COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Texas A&M’s offense was practically unstoppable, with and without Johnny Manziel. That Aggies defense needed all the help it could get against Rice. Johnny Football packed three touchdown passes into less than a half of work for the seveth-ranked Aggies, who beat Rice 52-31 in College Station, Texas, on Saturday. Manziel was held out of the first half because of what the school said was an ”inadvertent” violation of NCAA rules involving signing autographs. The sophomore had been investigated for allegedly accepting money for autographs from memorabilia brokers, a violation of NCAA rules that could have led to a much longer suspension. He came in on Texas A&M’s first offensive play of the second half. His first play was a 12-yard run, and the Aggies capped his first drive with a 44-yard field goal. His first touchdown came on a 23-yard pass to Mike Evans on A&M’s second drive of the half. Shortly before that, he got into it with a Rice defender, appearing to mimic signing an autograph while getting up from a tackle. He ended his day by getting yanked following an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for pointing at the scoreboard after a TD pass in the fourth quarter. He was replaced by Matt Joeckel on A&M’s last drive. Joeckel started at quarterback for A&M and threw for 190 yards and a touchdown to help the Aggies to a 28-21 lead at halftime. Manziel was one of more than a half dozen players serving suspensions Saturday. Cornerbacks Deshazor Everett and De’Vante Harris, defensive tackle Kirby Ennis, defensive end Gavin Stansbury and linebacker Steven Jenkins, all starters, sat out for Texas A&M. Everett returned in the second half, then was ejected for a targeting penalty and he’ll miss the first half of next week’s game against Sam Houston State, too. Backup safety Floyd Raven was also suspended for this game. The suspensions of Harris, Stansbury, Jenkins and receiver Edward Pope are for two games and were announced just minutes before kickoff, meaning they’ll be back for top-ranked Alabama on Sept. 14. No. 2 OHIO STATE 40, BUFFALO 20 Braxton Miller threw two touchdown passes before fighting leg cramps and Jordan Hall ran for two more scores to lead Ohio State to a victory over Buffalo in the season opener for both teams. The Buckeyes, striving for a crisper start from coach Urban Meyer’s debut in 2012, led 23-0 after the first quarter before the Bulls made things interesting. Joe Licata threw two TD passes and linebacker Kahlil Mack returned a Miller interception 45 yards to make it 30-20 in the third quarter. Miller was sidelined a second time with cramps and sub Kenny Guiton promptly tossed a 21-yard TD pass to Chris Fields. Hall had a career-high 159 yards rushing, scoring on runs of 37 and 49 yards. No. 7 TEXAS A&M 52, RICE 31 COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) – After serving his first-half suspension, Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel threw three TD passes and scrambled for 19 yards – ran his mouth a bit, too – as Texas A&M posted a lopsided win over Rice. Manziel was sitting out because of what the school said was an ”inadvertent” violation of NCAA rules involving signing autographs. …
Continue Reading: Texas A&M offense clicks with and without Manziel
I have a hard time wrapping my inebriated head around the “inadvertently” violating NCAA rules. He KNEW signing autographs for $$$$$ is a violation of rules. The hypocrisy of the NCAA and sports broadcasters is astounding. They essentially fired Jim Tressel and ended the college careers of several OSU players, who traded personal property for tattoos. How can Manziel get a pass by stating it was “inadvertent”. Inadvertent is signing ONE autograph and getting a $1 burger from a kid. Getting 5 figures of US dollars for signing a stack of pictures is no where close to inadvertent. He should have been suspended for the year or declared ineligible for future play as a result of his infraction.