Texas A&M
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Kansas
Aggie Air Attack Burns Jayhawks, 34-17
Oct 16, 1999 | Football
October 16, 1999
Senior quarterback Randy McCown threw for a personal best 362 yards and two touchdowns, leading the 11th-ranked Texas A&M football team to a 34-17 victory over the Kansas Jayhawks Saturday afternoon before 70,232 fans at Kyle Field and a regional television audience.
Trailing 10-0 late in the second half, the Aggies scored 24 unanswered points to take the lead for good and give head coach R.C. Slocum his 99th career victory in Aggieland. The victory also increases A&M's home winning streak to 17 games, the fourth longest active streak in the nation.
After a scoreless first quarter that saw a missed field goal and a blocked field goal, Kansas broke the stalemate just nine seconds into the second frame with a 36-yard field goal by Joe Garcia. Following a fumble my McCown on the ensuing A&M drive, KU marched 46 yards in seven plays, cashing in on a one-yard plunge by Houston native Moran Norris to give the Jayhawks the 10-0 advantage.
The Aggies got on the board on the next drive, a 10-play, 57-yarder that resulted in a 40-yard field goal by Terence Kitchens. After forcing a Jayhawk punt, A&M drove 80 yards in seven plays, scoring on a 15-yard passing strike from McCown to Leroy Hodge to tie the score. The drive, which seemed to stall on the Aggie 17-yard-line, gained new life after Kansas roughed A&M punter Shane Lechler and gave the Aggies a first down.
"He (the Kansas player) came down and hit my right leg," Lechler said. "It was a huge penalty play for us. That can make or break a team sometimes, but we got the call on this one. I would expect to get that kind of call every time if that much contact was made."
Following the Hodge touchdown, Kansas' Mitch Bowles fumbled on the kickoff return, giving the Aggies the ball on the Jayhawk 37-yard-line. McCown completed two quick passes to Bethel Johnson and Chris Taylor, and then took the next snap and sprinted 15 yards into the end zone for a touchdown with 23 seconds left in the half to give A&M a 17-10 halftime lead.
Texas A&M opened the third quarter with a bang, as McCown connected with Taylor on a 78-yard touchdown strike on just the second play from scrimmage to open up a 24-10 Aggie lead. Taylor caught four passes on the day for 143 yards.
After a KU punt, the Aggies' attempt at trickery on the first play was foiled. Chris Taylor, running a reverse, tried a deep pass down the middle, but it was intercepted by Carl Nesmith and returned 30 yards to the Aggie 33-yard-line. KU scored three plays later, as Dylen Smith connected with Sean McDermott on a 26-yard touchdown pass.
The Aggies increased their lead to 10 midway through the third on a 35-yard Kitchens field goal. The score remained 27-17 until the fourth quarter, when Toombs followed a 37-yard Bethel Johnson reception with an eight-yard rumble into "The Zone" for the final scoring play of the game.
A&M's offense racked up 522 yards on the afternoon, averaging over 7 ˝ yards per play. Johnson hauled in five passes for 62 yards, while tight end RoDerrick Broughton caught five passes for 54 yards. Broughton's performance marked the most receptions by a tight end since Derrick Spiller had five catches for 43 yards against Ohio State in the 1999 Nokia Sugar Bowl.
"We knew if we could get a feel for the game, our momentum would carry us into the end zone," McCown said. "We wanted to establish the long ball, and that's something we were able to do. All our receivers made some good catches and ran good routes. We didn't get flustered, but we relaxed and did what we knew we were capable of doing."
On the ground, the Aggies rolled up 160 yards on 38 carries. Toombs gained 52 yards on 10 carries while Eric Bernard posted a nine-carry, 47-yard afternoon.
The "Wrecking Crew" defense allowed Kansas 249 yards of offense, 108 on the ground and 141 through the air. Roylin Bradley and Cornelius Anthony posted 12 tackles each, with Anthony, Rocky Bernard, Lonnie Madison, Brian Gamble and Stephen Young posting sacks.
Texas A&M improves to 5-1 on the year and 2-1 in Big 12 action, while Kansas falls to 2-5 and 0-3 in conference play. The Aggies return to the road next Saturday night when they travel north to Norman to face the Oklahoma Sooners. Kickoff for the game, which will be televised nationally by FOX Sports Net, is set for 6 p.m. (CDT).
"This is our second big conference game on the road where the opponent has had an extra week to prepare," Slocum said. "It will be a tough game. I've said all along that I thought that Oklahoma could be the surprise of the conference. Offensively, now they've got a good a quarterback and they've settled on an offensive scheme, and they know what they want to do. I see the Oklahoma game as a big challenge for us."
