September 05, 1997
Game #1 Texas A&M Aggies (0-0, 0-0 vs. Big 12) vs. SHSU Bearkats (0-1, 0-0 vs. Southland) 4 p.m. kickoff (central) Saturday, September 6, 1997 Kyle Field (70,210 cap. -natural grass) College Station, Texas Radio Texas A&M Radio Network (Regional) Dave South, Play-by-Play Dave Elmendorf, Commentary (Broadcast Time: 3:15 p.m.) Aggie Football can be heard world-wide on: Shortwave WRNO - New Orleans (15.420) or the World Wide Web at: http://sports.tamu.edu/ Television None
Injury Report: RB Eric Bernard (knee surgery) is out; TE Matt Mahone (broken hand) is out; RB Sirr Parker (shoulder) is questionable; CB Delvin Wright (strained groin) is questionable; CB Shun Horn (sprained ankle) is probable.
Unranked Aggies Open 1997 Campaign vs. Regional Foe Sam Houston State
Texas A&M will open its 1997 campaign against regional foe Sam Houston State at 4 p.m. Saturday at Kyle Field. The Aggies are coming off a 6-6 season in 1996, while the Div. I-AA Bearkats posted a 4-7 campaign last year. It is the season-opener for the unranked Aggies, while the Bearkats of the Southland Football League in NCAA Div. I-AA fell to Angelo State last weekend 24-17 in Huntsville.
Aggies, Bearkats Face Off For First Time Since 1941
Despite being just down Highway 30 from each other, Texas A&M and Sam Houston haven't faced each other on the gridiron since 1941, when the Aggies posted a 54-0 victory over the Sam Houston State Teachers College. The Aggies hold a 9-0 advantage in the all-time series, and have posted seven shutouts. Two of A&M's top five most one-sided games were against Sam Houston. The Aggies defeated Sam Houston 77-0 in 1919 and 1925, which are tied for No. 3 on the A&M's "They Went That-A-Way" list. The most one-sided victory in school history was a 110-0 win over Daniel Baker by D.X. Bible's 1920 Aggie squad.
A&M-SHSU Series Year W/L, Score 1919 W, 77-0 1923 W, 53-0 1925 W, 77-0 1932 W, 26-0 1933 W, 34-14 1934 W, 28-0 1935 W, 25-0 1936 W, 39-6 1941 W, 54-0
With Only 11 Seniors, Aggies Are Youth-Oriented Team
The Aggies will likely rank as the youngest team in the Big 12 Conference with only 11 seniors on the 1997 roster. This is nothing new for Texas A&M which had on 12 seniors on previous two season rosters. In both seasons, the Aggies ranked as the youngest team in the conference. The Aggies have four seniors on offense - Chris Ruhman, Steve McKinney, Koby Hackradt and Kyle Bryant, and seven on defense - Zerick Rollins, Marcus Heard, Brad Crowley, Quinton Brown, Phillip Meyers, Trent Driver and Bill Johnston.
Senior Class of '97 Chris Ruhman, OT Steve McKinney, OG Koby Hackradt, C Kyle Bryant, PK Zerick Rollins, DE Marcus Heard, NG Brad Crowley, DE Quinton Brown, LB Phillip Meyers, LB Trent Driver, LB Bill Johnston, LB
Slocum's Aggies Are Tough to Beat in Season Openers
Texas A&M head coach R.C. Slocum will be seeking to improve his record in season-opening games to 8-1 when the Aggies take on Sam Houston. Since Slocum's first season as head coach in 1989, the Aggies have posted season-opening victories over Louisiana State (five times), Hawaii and Stanford, with the only loss coming against Brigham Young in the 1996 Pigskin Classic in Provo, Utah. Prior to Slocum's arrival, the Aggies had lost four straight season lid-lifters.
R.C.'s Season-Openers Year Team W/L, Score 1989 LSU W, 28-16 1990 at Hawaii W, 28-13 1991 LSU W, 45-7 1992 Stanford (n) W, 10-7 1993 LSU W, 24-0 1994 at LSU W, 18-13 1995 LSU W, 33-17 1996 at BYU L, 37-41
Aggies Ranks as Eighth-Winningest Team of the Decade of the 1990s
During the decade of the 1990s, head coach R.C. Slocum's Aggies have compiled a sparkling 66-17-2 (.788) overall record, which ranks No. 8 nationally in terms of winning percentage and tied for No. 7 in total victories. During the '90s, the Aggies have won nine or more games in six of seven seasons, and 10 or more games four times. The Aggies posted 10 or more wins in the four consecutive seasons from 1991-94, which is a school record. The only other time the Aggies have posted consecutive 10-win campaigns was 1975-76. Supporting the Big 12's claim as the top football conference, three teams (Nebraska, Texas A&M and Colorado) rank in the top 10 on the winningest teams of the 1990s lists.
