Concepcion has 2 TD catches to lead No. 6 Texas A&M past Mississippi State, 31-9

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — KC Concepcion caught two touchdown passes and No. 6 Texas A&M dominated on defense for a second consecutive week, beating Mississippi State 31-9 on Saturday night.

The Aggies improved to 5-0 for the first time since 2016. They are 2-0 in the Southeastern Conference.

“We’ve just got to keep grinding and continuing to get better,” A&M second-year coach Mike Elko said. “… You’re in an SEC football game, and SEC football games are not easy.”

The Bulldogs (4-2, 0-2), still aiming for their first SEC victory in coach Jeff Lebby’s two seasons, held a 3-0 lead for most of the first half.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Lebby said. “We’re disappointed to play the way we did offensively because of how we played defensively those first three quarters, and not be able to repay the favor the way we played defensively.”

The slow-starting Aggies finally got on the scoreboard with 1:51 remaining in the second quarter on a 34-yard touchdown reception by Concepcion.

Concepcion caught Marcel Reed’s pinpoint pass at the 5 and then carried cornerback Kelley Jones into the end zone on one of the day’s most impressive plays.

“An unbelievable effort by him,” Elko said. “… He’s got really powerful lower body strength.”

The Aggies added a touchdown late in the third quarter Concepcion’s 2-yard reception to increase their lead to 14-3. They limited the Bulldogs to a lone fourth-quarter touchdown following the early field goal.

“When one side of the ball has been struggling, the other side of the ball has stood up,” Elko said.

Texas A&M limited Auburn and MSU to a combined 1 for 23 on third-down conversions in its two SEC games.

“We’ve been good so far,” Elko said. “We’ve got six more (SEC games) to go.”

The Aggies rushed for 299 yards, 80 more yards than the Bulldogs collected in total offense. Rueben Owens led the Aggies with 142 rushing yards on 21 carries.

“Yards are hard to come by running in this conference,” Elko said.

The Aggies played before 108,572 fans, fifth largest crowd in Kyle Field history.

“They come out every game, and they make us want to go harder for them,” Owens said.

The takeaway

Mississippi State: The Bulldogs lost their 14th consecutive SEC game dating to 2023 and prior to Lebby’s arrival, but can take some heart in limiting A&M’s offense to a lone touchdown for nearly three quarters.

Texas A&M: The Aggies entered the contest as one of the nation’s most penalized teams, prompting Elko to joke this week he was going to start a “Cabo Fund” with penalized A&M players helping fund A&M coaches’ vacation to Mexico. The Aggies followed with seven penalties in the first half against MSU a week after collecting 13 total against Auburn, but cleaned up their act in the second half with two over the final two quarters.

Poll implications

The Aggies likely will stay around sixth in the AP poll.

The one who got away

Receiver Mario Craver has been one of A&M’s top players, a year after being one of MSU’s most promising young players. The sophomore Craver, who transferred to A&M from MSU last December, finished with six catches for 80 yards, both game highs.

“Our offense started clicking and we started getting positive yards on first down,” said Craver, who added a rushing touchdown.

Up next

Mississippi State: At Florida on Oct. 18.

Texas A&M: Hosts Florida next Saturday night.

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