Aggies leaving Big 12 no distraction vs. SMU

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M's likely departure to the Southeastern Conference apparently wasn't much of a distraction to the eighth-ranked Aggies Sunday night.

The Aggies began their season under the microscope, but scored a touchdown less than three minutes into the game. Nine minutes in, the lead doubled. They seemed to score at will all night long and eventually settled on a 46-14 victory over the Mustangs.

Just getting back on the field was key for Texas A&M, which only in the last month has publicly declared its intent to lead the Big 12 Conference with the mighty SEC serving as their likely destination. Along the way, the Aggies have had to endure barbs from other conference schools, including their rival Texas. There have also been questions about A&M's SEC worthiness. Even the Rice band got into the act, mocking the Aggies with an "$EC" march during the game against Texas Saturday night.

Sunday night was Texas A&M's chance to answer questions on the field, and they couldn't have done much better of a job.

"We've never paid a whole lot attention to any of that other stuff," Texas A&M head coach Mike Sherman said. "We were focused pretty hard on SMU. There's no question about that. That's all we've talked about is getting ready for this football game."

The fans at Kyle Field certainly were ready. The game drew 86,951, the sixth-largest crowd in the stadium's history and the biggest-ever for an opener. And while the Aggies said they were focused on the Mustangs, some of the fans had their attention on the future.

Several worse SEC-themed shirts and even emblazoned with a "C-Ya" on the front made it on the SEC-sized video board in the north end zone at Kyle Field.

None of that seemed to matter to the Aggies though. SMU turned the ball over on its first two possessions and both resulted in A&M touchdowns, with Christine Michael and Cyrus Gray each rumbling for the respective scores.

A botched onside-kick attempt by the SMU led to another short field for the Aggies, and they took full advantage, leading 20-7 after one quarter. It's the most points the Aggies have scored in a first quarter since 2005.

That should end any debate about whether the team is focused about the 2011 season or its future.

"We just come out and play football for this university," said wide receiver Ryan Swope, who had eight catches for 109 yards including a 28-yard touchdown. "We leave that to other people to take care of. We just go out there and play. That's all you can worry about, one day at a time. We can't look into the future and I don't think it really affected us at all."

The bigger, stronger, faster Aggies did just what any top-10 team is supposed to do against an inferior foe Sunday night.

The Mustangs pulled junior quarterback Kyle Padron after two first-quarter interceptions. SMU did stage a mini rally, drawing to 20-14 early in the second quarter. That would be the end of their scoring for the night though as the Aggies scored the game's final 26 points.

SMU had 138 yards of offense in the first quarter and finished the game with 347. A&M tallied 458 yards and were led by a near-perfect Ryan Tannehill, who completed 21 of 26 passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns. The A&M defense also recorded eight sacks and forced two turnovers.

It certainly was a good start for what's already been an eventful season for the Aggies.

"There was no concern for us," said Gray, who extended his string of 100-yard games to eight with his 132-yard effort. "The main thing was SMU. The main thing was we wanted to come out there and give it our best and play for the 12th Man."