COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – It wasn't the same Texas A&M team that beat Florida fairly easily a week earlier when it faced Bowling Green at Kyle Field on Saturday. But the Aggies (3-1) pulled it together and beat the Falcons (1-2) 26-20. Here's the game report:

Why did A&M win? The defense was unable to keep the Falcons off the scoreboard on the game's final drive, but did prevent Bowling Green from scoring a field goal and forced the offense to run out most of the clock with a two-score deficit.

Bowling Green's offense wasn't exactly a cause for snark, ranking 29th in the nation in both passing and rushing yards per game before Saturday's game. But sloppy mistakes made the game much closer than it needed to be. The Falcons scored two touchdowns in the third quarter on clumsy plays that were the result of pretty basic mental errors.

A&M's offense has done the defense no favors. A week after looking like the quarterback of the future playing in the present, quarterback Marcel Reed has come back down to earth. The freshman finished the game 16 of 29 passing for 173 yards and two passing touchdowns. He did, however, manage 91 yards on 12 carries, the most on his team, which may have made the difference in the game.

Who stood out in the game? Bowling Green tight end Harold Fannin Jr. came into Kyle Field as the nation's leading tight end in receiving yards. He left the game feeling confident he was a favorite for the Mackey Award. Fannin found ways to get free throughout the game and scored 145 yards and a touchdown, the most of the game.

Defensive end Nic Scourton had his best game as an Aggie with six tackles, one tackle for loss and a quarterback hurry, alongside defensive tackle Shemar Turner, who had two tackles for loss. Aggie safety Marcus Ratcliffe caught his third interception of the season.

What was a key game? At the end of the third period, a three-play defensive stand occurred. After the Aggies allowed a blocked punt that put Bowling Green on the A&M nine, the Aggie defense stopped a Wildcat run and two passes intended for Fannin. In the middle of the drive, Bowling Green also had to call one of its timeouts.

In the end, A&M got lucky when Falcon kicker Jackson Kleather missed a 28-yard chip shot, tying the game at 20-20.

Breakdown of positions:

attack

Offensive line: C+

• After two weeks of rushing for over 300 yards, the first five players struggled to put consistent pressure on A&M's defenders against a Falcon defense that entered the game ranked 121st nationally in run defense. The Aggies finished with 235 yards.

quarterback: B-

• That performance was a far cry from Reed's against Florida, as he completed just 55% of his passes, but he used his legs to get the Aggies out of some trouble.

Run back: C+

• The backs had their moments, despite minor holes in the offensive line, but they weren't nearly as dominant as they have been the past two weeks. In the third quarter, offensive coordinator Collin Klein wanted to emphasize the running game (possibly too much), but they couldn't get the game under control. Le'Veon Moss had 90 yards on the ground, but gave Bowling Green one last chance by fumbled in the final two minutes of the game.

Recipient: B+

• Reed had eight targets to distribute the ball to and had another great connection with tight end Theo Melin Ohrstrom early in the game. His catch was perhaps the best of the game.

defense

Defensive line: B

• The defensive line recorded two sacks and seven tackles for loss. In the first three games of the season, the sack statistics were rather poor.

Linebackers: C-

• The individual players who played alongside Taurean York did not perform great. In particular, the botched coverage on the pass touchdown in the third quarter seemed to be Scooby Williams' fault.

Defensive Secondary: C-

• The biggest sticking point in an otherwise stellar Florida performance was the defensive secondary. They didn't do much to step forward on Saturday, allowing Falcon quarterback Conner Bazelak to rush for 250 yards and a touchdown.

Special teams: C+

• Randy Bond recovered from two last-minute misses to earn a much-needed 4-4 tie against the Falcons in Florida, but a blocked punt allowed by A&M's punt team could have turned the game on its head in the third period.

Coaching: C

• Although head coach Mike Elko said his team would not overlook Bowling Green, it did not appear to be nearly as hot as it had been a week earlier. On offense, A&M's play became too conservative in the third quarter when A&M struggled to gain rushing yards.

What does this mean for the future? A&M will have to work much harder with the full weight of Southeastern Conference games on them. As teams of recent history know, anything can happen in the Southwest Classic.

What happens next? Texas A&M travels to Arlington to face Arkansas (3-1, 1-0 SEC) in the teams' last meeting at AT&T Stadium. The Razorbacks defeated Auburn 24-14 on Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

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