Texas A&M
Southwestern Louisiana
Texas A&M 66, Southwestern Louisiana 0
Sep 20, 1997 | Football
September 20, 1997
The Aggies remembered what happened to them just a year earlier when they visited the swamps of Ragin Cajun country, a 29-22 defeat by Southwestern Lousisiana.
But the 1997 Aggies had just a touch of payback on their minds when USL visited Kyle Field.
The Wrecking Crew defense posted a shutout and the Aggie offense rolled as A&M recorded a 66-0 knockout of USL before 54,603 at Kyle Field.
"I thought that the shutout was huge," A&M senior defensive end Brad Crowley. "We worked had during the open week to correct our mistakes. We came out and played hard."
The Ragin Cajuns could muster only 245 yards of total offense against the Aggie defense.
The Aggies scored, and scored, and scored. They scored via the run, the pass, a Kyle Bryant field goal, a Dante Hall punt return, and even a fumble recovery.
The Aggies wasted little time in reaching paydirt as junior quarterback Branndon Stewart ended a 59-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run as only 3:24 had elapsed from the first quarter clock.
The highlight of the first half came midway through the second quarter when sophomore running back Dante Hall scored on a 70-yard punt return. It was the longest run of his career and the longest by an Aggie since Kevin Smith returned 73-yarder against Texas in 1991. For Hall, it marked his second since a 69-yard return against Iowa State in 1996.
When the first half finally came to a close, the Aggies had a firm grip on the lead. In fact, A&M's 45-0 advantage accounted for the most points scored by an Aggie team in the modern era (since 1950). Even the Aggies' 24 first quarter points were the most since they managed 28 against Middle Tennessee State in 1995.
After the game, A&M head coach R.C. Slocum was pleased with the first half performance.
"I felt good about this game," Slocum said. "I was pleased we came out in the first half and executed well. I thought that we lost a little bit of our focus in the second half, but overall I was pleased."
Stewart echoed those comments.
"It feels good to be 2-0," Stewart said. "I thought in the first half we did really well, but we struggled a little in the second. I had a couple of turnovers, but I thought I executed pretty well."
During the second half, Slocum cleared the benches and allowed many of the younger players some much needed playing time. Such a move would surely pay dividends later in the season.
The Aggies received additional scoring in the third courtesy a Stewart 1-yard run and a Randy McCown pass to tight end Daniel Campbell. It marked Campbell's first career touchdown, and McCown's first touchdown pass.
Sean Coryatt capped the scoring with a 19-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to give the Aggies a 66-0 lead.
Nine Aggie receivers caught passes and nine Aggie players ran with the football as the offensive output was spread throughout the squad. Randy McCown was 8-of-9 throwing the football for 76 yards and a touchdown. Branndon Stewart added two TD tosses to his 6-of-11 effort on the day as A&M threw for 182 yards.
