Texas A&M missed its chance for a big upset win over No. 2 Clemson last week at home, but got a break in a matchup with UL Monroe before the Aggies start SEC play in Week 4.

You could say the Aggies played a little bit down to their competition in the first half on Saturday night. Texas A&M’s offense stalled several times and had to settle for field goals, and their defense didn’t play perfect either.

Trayveon Williams scored mid-way through the first quarter on a two-yard run and UL Monroe capped off the opening quarter with a field goal.

The Aggies then went on a scoring run, which included a Kellen Mond seven-yard TD by means of his feet, a Seth Small 40-yd field goal and then the momentum play, a 78-yd blocked kick returned for a touchdown.

With just over a minute left before halftime, Daylon Mack blocked a 28-yd UL Monroe field goal attempt and Tyrel Dodson returned the kick all the way for a score to extend the Aggies’ lead to 21.

The Warhawks responded however, quickly driving down the field and Caleb Evans was able to hook up with R.J. Turner for a two-yard score before the teams went into the halftime break.

Trayveon Williams had 103 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown in the first half, and Mond rushed for 46 yards on seven carries and added another score. Mond didn’t make much of an impact with his arm in the first two quarters, completing just 4-of-9 passes for 57 yards.

The Aggies got the ball to start the second half, and after just one first down, the Warhawks forced a punt. But Texas A&M’s defense responded by forcing a three-and-out. Mond then drove his squad down the field and finished off the drive himself with a nine-yard touchdown run, his second of the game.

With a 21-point deficit, UL Monroe began to feel the game slip away from them, and Mond began to find his rhythm through the air.

In the fourth quarter, Mond led several successful drives, one which included a 20-yd toss to TE Jace Sternberger.

With the Aggies up 31 late in the fourth quarter, the game was basically over.

There was a scary moment in the second half when center Erik McCoy went down with an apparent knee injury and was evaluated in the injury tent.

Defensively, Texas A&M was prone to big gains through the air, which is something to keep an eye on when the Aggies enter conference play. The Aggies run defense was overall solid, but the secondary didn’t play a perfect game by any means. Larry Pryor did pick off Evans late in the fourth quarter though.

The Aggies’ run game was efficient, and Williams finished the game with 128 yards on 22 carries with a first-half score.

Mond shined in the second half, finishing with 210 yards on 16-of-24 passing with a touchdown.

Texas A&M did a good job playing mistake-free football and converting on third down when the occasion arose. It was a good thing to see this talented Texas A&M squad shake off a subpar first half to finish off UL Monroe in dominant fashion.

The Aggies begin SEC play next week with the toughest team in the country, No. 1 Alabama.