The Texas A&M football team has been trending in the right direction lately, defeating a top-ranked Alabama squad in the biggest upset of the season. They’d follow this with a dominating win against Missouri, where the Aggies never gave the Tigers a chance.
In their Week 8 contest, Texas A&M had a chance to prove that these two games weren’t a fluke against a solid SEC team in South Carolina. Coming into the game, the Gamecocks stand at 4-3 with a few ugly losses and no impressive wins.
The series record between these teams favors A&M, with the Aggies winning all seven past contests. This includes a handful of blowouts and only two games that finished with a touchdown margin or less.
The Aggies started out hot with a return touchdown before the offense even saw the field — Ainias Smith took one 95 yards to the house. This was the longest punt return touchdown by any FBS player this season.
But the excitement didn’t end there.
Texas A&M football TE Jalen Wydermyer continued his conquest to be the best Aggie tight end of all time with a record-breaking catch
Jalen Wydermyer hasn’t had the explosive season that many expect, but he’s been extremely solid for the Aggies this year. He entered this contest against South Carolina with 21 catches, 247 yards, and a pair of touchdowns.
He got off to a hot start against the Gamecocks.
After the Ainias Smith returned a punt for a touchdown, the Aggies held South Carolina to a 17-yard drive and another punt. They’d get the ball for the first time offensively and a 7-0 lead already on the scoreboard, giving them all of the momentum in the world.
This led to a 10-play, 90-yard drive that was capped off with a 25-yard dart from Zach Calzada to Jalen Wydermyer, landing the Aggie tight end in the endzone. The Aggies now had a 14-0 lead, which seemed like a backstory based on the record that was just broken.
That record was the all-time tight end receiving yard record, which Wydermyer just surpassed. Previously, Martellus Bennett held the record with 1,246 yards. Bennett played in Aggieland from 2005-2007. This catch put Wydermyer at 1,256 and he didn’t stop there.
On the Aggies’ next possession, Wydermyer would score again. This time, it came in the form of a 28-yard pass from Calzada.
It looks like Wydermyer isn’t content with simply breaking the record — he wants to crush it. The heights that his receiving record can reach will be a storyline to watch throughout the remainder of the season.