Reed's first career start provides A&M with jolt of electricity at Florida

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Lightning flashed all around Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

There were a lot of strikes inside “The Swamp,” too.

Texas A&M freshman quarterback Marcel Reed gave the Aggies (2-1, 1-0) a jolt of electricity on a rainy day in which the A&M’s drought of road wins ended with a 33-20 Southeastern Conference football victory over Florida (1-2, 0-1).

Pressed into action because of an injury to starting quarterback Conner Weigman, Reed shocked the Gators early and often. He compiled 261 yards of total offense. They included touchdown passes of 29 and 73 yards. He also ran for a touchdown.

“I wouldn’t say I expected it,” Reed said of his stellar first career start. “But things happen. I had to be ready. I prepared like I was going to start this week. I got the green light, and I did what I had to do.”

Any pre-game apprehension Reed might have had dissolved with 18 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

He scanned the Florida secondary, remained steadfast under pressure and found Theo “Thor” Melin Öhrström for a 29-yard touchdown pass, which gave A&M a 10-0 lead.

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Marcel Reed completed 11-of-17 passes for 178 yards and two passing TDs.

“That was a full progression read,” said Reed. “I made it through just about all the way. I kind of took a little hit at the end.

“I was like, ‘I can do this. I’m not a little kid. I can make plays in this conference.’ That one just set me up for some success and gave me the confidence I needed to play the rest of the game.”

About a minute after “Thor’s” score, the game was delayed 47 minutes because of a threat of lightning in the area.

But the first flashes of electricity occurred about a half hour earlier, compliments of Reed.

Facing second-and-21, Reed eluded Florida’s pass rush, darted up field and raced 31 yards. They were the first 31 of 83 rushing yards Reed would compile.

“That’s the dimension that he has,” A&M head coach Mike Elko said. “He has the ability, that if a play breaks down, he can utilize his legs and make something happen.

“I think the big ball he threw to Moose Muhammad was every bit as important and impressive that he stood in the pocket and drilled that one across the middle.”

That pass, which came three plays later, was good for 20 yards and converted third-and-10. It extended a drive that produced a field goal.

Those two plays were among A&M’s seven that covered 20 yards or more. Five of them were produced by Reed.

Only one of them — a 22-yard run by Le’Veon Moss — was recorded on a 15-play, 99-yard drive in the rain that staked the Aggies to a 20-0 halftime lead.

Only one pass was thrown on the drive, which started with a 1-yard quarterback sneak and ended with a 1-yard quarterback sneak.

“That was obviously a huge drive,” Elko said. “We were backed up. It’s still a game. It was 13-0 at the time. We’ve got to run a quarterback sneak just to get it off the goal line. That’s how tight we’re backed up there.

“We start driving, and then here comes the rain. Now, the throwing conditions are challenging. It’s really hard to throw it at that point.

“You’re kind of stuck to being on the ground at that point a little bit because it’s kind of raining sideways. For us to put it in the end zone, I thought, was huge.”

That was a statement drive by A&M’s offensive line, which dominated the line of scrimmage throughout. The Aggies averaged 5.6 yards per carry while rolling up 310 rushing yards. Moss led the way with 110 yards on 18 attempts.

Meanwhile, the A&M defense limited Florida to just 52 rushing yards.

“The physicality in the game is going to be a big story,” Elko said. “When you win the rushing battle 310 to 52 yards, that’s going to win you a lot of football games.

“I’m really proud of how our offense played. I’m really proud of how our O-line and our running backs played. I thought every kid that played on the O-line today and every kid that played running back played with the demeanor we wanted to play with.”

The Gators opened the second half with an impressive march for a Graham Mertz 14-yard touchdown pass to receiver Elijhah Badger.

Reed promptly answered with a 73-yard touchdown strike to Cyrus Allen. Six minutes later, a Mertz pass for Badger was deflected by cornerback Will Lee III. Safety Bryce Anderson caught the deflection and sped 45 yards with the interception for a touchdown.

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Saturday was Texas A&M’s first true road victory since Oct. 16, 2021... The skid ends at 1,064 days.

The Aggies led 33-14 by the time Florida fans in the “The Swamp” — per recent tradition — closed the third quarter by singing the Tom Petty song “I Won’t Back Down.”

They should have sung “Free Fallin’.”

The Gators have now lost their last seven games against power conference competition. It was their fourth consecutive SEC loss.

And with five games remaining against currently ranked opponents, the Gators are in serious jeopardy of suffering their third consecutive losing season.

Those futile seasons have come under coach Billy Napier. The possibility of his ouster grows with each loss.

But that’s not A&M’s problem.

Indeed, the Aggies no longer have a problem. Their streak of futility on the road is no more.

“It’s been zero days since we haven’t won an SEC road game,” Elko said. “So that’s a positive.”

It was just one more of several positives for the Aggies on an electric in “The Swamp.”