Quotes, Notes & Video: Texas A&M 48, SMU 3

Kevin Sumlin

On Johnny Manziel…

"He's improving. He made plays with his feet but he also scrambled and kept his eyes down field instead of just taking off and running. (SMU) loaded the box early and dared us to throw it. We missed some throws early but we had to be able to show that we would take the ball downfield, which we were able to do and get some touchdowns.

"Johnny was able to create some offense on his own on the perimeter. Johnny has handled (everything) very well. He wants to be better and he wants to be really good. He's very honest with himself in trying to become a complete player."

On the defense...

"The story of the game was, really, how our defense played early. Kept us not only in the game but gave us some energy too. When we weren't hitting on all cylinders and couldn't hardly do anything on offense, our defense turned it into a field position game. Special teams turned the field over too, a couple times with punts. Coverage was good. Dustin (Harris) had a couple good returns.

"In a game like that, even though we scored 28 points, it was a great team win based on how the game went early and how special teams contributed to field position until the offense really got going."

"You only give up three points, guys are playing pretty well."

On Damontre Moore's improvement…

"Damontre's challenge has been to be consistent. We've talked about that with him and we've challenged him to be that kind of player. He's been able to do it in spurts but the last two weeks, what you've seen is a more mature Damontre Moore.

"That's what we're looking for. Not just when things are going good, but when you struggle a little bit, it's how you (react). For him to come back and (play great) in back-to-back weeks, that's a good sign for him and for our football team. He can be a real factor in a football game and we need him to be that. He's got the tools to be a really good pass rusher."

On Mike Evans...

"He's coming on. He's another one of those guys that played one year of high school football. You can see his confidence increasing. Mike's got to be that guy. He's a big, strong, fast guy. Physical.

"In a game where you score that many points, a lot of receivers make plays. Swope and Eazy made plays, which is good because they've been working hard. When you score that many points, there's a lot of people playing well. Not just the quarterback and receivers."

On the takeaway from the game...

"The key for this football team is, what we talked about last week, it's never as good as it seems or as bad as it seems. There were a lot of things from a week ago that were very, very positive. We wanted to improve in those areas, dramatically. The effort was there offensively and defensively, but we didn't play at times the way ... real football-savvy.

"I think when you have some young guys in key positions, that's going to happen. Experience is the only way to do that. So what I have been pleased with, the things we talked about — better effort on special teams, trying to create some field position and points out of special teams, but to me we still have too many penalties. We are working on that daily."

Ryan Swope

On Mike Evans…

"He's a great player. Mike has that build for a receiver. He's physical and he wants to help the team out. He's got that mentality of getting a block or going up and catching a pass. We need those guys getting the ball. He's exciting and I can't wait to see what he does in the weeks to come. He's an electric receiver and he's just got to keep working hard … keep studying and keep doing the little things."

Uzoma Nwachukwu

On Manziel's showing…

"Johnny, of course, is 'Captain Amazing' back there (in and out of the pocket). No matter what kind of pressure he (is under), he always finds a way to get out of it. As a receiver, we have to scramble and (on my touchdown catch), he did a great job of finding me and he put the ball in a great place. Johnny Football, Captain Amazing … I'm pretty sure, next week we'll have another one for him. It's a growing legend."

Patrick Lewis

On Manziel's particular talents…

"Johnny is a big-time playmaker and he does a lot with his feet. He got the offensive line out of a lot of jams. He makes plays with his feet and uses his arm to finish it off. I'm really glad that he's our quarterback. Sometimes, it's just like, 'Wow,' and you have to keep blocking with (Johnny) as your quarterback. He'll run around and create plays when there is no play to be made. I guess that's why they named him 'Johnny Football.'"

Sean Porter

On Moore's development…

"Damontre is rushing the passer well and this move to the 4-3 is great for him. It's really showing off the things that he does well. He's a great pass rusher and that's what we're asking him to do. All he has to do is pass rush and we'll take care of the rest. I think he's doing a great job of getting after the quarterback. When he's not getting sacks, he's getting pressure. He's grown as a player a lot from year-to-year and this is his year to break out."

Damontre Moore

On being more consistent…

"The key for me is working on my complacency issues, working hard in practice every down and trying to become an every down kind of (player). It's important after you have a good game to come back and prove that it's not a fluke. I've been working on complacency (issues) and consistency."

