September 25, 1999
Kyle Field
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KITCHENS EARNS SCHOLARSHIP, SET RECORDS --- On Thursday, head coach R.C. Slocum put junior placekicker Terence Kitchens on scholarship. On Saturday against Southern Mississippi the decision paid huge dividends. Kitchens was perfect on three field goal attempts, including a towering 62-yarder to end the first half. Kitchens' 62-yarder was the longest ever by an Aggie without the aid of a kicking tee and tied for the second-longest in NCAA history without a tee (record is 65 yards by Martin Gramatica vs. Northern Illinois, 1998). The boot tied for 10th-longest in NCAA history (with or without tee) and tied for third-longest in school history.
RELATED KITCHENS NOTES --- Kitchens' 62-yarder makes Texas A&M the only school in the nation with three placekickers with 60-plus field goals to its credit. The other Aggie bombers are Tony Franklin (1975-78) and Kyle Bryant (1994-97) ... Prior to his failed third-quarter field goal, Kitchens had connected on the first eight of his career, which is also a school record (former mark by 7-of-7 start by Bryant, 1994) ... Kitchens has already connected on three 50-plus field goals this season ... The third-quarter A&M field goal that was blocked broke a string of 18 consecutive successful field goals ... The previous long field goal against Southern Miss was Bryant's 61-yarder in 1994.
PICKOFFS --- The Aggies grabbed four interceptions against Southern Mississippi, including two that were returned for touchdowns. The last time A&M returned two pickoffs for touchdowns in one game was in 1990 against Rice at Kyle Field, when Kevin Smith had a pair in a 41-15 victory.The last time A&M had four INTs in a single game was against Middle Tennessee State in 1995. The Aggies have now posted interceptions in 12 straight games (20 total INTs).
TURNOVERS --- The Wrecking Crew continues to rack up turnovers in droves. In three games, A&M has 13 takeaways (10 INT, 3 FUM) while giving up just 7 turnovers (2 INT, 5 FUM).
ABOUT THE WIN ... --- Today's A&M win was the 97th of Slocum's career and the 597th in school history ... A&M's record vs. USM improves to 7-0 ... R.C. Slocum's record at Kyle Field improves to 56-5-1 and the Aggies have won 15 straight on their home field ... The Aggies have won 25 straight non-conference games at Kyle Field.
CAPTAINS, 12TH MAN --- Game captains for the Aggies were: seniors Shane Lechler, Brandon Jennings, Mike Kazmierski and Chris Cole ... The 12th Man Kickoff Team representative was Eric Stanford, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound sophomore from Waco's Robinson High School.
FIESTA BOWL ON HAND --- Representatives of the Fiesta Bowl attended today's game.
NO OFFENSIVE TOUCHDOWNS BY AGGIES --- A&M scored on three field goals and two interception returns for touchdowns. The last time the A&M offense did not score a touchdown was in a 16-6 loss (2 FG) to Texas at Kyle Field in 1995. The last time A&M did not score an offensive touchdown in a victory was a 19-7 win against Houston in the Astrodome in 1985 (4 FG, 1 INT returned for a TD).
STOUT DEFENSE--- The Aggies held Southern Miss to just 129 yards of total offense, the lowest since Oklahoma gained just 124 last season. USM managed just 18 yards rushing, the lowest by an A&M opponent since North Texas ws held to -10 yards in 1996.
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R.C. Slocum, A&M head coach--
"We are happy to get out of here with a win. We knew Southern Miss would be a very tough task, and they have a great defense. We needed a great defensive effort today, and I was proud of the wrecking crew. (On watching the Wrecking Crew) That was fun. Going in we knew we were going to have to have a outstanding defensive performance to beat Southern Miss. I thought our defensive coaching staff did a great job of preparing our defense. We did a good job of shutting down their offense with the exception of the long pass. (ON turnovers) Part of our style as a defense is trying to create turnovers. Going into the season, we wanted to be a little more reckless and force some more turnovers and give our offense short field opportunities. We even had other opportunities (for more turnovers) that we didn't take advantage of. (ON offensive struggles) There were some plays that we didn't make, but I thought we did a pretty good job of controlling the ball against a very talented defense. We won the game and that's the big thing. We'll work to correct the mistakes we made this this week, and it's always better to make corrections after a win rather than a loss. (ON Toombs' running) Southern Miss does a lot of slanting and we thought we could take advantage of that. We wanted to catch them slanting and then break something up the middle. (on Aggies' readiness as a Big 12 title contender) We hope by next Saturday that we are ready for Texas Tech. We have a lot of work to do, but we're happy to be 3-0. I've see a lot of potential in this squad, but we need more consistency. We're certainly not a Big 12 Championship-type team right now."
Randy McCown, A&M quarterback--
"We played a little off. I was a little off today so it showed up in our offense, and I take full responsibility for our play. We just couldn't find a rhythm that we needed to get that extra yard. I thought the defense did a great job of keeping us in this game and putting a lot of pressure on them."
Terrence Kitchens, A&M kicker--
"I didn't think about it (school record 62-yard field goal). I just tried to kick it real solid. I know that I had a shot because I kicked some from there in practice."
Jason Glenn, A&M linebacker--
"We tried to mix it up. We tried to put pressure on them and force mistakes, and it worked for us. But we are never satisfied with just a good defense. We need the old style play of the Wrecking Crew; that great, dominating defense."
Shane Lechler, A&M punter--
(on fumbled snap and subsequent run for first down) "The snap was perfect. I guess I just took my eyes off the ball. I never thought about kicking it after that. I just took off and let my instincts take over. I don't think I will be trying out for a fullback position. I am sure that I will be sore tommorow."
Ja'Mar Toombs, A&M fullback--
"Their defense is really fast. The outside stuff wasn't working. We had to exploit the middle because of their speed. If it hadn't been for our defense, this game would have been closer."
Jeff Bower, USM head coach--
"We didn't play partcularly well on offense. We couldn't move the ball and never got into a rhythm. Texas A&M is a real good defensive football team if you are not doing things well on offense. Our defense played well. It's frustratng when the offense gives up two touchdowns two weeks in a row. Our team will respond. This group has a lot of character and will be okay. (On changing quarterbacks) We needed a spark to try to change things up."
Jeff Kelly, USM quarterback--
"You've got to give them credit. They are not the No. 5 team in the country for nothing. Our defense has been doing a great job. (On being replaced) We were just not getting into a rhythm. I am a team player and whatever is good for the team, I am for 100 percent."
Cable Davis, USM Quarterback--
"I was ready to come in the ballgame because the coaches told me I might have a shot to play. They have a great defense. My throws were off but besides that their defense was great."