Texas A&M
Louisiana Tech
McCown, Johnson Lead Aggies to Season Opening Win Over La. Tech, 37-17
Sep 04, 1999 | Football
September 04, 1999
Senior quarterback Randy McCown threw for 252 yards and two touchdowns and sophomore wide receiver Bethel Johnson snared four passes for 106 yards, leading 6th-ranked Texas A&M to a 37-17, season-opening victory over Louisiana Tech Saturday night before 40,328 fans at Independence Stadium.
Johnson caught his first pass as an Aggie early in the first quarter, a 15-yard toss from McCown which helped lead to the game's opening score, a 50-yard field goal by Terence Kitchens with 9:29 to play in the opening frame. He posted his first touchdown grab late in the game, a 12-yarder with just under a minute to play.
"It was a great team win," Johnson said. "I was happy to have a good game, but I think I can do better. I missed some balls I should have had."
Following the first field goal, the Aggies held Louisiana Tech (0-2) to three-and-out, then pieced together an eight-play drive which culminated in a 51-yard field goal by Kitchens, the longest by A&M since Kyle Bryant booted a 51-yarder against North Texas in 1997.
The Bulldogs got on the board early in the second quarter, when the Wrecking Crew defense put up a solid goal-line stand and forced Tech to settle for a 22-yard field goal by Josh Storrs. A&M responded with touchdowns on its next two drives, an 18-yard run by Dante Hall and a 23-yard touchdown catch by Chris Taylor, to take a 20-3 lead.
Louisiana Tech answered on the ensuing possession, as Heisman Trophy hopeful Tim Rattay connected with Delwyn Daigre on a 15-yard score to cut the Aggie lead to 20-10. A&M added a one-yard plunge by Ja'Mar Toombs and a 26-yard field goal by Kitchens before the break to make the score 30-10 at halftime. With the 30 points in the half, the Aggies scored more points in a half since they posted 34 against Oklahoma in 1997.
The second half saw just two touchdowns scored, one by each team. Louisiana Tech capped a 14-play, 63-yard drive with nine minutes to play in the 3rd quarter, as Rattay hit Daigre again with an eight-yard strike to cut the lead to 13. Both teams were held in check until Johnson's score near the end of the game.
On the evening, Rattay completed 45-of-65 passes for 331 yards and two touchdowns. His completions and attempts were both highs by an A&M opponent, but his longest toss went for just 18 yards.
"The coaches prepared us for their passing attack, but it was still a challenge for us to contain it," Texas A&M cornerback Jason Webster said. "They just keep coming at you. This was a good start for us."
McCown's performance was the best of his career, as he completed 17-of-28 passes on the evening. Under his leadership, the Aggie offense rolled up 471 yards, 219 of which came on the ground.
"The offense came out great in the first half," McCown said. "We got a little complacent in the second half, though. We didn't come out with the kind of fire we had in the first half."
Leading rushers for the Aggies included Hall (12 carries, 71 yards), Toombs (7-40) and McCown (8-43). Senior running back D'Andre "Tiki" Hardeman, playing in his first game since the contest against Louisiana Tech in 1998, had nine carries for 48 yards.
Defensively, the Aggies held the Bulldogs to just 10 yards on 20 carries. Webster led the Wrecking Crew with 10 tackles and an interception. Brandon Jennings posted seven stops and an interception as well.
Senior All-American candidate Shane Lechler became the Aggies' all-time punt yardage leader with 139 yards on four kicks, passing David Appleby (1976-79) by raising his career total to 9,329.
"It's always fun to start the season with a victory," A&M head coach R.C. Slocum said. I thought our guys did a good job tonight. On offense, we threw the ball a lot and got a lot of points out of it. We got a lot of good things out of this game tonight, but we also have a lot of things to work on."
Slocum, A&M's all-time winningest coach, moves to 9-2 in season openers. The win also marks his 95th as A&M's head coach.
The Aggies are idle next weekend, opening the home portion of their schedule with Tulsa on Saturday, Sept. 18. Kickoff at Kyle Field is set for 7:30 p.m. (CDT).
