September 04, 1999
McCOWN HAS BANNER DAY --- Fifth-year senior Randy McCown had the top passing game of his career against Louisiana Tech, connected on 17-of-28 for 252 yards and two touchdowns. His previous best passing game was 195 yards on 9-of-15 passing against Baylor in 1998.
JOHNSON HAS IMPRESSIVE DEBUT -- Sophomore wide receiver Bethel Johnson made his much anticipated debut against the Bulldogs and he did not disappoint. Johnson grabbed four passes for 106 yards and a touchdown, including a long reception of 46 yards.
KITCHENS STARTS WITH FLOURISH --- With the first two attempts of his career, junior Terence Kitchens connected on a pair of 50-yard plus field goals. Kitchens, a walkon from Lumberton, Texas, booted a 50-yarder on his first attempt and then connected on a 51-yarder. The 51-yard field goal was the longest by the Aggies since Kyle Bryant connected on a 51-yarder against North Texas in 1997. Last year, the Aggies attempted only one field goal over 50 yards all season. The Aggies have also connected on 13 consecutive field goals dating back to 1998.
SLOCUM IN SEASON OPENERS --- 11th year Aggie head coach R.C. Slocum improved his career record in season-openers to 9-2.
LECHLER BREAKS CAREER PUNT YARDAGE RECORD --- Fifth-year senior punter Shane Lechler became A&M's all-time punt yardage leader with 139 yards on four punts against Louisiana Tech. Lechler broke the former record of 9,222 yards set by David Appleby from 1976-79, and currently has 9,329 for his career.
OFFENSE SHINES IN FIRST HALF --- The Aggies' 30 points in the first half were the most by A&M since scoring 34 against Oklahoma in 1997. Last year the Aggies' highest halftime scoring total was 14 (several times). The Aggies broke the 30-point barrier in scoring just twice in 1998.
NEW STARTERS --- Using a variety of different formations on both offense and defense, the Aggies used seven unexpected starters. On offense, the Aggies came out in a three wide receiver set and used three receivers not listed as starters on the A&M depth chart -- seniors Matt Bumgardner and Leroy Hodge and freshman Dwain Goynes. On defense, the Aggies used a "dime" coverage scheme with unexpected starters Harold Robertson and Brian Gamble at linebacker and Sammy Davis and Jay Brooks.
AIRING IT OUT -- Tim Rattay's 45 completions and 62 attempts were highs by an opponent against A&M. Former records were 33 completions by BYU's Steve Sarkisian in 1996 and 60 attempts by Rice's Tommy Kramer in 1976.
FIRSTS --- Tonight's game marked the debuts of A&M's maroon facemasks and the Aggie coaches' wireless pressbox-to-field radios.
DELAYED --- The game between Texas A&M and Louisiana Tech was delayed 20 minutes because of a nearby thunderstorm.
CAPTAINS --- Aggie captains for Saturday's game were: senior punter Shane Lechler and the Louisiana trio of RoDerrick Broughton (Monroe), Andy Vincent (Sulphur) and Michael Mahan (Homer).
12th MAN -- The 12th Man Kickoff team representative against La. Tech was Luke Anderson, a sophomore from Mount Pleasant, Texas.
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TEXAS A&M LINEBACKER CORNELIUS ANTHONY: "I think the defense played well tonight. I give all the credit in the world to God."
TEXAS A&M QUARTERBACK RANDY MCCOWN: "The offense came out great in the first half. We got a little complacent in the second half. We didn't come out with the kind of fire we had in the first half. Luckily, the defense held them to just that one touchdown. We have some work to do, especially in relation to ball security."
TEXAS A&M WIDE RECEIVER BETHEL JOHNSON: "It was a great team win. I was happy to have a good game, but I think I can do better. I missed some balls I should have had."
TEXAS A&M CORNERBACK JASON WEBSTER: "The coaches prepared us for their passing attack, but it still was a challenge for us to contain it. They just keep coming at you. This was a good start for us."
TEXAS A&M HEAD COACH R.C. SLOCUM: "It's always fun to start the season with a victory. I thought our guys did a good job tonight. On offense, we threw the ball a lot and got a lot of points out of it. [Tim] Rattay is a very good player. We got a lot of good things out of this game tonight, but we also have a lot of things to work on."