Manziel-led A&M picks up first SEC win with ease

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• Box score | Photos from Kyle Field

COLLEGE STATION — An offensive outburst fueled by quarterback Johnny Manziel on Saturday finally quieted Texas A&M's steady reminders of its five second-half collapses from last season.

"Maybe somebody will say we got the monkey off our back," Aggies first-year coach Kevin Sumlin said.

A&M got the monkey off its back — but really it was more like a monkey on each shoulder. A&M fans were thrilled to see their team win its first Southeastern Conference game, but the A&M senior players were more pleased to at last whip up on the Razorbacks 58-10 before 86,442 on a rainy afternoon at Kyle Field.

"This felt good for our seniors," A&M linebacker Sean Porter said. "We had to beat them. Arkansas came here and we got them — finally."

Arkansas (1-4, 0-2) had won in each of the last three seasons in Arlington's Cowboys Stadium when the former Southwest Conference rivals collided as nonconference foes.

After A&M (3-1, 1-1) scored the most points against Arkansas in the programs' 69 meetings on Saturday, Sumlin called his seniors to the middle of a triumphant locker room.

"It's a group that hadn't won this game before, and it's something they wanted very badly," Sumlin said. "They played like it."

Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel (2) scrambles during the first quarter of a college football game at Kyle Field, Saturday, Sept. 29, 2012, in College Station. Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel (2) scrambles during the first quarter of a college football game at Kyle Field, Saturday, Sept. 29, 2012, in College Station. Photo: Karen Warren, Houston Chronicle Photo: Karen Warren, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 75 Caption Close Manziel-led A&M picks up first SEC win with ease 1 / 75 Back to Gallery

Hogging the spotlight

But it was a freshman who stole the headlines — again — for the Aggies. Manziel, in his fourth college start, snapped an SEC record for total yards in a game with 557. Archie Manning of Ole Miss (1969) and Rohan Davey of LSU (2001) held the previous mark with 540.

"Manziel was shifty and fast," Arkansas safety Ross Rasner said. "He had good vision and a lot of space to run."

Manziel also set the school record for single-game passing yards (453) and total offense.

One play among a stack of standout efforts had his coaches chuckling immediately afterward. Early in the fourth quarter, Manziel took a snap, eluded a rush and ran backward for 6 yards before quickly looping around a bewildered defense for a 6-yard touchdown run.

"I had let him call the play before and it was horrible," A&M offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury said. "I told him he wasn't calling any more plays, so on the (next one) he just took the snap and ran it in himself. He showed me, I guess. That was a phenomenal play."

Because Manziel's a freshman, Sumlin has yet to allow him to visit with the media this season, but Manziel posted on Twitter following the game, "... The Aggie frustration over the past 3 years all let out today!"

Manziel finished 29-of-38 for the 453 yards and three touchdown passes, including an 80-yarder on a double move by senior receiver Ryan Swope up the middle of the field.

"When coach Kingsbury made that call, I knew it was time to flip the switch," Swope said. "Johnny made a great pass, and the line gave us great protection."

Second-half shutout

Manziel also led all rushers with 104 yards on 14 carries. The offensive burst overshadowed the fourth consecutive solid effort by the A&M defense, which shut down Arkansas' once-prolific offense during the final three quarters. The Razorbacks led 10-7 at the end of the first quarter, but the Aggies outscored Arkansas 51-0 the rest of the way.

Winning big

A&M fell to Florida 20-17 on Sept. 8 in its first SEC game but has won every game since by an average of 50 points.

"It felt like the (2010) Nebraska and Oklahoma wins all over again, because we came into the locker room whooping and hollering, and splashing Gatorade all over the place," A&M defensive end Damontre Moore said. "It was a big relief."

brent.zwerneman@chron.com

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