Texas A&M 24, Notre Dame 3: Postgame Notes and Quotes
Sep 29, 2001 | Football
September 29, 2001
Aggie Postgame Notes
NON-CONFERENCE GRAVEYARD --- Kyle Field has been a graveyard for non-conference opponents during the R.C. Slocum era (since 1989). With today's victory over Notre Dame, Slocum improved his record against non-conference foes at Kyle Field to a sparkling 28-0. Slocum's overall record at Kyle Field improves to 67-7-1 (90.0 percent) in 13 seasons.
ABOUT THE 4-0 START --- The Aggies have surged to a 4-0 record for the fourth time during the Slocum era. Prior to Slocum's arrival in 1989, the Aggies had come out of the gates 4-0 just twice in the previous 30 seasons (both 4-0 starts by Emory Bellard, 1975 and 1978).
ATTENDANCE MARK FALLS (AGAIN): A crowd of 87,206 attended today's game, the largest crowd ever to see a football game in the state of Texas. This marks the third straight year A&M has broken the mark. The Aggies first set the record against Texas in 1999 (86,128) and broke that mark last year against top-ranked Oklahoma (87,188).
TRUE FRESHMAN FARMER HITS CENTURY MARK IN FIRST START --- True freshman Derek Farmer (Tyler Lee High School) made the first start of his A&M career today against Notre Dame and responded with 100 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. Farmer is the first true freshman to start at running back since 1997 when Dante Hall opened the game against Oklahoma State. Ja'Mar Toombs also had multiple starts at fullback as a true freshman in 1998. Farmer is the second A&M freshman to eclipse the 100-yard mark this season, joining redshirt freshman Keith Joseph, who had 105 on 21 carries vs. Wyoming. The last time the Aggies had a pair of freshman surpass the 100-yard barrier in rushing yards in the same season was 1987 when Darren Lewis and Bucky Richardson turned the trick.
HOLIDAY BOWL PLAY --- When quarterback Mark Farris strolled into the endzone on the receiving end of an Oschlor Flemming pass, it brought back memories of quarterback Bucky Richardson's receiving touchdown from running back Darren Lewis in the 1990 Holiday Bowl. In that game, Richardson scored touchdowns via pass, run and reception. The Flemming-to-Farris touchdown pass was the first time the Aggies have scored on the throwback play since the Holiday Bowl. The Aggies used the play last year against Colorado, resulting in a 7-yard gain but no touchdown.
FAST START BY AGGIES --- The Aggies put the Irish in the hole quickly by scoring two touchdowns and a field goal on their first three possessions. The last time the Aggies scored on their first three offensive possessions was 1997 when the Aggies rolled to a 24-0 lead against Louisiana-Lafayette at Kyle Field on their way to a 66-0 payback win.
BIG PLAY JAY- Senior Jay Brooks blocked a Notre Dame punt in the fourth quarter and freshman Randall Webb scooped it up and ran 13 yards for a touchdown. The block was the fifth of Brooks' career, and all were converted to touchdowns, with Webb being the first to return a Brooks' block for a score.
RANDOM NOTES - The Aggies 21-point margin of victory was the largest margin of defeat for Notre Dame since the Irish fell to Tennessee, 38-14, on Nov. 6, 1999. The last time Notre Dame scored less than 10 points was a 10-0 loss to USC on Nov. 28, 1998…Notre Dame gained just 191 total offensive yards, the second straight game A&M has held its opponent to less than 200 (Oklahoma State had 199 last week). The last time A&M held back-to-back opponents to less than 200 yards was in 1999 against Tulsa (192) and Southern Mississippi (129)…the Aggies posted a whopping eight quarterback sacks (by seven players) after posting five last week against Oklahoma State.
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Aggie Postgame Quotes
HEAD COACH R .C. SLOCUM:
(On defense) "I have high expectations for this football team, particularly with the defense at Texas A&M. I take great pride in the defensive tradition we have at Texas A&M. There was a time early in this season when I was starting to agree with the fans that this wasn't Wrecking Crew football. So we took some steps to correct it and didn't accept that type of play. I think it's significant that we lost Ty Warren early in the game and that's a big loss. He's a big, physical active guy, but we had some other guys who stepped up. It was very important for us to get off to a good start. We wanted to come out swinging. When the bell rings, I want to come out swinging, not dancing around. Notre Dame runs a lot of man-to-man coverage and they put a lot of guys on the line of scrimmage. We had to have a balanced offense to be successful. We didn't want to be in a situation where we were trying to throw the ball all the time. We had to make plays with the pass, but we also knew we had to run the ball effectively. I looked out there and I liked the tempo of what we were doing. We lined up and ran the ball and then the next play, we'd run a play action. The key was making them have to defend everything. (On Bob Davie) I think Bob is obviously a very good coach. He understands the realities of being a head coach. He's had some misfortune, his schedule is very hard and he's had some injuries. Today, they lost their quarterback and I'm sure they put a lot of time shaping their offensive scheme around Carlyle Holiday. I'm sure that he's going to be solid and not panic, stay hitched up and make them into very good team. (Significance of game compared to '98 Nebraska game) I told the players all week that this reminded me of the Nebraska game in 1998, mainly because it was cool all week. Prior to that Nebraska game, we played Kansas and stumbled around and really the team hadn't played all that well. But we came out and beat Nebraska and we grew up a lot that day. As the season progressed, we grew into a championship team. The key is how we develop from this week to next week."
