Texas A&M
Southern Miss
(#17) Texas A&M 24, Southern Miss 6
Sep 19, 1998 | Football
September 19, 1998
Prior to last Saturday's kickoff, several workers at a sold-out M.M. Roberts Stadium posed the following question to the maroon-clad Texas A&M fans entering through the gates: What's an Aggie?
A few hours later, however, the Aggies were no longer a mystery. Only a source of misery.
A&M made a lasting impression on the Deep South, especially on the 33,233 fans at "The Rock." In fact, many of the Southern Mississippi fans were so impressed that they didn't even bother to stick around for the second half.
The mass exodus at the midway point probably had something to do with the rain that blew through at halftime. But by that point, A&M had put more of a damper on the Eagles' plans than any storm cloud.
In the biggest home game for USM (0-2) in over a decade, the Aggies seized control early and never gave the Eagles an ounce of hope. A dominating defensive performance, a pair of dazzling runs by Dante Hall and some outstanding individual efforts in the kicking game all played major roles in the A&M win.
The Eagles' southern hospitality didn't hurt, either. USM was more generous than the Salvation Army at Christmas, providing five turnovers to aid A&M's cause.
"That made all the difference in the world," tight end Dan Campbell said. "We took care of the football, and our defense did a great job of creating turnovers and putting us in good field position. I'm very pleased with how we came in here and took care of business. It was a total team effort."
Indeed it was. But there were individual heroes. For example:
Warrick Holdman seemed to be in the Southern Miss backfield all day. Holdman had seven tackles, including two for losses and one sack. He also batted down one pass and was a constant thorn in USM's side. "I thought Warrick played a great game, maybe the best of his career here." Dat Nguyen said.
Hall carried only eight times, but two of those runs touchdown bursts of 44 and 16 yards were about as memorable as they come. He finished with 76 yards an average of 9.5 per carry.
Junior punter Shane Lechler consistently helped the Aggies win the field position battle, punting nine times for an average of 50.1 yards. Lechler's longest went for 62 yards, but his most impressive may have been a 58-yarder from the back of his own end zone midway through the third quarter. "He's such a weapon, Nguyen said of Lechler.
And place-kicker Russell Bynum continued to improve on his confidence and extend his range. Bynum was 3-for-3 against the Eagles, including a 41-yarder that had plenty of distance to spare.
It was Bynum who gave the Aggies the lead midway through the first quarter with a 31-yard field goal. But it was Lechler and the A&M defense that set it up.
With the sun still shining and the USM crowd still thinking upset, Lechler pinned the Eagles deep in their own territory with a 42-yard punt his shortest of the day that was killed at the Southern Miss 8.
On the first play of the ensuing drive. Nguyen caused a fumble by USM running back Kelby Nance, which was recovered by sophomore defensive lineman Ronald Flemons at the Eagles' 6. The Aggies then lost seven yards and dropped two potential touchdown passes, but Bynum drilled the field goal to give A&M the lead.
Just as importantly, the Wrecking Crew had set the tone for the day.
"Always, if I look up and see we're going to play pretty good defense against (a team), I feel pretty good," Slocum said. "I think we took some of the momentum out of the crowd early in the game because our defense was getting after them."
That theme continued throughout the entire game. A&M applied constant pressure to Roberts and made Sherrod Gideon, who entered the game as the nation's second-leading receiver, a non-factor.
Against the Aggies, however, Gideon caught just three passes for 25 yards. What's more, the Eagles passed for a total of just 142 yards.
The Aggies' offense, meanwhile, failed to produce 200 yards for the second time in three games. But when A&M needed a spark, Hall was there to provide it.
With the Aggies leading 6-0 late in the second quarter, Hall zigged and zagged his way through the USM defense for a 44-yard TD. leaving defenders grasping at air. Sirr Parker then added a two-point conversion run to give the Aggies a 14-0 lead at the half.
That's when the rains came, and the Aggies' defense continued pouring it on. A Jason Webster INT return set A&M up at the USM 25 late in the third quarter, and Hall did the rest, covering the final 16 yards on another spectacular run that put A&M up, 21-0.
At that point, for all intents and purposes, it was over.
"We showed some killer instinct today," A&M safety Rich Coady said. "We set the tone early and kept the pressure on. This is a big win against a team that started the season ranked in the Top 25, and hopefully, this will give us momentum for the rest of the season. I definitely like how this team is coming together."
