November 26, 1999
Kyle Field
Today's attendance was 86,128, a Kyle Field record and the largest crowd to ever witness a football game in the state of Texas. The former Kyle Field record was 78,573 vs. the Longhorns in 1987. The previous largest football crowd in the state of Texas was the DKR-Memorial Stadium record crowd of 84,082 that witnessed the Longhorns'win over Nebraska on Oct. 23, 1999.
Today's crowd brings A&M's 1999 average attendance to 73,126, which breaks the former record average of 66,623 set in 1987.
Fifth-year senior offensive guard Semisi Heimuli started his 50th consecutive game today, and now stands one short of matching Dat Nguyen's A&M record of 51 games.
Senior punter Shane Lechler closed out his illustrious career by breaking a pair of NCAA records today. Lechler had eight punts for a 43.3 average today, which moves his career punt average to an NCAA record 44.6 average, breaking the former mark of 44.3 set by Mississippi's Bill Smith from 1983-86. Lechler also broke the NCAA mark for career 40-yard plus game averages with his 37th 40-plus performance today. Lechler and Smith were tied at 36 games coming into today's game.
Nine of Texas' 16 first-half points came after A&M miscues. Texas got on the board after a botched A&M extra point attempt resulted in a long interception return for two points by Texas' Lee Jackson. Texas also benefitted from an A&M turnover when quarterback Randy McCown's first-quarter fumble was recovered on the A&M 37, and quickly converted it into a touchdown.
Sophomore fullback Ja'Mar Toombs rushed for a career-high 126 yards and two touchdowns on a career-most 37 carries today. His previous high yardage and carries was 111 yards on 23 carries last year at Oklahoma State. His 37 carries today ties for the seventh most in school history.
Senior quarterback Randy McCown completed 8 of 22 passes for 156 yards and one touchdown today, giving him 2,437 yards on the season, second most in school history (2,463 by Kevin Murray in 1986) and 4,250 in his career, fifth most in school annals. His 14 touchdown passes this season tie for the fifth most in school history while his 22 career TD tosses are the sixth most in A&M annals.
Officials from six bowl games attended today's game: Alamo, Insight.Com, Holiday, Cotton, Independence and Fiesta.
In the second half, A&M gained 173 total yards and 10 first downs to only 89 total yards and four first downs by the Longhorns.
Head Coach R.C. Slocum improves his career record to 101-30-2 in his 11th season, including a 60-5-1 record at Kyle Field. Slocum is 5-1 against Texas at Kyle Field and is 7-4 against the Longhorns overall.
Slocum is 66-16-2 in conference games. If the Aggies finish the season in the top 25, 10 of Slocum's 11 teams will have completed a season ranked in the top 25.
Slocum is now 17-18 against the Top 25, 5-11 against the top 10 and 4-2 at home against Top 10 teams. A&M is 5-3 against ranked teams in the last two seasons, with a 3-2 record against teams ranked in the top 5. Slocum's teams have defeated three of the last four top five-ranked teams they've played, with the only loss being a 24-24 defeat against Ohio State in the 1999 Nokia Sugar Bowl.
Slocum's teams have won at least eight games in 10 of 11 seasons.
Since the advent of the Big 12 and the 10 a.m. kickoff, the home team has won each meeting (A&M leads, 2-1).
The Aggies have won 19 straight games at Kyle Field, the fourth longest home winning streak in college football.
The win was A&M's 94th of the 1990s, extending the Aggies record for the most victories in a single decade by a college football team in the state of Texas.
Texas rushed for just 89 yards today, the fifth time this season an A&M opponent has gained fewer than 100 yards on the ground. A&M had held eight of 11 opponents this season to fewer than 150 yards.
Freshman linebacker Brian Gamble had an interception, the late fumble recovery that iced the game and one sack today.
A&M's last three opponents have each failed to complete 50 percent of its passes.
Receivers Bethel Johnson (1-30) and Leroy Hodge (1-24) each had key receptions in the second half today. The pair has caught at least one pass in every game in which they've played this season.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Texas A&M OL Chris Valletta:
"Without a doubt we have the best team. We came in with a lot of emotion. We had the thought and memory of those 12 who died in our hearts and minds every single play. I hope this win can ease the pain a little bit. This team has a lot of heart and character. I think our offensive line showed tremendous heart by being able to perform against Hampton and Humphrey. Unfortunately, it's been a hatred rivalry between these two schools. I think what happened and how UT showed their support deadened it a little bit and that's a good thing. But they will always be our rival."
Texas A&M QB Randy McCown:
"You can't put in into words. A game like this is something you wish for all your life. When we came out for the second half, we saw that the crowd didn't give up and believed in us. I look back on the season and think, hey, we beat Texas, and that means a lot under the circumstances. We didn't get down because of the turnovers and we just kept on pushing."
Texas A&M LB Jason Glenn:
"Simms did a great job. I was surprised when I saw Applewhite come in. I thought things were just going to get harder. But we focused and made some big plays. This is a new year and a new team. We just tried to not let Applewhite make those key throws like last year. The 12th Man is the best thing in college football. People who aren't Aggies just can't understand what this is all about."
