The Texas A&M Aggies slowly pulled away from the Florida, Gators on Saturday night, winning by a final score of 34-17, and earning its sixth win of the regular season. It was not the prettiest game Mike Elko's crew has played all year, but there was plenty to write home about in what was a quality conference win over a talented team that had been picking up some recent steam.
Florida showed some flash in the opening quarter and put early pressure on Texas A&M with two quick touchdown drives of eight and six plays. Collin Klein and his offense had all the right answers — converting on its opening three drives with touchdowns from Marcel Reed, Jamarion Marrow, and Le'Veon Moss — before the scoring from both teams came to a screeching halt.
That second-quarter score from Moss would be one of his final plays of the night, as a leg injury before the half kept him sidelined for the remainder of the evening — something that will be very important to monitor over the next 24-48 hours.
Texas A&M defense showed up when it mattered most to defeat Florida
The Aggies defense tightened up after the opening quarter, holding the Florida offense to just 287 yards of total offense, a 1-for-10 mark on third down, and just above 25 minutes of possession. They clamped down in the red zone, forced two fumbles in key moments, and gave the offense time to find 13 second-half points that ultimately made the difference.
Marcel Reed threw an interception for the fourth straight game and completed just over 60 percent of his passes, but big plays from Mario Craver and KC Concepcion kept the defense honest and opened up some clean runing lanes for Rueben Owens and EJ Smith.
One area to be especially pleased with was the penalty battle: Texas A&M committed just two penalties for 20 yards on the night after entering the week averaging 9.4 penalties and 75 penalty yards per game. It seems as though the players took Elko's Cabo fund to heart.
Texas A&M coach Mike Elko joked he has a solution for how they can clean up their penalties issues: The Texas A&M football coaches’ Cabo fund.
— Carter Karels (@CarterKarels) September 29, 2025
“What’s going to happen now is, every time one of our players gets a penalty, they are going to contribute to the coaches’ Cabo fund.” pic.twitter.com/QQZK7a9Ikz
As has been the case all season, this A&M team found a way to earn a convincing win despite not playing a perfect 60 minutes of football. The growth this group continues to show between halves has become a common theme in recent weeks, and is also a reflection of how this team has developed on a week-to-week basis.
No team outside of Kyle Field has clearly established itself as the team to beat in the Southeastern Conference — and it's starting to look more and more like the group in maroon and white has the best claim to that title.