made impactful contributions on special teams, blocking a field goal attempt at Ole Miss that resulted in an Aggie touchdown and getting his hand on a 49-yard attempt against Mississippi State. • A&M leads the SEC and is tied for third among all Power 5 teams with 96.0 tackles for loss, while also ranking fourth with 43.0 sacks on the year … The Aggies have tallied 71.0 TFLs and 35.0 sacks through the eight-game SEC slate. • The Aggie defense has shut down opponents on third down this season, ranking 10th in the Power 5 with a 30.3 opponent conversion percentage … The unit is also sixth in the country allowing just 15.4 first downs per game, while its 66 rushing first downs allowed rank fourth among Power 5 programs.
QUICK HITS
• Texas A&M sits atop the SEC and ranks seventh in Power 5 in total defense (295.0 y/g), as well as 13th in rush defense (109.7 y/g) … The Aggies’ pass defense (188.3 y/g) is second in the SEC and 11th in the Power 5. • A&M has given up the fewest rushing touchdowns in the SEC this season as its seven scores allowed on the ground are tied for fourth nationally. • The Aggies have limited the opposition to less than 245 yards of total offense seven times this season and have only allowed an opponent to tally over 100 yards rushing and receiving in the same game twice this year. • Freshman LB Taurean York immediately stepped into a leadership role this season, starting all 12 games at mike linebacker … He finished the regular season third among SEC freshmen with 66 tackles and leading all league newcomers with 8.5 tackles for loss. • Sophomores Amari Daniels and Le’Veon Moss have split the majority of the carries this season for the Aggies … Daniels ranks among the top 16 back in the league averaging 46.7 yards per game and 5.3 yards per carry, while Moss’ 53.8 yards per game are good for 15th among SEC backs … Both rushers are tied with a team-best five touchdowns on the season. • Late in the fourth quarter in the win over ACU, the Aggies utilized a 12th Man Kickoff Team composed of all walk-ons plus the placekicker … The last time an all-volunteer group covered a kickoff at Kyle Field was Sept. 9, 2006, against Louisiana Lafayette. • Junior PK Randy Bond is tied for fifth in the Power 5 and second in the SEC averaging 9.6 points per game, while his 115 total points on the year rank seventh across the country … His 23 made field goals on the season are good for fourth in the Power 5.
QUARTERBACK ROOM
• The Aggies have seen three different starting quarterbacks lead the team to victory this season after the QB room has battled injuries throughout the team … Sophomores Conner Weigman, Max Johnson and Jaylen Henderson have all started at least one game under center this season and each earned an SEC victory donning the Maroon & White. • Henderson impressed in his first career start for the Aggies, leading A&M to its highest point total since the 2014 season and becoming the first Aggie QB to score multiple rushing touchdowns in a game since 2019 … Henderson finished the win over Mississippi State with 210 yards of total offense and accounted for four touchdowns on the day. • He has connected on two touchdown passes in each of this three starts this season and has passed for over 250 yards in each of his last two games. • Henderson transferred to A&M after spending two seasons at Fresno State, seeing action in five games … He was a 3-star prospect out of Chaminade High School and though his senior season was shorted in the spring of 2021, he threw for over 1,400 yards and 15 touchdowns while posting 345 rushing yards and a trip to the end zone. • Johnson stood ready for the Aggies through camp and the early part of the 2023 season, returning to the starting lineup Week 5 against Arkansas before suffering an injury late at Ole Miss …He was thrown into action in the second half of the Auburn game with A&M up 6-3 at the break following an injury to Weigman and immediately tossed a pair of scoring passes in the third quarter to distance the Aggies and position the team for victory. • Johnson, who has played in 30 games as an SEC quarterback between A&M and LSU, registered his first 300-yard passing game as an Aggie and the sixth of his college career when he completed a career-best 31 passes for 305 yards at Ole Miss. • In his first season in Aggieland after transferring from LSU, Johnson led the Aggies to back-to-back victories over AP top-15 teams, topping No. 13 Miami 17-9 at Kyle Field in his first start for the Maroon & White before knocking off No. 10 Arkansas, 23-21 at AT&T Stadium … Johnson’s stint as the A&M starter was cut short the following week after suffering a season-ending hand injury at Mississippi State. • Weigman was named the starter at end of fall camp this year after closing out the 2022 season starting four of the final five games … He made it back-to-back 300-yard passing games, three for his career, after tallying 336 at Miami and racking up 337 against ULM … Weigman also finished the ULM game 25-of-29 passing for a school record 86.2 completion percentage. • Weigman put on a show against New Mexico, connecting on five touchdown passes and finishing the opener going 18-of-23 for 236 yards through the air. • Making his first career start against No. 15 Ole Miss in 2022, Weigman racked up 338 yards on 28-of-44 passing and four touchdowns … His passing yards were the most in a game by a true freshman in program history and his four passing TDs were the most by any A&M freshman.
OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS NOTES:
The Basics
Playing in its 18th consecutive bowl game with its 18th consecutive winning season secured, the No. 20 Oklahoma State football team (9-4 overall; 7-2 Big 12) faces Texas A&M (7-5 overall; 4-4 SEC) in the TaxAct Texas Bowl at 8 p.m. CT on Wednesday, December 27, at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. It will be OSU’s fourth bowl game played in Houston, as the Cowboys have a 2-1 bowl record in the city with appearances in the 1983 Bluebonnet Bowl, the 2002 Houston Bowl and the 2019 Texas Bowl.
In the Rankings
The Oklahoma State football team is ranked No. 20 in the final College Football Playoff Rankings heading into Bowl Season. The Cowboys are also No. 22 in the AP Top 25 and No. 21 in the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll. Including the 2023 season, Oklahoma State has been ranked in the top 15 of the Associated Press poll in 14 of the past 16 seasons and has reached the top 10 in 11 of those 16 years. OSU has been part of the CFP rankings in eight of the past nine seasons, including 2023. The Cowboys have also been included in 43 of the 60 all-time CFP Rankings, which is tied for the eighth-most appearances in the country. Texas A&M is not ranked.
The Series
The 2023 Texas Bowl marks the 29th meeting between former Big 12 foes Oklahoma State and Texas A&M in a series that dates to 1913. The game also marks the first year the teams have played since their last matchup in the 2019 Texas Bowl. Texas A&M holds an 18-10 advantage in the all-time series, but OSU has won four of the past five meetings. This game will mark the sixth neutral site matchup between the programs, who played alternating home and away games every year from 1996 through 2011 as part of their conference schedules. The teams have faced each other twice before in bowl games, including a 1981 Independence Bowl matchup in addition to the 2019 Texas Bowl matchup. Coach Mike Gundy is 4-4 in his career against Texas A&M, while Aggie interim head coach Elijah Robinson is 0-0 against Oklahoma State.
