Potential of a 300-yard three-peat would be a Texas A&M first

Good things are said to come in threes.

Lately, for Texas A&M, they’ve come in 300s.

Good things — perhaps great things — could come in both numbers when the Aggies (2-1) face Bowling Green (1-1) in a college football clash on Saturday at Kyle Field.

Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m. CT.

A&M has accumulated more than 300 rushing yards in back-to-back victories over McNeese State and Florida. This weekend, the Aggies could hit 300 yards again.

Bowling Green has struggled in run defense and is ranked 120th in the nation against the run. The Falcons allowed 182 rushing yards to Fordham in the season-opener. They gave up 234 to Penn State two weeks ago.

A 300 three-peat in one season might be a Texas A&M first. A&M has rushed 300 yards in three consecutive games, but it’s been over two seasons.

The Aggies closed the 1990 season with 326 rushing yards vs. Texas and then 356 vs. BYU in the Holiday Bowl. They opened the 1991 season with 409 rushing yards against LSU.

Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Le’Veon Moss ran for a career-high 110 last week at Florida. He is averaging 5.6 yards per tote on 47 carries in 2024.

But there is no record to show they’ve accomplished the feat in one season. In 1988, they gained 318 vs Baylor and 310 vs. Rice but came up just short with 299 against Louisiana Tech.

Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of the 300-yard performances is that no single back has had huge outbursts. Le’Veon Moss led A&M in rushing against Florida with just 110 yards.

Rather, the star appears to be the offensive line, which last year was an area of concern.

“We’ve asked our offensive line to be the identity of our program,” A&M head coach Mike Elko said. “We’ve challenged them in a lot of little areas: Pick our running backs up. Protect our quarterback. Play harder than anyone else on the football field. Conduct yourself a certain kind of way. That, to me, is what an offensive line should be.

“These kids have embraced wanting to be that for our program, so every time you go out there and you see our kids pushing piles, running to pick people up and clearing people off our backs and getting our backs up off the ground, those things, to me, mean an awful lot about what your program stands for and what the culture of your program looks like.”

The program is indeed looking good. It also looked explosive against Florida with redshirt freshman Marcel Reed starting at quarterback in place of injured Conner Weigman.

In his first career start, Reed threw two touchdown passes, including a 73-yarder to Cyrus Allen, and rushed for 83 yards and another score.

Elko said the starter at quarterback will be a gametime decision, but Reed figures to get better with more and more experience.

“Like a lot of kids, there are plays on the tape that you would like to improvement on,” Elko said. “You’d like to see things happen a little bit better. I think he’s committed to doing that week to week and getting better every time he goes out there.”

The Aggies may need their running game and quarterback at their best to beat Bowling Green.

Though a mid-major member of the MAC, Bowling Green cannot be taken lightly.

The Falcons opened the season with a decisive victory over Fordham. They battled No. 10 Penn State down to the wire before falling 34-27.

Bowling Green led 24-20 at halftime. The Falcons trailed just 27-24 until inside the last five minutes of the game.

Bowling Green quarterback Connor Bazelak passed for 254 yards and two touchdowns against Penn State. He’s a former Missouri starter who passed for 2,548 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2021.

Harold Fannin Jr. leads all tight ends in the nation with 17 catches for 104 yards. He had 11 receptions for 137 yards and a touchdown vs. Penn State.

Also, top wide-out Malcolm Johnson Jr. is an Auburn transfer with 11 catches for 114 yards.

The Falcons offensive line includes three seniors and two juniors. Further, leading rusher Terion Stewart is expected back in the lineup after sitting out the Penn State game with an undisclosed injury.

“They’re a really experienced offensive group,” Elko said. “They present a lot of stress on you with how they run their system. They do a really good job.”