Winningest Div. I-A Teams of the '90s Rk Team Conf. Record Pct. 1. Florida State ACC 75-10-1 .878 2. Nebraska Big 12 75-11-1 .868 3. Florida SEC 74-14-1 .837 4. Miami (Fla.) Big East 70-14-0 .833 5. Colorado Big 12 67-14-4 .812 6. Penn State Big 10 69-17-2 .802 7. Tennessee SEC 67-17-2 .790 8. TEXAS A&M BIG 12 66-17-2 .788 9. Ohio State Big 10 65-19-3 .764 10. Notre Dame Ind. 63-19-2 .762
Double Digit Dat Nguyen Seeks Career Tackles Record
Twenty-three games into his A&M career, junior Dat Nguyen has compiled 240 tackles or an average of 10.4 per game. His 10.4 career average ranks only behind two-time All-American Johnny Holland's average of 10.6. Holland, who led the Aggies in tackles in 1984 and 1986, posted 455 tackles over his four-year career. Nguyen has led the Aggies in tackles the past two seasons and was second in the Big 12 last season with 146.
Career Tackles/Avg. Rk Player, Years Avg. 1. Johnny Holland, 1983-86 10.6 2. Dat Nguyen, 1995- 10.4 3. Mike Little, 1978-81 10.2 4. Ed Simonini, 1972-75 9.6 5. Ray Childress, 1981-84 8.2 Dat's Double Digit Days (13) Rk Opponent, Year Tackles T1. Texas, 1996 18 Rice, 1995 18 3. Southwestern Louisiana, 1996 17 4. Colorado, 1996 15 T5. Texas Tech, 1996 14 Kansas State, 1996 14 Texas Tech, 1995 14 8. Iowa State, 1996 12 9. Louisiana Tech, 1996 11 Texas Christian, 1995 11 11. Brigham Young, 1996 10 Oklahoma State, 1996 10 Southern Methodist, 1995 10
Four Horsemen Ride Without Injured Bernard
While the Aggies didn't have the feature running back in 1996 with the huge numbers of a Byron Hanspard or Troy Davis, they did boast a stable of runners that were second to none. And the four running back mainstays are back for another year in 1997, although Eric Bernard is likely lost for the year with a knee injury. Last season, Sirr Parker, D'Andre "Tiki" Hardeman, Dante' Hall and Bernard were the only four running backs on the same team in the nation to post at least 500 yards. The Four Horsemen are also the only quartet in school history to each post at least two 100-yard single game efforts. Parker led the team with 704, followed by Hardeman (669), Hall (642) and Bernard (598). As a group, they rolled up 2,613 yards and 27 touchdowns on 466 carries, while averaging 5.6 yards per carry. They averaged a combined 217.8 yards rushing per game and score 13.5 points per game. The foursome was responsible for 94.5 percent of the Aggies rushing yards this season.
Head Coach R.C. Slocum
In his eighth season as the Aggies' head coach, R.C. Slocum (McNeese State, '67) is 74-21-2 (.773), ranking him No. 4 in winning percentage among active Div. I-A head coaches. Slocum is 48-10-2 (.817) in conference games, 42-5-1 (.885) in games at Kyle Field, 29-13 (.691) in road games and 2-4-1 (.357) in games played at neutral sites. Slocum closed out the Southwest Conference ranked as the No. 1 coach in SWC history in overall and conference winning percentage. Slocum, a four-time Coach of the Year, has led the Aggies to three SWC Championships and six bowl games. Seven of eight of Slocum's teams have finished the season ranked in the Top 25. Slocum's teams compiled a 29-game SWC unbeaten streak running from 1991-95. This is the 25th year he has been associated with A&M football, the longest of any football coach in school history. He was an assistant from 1972-80 and once again from 1982-88, interrupted only by a one-year stint as defensive coordinator for John Robinson at USC in 1981.
