September 16, 2000
Texas A&M Postgame Notes
FARRIS OPENS WITH EIGHT STRAIGHT --- Aggie sophomore quarterback Mark Farris opened the game with eight straight completions, the most consecutive completions to open a game since 1995 when Corey Pullig connected on his first 11 attempts against Tulsa. Pullig's 11 straight completions matched the overall school record of 11 originally set by Lance Pavlas against Texas Tech in 1989. Retroactive to a completion on his final attempt of the Wyoming game, Farris had completed nine attempts in a row before suffering an incompletion.
Farris also had a string of 41 attempts without an interception broken when UTEP's Sam Singleton picked off an errant pass in the third quarter. His previous interception came on his final attempt against Notre Dame in the season-opener.
Farris rushed for 54 yards on seven carries, the most rushing yards by an Aggie quarterback since Bucky Richardson gained 83 on 19 carries against SMU in 1991.
JOHNSON HAS CAREER-BEST EFFORT --- Junior wide receiver Bethel Johnson matched his career high for receptions with five in the first half alone tonight against UTEP and went on to establish a new career-best with eight catches for 74 yards. Johnson's previous best of five grabs came against Kansas and Oklahoma in 1999.
HOME SWEET HOME --- The Aggies extended their home winning streak to 21 games tonight, dating back to a 13-10 loss to Texas Tech in Kyle Field in 1996. It is the third-longest active streak in the nation. Marshall, who was tied with A&M at 20 wins, was off this week, and Tennessee's 23-game string was snapped by Florida today.
Tonight's win also increased A&M's home winning streak against non-conference opponents to 26 straight, dating back to a 30-10 loss to Alabama in 1988. Aggie head coach R.C. Slocum has never lost a non-conference game at Kyle Field.
For his career, R.C. Slocum has compiled a 62-5-1 (.912) record at Kyle Field.
TRAILING AT KYLE --- The last time the Aggies trailed at halftime at Kyle Field was the Texas game in 1999 when the Longhorns went to the lockerroom with a 16-6 advantage. The Aggies rallied for 14 second-half points while shutting out the Longhorns as A&M battled to a 20-16 victory.
The last time the Aggies trailed at halftime against a non-conference opponent at Kyle Field was 1992 when the Aggies trailed Tulsa 6-3 at halftime. The Aggies went on to a 19-9 victory, and also won their next nine games on their way to a 12-0 regular season.
THE BIG RUMBLE --- Junior fullback Ja'Mar Toombs tied his career best with three touchdown runs tonight against UTEP, giving him multi-TD efforts in four of his last five regular season games. In that span, Toombs has scored 10 touchdowns. Last year against Missouri, Toombs also had three touchdown runs.
BROOKS BLOCKS ANOTHER --- Junior cornerback Jay Brooks' punt block against UTEP was the first by an Aggie since Brooks blocked one against Texas Tech in 1999. Brooks returned that one for a touchdown. Tonight's block was recovered by true freshman Dawon Gentry at the 1-yard line of UTEP, and led to a touchdown plunge by Ja'Mar Toombs.
CONVERTING THIRD-DOWN SITUATIONS --- The Aggies converted 9-of-14 third-down situations tonight, raising their season total on third down to 21-of-41chances (.512). Last year the Aggies converted just 65-of-172 third-down chances (.360).
Texas A&M Postgame Quotes
Head Coach R.C. Slocum:
"I was disappointed we were not more productive in the first half. We let them control the tempo. I thought our coaches made good adjustments at the half. I thought it was good for us to have to come from behind and fight. We had a lot of respect for UTEP coming in. They played hard and are well coached. We were concerned with our youth in the secondary and the injuries. We are looking forward to the week off to try and get some people healthy. It's always good to win a ball game."
Quarterback Mark Farris:
"It was good to get a win tonight. We knew these guys would come in with a chip on their shoulders, being from Texas. Everyone called it a tuneup all week, but the team didn't see it that way. We knew these guys were a good football team. They gave us a run for our money. We made some good adjustments at halftime. We came out in the second half and did what we had to do to keep our home winning streak alive and that's important to all of us. Now, it's back to work and get ready for Texas Tech. "
Fullback Ja'Mar Toombs:
"In the first half, we made too many mistakes. We weren't playing too bad, we just keep shooting ourselves in the foot. We went in at halftime and made some adjustments. We knew we had our home winning streak on the line. We knew what we had to do and we went out, played hard and got it done."
Texas-El Paso Postgame Quotes
Quarterback Rocky Perez:
"We have a good passing attack. Our offensive line is the strength of our team. A&M started off just bringing four people. In the second half, they brought more. It was a great adjustment by their coaches. There's nothing tricky about their defense; they just line up and beat you. I thought our offense executed well in the first half. I felt comfortable throwing the ball back there. They put a lot of pressure on us in the second half. We knew it was going to be tough to run on the Wrecking Crew, but they have a young secondary and we felt we could exploit that."
Tight End Brian Natkin:
"We just made too many mistakes in the second half. The first half was pretty much mistake free. They blitzed a lot more in the second half and we had some turnovers."
Head Coach Gary Nord:
"We didn't turn the ball over in the first half and that gave us a chance to compete. We've got a pretty good football team, but we didn't take advantage of some opportunities early. The kicking game was a let down. I felt like when we went for it on fourth-and-one and didn't get it,. That was the turning point in the game because A&M drove down the field and scored, then blocked a punt on the next series. Texas A&M has a good football team. They have the ability to score from all over the field. They are an outstanding team. We've got a pretty good offensive line, a pretty good quarterback and some pretty good receivers. We were able to stay in our offensive system and move the ball consistently in the first half. Rocky played very well. The offensive line did a good job of protecting him in the first half. A&M came after him in the second half. I believe we have a good, solid football team. We'll have a chance to win each game in the WAC."