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Texas A&M made sure the past stayed in the past Saturday at Kyle Field.
With the help of 13 true freshmen, five redshirt freshmen and a multi-pronged offensive attack, the Aggies blasted New Mexico 41-6, preventing a repeat of the 2008 season opening loss.
"There's a lot of things we can learn from this game, and a lot of areas that we need to improve in," said A&M Head Coach Mike Sherman. "But I thought one area was that the kids really came to play."
The young guns led the way, accounting for 233 of A&M's 606 total offensive yards in the game. The output was the best offensive production in a single game for the Aggies since Sherman took over in 2008.
It was freshman running back Christine Michael that stole the show. Listed third on the depth chart behind sophomores Cyrus Gray and Bradley Stephens, Michael exploded onto Kyle Field in the second quarter during A&M's third scoring drive of the game.
During the seven-play, 80-yard drive, Michael strung together three rushes for 56 yards. Though Gray ultimately earned the touchdown of the drive, with a 13-yard rush up the middle to give the Aggies a 17-0 lead, Michael was not finished.
In the opening drive of the third quarter, junior quarterback Jerrod Johnson showed off A&M's passing game by completing six consecutive passes for 62 yards of an 86-yard drive.
With six yards to the goal line, Johnson handed the ball over to Michael twice for a rush of four yards and a rush of two yards to give Michael his first career touchdown and put A&M up 27-3.
"As far as the freshmen, we are all in it together," said Michael, who finished with 93 rushing yards in his debut. "We look up to those older guys. They are like brothers to us. We came here, and they took us in under their wings. We all just did the best that we could."
In the receiving corps, freshmen Uzoma Nwachukwu, Kenric McNeal and Brandal Jackson accounted for 122 receiving yards and one touchdown. By comparison, sophomore receiver Jeff Fuller had 111 yards and one touchdown.
"Tonight was a great coming out party for us," said Nwachukwu, who had a 42-yard reception during the first quarter that led to the first touchdown of the game, a 16-yard scrambling touchdown by Johnson. "Jerrod had a great throw on that ball; he judged it right. I just went up and made the catch."
Johnson threw the ball to 10 different receivers in the game, tallying 349 passing yards and two touchdowns against the Lobos. His first touchdown was on a seven-yard pass to Fuller with 31 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
In the Aggies' first offensive drive of the fourth quarter, Johnson connected with freshman McNeal for his second passing touchdown on a 44-yard pass.
"A lot of our veteran guys did their best to get the freshmen ready," Johnson said. "But I think a lot of it has to do with them as people. A lot of times, freshmen come in with a big head, but they came in and accepted everything. They accepted the help."
The original Wrecking Crew appeared to be in control on the defensive side of the ball, holding New Mexico to two field goals for six points and 231 total offensive yards, their best performance in the Sherman era.
Junior "jack" Von Miller was a frequent predator in the backfield, sacking Lobos quarterback Donovan Porterie three times and recording five tackles.
"We had a chip on our shoulder from last season," Miller said. "Last season wasn't a good season for our defense or our whole team. We just went out there, the defense, and just played."
Though A&M did not turn the ball over against New Mexico, the Aggies were plagued by penalties with 14 for 123 yards, sometimes negating long passing and running plays.
A&M will take the next week off before playing Utah State on Sept. 19 at Kyle Field.
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