COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Maybe Nevada coach Brian Polian knows too much about Kevin Sumlin's tendencies.

Polian used to work for Sumlin, the head coach at Texas A&M. He was on Sumlin's first staff with the Aggies back in 2012, when A&M debuted in the Southeastern Conference.

How else do you explain A&M's 44-27 victory over the Wolf Pack on an acid-hot day in Central Texas. Oddsmakers had established the Aggies as a 35-point favorite, but Nevada pressed A&M throughout the game.

"I'm glad it's over," Polian said. "I don't want to coach against friends."

"The story of the game is that they are better than us and that we hung around," Polian said. "That's the microcosm of it. When you have a chance to really swing momentum, the difference makers ... the great ones make the plays."

Seventeenth-ranked A&M benefitted from a penalty that negated a fumble by quarterback Kyle Allen late in the first quarter to take a 14-7 lead. Allen responded by throwing his first touchdown pass of the game.

Then Nevada caught the Aggies off guard in the fourth quarter, recovering a pooch kick at the A&M 25 after cutting the lead to 14 points. A&M defensive end Myles Garrett crushed Nevada's hopes to pull within a touchdown, sacking Wolf Pack quarterback Tyler Stewart on both second and third down.

Sumlin said he planned to tell his team "let's be honest with ourselves, don't pat yourselves on the back."

"We've got to eliminate what I refer to as bad football," Sumlin said.

Polian, though, thought differently. "They might have a (ranking) 16 or 17 by their name, but they are a top 10 football team."

A crowd of 102,591 at Kyle Field watched the Aggies up their record to 3-0. A&M opens SEC play next Saturday against Arkansas at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Nevada dropped to 1-2, losing its second straight game to a ranked team. The Wolf Pack have a bye next Saturday.

Allen accounted for five touchdowns. He scored on a 1-yard rush on A&M's opening series of the game. Then Allen threw four touchdown passes, two to Josh Reynolds. He had an interception in the third quarter that set up a Nevada field goal. His fumble was overturned by a defensive holding call.

However, trying to protect a 14-point lead with eight minutes to play, Sumlin inserted freshman Kyler Murray at quarterback instead of Allen. Murray, a superior runner to Allen, led the Aggies on a nine-play, 61-yard drive to set up Taylor Bertolet's 32-yard field goal. That gave A&M a 17-point lead with 4:40 to play.

The A&M offense showed excellent balance between run and pass-play selection. But the offense tended to roll up yards on first and second down and falter on third. The Aggies converted only four of 12 third-down attempts. A&M had eight red-zone opportunities, but scored field goals on three of them.

A&M tailback Tra Carson, a senior, rushed for a career-high 137 yards on 22 carries. Allen also was used more in the run game. He carried 10 times for 55 yards. Coming into Saturday's game, Allen had a total of 12 carries, most of which came on scrambles, for 11 yards.

The victory allowed the Aggies to extend their nonconference winning streak to 19 straight games. The A&M sports information department said the nonconference victory string is the longest in the country.

A&M never trailed in the game. The Aggies scored on their opening possession on Allen's 1-yard touchdown run. Nevada tied the game at 7-7 later in the quarter when Don Jackson scampered 31 yards on a fourth-down play.

A&M closed the scoring in the first quarter when Allen and Speedy Noil connected on a 10-yard touchdown pass.

Allen also threw touchdown passes of 25 and 10 yards to Josh Reynolds and a 15-yard scoring strike to Jeremy Tabuyo.

Bertolet had field goals of 32, 21 and 37 yards.

Run-oriented Nevada was led by tailback James Butler, who rushed for 107 yards on 17 carries. Nevada quarterback Tyler Stewart completed 16 of 29 passes for 206 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception.

The Wolf Pack also struggled on third downs. They were four of 16, including zero for their first 10. Similar to A&M, Nevada also was forced to settle for field goals on two of four trips inside the Aggies' 25.

"The good news is we can get better," Sumlin said. "I think this time of year, that's important."

NOTES: Texas A&M sophomore WR Speedy Noil, who had been dealing with a "soft-tissue injury," scored his first touchdown of the year in the first quarter. An all-SEC second-team selection in 2014, Noil led A&M in all-purpose yardage last season. He continued to alternate punt returns with freshman WR Christian Kirk. Kirk, a freshman, caught six passes for 120 yards. It's his second, 100-yard outing in three games. ... Nevada coach Brian Polian, who was on the A&M staff in 2012, was flagged twice last week for unsportsmanlike conduct. His athletic director fined him $10,000 for his bad behavior. He was not flagged Saturday. Polian coached special teams and tight ends on Sumlin's first staff at A&M in 2012. ... Nevada QB Tyler Stewart, a junior, had 16 completions. It was two off the career high he set last week in a loss to Arizona. ... Nevada SS Asauni Rufus, a redshirt freshman, had 7.5 tackles against A&M. He has led the Wolf Pack in tackles in each of their first three games. ... A&M sophomore DE Myles Garrett notched 3.5 sacks, tying his career high. He has 5.5 sacks through three games to go along with the 11.5 he had as a freshman.