2012 Texas A&M Aggies football team

The 2012 Texas A&M Aggies football team represented Texas A&M University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Aggies were led by first year head coach Kevin Sumlin in their first year as a member of the Southeastern Conference, playing in the SEC's Western Division. They played their home games at Kyle Field. Because the Aggies scheduled 2 FCS opponents they needed 7 wins in the regular season to become eligible for postseason competition (if they beat both FCS teams); Texas A&M won 10 games in the regular season (including both games against FCS opponents) and thus became bowl-eligible.

During the off-season, in anticipation of the demand for tickets from students and to comply with SEC rules, Texas A&M reallocated some student seating sections netting a gain of 128 seats and bringing the student section to 30,284 seats, the largest in the nation.

On March 27, 2012 Texas A&M announced that season tickets were sold out, making it the earliest sellout in school history.

The 2012 football season was highly successful for the Aggies. The team went 11-2, with victories over the then number one team in the nation Alabama and in the 2013 Cotton Bowl Classic over the Oklahoma Sooners. A&M's starting quarterback, Johnny Manziel, became the first freshman to be awarded the Heisman Trophy, and only the second Aggie player ever to win the Heisman. Texas A&M's 5th place finish in the AP Poll was the highest for the program since 1956.

Florida
Official Texas A&M Game Notes (PDF)

SMU
Official Texas A&M Game Notes (PDF)

South Carolina State
Official Texas A&M Game Notes (PDF)

Arkansas
Official Texas A&M Game Notes (PDF)

Ole Miss
Official Texas A&M Game Notes (PDF)

Louisiana Tech
Official Texas A&M Game Notes (PDF)

The game was originally scheduled for August 30, 2011. On August 28, 2012 the Louisiana Tech Athletic department announced that the game would be postponed to October 13, 2012 (previously an bye week for both teams) anticipating that Hurricane Isaac could make travel for the teams and fans difficult or that the game time weather could be hazardous.

LSU
Official Texas A&M Game Notes (PDF)

Auburn
Official Texas A&M Game Notes (PDF)

Mississippi State
Official Texas A&M Game Notes (PDF)

In honor of the 2000 Independence Bowl (dubbed "The Snow Bowl" due to a freak snowstorm that hit the Shreveport area before game time, which was the last game between the two schools), Mississippi State received a waiver to wear all white uniforms despite being the home team. In response to the Mississippi State uniforms, Adidas (the uniform provider for both teams) approached A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin with the idea of an all black uniform for the Aggies. The uniform configuration unveiled to the team as a surprise in the locker room before the game.

Alabama
Official Texas A&M Game Notes (PDF)

Texas A&M and Alabama have a long history of football coaches being at both schools (Bear Bryant, Gene Stallings, and Dennis Franchione) and had met 4 times previously, but this was Texas A&M's first-ever trip to Tuscaloosa. This game was also Texas A&M's 12th-ever game against the #1 ranked team. The win catapulted quarterback Johnny Manziel into the national limelight and positioned him for serious Heisman trophy consideration.

Sam Houston State
Official Texas A&M Game Notes (PDF)

Missouri
Official Texas A&M Game Notes (PDF)

For the 3rd year in a row Texas A&M and Missouri played in College Station.

Oklahoma - Cotton Bowl Classic
Scoring summary

1st quarter scoring: TA&M – Johnny Manziel 23-yard run (Taylor Bertolet kick); OKLA – Michael Hunnicutt 23-yard field goal

2nd quarter scoring: OKLA – Hunnicutt 24-yard field goal; TA&M – Manziel 5-yard run (Bertolet kick); OKLA – Justin Brown 6-yard pass from Landry Jones (Hunnicutt kick)

3rd quarter scoring: TA&M – Ben Malena 7-yard run (Bertolet kick); TA&M – Trey Williams 30-yard run (Bertolet kick missed); TA&M – Ryan Swope 33-yard pass from Manziel (Bertolet kick)

4th quarter scoring: TA&M – Uzoma Nwachukwu 34-yard pass from Manziel (Bertolet kick)