Texas A&M P Shane Lechler:
"Playing football takes up a lot of your time. You don't get to do a lot of things the other students do. Sometimes you lose the whole perspective of what Texas A&M is all about. When this tragedy happened and we were able to go out there and help, it brought this team back into that perspective, which is that this place is the most special school in the country because of the tremendous support from the fans and how strong a family Aggies are in. I'm very happy with my career here. I think I've had great success considering I come from a small town."
Texas A&M TB Ja'Mar Toombs:
"The game started and those people were on our minds. I was overly excited last night. And today, the emotion was riding high. Even when we were down in points, we kept our spirits up. We had to win this game to show how much we care. Those two (Hampton and Humphrey) are the best I've faced, but I know they are tired because I'm tired and I'm a big guy, too. I think what this game says the most about our team is that we are fighters. We had to really play hard to win. We're not quitters and we were not going to just lay down."
Texas A&M Head Coach R.C. Slocum:
"I thought the team did a great job of working through a lot of adversity. They remained focused on the task at hand. This is a great win for our program."
(on A&M's running game) "We got a lot of offensive balance by putting Ja'Mar Toombs at running back. The key thing was our ability to get tough yards against a defense that I have a lot of respect for."
(on the effect the past week may have had on the team) "I was afraid of a possibility of the stress (of the Bonfire tragedy) wearing our team down. I was uneasy about that all week. Based on practices, I was pleased with the way they were responding. They were very ragged the first day but that changed as the game got closer."
(on Applewhite and Simms) "I didn't know what to think about it. [Chris] Simms is a good player, and we've been impressed with him throughout the season. We had to play the next guy. Our plan was to pressure the quarterback and the plan was the same for both [quarterbacks]."
(on his pregame speech to the team) "Not anything earth-shattering. I told them it's been a long, tough week and that they needed to go out and enjoy themselves and play with emotion. I didn't want to put any additional burden on them. The game is big enough. I told them to believe that they were going to win, and then work to make it happen."
(on Randy McCown's clutch play) "That's Randy. He's a guy that we never said was a great talent. He has a big heart, and he's resilient, and he'll work through things. He gives everything he has. There's been times that he hasn't pulled it off, but it wasn't because he wasn't giving it everything he had."
(on the defense) "I thought the defense got stronger in the second half. My coaching staff did a good job of making adjustments at halftime. The key was getting pressure on their quarterback. Sometimes they were able to complete passes because of our pass rush, but I've always thought that getting pressure has an effect on quarterbacks."
Texas Head Coach Mack Brown:
"I'd like to congratulate A&M. It was a hard-fought football game and it was a tough ballgame. We made mistakes in the first half but we were able to overcome them. Shane Lechler was the difference in the ballgame. He pinned us and we couldn't get off the goal line. We never regained field position after the turnover on the punt. As hard as this football game was, we are all glad the week is over. Major (Applewhite) said he did not feel good. He was dizzy and didn't want to hurt the team. In the third quarter, when he went in, it was a tough situation because he wasn't warmed up and he was sick. This week was difficult and the tragedy was distracting for both teams. Chris (Simms) showed great ability and was very poised. I'm not sure any freshman in the country could have performed as well as Chris did today."
Texas Offensive Coordinator Greg Davis:
"Both teams played hard. We made more mistakes in the second half. Lechler did a good job of pinning us in our own end of the field. We didn't make the same plays we made in the first half. Major started feeling sick on the trip from Austin. He didn't go to the team movie last night and the medical staff tried to hydrate him. We all felt it wasn't in the best interest of the team to start Major today."
Texas QB Major Applewhite:
"I started feeling sick on the bus. I was up all night. Before the game, I felt I would hurt the team by starting because if I would have had to come out, it would have been a big momentum shift for the home team. I don't think the tragedy had anything to do with the way we played today. You have to give Texas A&M some respect. Anytime you lose to a rival, it's tough to regroup but I'm confident the coaches will have us prepared and ready to go next week for the Big 12 Championship game."
Texas QB Chris Simms:
"Right before we came in from warm ups, they told me I was starting. I was excited and ready to go. What better place to get your first start? I wasn't as nervous as I thought I'd be. It was fun until the end. I enjoyed getting hit more than I enjoyed the crowd. They were loud. There were some times that I held onto the ball too long and it took us out of our rhythm."
Texas FLK Kwame Cavil:
"It was a tough loss. The team that makes the fewer mistakes usually comes out on top. I take my hat off to A&M. They played a tremendous game. In the second half, they stopped us and their crowd really got into the game. The good thing about this team is that we have a lot of depth. I have the ut-most confidence in Chris (Simms). For him to come into a situation like this as a freshman, he really did a tremendous job and I take my hat off to him. In a rivalry like this, you want to keep the momentum on your side and we didn't do that today."
Texas DE Cedric Woodard:
"They played their hearts out today. I take my hat off to them. We have no choice but to regroup for next week. We have to play a tough team in the Big 12 Championship game. The momentum was on their side the second half. If we could have done something positive in the second half, you never know what may have happened. Ja'Mar Toombs is a good back. You have to stop him before he gets going."
Texas DT Casey Hampton:
"They came out real emotional. We played hard but made a lot of mistakes and you can't do that in this kind of ballgame. Their backs are big. We latched on but they seemed to carry us."