By ROBERT CESSNA
Texas A&M's offense didn't slow down until fan favorite Ryan Tannehill took his first snaps of the season at quarterback. By then it didn't matter, in part because Tannehill had made the most of his opportunities playing wide receiver.
He wasn't alone as the Aggies rolled to a 56-19 nonconference victory over UAB on Saturday at Kyle Field before 74,656.
A&M continued to show uncanny balance in what continues to be the best offensive start in school history. A&M rolled up 544 yards, giving it a school-record 1,723 after three games.
A&M (3-0) has yet to be held under 200 yards rushing or 300 yards passing. The Aggies averaged 6.6 yards a snap and were 14 of 17 on third downs despite not having three injured starters -- senior starting offensive tackle Lee Grimes, sophomore wide receiver Jeff Fuller and freshman running back Christine Michael.
"I'm pleased with how the guys rose to the occasion, and certainly third down was an occasion they all rose to," A&M head coach Mike Sherman said. "You don't score that many points if you can't stay on the field on third down."
A&M quarterback Jerrod Johnson was virtually unstoppable. He passed for 290 yards with three touchdowns. He also rushed for 61 yards and tied a school record for a quarterback with three rushing scores.
"I do what [the] offense tells me to do," Johnson said. "I practice reading defenses. Coach definitely told me to be more aggressive running the ball. Any time there is an opportunity, I take it. I take what they give me and try to move the chains."
Tannehill, who has given up being a full-time wide receiver to concentrate more on quarterback, gave the offense a much-needed boost catching passes.
Tannehill hauled in a 27-yard completion on third-and-5 to highlight a 14-play, 83-yard drive that gave A&M a 7-3 lead. The crowd showed its appreciation for Tannehill's efforts after the Aggies had managed to pick up only 33 yards in their first 10 plays.
Tannehill reappeared in the offense in a big way by getting behind the UAB defense as Johnson eluded a potential sack, something he did with regularity. Johnson hit the streaking Tannehill in stride for 58 yards. That set up a 1-yard pass to tight end Don Bishop for a 14-6 lead with 12 minutes, 8 seconds left in the second quarter.
"We gave up too many big plays," UAB head coach Neil Callaway said. "We didn't stay on our coverage and they got behind us. I was really impressed with A&M's receivers."
Tannehill ended his limited night at wide receiver with a 16-yard touchdown catch on the first play of the fourth quarter to make it 49-12.
A well-covered Tannehill went airborne at the goal line to make a spectacular catch that was reviewed, giving everyone more time to appreciate it. Johnson made it happen with a nice throw while backing up against a blitz.
Tannehill's grab gave A&M scores in six of seven possessions, with the exception being five plays just before the half.
That earned Tannehill time under center. The Aggies went three-and-out in his first series, but it took A&M only three plays to score the next time. Tannehill completed an 8-yard pass to Terrence McCoy, then tailback Cyrus Gray ran 40 yards for A&M's final touchdown with 8:45 left in the game.
Gray finished with 19 carries for 99 yards, both career-bests for the sophomore.
"I prepared mentally for a bigger workload than I've had this season," said Gray, knowing Michael wouldn't play. "I knew I'd be OK because I have a lot of confidence in my O-line."
The Aggies, who came in leading the nation in total offense at 589.5 yards per game, were even able to abandon their hurry-up offense in the fourth quarter.
A&M got to rack up big offensive numbers because UAB couldn't dent A&M's defense. The Conference USA squad was just 9 of 25 for only 74 yards passing and gave up four sacks.
The Blazers needed a 60-yard touchdown run by backup quarterback David Isabelle to get to 303 yards.
"Our preparation this week was as good as we've had since I've been here," said Sherman, who is in his second year.
It wasn't all easy, though, A&M had to shake off a couple of special teams hiccups to overwhelm the Blazers (1-3).
UAB kicked a field goal for a 3-0 lead after recovering the opening kickoff, then cut A&M's lead to 7-6 after the Aggies fumbled on a punt return.
Those were A&M's first turnovers of the season.
A&M's high-powered offense eventually kicked into gear against a UAB defense that came in allowing 459.7 yards per game, which was 118th out of 120 Football Bowl Subdivision teams. That made for a great date night at Kyle Field, with A&M never settling for field goals, scoring eight touchdowns and punting just twice.
A&M had four players with at least a 10-yard run, and five receivers each had at least a 10-yard catch. Tannehill had 101 yards on his three catches, but seniors Howard Morrow (5-71) and Jamie McCoy (5-59) had big games.
"This offense is structured where anyone can have a big day," Sherman said. "The message that I try to send them is to keep working, and Howard is a good example. Last week he caught one pass for five yards and this week he had five for 71."
True freshman Ryan Swope got in on the scoring barrage with a 6-yard TD reception, and reserve tailback Bradley Stephens had a 16-yard scoring run.
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