Slocum's Record at Texas A&M Year W-L-T Pct. W-L-T Pct. Bowl 1996 6-6-0 .500 3-3-0 .500 - 1995 9-3-0 .750 *5-2-0 .714 Alamo 1994 10-0-1 .954 *6-0-1 .929 Ineligible 1993# 10-2-0 .833 *7-0-0 1.000 Cotton 1992# 12-1-0 .923 *7-0-0 1.000 Cotton 1991# 10-2-0 .833 *8-0-0 1.000 Cotton 1990 9-3-1 .731 *5-2-1 .808 Holiday 1989 8-4-0 .667 *6-2-0 .750 Hancock Total 74-21-2 .773 48-10-2 .817 5 Bowls # - SWC Coach of the Year * - Southwest ConferenceSlocum Ranks as Nation's 4th-Winningest Coach
Texas A&M coach R.C. Slocum ranks as the fourth-winningest active head coach in Divison I-A with a minimum of five seasons, just behind Phil Fulmer of Tennessee, Tom Osborne of Nebraska and Joe Paterno of Penn State. Fulmer's career winning percentage of 83.0 just edges out Osborne's 82.9, while Paterno's 79.4 just edges out Slocum's career mark of 77.3 percent. Rounding out the top five are Florida's Steve Spurrier and Florida State's Bobby Bowden.
Winningest Active Div. I-A Coaches by Percentage (5-Year Minimum) Rk Coach, School Yrs. Record Pct. 1. Phil Fulmer, Tenn. 6 44-9-0 .830 2. Tom Osborne, Neb. 24 241-49-3 .828 3. Joe Paterno, PSU 30 289-74-3 .794 4. R.C. Slocum, A&M 8 74-21-2 .773 5. Steve Spurrier, Fla. 10 94-27-2 .772 6. Bobby Bowden, FSU 30 270-82-4 .764 7. John Robinson, USC 10 98-30-4 .758 8. LaVell Edwards, BYU 25 228-81-3 .736 9. Paul Pasqualoni, Syra. 11 85-35-1 .707 10. Danny Ford, Ark. 16 118-52-5 .689
Slocum Closes Final SWC Season as Winningest Coach
The Southwest Conference era ended after 81 seasons of great football in 1995 with Texas A&M head coach R.C. Slocum ranking as the winningest head coach (by percentage, with a minimum of five seasons) in SWC history in overall wins and conference victories.
Slocum Chases Norton on School Wins List
Texas A&M's R.C. Slocum has posted a 74-20-2 overall record as Aggie head coach, making the second-winningest head coach in school history. Slocum trails only Homer Norton, who posted 82 wins from 1934-47 and won the 1939 national championship. Earlier this season, Slocum pasted legendary coach D.X. Bible who posted 72 victories in two stints in Aggieland. Only three coaches have won 60 or more games during their A&M careers - Norton, Bible and Slocum.
Career Wins by A&M Coach Rk Coach (Years) Record 1. Homer Norton (1934-47) 82-53-9 2. R.C. Slocum (1989- ) 74-21-2 3. D.X. Bible (1917, 19-28) 72-19-8 4. Jackie Sherrill (1982-88) 52-28-1 5. Emory Bellard (1972-78) 48-27-0 R.C. Slocum vs. the Top 25 1996 #19 Kansas State def. A&M, 23-20 (Kyle Field) #12 Colorado def. A&M , 24-10 (Kyle Field) 1995 #18 A&M def.. #13 Michigan, 22-20 (San Antonio) #6 Texas def. #13 A&M, 16-6 (Kyle Field) #7 Colorado def. #3 A&M, 29-21 (Boulder, Colo.) #19 A&M def.. #21 Baylor, 24-9 (Waco) 1994 #16 A&M def. #15 Oklahoma, 36-14 (Kyle Field) #7 A&M def. #19 Baylor, 41-21 (Kyle Field) 1993 #16 Oklahoma def. #5 A&M, 44-14 (Norman, Okla.) #8 A&M def. #20 Louisville, 42-7 (Kyle Field) #4 Notre Dame def. #6 A&M, 24-21 (Dallas) 1992 #7 A&M def. #20 Stanford, 10-7 (Anaheim, Calif.) #5 Notre Dame def. #4 A&M, 28-3 (Dallas) 1991 #19 A&M def. #16 Baylor, 34-12 (Waco) #5 Florida State def. #9 A&M, 10-2 (Dallas) 1990 #12 Houston def. #20 A&M, 36-31 (Houston) #5 Texas def. A&M, 28-27 (Austin) A&M def. #13 BYU, 65-14 (San Diego, Calif.) 1989 A&M def. # 7 Louisiana State, 28-16 (Kyle Field) A&M def. #8 Houston, 17-13 (Kyle Field) #9 Arkansas def. #14 A&M, 23-22 (Kyle Field) #23 Pittsburgh def. #16 A&M, 31-28 (El Paso) R.C. Slocum's ... Record vs. Top 25: 10-12 Record vs. Top 10: 2-7 Record at home vs. Top 10: 2-2 Record at home vs. Top 25: 5-4 Record on the road vs. Top 25: 2-4 Record at neutral sites vs. Top 25: 3-4