Texas A&M
(#5) Texas
Aggies Fall to No. 5 Texas, 21-7
Nov 23, 2001 | Football
November 23, 2001
Texas finally got the wind and Cedric Benson going in the same direction.
Working with their backs to wind gusts up to 20 mph, the No. 5 Longhorns broke up a tight defensive struggle with Benson's two touchdown runs for a 21-7 victory over Texas A&M on Friday.
The Longhorns (10-1, 7-1 Big 12) completed a 35-yard drive with Benson's 5-yard touchdown run with 7:22 left in the game.
Benson added a 12-yard touchdown run with 1:15 remaining after the Aggies (7-4, 4-4) tried a desperation fourth-down pass from their own 19. It was intercepted by Everick Rawls and returned 15 yards to set up Benson's score.
The largest crowd ever to see a football game in Texas, 87,555, was kept in suspense until the closing minutes when a 31-yard punt by A&M's Cody Scates into the wind gave the Longhorns their chance.
The Longhorns won their sixth straight game this season and extended their record in the series to 69-34-5. The victory was Texas' first in College Station since 1995 and the second since 1983.
Benson missed out on becoming Texas' seventh consecutive 1,000-yard rusher, but he gained 24 yards in the winning drive to his 5-yard touchdown run that kept the Longhorns' hopes alive for a BCS bowl game.
The Aggies' defense matched the Longhorns throughout the game until the late breakdowns.
After trailing throughout the first half, the Aggies finally ended a string of 10 quarters without a score by the offense early in the third on a 4-yard run by Keith Joseph for a 7-7 tie.
Mickey Jones' 37-yard punt return set up the score, and a bruising open-field block by Jay Brooks, who missed the previous four games with a groin injury, cleared the way.
Mark Farris completed passes of 11 yards to Terrence Murphy and 14 yards to Greg Porter before Joseph's touchdown with 10:45 left in the third quarter.
Joseph's touchdown was only the second against Texas defense in the third quarter this season. The Longhorns had outscored their opponents 79-7 in the third quarter prior to the game.
Texas needed help from its defense to scratch out a 7-0 halftime lead. The Longhorns got it with a 23-yard return by Tony Jeffery with 7:44 left in the first quarter after Rodrick Babers blocked his second punt in as many games.
Quarterback Chris Simms had been especially strong since the Longhorns' 14-3 loss to Oklahoma, throwing 16 touchdown passes as Texas won five straight. But he didn't show any of that form against the Aggies, finishing 16-of-33 for 138 yards.
A&M's defense matched its rival in the first half, holding Simms and Texas' offense to 92 total yards as it held the Longhorns offense scoreless for the first time since the Texas' Big 12 championship game against Nebraska in 1999.
Benson entered the game needing 105 yards to break 1,000 yards for the season. He was trying to beat Ricky Williams' freshman record of 990 yards, but finished the game with 79 yards on 27 carries for 974 yards.