QUARTERBACK MARK FARRIS:
"I've said all week that we were going to have to throw and run the ball effectively and we did a good job of that. I thought we were able to keep them off balance with our passes and we ran the ball effectively and that was a big key for us. Getting out on top was the key to the game for us. We wanted to come out fast and get the Kyle Field crowd behind us. We were able to do that by putting some points on the board and that put a lot of pressure on them. This game is the one we had circled on our calendar. Our big goal is to win the Big 12 and the national championship, but this is a game we were looking forward to. I don't care what their record was coming in. Notre Dame is a good team and they are going to win a lot of games. We're not satisfied. We're happy with the way we played, but we can get a lot better. I don't think we've even scratched the surface of what we are capable of. I think every person that would come in here today would tell you we can get even better. Coach Slocum told us we would have to play our best game all year and that's exactly what we did. It's pretty special to be able to come up with your best game when you have to have it. (On catching TD pass) I was just thinking, 'man, don't drop it.' (On defense) They knocked two quarterbacks out and that's what the Wrecking Crew is all about."
RUNNING BACK DEREK FARMER:
"It feels good. The defense did a good job and I did my job and ran to daylight. (On TD run) I've been waiting for so long, It was a good feeling. I knew I was going to start on Monday. I decided to take the challenge."
DEFENSIVE BACK JAY BROOKS:
"There was a big revenge factor for me. I had it circles on the calendar for a long time. They got me on two plays last year up there, but I got them back with that punt block."
CENTER SETH McKINNEY:
(On satisfaction with running game) "We came out early and forced the running game. I thought we played pretty good."
LINEBACKER BRIAN GAMBLE:
"Our philosophy was to stop the run. Once we stopped them running, we were able to send some people on second and third down and long. The front four did a wonderful job. We put two quarterbacks out. That's what the Wrecking Crew is all about - relentless effort and knocking people on their butts. We had to send a message. I was really pleased with the way that we played."
LINEBACKER RANDALL WEBB:
"It's a big deal to play in front of all these fans. I'm still getting used to the atmosphere. (on return for TD) My eyes got huge when I saw that ball. I was looking for the kicker but I didn't see him anywhere. I just ran into the end zone. I couldn't believe it."
DEFENSIVE BACK SAMMY DAVIS:
(on interception) "I was in the right place at the right time. We were in man coverage and I saw it coming. (On Carlyle Holiday) It had to be a tough time for him. We knew he was going to be rattled."
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Notre Dame Postgame Quotes
HEAD COACH BOB DAVIE:
"What I see here is a needy football team. We did everything appropriate to prepare, gave it all our effort and we had character. But we can't see the reward. We have to give a lot of credit to Texas A&M. I think everyone saw what happened. Right now, we're an anemic football team. I appreciate our effort. Their quarterback made some good throws. That 'throw-back-to-the-quarterback' was a great call. Offensively, I thought we had some bright spots early. But we didn't score. Maybe it was evidence of what was to come. We had three interceptions and weren't able to convert on a lot of third-and-one plays. But it's not one thing. This loss hurts a lot. I have a lot of pride. I really wanted our kids to come down here and win in this atmosphere. I'm not sure where we're at right now. Our team has a lot of character. And we'll keep trying to improve as a team. (On Carlyle Holiday) He was a bit winded and gave us some good looks. He played with a lot of intensity. I just wish se could have generated more plays with him. Right now we just can't make a play. When we gave up that early touchdown, it took away our comfort zone. I don't think we were going to go out there and be imaginative if we can't make simple plays. I saw some good things with Carlyle in there. I thought Texas A&M did a good job of executing offense. They mixed it up and I give them a lot of credit offensively. There's no question A&M has tremendous fans. But I thought we dealt with that. It was just simply not executing plays. (On blocked punt) The block punt is when I think the can hit rock bottom. I felt like we could've actually blocked one on them. I think R.C. has done a tremendous job in terms of improvement over their last couple of games. I was really impressed with Derek Farmer. He runs hard and is physical. They're a very talented football team. And they're going to continue to be a good football team. They were very well coached. (On returning to Texas A&M) It was hard. We get a lot of players from Texas. I still have a lot of friends here. But I feel bad for the Notre Dame fans. Being (0-3) is now a reality for the first time in Notre Dame history. So, it makes things a little different. We have a lot of games left and we're not going to quit. All that matters is how we end up at the end of the season."
DEFENSIVE END ANTHONY WEAVER:
"As Phil Jackson said, 'Never let success go to your ahead, never let failure go to your heart.' We've got to stay together in the tough times and pull together in order to turn this around."
QUARTERBACK CARLYLE HOLIDAY:
(On going 0-3) "We never thought it could happen. Losing is not an option at Notre Dame. We have to face the facts and move on. We were prepared. Things just broke down and we couldn't get anything going. (On being injured) I got hit good on one play. I just strained my neck. It's not that bad. I could've come back maybe in the second half. They gave me a lot of good looks, but didn't blitz a lot. I can't recall being hit that many times in one game, however. But I'll be ready for next week. I went out there trying to make some plays. They disguised some coverages. But a loss like this is a big disappointment. I feel comfortable, though, being the QB for this team. (On A&M's defensive line) They ran to the ball. They're very quick and are a physical team. We moved the ball down field they kept us out of the end zone. And that was very frustrating. (On Notre Dame Head Coach Bob Davie) It's not fair that he's taking all the heat for this. Our coaches are doing what they can, but we're not executing."
LINEBACKER TYREO HARRISON:
"We struggled with things that we didn't expect. We have to get into character and see if we can fix things. We have to do it for each other since that is all we have right now."
