Slow Start, Big Lead: Aggies Up 17-0 at Halftime vs. Sam Houston State

The Aggies have gotten off to a slow start, but maintain the lead at the half.

Matt Galatzan | Sep 3, 2022

Slow Start, Big Lead: Aggies Up 17-0 at Halftime vs. Sam Houston State /

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The Texas A&M Aggies opened their 2022 season on Saturday morning against the Sam Houston State Bearkats at Kyle Field in College Station, hoping to make a statement to justify their No. 6 national ranking.

And while they entered halftime with a commanding 17-0 lead, the Aggies have gotten off to a sluggish start offensively behind starting quarterback Haynes King.

King, who was the starter to begin the 2021 season before his injury, reclaimed his position following a tough battle in training camp with Max Johnson and Conner Weigman.

Unfortunately for the Aggies, the rust for King has also shown, with the sophomore completing just 10 of 19 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception -- 129 of which came on two breakdowns in the Bearkats secondary that led to Ainias Smith and Yulkeith Brown touchdowns.

But while the passing game has done just enough to keep the Aggies on top, the rushing game has been even more stagnant for coach Jimbo Fisher, with preseason Heisman candidate Devon Achane rushing eight times for just eight yards.

King meanwhile has been the team's leading rusher, rushing four times for 17 yards.

As a team, the Aggies have amassed 256 yards of offense in the first half.

On defense, however, Texas A&M has been as advertised, holding the Bearkats to just 109 yards of total offense and just 57 yards through the air.

The Aggies will resume the game in the second half, pending the resolution of the weather delay, which will remain in effect until at least 3:51 pm.

You can follow Matt Galatzan on Twitter @MattGalatzan

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Published Sep 3, 2022

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.