Texas A&M
Texas Tech
Texas Tech 16, (#20) Texas A&M 13
Oct 25, 1997 | Football
October 25, 1997
For the third consecutive year following the Texas A&M-Texas Tech game, the Aggies again find themselves trying to recover from a mid-season, two-game losing streak. The good news, from A&M's perspective, is that the Aggies have rebounded with a win following losses to the Red Raiders in each of the last two seasons.
The bad news is that this A&M team, which sprinted off to an impressive 5-0 start, suddenly seems to be possessed by many of the same demons that haunted the Aggies throughout last year and during spurts of 1995: Offensive struggles, too many turnovers, dropped passes, an excessive amount of penalties, breakdowns in critical stretches of games and old-fashioned bad luck.
Those old ghosts - along with some brutally bad officiating - all reared their ugly heads Saturday in front of 50,513 fans at Jones Stadium. The result was another close, demoralizing loss to the Red Raiders, leaving the Aggies flatter than the tortillas that hit the artificial turf after Tony Rogers' game-winning field goal.
The previous week's loss to Kansas State was tough for A&M. But Texas Tech 16, Texas A&M 13 was far more difficult for the Aggies to swallow. After all, the Wildcats simply were a better team than the Aggies.
But Texas Tech? The same Texas Tech that lost to North Texas at home earlier in the year?
There is little doubt that A&M was the more talented team, which makes this loss even more demoralizing. You could see that in Dat Nguyen's dejected stare after the game. You could hear it in R.C. Slocum's soft tone of voice in the post game press conference.
At 5-2 overall and 2-2 in Big 12 play, the Aggies' hopes for a South Division title now flicker like a candle in the wind. And considering the way the Aggies have performed in the wind the last two games, that doesn't bode well for the Texas A&M.
On Saturday, the majority of players stepping forward were wearing black and red. Texas Tech wasn't that impressive, but the Red Raiders were good enough to take advantage of A&M's numerous mistakes. And rest assured there were plenty of A&M mistakes for Tech to use.
The Aggies lost three fumbles, were penalized nine times and constantly put their defense in difficult situations. In the second quarter alone, the Aggies lost fumbles at their own 32, their own 17 and their own 32 again.
Amazingly, Tech managed just three points from those second-quarter turnovers. But constantly having its back against the goal line eventually seemed to take a toll on the A&M defense.
After A&M tied the score at 13-13 on a perfect 24-yard pass from Branndon Stewart to Leroy Hodge with 5:51 left in the game, the battle-weary Aggie defense bent too far.
With a strong north wind at its back (gusting between 24 and 32 mph), Tech marched 51 yards to set up a 47-yard field goal attempt by Rogers with 19 seconds left in the game. During the Tech drive, A&M did not use any of its timeouts meaning that if Rogers connected, the Aggies wouldn't have enough time to put together a serious drive.
Rogers kick hit the left upright and - typical of the Aggies' luck all day - the ball bounced over the cross bar to give the Raiders a 16-13 lead. A&M managed just two pass plays - a short completion and a Hail Mary attempt - before time expired.
The offense should certainly shoulder the blame for this one. But unlike the Kansas State game, at least there were some bright spots in the offense. After being held to minus-35 yards rushing by Kansas State, the Aggies rushed for 197 yards against Tech. D'Andre Hardeman led the way, picking up 103 tough yards on just 12 carries.
Furthermore, Stewart was impressive, provid-ing A&M a spark in the second half. Sophomore quarterback Randy McCown started the game and played the entire first half. But McCown struggled, completing just 2-of-8 passes for only seven yards.
Stewart, playing the entire second half, completed 12-of-17 passes for 126 yards - statistics that would have been better if not for several dropped passes. More importantly Stewart engineered the nine play, 89-yard drive that pulled the Aggies to a tie.
Now the Aggies must raise themselves from the dead before a promising season slips away. At least they have history on their side. They've certainly been here before.
