October 04, 1997
Nguyen Shows His Mettle With Goal-Line Stop - Junior inside linebacker Dat Nguyen (pronounced WIN) showed why he is one of the nation's top candidates for the Butkus Award (given annually to the nation's top linebacker) by leading the Aggies' goal-line stop of the Buffaloes in the first quarter. With CU facing a fourth-and-goal from the A&M 1, Nguyen penetrated and made the initial hit on running back Herchell Troutman and then cleaned up when the rest of the Wrecking Crew arrived.
Nguyen has led the Aggies in tackles the past two seasons, and was second in the Big 12 last season with 146 stops. "Double-Digit" Dat is averaging 10.3 tackles per game for his career, and has 14 double-digit tackle performances to his credit. He has hit his career high of 18 stops in two games. Nguyen was credited with nine tackles today with six solo stops.
Bryant Makes Bid for Groza Award - 1996 Lou Groza semifinalist Kyle Bryant remained "in the zone" with a trio of field goals against the Buffaloes. Bryant connected on boots of 30, 31 and 47 yards, while missing from 37 yards. Bryant has been splitting the uprights at an alarming rate this season and since near the end of his sophomore season. Bryant has connected of 8-of-10 with a long of 51 yards this season and has been good on 34 of his last 42 attempts (81.0%). Bryant has scored 268 points for his career and is on pace to become Texas A&M's first 300-point scorer.
Another Big Boot for Lechler - Aggie sophomore punter Shane Lechler, who came into today's game with a Big 12-leading 46.9 average, added to that total with a whopping 70-yard boot in the third quarter. After a penalty nullified a 60-plus punt, Lechler came right back with the 70-yarder (mostly in the air). Lechler now has three 70-plus punts in his career, including career-best 76-yarder (vs. Iowa State, 1996). Lechler added a clutch 62-yarder to seal the win.
Time of Possession Turnaround - After Colorado controlled the football for season-high 9:16 of first quarter 15 minutes, the Aggies roared back to hold the football for 11:00 of the second quarter 15:00.
In the Red Zone - The Aggies had four chances in the "red" zone (inside the 20-yard line) and scored three times, including one touchdown. The Buffs were inside the Aggie 20-yard line three times and scored two times, including one touchdown.
Turnover story - The Aggies came into the game leading the nation in turnover margin (+3.3 turnovers per game), but gave away turnovers on three of their first four possessions. The Buffs, however, could only turn those three turnovers into three points. The Aggies converted CU's first turnover (third-quarter fumble) into a touchdown.
Hall, Parker Keep Rolling - Co-starting running backs Dante Hall and Sirr Parker continue to produce ground yards for the Aggies. Hall led the way with 123 yards on 22 carries, while Parker chipped in 89 yards on 17 carries. Hall's 100-yard effort was the first-ever for an Aggie against the Buffs.
Tidbits - Sirr Parker's third-quarter rushing touchdown was the first A&M rushing TD against Colorado since Leeland McElroy's four-yard score against Colorado in the second quarter of the 1995 CU-A&M contest. It was only the second Aggie rushing TD of the three-game series with the Buffs *** From halftime of the 1996 contest to the fourth quarter of today's game, the Aggie limited Colorado to only two field goals ... The Aggies and Buffs have drawn above-capacity crowds to all three games of the series (an average of 413 over capacity per game). *** The Aggies have led the Buffs entering the fourth quarter in both games at Folsom Field.
Aggie Captains - The Aggie captains for Colorado were: junior outside linebacker Warrick Holdman, junior running back D'Andre "Tiki" Hardeman, junior tight end Dan Campbell and senior placekicker Kyle Bryant.
Moore is 12th man Team Representative - The Aggies' 12th Man kickoff team representative against Colorado was Matt Moore, a sophomore from Anchorage, Alaska. Moore, who has also seen action on defense, went into today's game with six tackles, including a quarterback sack.
Aggie Quotes -
RB Dante Hall -- "This is a great win and a great win for our program. We needed a win like this to help us get over the hump. I think the offensive line did a great job today. They controlled the line of scrimmage. We stayed together as a team when we had rough going in the first half. We had some fumbles and other things that didn't work for us, but we stayed together and worked it out."
ILB Dat Nguyen -- "Our coaches gave us great tendencies all week, so we knew what to expect from Colorado. It was a great team effort and we proved that the Wrecking Crew is back. (on altitude) -- It's a mindset, really. If you let it go to your head and bother you, then it is a problem."
Head Coach R.C. Slocum -- "This was a good win for us, coming on the road and beating a strong Big 12 opponent. Anytime you can get a victory on the road in this conference, it's a big W. I was pleased with the way we worked hard during the week. We stayed focused today and played extremely hard. We never gave up when things were going bad. We hung in there and kept fighting. That's what good teams do."