Texas A&M
(#9) Nebraska
Crouch Leads 9th-ranked Huskers to 37-0 victory over No. 18 Texas A&M
Nov 06, 1999 | Football
November 06, 1999
Eric Crouch and Dan Alexander each broke 100 yards rushing, as the 9th-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers shut out the 18th-ranked Texas A&M Aggies 37-0 Saturday before 77,705 at Memorial Stadium on the NU campus. The shutout marked the first time A&M failed to score points since LSU defeated the Aggies 27-0 in 1988.
Texas A&M managed just 118 total yards against a tough Husker defense, 116 through the air and just two on the ground. The Husker ground game mustered 335 rushing yards while passing for 95.
A sloppy first half got that way very quickly, as Nebraska fumbled on their first play from scrimmage following the opening kickoff. A&M recovered on the Husker 11-yard line just 15 seconds into the contest. Three plays later, Terence Kitchens' 28-yard field goal try was blocked, keeping the game scoreless. Nebraska's 21-yard field goal attempt on the ensuing drive hit the left upright.
The teams traded turnovers and the Aggies had another field goal attempt blocked, this one a 31-yarder, before the scoreless tie was finally broken late in the second quarter on a 20-yard field goal by Jsoh Brown. Brown would connect from 31 yards with under a minute to play in the half to make the score 6-0 Huskers at the break.
On their first possession of the third quarter, Nebraska was able to add another Brown field goal, this one from 36 yards out, to make the score 9-0 NU with 8:06 left in the quarter. After an A&M punt, the Huskers drove 45 yards in three plays, breaking the goal line on a six-yard run by Dan Alexander to go up 16-0.
The Huskers marched down the field on their next possession, but as Alexander tried to seal the drive with a 19-yard touchdown run, Aggie linebacker Cornelius Anthony forced a fumble that went out of the end zone and gave A&M the ball on the 20 yard line. However, quarterback Randy McCown's pass on first down was intercepted by Ralph Brown and returned to the A&M 2-yard line. Crouch called his own number on the first play and scored on the two-yard plunge, giving Nebraska a commanding 23-0 lead with 1:13 left in the quarter.
After the Huskers thwarted another A&M drive on a Keyuo Craver interception at the NU 2-yard line, they proceeded to march 98 yards in seven plays to score another touchdown. Crouch had the key play on the drive when he ran for 62 yards on 2nd-and-10 from the Husker 20. Correl Buckhalter iced the drive with a 2-yard plunge to make the score 30-0. Nebraska closed out the scoring with another two-yard touchdown run, this one by Dahrran Diedrick with 4:07 to play.
With the loss, A&M falls to 6-3 on the year and 3-3 in Big 12 play. Nebraska improves to 8-1 and 5-1, respectively, as they run their record at Memorial Stadium in the last seven years to 42-1. A&M stays on the road, playing at Missouri Saturday in Columbia. Kickoff at Faurot Field is set for 11:30 a.m. (CST). The game will be televised regionally by the Big 12 TV Network.
