ABOUT THE GAME ---
· With the 38-24 win against Ole Miss, Texas A&M improves to 6-4 overall and 4-3 in SEC play.
· Texas A&M won consecutive SEC home games for the first time since 2013 (Oct. 26 vs. Vanderbilt & Nov. 9 vs. Mississippi State).
· The Aggies became eligible for their 10th consecutive bowl game, which is tied for the 11th-longest active streak in the FBS (fourth-longest among SEC schools) and longest active streak among 11 FBS schools located in Texas.
RARE AIR FOR WILLIAMS ---
· Junior RB Trayveon Williams eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in season rushing yards today, becoming the fifth Aggie to reach the magical milestone twice in his career. Williams joins an elite club featuring Cyrus Gray (who was on the sidelines today), Greg Hill (whose daughter, Jordan, helped the Aggie soccer team to an NCAA first-round win last night), Darren Lewis (Texas A&M’s all-time leading rusher) and George Woodard (who was inducted into the Texas A&M Athletics Hall of Fame earlier this fall).
· Williams ended the game with 1,159 rushing yards on the season. The tally ranks eighth on Texas A&M’s single-season list.
· Williams became the sixth Aggie to reach the 3,000-yard mark in career rushing yards. His ended the game with 3,014 yards, tied with Rodney Thomas (1991-94) for fifth place on Texas A&M’s career list. He passed Christine Michael (2,791 – 2009-12), Dante Hall (2,818 – 1996-99), Bubba Bean (2,846 – 1972-75) and George Woodard (2,911 – 1975-79) in Saturday’s contest.
· Williams finished the day with 228 yards on 31 carries as he enjoyed his sixth 100-yard rushing game of the season (11th of his career). The 228 yards was just 12 shy of his career-best 240 against Northwestern State in the 2018 season opener.
· Williams recorded his fourth career 200-yard rushing game. It ties him with Darren Lewis (1987-90) for the school record.
· Williams also joined Darren Lewis as the only Aggies record two 200-yard rushing games in a season.
· Williams toted the ball a career-high 31 times. His previous best was 29 this season against Arkansas.
· Williams ended the day with 3,834 all-purpose yards for his career to move into seventh place on Texas A&M’s all-time list. He passed Rod Harris (3,635 – 1985-88) and Larry Stegent (3,780 – 1967-69) in Saturday’s action.
RETURN TO ACTION FOR AUSBON ---
· Sophomore WR Jhamon Ausbon returned from a four-game injury absence to lead the Aggie receivers with five catches for 66 yards. Ausbon suffered a foot injury vs. Arkansas on Sept. 29.
MOND SHINES WITH FOUR TOUCHDOWNS ---
· Sophomore QB Kellen Mond accounted for four touchdowns – three passing scores and one via rush – to help lead the Aggies to a 38-24 home win over Ole Miss. Mond connected on 19 of 28 passes for 236 yards.
· Mond’s tied a career-high with his four TDs responsible for, matching the mark he set against Louisiana in the third game of 2017.
· Mond’s three TD passes matched his career high first established against Louisiana in 2017 and equaled vs. Clemson in the second game of 2018.
STERNBERGER KEEPS CLIMBING ---
· Junior TE Jace Sternberger ended the game with four receptions with 76 yards – pushing his season numbers to 38 receptions for 644 yards.
· His 644 receiving yards ranks third on Texas A&M’s single-season list for tight ends, trailing only Rod Bernstine (710 – 1986) and Greg Porter (669 – 2002).
MISCELLANEOUS ---
· The Aggies dominated the time of possession to the tune of 37:01-22:59. Texas A&M has owned the TOP edge in all 10 games this season and this marks the fifth time they have held a TOP advantage greater than 10 minutes.
· Texas A&M racked up 502 yards of total offense, marking the fourth time they hit the 500-yard mark in 2018.
· The Aggies posted 200-plus yards both rushing and receiving for the second consecutive game and the fifth time in 2018.
· Freshman PLK Seth Small hit 46-yard go-ahead FG with 14:11 remaining in the fourth quarter. He improves to 14-of-20 on the season on field goals, which trails only Kyle Bryant (17 – 1994) for made field goals by an Aggie freshman.
· Senior LB Otaro Alaka registered a team-high 11 tackles, two TFL, one sack, and one QB hurry. His tackle total came up one shy of his career-high 12 against Florida in 2017.
· Junior P Braden Mann uncorked a 63-yard punt, for the 13th 60+ punt of 2018. He matches Wake Forest’s Ryan Plackemeier NCAA record for punts of 60-or-more yards in a season.
· The Aggie defense held Ole Miss to 1-of-11 (9.1%) on third down conversions. Texas A&M entered the game ranked first in the SEC and fifth in FBS in third-down conversions, holding opposing teams to just 28-of-102 (27.5%).
· The Aggie defense held Ole Miss to 67 rushing yards on 30 attempts (2.2 ypc). Texas A&M entered the game holding the opposing offense to 81.4 rushing yards per game, which was best in the SEC and second in the FBS behind Michigan State (71.7).
GAME CAPTAINS, 12thMAN ---
· Texas A&M’s game captains for the Ole Miss game were junior LB Tyrel Dodson, senior SAF Donovan Wilson, junior RB Trayveon Williams, and junior C Erik McCoy. Ole Miss won the toss and chose to receive the opening kickoff.
· Senior RB Cullen Gillaspia was the Aggies’ 12th Man for the 36th straight game.
· The F-35A Lightning II flyover for today’s game by the 388th Fighter Wing based out of Hill Air Force Base in Utah featured 2005 football letterman Jay “Fast” Doerfler.
