Texas A&M at Oklahoma State - Postgame Notes and Quotes
Oct 31, 1998 | Football
October 31, 1998
Texas A&M Postgame Notes
NGUYEN BREAKS SCHOOL RECORD FOR TACKLES --- Senior linebacker Dat Nguyen posted 12 tackles to shatter Texas A&M's school record for tackles. Nguyen now has 460 for his career, which pushed him past two-time All-American Johnny Holland, who posted 455 from 1983-86. It also was his fourth double-digit tackle performance of the season and the 25th of his career. Nguyen is a semifinalist for the Butkus Award and Lombardi Trophy.
TAYLOR IS THE DIFFERENCE MAKER --- Sophomore wide receiver Chris Taylor, from Madisonville, Texas, continued to produce big plays for the Aggies. After OSU took a 6-0 lead midway through the second quarter, Taylor returned the ensuing kickoff a career-high 83 yards to set up A&M first touchdown. In the third quarter, Taylor scored on a 34-yard slant from quarterback Branndon Stewart, who had just entered the game due a shoulder injury to starter Randy McCown.
Taylor finished the game with a career-high 145 all-purpose yards, and also had a career-best three catches (60 yards) and a career-best 83 yards on kickoff returns.
Taylor has now produced big plays as a return man (83 yard KO return today), rusher (61-yard touchdown on reverse against Baylor) and receiver (81-yard TD catch against Nebraska). Tonight's game was the first time that Taylor has been A&M's deep man on kickoff returns.
WRECKING CREW PUTS ON THE CLAMPS --- The Wrecking Crew allowed only two second half first downs and none in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys were only able to muster 54 total yards in the second half, and only 17 in the fourth quarter. OSU was limited to just 172 for the entire game, which is the season low by an A&M opponent (Southern Miss was held to 176). For the game the Cowboys could muster only 3.4 yards per play.
INSTANT IMPACT --- Branndon Stewart, the hero of last season overtime win over Oklahoma State, came off the bench and connected on a 34-yard touchdown pass to Chris Taylor (on third-and-long) to give the Aggies a 17-6 lead in the third quarter. Stewart was forced into action when starter Randy McCown left the game with a bruised shoulder. Stewart finished the game with 58 passing yards while connecting on 3-of-5 passes. Last year, Stewart earned the only game ball of the R.C. Slocum era when he engineered A&M's 15-point fourth quarter comeback victory over OSU.
TOUGH IN THE MUD --- Today's game marks the sixth time this season that the Aggies have battled the elements as well as their opponent. Rain has been present for the Louisiana Tech, Southern Missisippi, North Texas, Kansas and Baylor games, as well as today's Oklahoma State contest. All six have been victories for the Aggies.
LECHLER IN THE RAIN --- Aggie punter Shane Lechler hasn't let the rain and slop bother him this season. Tonight against Oklahoma State, Lechler averaged 42.6 yards on eight punts. In 1998's six "rain games," Lechler has averaged over 40 yards per punt five times and was over 50 against Lousiana Tech and Southern Miss. Last season, Lechler earned Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week after averaging 44 yards on six punts in the rain-induced slop in the regular season finale against Texas.
OTHER NOTABLES --- The 20 pass attempts by Randy McCown were his career-high, as were his 51 rushing yards on eight carries ... fullback Ja'Mar Toombs posted career best in both categories tonight when he rushed for 111 yards on 23 carries ... Chris Taylor's 83-yard kickoff return was the longest by an Aggie since Sirr Parker scored on a 100-yarder against Texas in 1996 ... OSU's Nathan Simmons' 38-yard run in the first half was the longest allowed by the Aggie defense all season and only the third plus-20-yard run of the season against the Wrecking Crew ... Linebacker Warrick Holdman's one-handed interception in the third quarter was the first of his career and thwarted a serious scoring threat by the Cowboys ... sighted in the Oklahoma State press box were Ty and Marianne Sevin, both of which are former Aggie athletic standouts. Marianne (then Miller) was a member of Lynn Hickey's women's basketball team, while Ty was an All-American in the javelin for Ted Nelson's track and field team. Ty is currently an assistant track and field coach for Oklahoma State ... Aggie running back Dante Hall left the game in the second quarter with a "stinger" and did not return ... The Aggies came into the game ranked No. 11 nationally in turnover margin, but haven't had the turnover advantage in any game since Nebraska. Tonight, the teams were even with one turnover each ... Today is the venerable Billy Pickard's 65th birthday. Pickard is A&M's associate AD for facilities and has been a part of Aggie football since the Paul "Bear" Bryant era in the mid-50s.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Texas A&M Postgame Quotes
Texas A&M head coach R.C. Slocum --- "I was really concerned about this game. Oklahoma State has a very good squad and playing them at home is a tough task. We had some injury problems and I'm proud of the guys who stepped up and got the job done. I thought that Branndon Stewart did a good job coming off the bench and throwing that touchdown pass. The Wrecking Crew did a tremendous job in the third quarter and that allowed us to keep our lead."
Linebacker Dat Nguyen on breaking tackle school record --- "It is a great honor to become the all-time tackle leader at Texas A&M. The Wrecking Crew has been around a long time and I'm proud to have been a part of it. I'm been blessed to be surrounded by great players like Warrick Holdman, Rich Coady and our young defensive line. Our coaching staff has done a great job helping me prepare for games and putting me in a position to make tackles."
Quarterback Randy McCown --- "It was a 15-round fight and neither team was able to knock the other out. I thought we did a good job of throwing the ball efficiently. Even with the weather, we were able to execute all the things we needed to on offense. (on shoulder injury) "It's sprained, but I will play next week. I will play."
Quarterback Branndon Stewart --- "You never take any win on the road for granted, especially against a Big 12 opponent. It was a great college football atmosphere. They had great fans and they stayed the whole game even with the rain. (on McCown getting hurt) "It's unfortunate that Randy got hurt. You work every week to earn that starting spot, and he has earned it. You're always just one play from getting hurt. It's unfortunate for Randy, but I was just glad that I was able to come in and make something happen."
