COLLEGE STATION, Texas – At least the check cleared.

McNeese State traveled to Texas A&M for the first time in 23 years and got a fat payday to prove it.

The rest of Saturday afternoon was a lesson in how the other half lives for the Cowboys, who for the second straight season played an SEC opponent.

And, for the second straight season, the outcome was predictable. 

The Aggies bounced back from their opening-season loss to Notre Dame a week earlier with a 52-10 victory over McNeese in front of 92,345 in Kyle Field. The crowd was the second-largest the Cowboys have ever played in front of, topped only by the 2021 contest at LSU which drew 94,220.

“They are as advertised,” McNeese head coach Gary Goff said. “We knew coming in that we would have to play very well to stay in it at all. We had some big eyes and jitters to start.”

The Aggies scored on each of their first eight possessions, seven of those being touchdowns. 

McNeese’s only scores came in the final 11 minutes, starting when Kamden Sixkiller hit Jalen Wright on a 10-yard scoring pass. It was the first time Wright has been targeted this season.

After the Aggies responded with a 65-yard run by Terry Bussey, Tyler Larco hit a 26-yard field goal as time expired. It was Larco’s first field goal of the season after a pair of misses.

“I like the way we finished,” said Goff. “We didn’t quit and played hard. There is a lot to build on off this game.”

Sixkiller was making his first start of the season, replacing injured Clifton McDowell. His TD pass was the first of the year for the redshirt freshman.

“That was awesome,” said Sixkiller. “To see the ball land in his hands and the stadium going silent felt great.”

As for the atmosphere, that was a learning opportunity for McNeese players.

“To see that many people was amazing,” said Sixkiller. “I have seen that many people before at Oklahoma games, but never played in front of that many before.”

Sixkiller, who grew up in Oklahoma, didn’t know he was going to start for sure until Saturday morning.

“It was trending that way on Thursday and Friday,” Sixkiller said. “I just had to be ready.”

He finished 9 of 19 for 80 yards and two interceptions and had some early drops as well.

McNeese got some solid running late from Bryce Strong and TreVonte’ Citizen. Strong led the Cowboys with 64 yards on six carries while Citizen had 59 yards on 14 rushes.

Micah Davey, the McNeese All-American linebacker, had his streak of double-digit tackle games snapped at 14 with eight. He missed the entire second half and a portion of the first with an injury but had 11 stops before he was sidelined.

The Aggies finished with 333 yards on the ground on 38 tries, an 8.8 average. They threw for another 196, ending with 529 yards of total offense.

Le’Veon Moss led their ground game with nine carries for 84 yards while Amari Daniels added 75 yards on 12 tries. Both had a pair of touchdowns. 

Aggie QB Conner Weigman bounced back from a bad opener to finish 11 of 14 for 125 and two scores, all in the first half as Texas A&M grabbed a 38-0 lead at the break.

“We came out in the second half and didn’t worry about the scoreboard,” said Goff. “We played hard until the end.”

Next week McNeese will return home for the first of two straight games in Cowboy Stadium. They will also open Southland Conference play when they host Stephen F. Austin.

The Lumberjacks will return to the SLC after a three-year sabbatical when they moved to the Western Athletic Conference. 

The Aggies will also start their conference schedule when they travel to Florida for their SEC opener against the Gators.