No. 14 Texas A&M coasts to 30-17 win against No. 21 Mississippi State

COLLEGE STATION, Texas _ Texas A&M finally treated the home fans to a win over a ranked team at Kyle Field, handling Mississippi State on Saturday night 30-17.tmpplchld After getting past Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott and the No. 21 Bulldogs, the No. 14 Aggies can ease into their bye week at 5-0 (2-0 SEC), knowing an even more significant showdown is coming to Aggieland.tmpplchld Alabama, which won Saturday at Georgia, is next up, visiting Kyle Field on Oct. 17.tmpplchld “We knew if we won this game we would have a lot of momentum heading into the bye week,” quarterback Kyle Allen said. “We have two weeks to prepare (for Alabama) and our morale will be high, which is huge.”tmpplchld A&M led throughout against Mississippi State (3-2, 1-2), taking a 27-10 lead into the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs cut into A&M’s lead, 27-17, on a 5-yard run by Prescott with 12:24 to play. But A&M didn’t allow them any closer.tmpplchld The win _ in front of 104,455, many of whom lit up the stadium at one point with twinkling cell phone lights _ is A&M’s first at home over a Top 25 team in six tries in coach Kevin Sumlin’s three-plus seasons at A&M. Sumlin improved to 9-9 against ranked teams while at A&M. The Aggies went 0-3 in SEC home games last season.tmpplchld Despite Prescott passing for 210 yards and rushing for 96, A&M’s defense limited the damage, with ends Myles Garrett and Daeshon Hall disrupting Mississippi State.tmpplchld The Bulldogs coughed up two third-quarter fumbles, including one inside A&M’s 10, ruining any hopes for a comeback.tmpplchld The first came after a big completion from Prescott to De’Runnya Wilson, with A&M defensive back Donovan Wilson forcing the fumble.tmpplchld The next came with Mississippi State threatening, but Garrett chased down Aeris Williams after he took the pitch from Prescott at A&M’s 10 and forced the fumble.tmpplchld “Takeaways change the game,” said Garrett, who had seven tackles, sacked Prescott by pushing an offensive lineman into him and batted down a pass. “Once we got those, the game was ours to take.”tmpplchld In turn, A&M didn’t commit a turnover for the second straight week.tmpplchld Allen completed 25 of 41 passes for 322 yards and two touchdowns. On the first, he scrambled away from pressure on fourth-and-goal from the 1 in the first quarter and found receiver Ricky Seals-Jones. The second resulted from a 29-yard pass to Damion Ratley later in the first. Allen also rushed 12 times for 65 yards.tmpplchld Tra Carson rushed 26 times for 110 yards and a touchdown. Josh Reynolds had seven catches for a career-high 141 yards.tmpplchld A&M played the second half without Seals-Jones, who was ejected on a targeting call on a block. When asked about the call, Sumlin said he couldn’t comment. Seals-Jones retweeted a video of the block in question during the game.tmpplchld The Aggies broke the game open soon after in the second quarter, taking a 24-10 lead into halftime. They moved 64 yards in 54 seconds, capped with a one-yard run by Carson.tmpplchld Taylor Bertolet added three field goals, two of which provided A&M’s only points in the second half. He hit a career-best 55-yarder in the second quarter.tmpplchld A&M’s defense limited Mississippi State to two touchdowns, though one featured a 52-yard run by Malik Dear in the second quarter.tmpplchld “To get to where we are right now ... and getting to a bye week, it’s important,” Sumlin said. “Physically we can get some people back. ... The bye week is about getting our energy back, healing up physically, but also mentally.tmpplchld “I think we can play better. That’s going to be our challenge. We’re going to face some teams that are going to challenge us. If we can just get a little better every week, then we’ve got a real chance.”tmpplchld ___tmpplchld (c)2015 The Dallas Morning Newstmpplchld Visit The Dallas Morning News at www.dallasnews.comtmpplchld Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.tmpplchld