Jonathan Stewart

On how to describe the team after two games…

"(We're) a team that is improving. Last week, we made critical errors and it cost us the game. In college football, it comes down to a handful of plays. Last week, Florida made those plays and we didn't. This week, it was the opposite. To be a great defense, we just have to keep improving and do a whole bunch of little things right, and stack them up on each other."

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Game notes

*Today’s 48-3 win over SMU was the first victory of the Kevin Sumlin era at Texas A&M.

* The 48 points scored by A&M is the most the Aggies have ever scored against SMU away from Kyle Field, and the Aggies’ fifth highest scoring outburst ever in the long series between the Aggies and Mustangs.

* It also marked A&M’s first win since joining the Southeastern Conference.

* It’s the first win since the Aggies’ adidas uniform redesign.

* The Aggies are now 11-0-1 against SMU since 1985, with four straight wins.

* Sumlin's high-tempo offensive attack rolled up 605 yards on 87 plays (7.0 yards per play) against SMU. The Aggies passed for 380 yards and four TDs and rushed for 225 yards and three TDS, all season highs.

With the game in the balance early in the second quarter, the Aggies scored touchdowns on six of eight drives in the second and third quarter

* For the second straight game, the Aggies were led statistically by its freshmen. Among the freshman statistical leaders were: Johnny Manziel (294 passing yards); Manziel (124 rushing yards); Mike Evans (6 catches for 123 yards); Trey Williams (30 KO return yards); Manziel (124 all-purpose yards); De’Vante Harris (7 tackles).

* Senior wide receivers Uzoma Nwachukwu, Ryan Swope and Kenric McNeal all hit paydirt, combining for four TD catches. Nwachukwu had scores of 26 and 12 yards, McNeal had a 42-yarder and Swope had a 48-yarder.

It was Swope’s 17th career receiving TD and Nwachukwu’s 13th.

* Manziel, starting just his second career game, had a record-setting performance against the Mustangs. He completed 20-of-36 passes for 294 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions.

Among those numbers are freshman records for passing yards and touchdowns. He also rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns which pushed his total offense to 418 yards, which is also a freshman school record and ranks in a tie for No. 7 overall in program history. His 124 yards were the second-highest freshman QB rushing total in school history.

Manziel had his hand in six Aggie touchdowns, four via the air and two by ground — passing (280 by Kevin Murray vs. Rice, 1983); total offense (299 by Murray vs. Rice, 1983); passing TD (4 by Kevin Murray vs. Arkansas, 1983; Jeff Granger vs. Tulsa, 1991; Reggie McNeal vs. Oklahoma, 2002)

* Aggie junior Damontre Moore, who led the NCAA in quarterback sacks entering the game, added two more traps of Pony QB Garrett Gilbert on Saturday. Moore has five QB sacks after two games and is more than halfway to his 2011 total of 8.5 when he ranked No. 21 nationally.

The Aggies also came into the game as the national leader in QB sacks and had four more against SMU. A&M’s season team total is 12.

* Redshirt freshman Mike Evans matched the school record for earliest 100-yard receiving game with his six-catch, 123-yard effort in the second game of his freshman campaign against the Ponies. He matched teammate Nwachukwu, who had 101 yards against Utah State in game two of the 2009 season.

He is the sixth Aggie freshman to log a 100-yard receiving game, joining Nwachukwu (3), Ryan Tannehill (2), Terrence Murphy (2), Kerry Franks, Brandal Jackson and Ryan Matthews.

* Senior punter Ryan Epperson had another strong game with a 44.6 average on five boots, including two punts that were downed inside the SMU 20. For the season, Epperson has put four of his 11 punts inside the 20 with no touchbacks. Only two of his punts have been returned and for only three yards.

The Aggies’ season net punt average stands at 47.2 after two games. Last year, the Aggies were No. 94 nationally with a 35.0 net punt average.

* Game captains for the Aggies were: Senior center Patrick Lewis, senior safety Steven Terrell, senior linebacker Sean Porter, senior wide receiver Ryan Swope and redshirt freshman placekicker Taylor Bertolet.

* The 12th Man for the second straight game was sophomore Justin Bass, a linebacker from Plano East HS.