Oklahoma State from a Distance
Fresh off its second Big 12 Championship game appearance in the past three seasons, Oklahoma State enters the TaxAct Texas Bowl with a 9-4 overall record and a second-place finish in the conference standings. It marks 18 straight years with both a bowl appearance and a winning record, which only Oklahoma State and Wisconsin can claim as an active streak. After a 2-2 start to the season, Oklahoma State won seven of its final eight regular season games to earn its spot in the Big 12 Championship, defeating Kansas State, 29-21; No. 23 Kansas, 39-32; West Virginia, 48-34; Cincinnati, 45-13; No. 9 Oklahoma, 27-24; Houston, 43-30, and BYU, 40-34 along the way. The remarkable turnaround earned coach Mike Gundy honors as the Big 12 Coach of the Year to mark his third time to receive the award. The Cowboy defense has produced 19 total turnovers in the past nine games while the offense has turned it over 14 times during that stretch. This season, the Cowboys are 9-0 when they win or tie the turnover battle and 0-4 when they lose it. Sophomore running back Ollie Gordon II grabbed most of the individual headlines in the Big 12 this year, winning the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s best running back and earning unanimous AllAmerica honors. He also earned more Heisman Trophy votes than any other running back. Gordon leads the FBS in several major categories including rushing yards (1,614), yards from scrimmage (1,940), 100- yard rushing games (8), 150-yard rushing games (5), 250-yard rushing games and carries of at least 30 yards (14), 40 yards (7) and 70 yards (2). He is second in rushing touchdowns (20), total touchdowns (21) and all-purpose yards (1,940). Gordon had 282 rushing yards in the win at West Virginia to rank as the most for any FBS player in a game this season and followed that up with 271 rushing yards against Cincinnati to join Heisman-winner Barry Sanders as the only two players in school history with back-to-back 250-yard rushing games. Prior to that, he had 284 yards from scrimmage against Kansas, making him the only FBS player in the past 10 seasons to produce three consecutive games with more than 250 scrimmage yards. In the regular season finale win over BYU, Gordon tied a school record set by Barry Sanders with five rushing touchdowns in a single game. Quarterback Alan Bowman has also impressed since taking over as the full-time starting quarterback, averaging 285.9 passing yards per game in conference play to rank second in the Big 12. On the defensive side, linebacker Nickolas Martin made a case for Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and All-America honors. The Cowboy sophomore leads all Big 12 players and ranks No. 8 in the FBS in total tackles with 133 and is No. 4 in the FBS with 77 solo tackles. His 133 tackles this season are tied for the most for any Cowboy since 1986. He’s joined by linebacker Collin Oliver and safeties Trey Rucker and Kendal Daniels as the biggest defensive playmakers this year. Martin, Daniels and Rucker make Oklahoma State the only Power Five team in the country to have three players with more than 90 tackles each this season. Should each of them hit the 100-mark, Oklahoma State would be the only Power Five team over the past two seasons to have three players finish with at least 100 tackles each. It would also be the first time an OSU trio has accomplished the feat since 1985, when James Ham, Leslie O’Neal and Mark Moore each put up more than 100 tackles. Other notable Cowboys this season include center Joe Michalski, who ranks among the best Power Five centers in pass blocking efficiency according to Pro Football Focus, and Lou Groza Award semifinalist Alex Hale, who ranks No. 1 in the FBS in made field goals per game.
An Oklahoma State Win Would …
• Mark Mike Gundy’s 12th bowl win as a head coach, tying for the sixth-most in college football history. • Give it at least 10 wins for the eighth time in Mike Gundy’s tenure as head coach. • Give it a 22-12 all-time record in bowl games, ranking as the best winning percentage among teams with at least 30 bowl appearances, and at least the second-best among teams with at least 20. • Mark its sixth bowl win in the past eight seasons, its seventh bowl win in the past 10 seasons and its 10th bowl win in the past 14 seasons. • Make it 1-1 in the Texas Bowl. • Make it 8-6 all-time in bowl games played in the state of Texas. • Give it wins in eight of its past 10 games. • Improve Mike Gundy’s record in non-conference games to 64-16. • Make it 25-5 in its past 30 non-conference games and 47-11 in its past 57 non-conference games. • Improve Mike Gundy’s record in December games to 10-9. • Improve Mike Gundy’s record in neutral site games to 15-9. • Give it wins in five of its past six games vs. Texas A&M. • Improve its record against Texas A&M to 11-18 and it record vs. TAMU in neutral site games to 2-4. • Improve Mike Gundy’s record against Texas A&M to 5-4. • Make it 31-12 in its past 43 games overall, dating back to the 2020 season. • Make it 157-74 in its history when playing as an AP-ranked team. • Make it 144-44 in its history when playing as a higher AP-ranked team than its opponent. • Make it 94-24 in its past 118 games vs. opponents outside of the AP Top 25, dating to 2010. • Give it wins in 12 of its past 16 and in 25 of its past 32 games following a loss.
