COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M had their final cupcake of the 2026 season on their schedule and the Aggies inhaled them.

Running back Jamarion Morrow and wide receiver Aaron Gregory scored all five of the Aggies’ five touchdowns as A&M routed The Citadel 41-0 before 101,052 comfortable fans at Kyle Field Saturday afternoon.

The Aggies (4-3) scored in their first six possessions and played backups the entire second half after jumping out to a 28-0 lead in the first half.

“(I was ) proud of how they handled it. Four-for-four on offense with four touchdowns in the first half. Defensively, to pitch a shutout… I thought we were able to get a lot of guys a lot of reps,” A&M Coach Mike Elko said. “We were able to get done what we wanted to get done.

A&M struck quickly after forcing the Bulldogs (2-5) into a quick 3 and out to start the game. Using tempo, the Aggies marched 62 yards in nine plays in three minutes, 55 seconds, capping it with a 4-year run by Morrow (8 carries, 54 yards, 3 TD). The big play of the drive was a 25-yard completion from quarterback Marcel Reed (8-13, 130 yards, 1 TD) wide receiver TK Norman, who had a career high five catches for 88 in the absence of both Mario Craver and Ashton Bethel-Roman, who missed the game with an undisclosed personal matter.

“I think that’s a couple weeks in a row we saw TK get more comfortable,” Elko said. “Aaron (Gregory) is young kid who keeps getting better with reps.”

The Citadel picked up two first downs on their next drive, but only went 30 yards in 10 plays on a drive that lasted six minutes, 26 seconds. The Bulldogs inexplicably tried their first pass of the game on 4th and 1 and the A&M 45-yard line and failed to connect, giving the Aggies prime field position.

The Citadel would attempt to convert four fourth downs, succeeding only twice, and were able to get into field goal range just once — and a 47-yard field goal attempt by Evan Kiely was not even close.

“I think it was beautiful to see, really. Everyone having that focus, that’s what we need to do the next couple of weeks,” defensive end Sam M’Pemba (4 tackles, .5 TFL) said.

The Aggies moved much faster, going 55 yards in eight plays for Morrow’s second touchdown of the game in just two minutes, 30 seconds. A&M ran the ball six out of eight plays on the drive before Morrow punched it in from seven yards away.

After forcing a 3 and out from The Citadel, the Aggies only needed six plays to find the end zone again. One play after hooking up with Norman for an outstanding catch on the sideline for a gain of 15 and a first down , Reed launched a 37-yard deep ball to a wide open Gregory that was hauled in for his first score of the day.

A&M’s next scoring drive as their best of the season, as they marched 98 yards in two minutes, 17 seconds to obtain their 28-0 halftime advantage. With just 2:47 remaining in the half, A&M got out from the shadow of their own goal post immediately as freshman running back KJ Edwards (13 carries, 116 yards) burst through a big hole for a 32-yard run — the longest, at that point, by a back this season. Reed hit Gregory for a 12-yard completion on 3rd and 8 to keep the drive alive, then Morrow broke free for another 18 yards a play later. When Morrow finished off the drive with a one-yard plunge, there were still 30 seconds left on the clock.

The Aggies got the ball to start the third quarter and Elko called off the dogs, preferring to get his backups an entire half of work instead. Sophomore quarterback Brady Hart (8-12, 107 yards, 1 TD) kept the offense moving efficiently, moving A&M deep in Bulldogs territory before settling for a pair of field goals from David Olano, who remained perfect in an Aggie uniform. The only punt of the day occurred at the 12:31 mark of the fourth quarter after Gregory slipped on a route and couldn’t pull in a pass on 3rd and 13 that would have been good for a first down.

Hart and Gregory made up for it on the next possession after a 42-yard punt return by Bravion Rogers set the Aggies up just short of midfield. After a 15-yard completion to tight end KK Johnson — the first of his career — and a 12-yard pass to running back Carsyn Baker (9 carries, 54 yards), Hart fired a nearly perfect pass while rolling to his left to Gregory, who hauled it in for a 12-yard score.

The end results were as lopsided as Elko had hoped: even without a half-dozen usual starters or contributors, A&M tallied 501 yards of total offense, went 6-for-6 in the Red Zone and had a near perfect balance between offense and defense (270 yards passing, 264 rushing). The Aggies held The Citadel to 183 total yards of offense, 43 passing yards and never let the Bulldogs inside the A&M 30-yard line.

“That’s what you hope for. You create a standard we need to play to. It’s the first time in one season we have had two shutouts since 1993,” Elko said. “We were able to get a lot of guys rested. Guys who were trying to push through and had been dealing with serious injuries, resting and getting healthier was most important.”