December 28, 1999
ABOUT THE SHUTOUT --- The Aggies were shut out in a bowl game for first time since Southern California held Emory Bellard's 1975 A&M squad scoreless in a 20-0 victory in the 1975 Liberty Bowl. It was the third bowl shutout in school history. The Aggies, who were also shut out against Nebraska earlier this season, were held scoreless twice in the same season for the first time since 1980 (at Georgia, 42-0; at SMU, 27-0).
A&M QB COACH DORR COACHES FINAL GAME --- Veteran quarterbacks coach Ray Dorr coached his final game tonight and will be reassigned to an administrative position due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which is commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Dorr, 58, is a 33-year coaching veteran who has seen stints as an assistant coach at Kent State, Washington, USC and Kentucky and was head coach at Southern Illinois from 1984-87. Among his quarterback pupils are Warren Moon, Chris Chandler, Hugh Millen, Rodney Peete, Tom Flick, Steve Pelluer and Rob Johnson. Earlier this season, he received a Broyles Lifetime Achievement Award for his work as an assistant coach.
YATES MAKES FIRST CAREER START --- Redshirt freshman offensive guard Billy Yates (Corsicana, Texas) started the first game of his career in place of junior Chris Valletta, who suffered an ankle sprain during bowl preparations. With Yates in the lineup, the Aggies began the game with an offensive front consisting of two freshmen, a sophomore and two seniors.
Also making his first career start was senior tight end Mike Kazmierski, who started in a two tight end set. Kazmierski began the 1999 season as a defensive lineman but was switched to offense after injuries robbed the Aggies of depth at the position.
OTHER NOTABLES --- Representing the 12th Man Kickoff team were sophomores Luke Anderson (Mt. Pleasant, Texas) and Eric Stanford (Waco, Texas). ... A&M game captains were seniors: Shane Lechler, Semisi Heimuli, Matt Bumgardner and Brandon Jennings. ... Notables on the A&M sidelines were: Senator Phil Gramm and Southern Cal assistant coach Shawn Slocum.
Senior quarterback Randy McCown threw four interceptions tonight, which matched the career-high four he had against Nebraska. His four INTs were the most by an A&M QB in a bowl game since Kevin Murray tossed a school-record five against Ohio State in the 1987 Cotton Bowl. It also tied an Alamo Bowl record that was originally set by Kansas State's Michael Bishop in the 1998 game.
McCown was lifted midway through the fourth quarter in favor of freshman QB Mark Farris. The 24-year old Farris originally signed with the Aggies in 1994 but opted for a lucrative pro baseball contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He joined the A&M squad in the spring of 1999 after reaching AA level of minor league baseball.
Grabbing his first career reception against Penn State was redshirt freshman wide receiver Greg Porter, who is also a standout designated hitter for the Aggie baseball team. Porter batted .328 with seven homers and 26 RBI while helping A&M to the College World Series last spring.
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QB Randy McCown --- "It was tough to stay positive after the way we started. We wanted to come out fast, but we made too many mistakes. We thought we would be OK in the second half, but turnovers killed us again. You can't turn the ball over as many times as we did and expect to win."
RB Ja'Mar Toombs --- "I thought Penn State play well, and they did a good job of coming up with some big plays. I think we played better than the numbers indicate, but we could come up with a big play when we needed it.
"I thought the key to the game was the turnovers. At the beginning of the second half, we drove down the field and needed to punch it in, but we turned it over instead. They really took some wind out of our sails."
LB Brian Gamble --- "We didn't want to be 8-4 at the end of this season. It's been a roller coaster season with a lot of good and bad aspects. We are not satisfied with this type of season. We want to be in the upper echelon of college football and to do that we have to eliminate mistakes."
DB Jason Webster --- "It's tough to compete with a team the caliber of Penn State when you have as many turnovers as we did. They have a great team with a lot speed and they make very few mistakes. We had too many mistakes to win the game."