Pervis, Ross each rush for more than 100 yards as Stephen F. Austin defeats North Dakota 65-31

Stephen F. Austin defeats North Dakota 65-31

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M’s offense kept right on clicking, even with its top receiver watching from the sideline.

Jerrod Johnson tied a school record for a quarterback with three rushing touchdowns and threw three TD passes to lead the Aggies to a 56-19 win over UAB on Saturday night.

Johnson completed 23 of 29 passes for 290 yards against the Blazers’ 118th-ranked pass defense as the Aggies improved to 3-0 for the third time in four years. A total of nine Aggies caught passes a week after leading receiver Jeff Fuller broke his right leg.

“That’s the beauty of this offense,” Johnson said. “There is always some place to go with the ball.”

The Aggies also played without leading rusher Christine Michael, who strained his left calf in last week’s win over Utah State. But Bradley Stephens and Cyrus Gray had touchdown runs for the Aggies, who finished with 544 yards and converted 14 of 17 third downs.

A&M came in leading the nation in total offense (589.5 yards per game). The Aggies’ offense ranked 78th in 2008, but the unit has gained 1,723 yards in the first three games, a school record by nearly 100 yards.

“The offense is structured to where anybody can have a big day,” Sherman said. “If they’re patient, they may not have a big day one day, but the next week, they could be the guy. The message I try to keep sending is, ‘Keep working, keep working.’”

Johnson is the first Aggie quarterback to run for three touchdowns and pass for three in a game. Sherman said Johnson’s decision-making was nearly perfect against UAB.

“He played within the system and didn’t try to make something happen that wasn’t there,” Sherman said. “I was really impressed with him.”

Joe Webb rushed for 65 yards and a touchdown for the Blazers (1-3), who mustered 303 yards and went 3 for 14 on third-down conversions.

“We need to execute our plays better,” Webb said. “A&M pursued the ball very well. They threw us off some.”

The Aggies rolled to a 28-6 halftime lead after Josh Zahn kicked a 37-yard field goal two minutes into the game.

A&M then went 83 yards in 14 plays and Johnson scored on a goal-line sneak. A few minutes earlier, Johnson’s 29-yard touchdown pass to freshman Uzoma Nwachukwu was negated by offsetting pass interference calls. Nwachukwu caught three TD passes in last week’s win over Utah State.

A&M’s Dustin Harris fumbled a punt late in the opening quarter, the Aggies’ first lost fumble this season. Zahn kicked a 41-yard field goal to cut A&M’s lead to 7-6.

The Aggies took control with three touchdown drives over the next nine minutes.

On the first, Johnson scrambled away from pressure to complete a 58-yard pass to Ryan Tannehill to the UAB 2, then threw a TD pass to junior tight end Don Bishop, who scored on his first career catch.

Howard Morrow caught a 34-yard pass from Johnson when A&M regained possession, and Johnson ran 18 yards up the middle and into the end zone with 8:26 left in the half.

A short UAB punt gave A&M the ball near midfield and Johnson went 3 for 3 on the drive before running six yards for another score. Johnson is the first A&M quarterback to rush for three touchdowns in a game since Bucky Richardson did it against Texas Tech on Oct. 5, 1991.

Johnson went 15 for 19 for 219 yards and rushed for 47 yards in the first half. The Aggies went 7 for 8 on third-down conversions and only punted once.

Sherman said the fast start reflected how well the Aggies practiced this week.

“Our preparation was as good as we’ve had since I’ve been here,” said Sherman, in his second season. “The guys worked extremely hard.”

A&M’s defense held UAB to 118 yards and five first downs in the half, but the Blazers opened the third quarter with a quick touchdown drive, capped by Webb’s 10-yard run.

Johnson then led three more touchdown drives over the next eight minutes. Freshman Ryan Swope made his first touchdown catch, Stephens had a 16-yard touchdown run and Tannehill grabbed his second TD catch of the season to stretch the lead to 49-12.

Tannehill, also the backup quarterback, replaced Johnson in the fourth quarter. Gray raced 40 yards for a score with 8:45 left and UAB backup quarterback David Isabelle broke a 60-yard touchdown run less than two minutes later.