Texas A&M 30, (#1) Oklahoma 26: Postgame Notes and Quotes
Nov 09, 2002 | Football
November 09, 2002
BEATING NO. 1- Tonight's 30-26 win against No. 1-ranked Oklahoma was A&M's first against a top-ranked team in The Associated Press poll. A&M beat Kansas State in the 1998 Big 12 Championship game when the Wildcats were No. 2 by AP and No. 1 in the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll. A&M is now 2-9 against top-ranked teams. R.C. Slocum is 6-5 at home against top 10-ranked teams.
McNEAL STEALS THE SHOW---
- McNeal's 61-yard touchdown pass to Terrence Murphy tied for the second-longest by an A&M freshman quarterback. The longest was 69 yards by Lance Pavlas to Matt Gurley against Southern Mississippi in 1987. Jeff Granger connected on a 61-yarder to Brian Mitchell against Tulsa in 1991.
- McNeal's four touchdown passes match the freshman school record shared by Kevin Murray vs. Arkansas in 1983 and Jeff Granger vs. Tulsa in 1992.
- McNeal's rushed for 89 yards on 16 carries. He just missed being the first A&M quarterback to rush for 100 yards in a game since Bucky Richardson ran for 128 vs. Rice in 1991. The last freshman quarterback to run for 100 yards was Richardson with 137 against Rice in 1987.
- McNeal had 280 yards of total offense, the third most by a freshman in school history. Kevin Murray had 299 yards (280 pass/19 rush) against Rice in 1983 and Corey Pullig had 285 yards (272 pass/13 rush) against Houston in 1992.
MURPHY GOES DEEP--- Terrence Murphy had five receptions for a season-best 128 yards and a career-best two touchdowns. His career high is 10 catches for 146 yards against Colorado in 2001. He has three TD catches for the season and six in his career.
JOHNSON MATCHES B. LONG'S RECEIVING TDS MARK--- Senior wide receiver Bethel Johnson pulled in his eighth touchdown catch of the 2002 to match the 34-yard old season receiving touchdown record set by Bob Long in 1967 and again in 1968. The touchdown also moved Johnson into a tie for fourth on the career touchdown receptions list with 11. Johnson had three catches today and is just one shy of the school record
FOR THE RECORD---
- A&M's four passing touchdowns against the Sooners moved the Aggies' season team total to 23, which is a school record. The previous high was 21 passing touchdowns by the Gary Kubiak-led Aggies in 1982.
- The 30 points scored by A&M are the most scored against the Sooners since Kansas State in a 38-37 Sooners' win last season.
- Today's attendance was 84,036, the seventh-largest crowd in Kyle Field history and the second-largest of the year. A&M is in the midst of a 16-game streak of 70,000-plus crowds at Kyle Field. Prior to the beginning of the streak, A&M had only 13 70,000-plus crowds in its history.
- The Sooners scored 10 points after two A&M turnovers. Coming into the game, A&M had allowed just 13 points after turning the ball over.
- The 61-yard touchdown catch and run by A&M wide receiver Terrence Murphy from quarterback Reggie McNeal was the longest play from scrimmage allowed by Oklahoma's defense in 2002.
- The 68-yard touchdown catch by OU's Curtis Fagan was the longest play from scrimmage allowed by the A&M defense in 2002. The previous long was a 64-yard run by Oklahoma State's Tatum Bell last week. The previous long reception allowed by A&M was 52 yards (by Virginia Tech's Ernest Wilford).
- The Aggies received the opening kickoff in the first and second halves.
- A&M's captains were: Sammy Davis, Cody Scates, Bethel Johnson and Joe Weber.
- The A&M 12th Man was running back Will Mays, a junior from Coleman, Texas.
- Terrence Kiel's late interception was his third of the year and eighth of his career.
- The Aggies posted 404 yards of total offense and 219 yards passing, the second most allowed by the Sooners in both categories this season. The Aggies' 185 rushing yards were the third most Oklahoma has allowed and the second most gained by the Aggies in 2002.
- Cody Scates had five punts for a whopping 52.8 average. His 64-yarder in the fourth quarter that pinned Ou deep in their own territory tied his season best and was one yard shy of his career best.
TEXAS A&M COACH R.C. SLOCUM:
(on putting McNeal in game)"It was just something I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to play both of them. We had the same game plan whether it was Dustin or Reggie in the game. Reggie's poise was impressive. I can't say I was surprised. I thought all along that he had special qualities. I didn't want to throw him out there too soon. We brought him along throughout the season. I'm going to continue to get him in the game and develop him as a player. The most pleasing thing is the character of our team. We've had a lot of things not go our way this year. We talked this week about how it was more important to focus on how well the guys on the field play and not those who aren't able to play. Cody's punting was an important part of the game. We knew this game would require us to do a lot of things right and we knew we had to beat them in special teams. It was important for us not to give them a short field to work with. At the time, all wins are special. This is certainly a big one. It ranks with all the others in the past. Our defense gave a great effort. We have tremendous respect for Quentin Griffin. We knew we'd have to gang tackle him. I thought he had a great game. (on late first half TD) I thought when we got the ball back we needed to go down and do something. The offense did a great job."
TEXAS A&M QUARTERBACK REGGIE MCNEAL:
(On late first half TD)"We were just trying to score. At the last second, I saw Porter and took a hit for the team, but I found him. I knew I'd have chances to go deep on them. It's a great feeling to beat the No. 1-team in the nation. I knew going into the game that I would play a little, but I didn't know I'd play almost the whole game. I just gave it 110 percent and it worked out. I was able to get in the groove of the game and that might have helped. Coach told me if I got in to play like I knew I could play. After the first touchdown to Murphy, I felt like tonight was the night. We had that mindset and we were going to do anything it took."
TEXAS A&M SAFETY TERRENCE KIEL:
"There was no difference in practice this week. We just stayed focused and played with intensity."
TEXAS A&M LINEBACKER BRIAN GAMBLE:
"We've set a mark. We weren't ranked in the top 25 but we knocked off the No. 1 team in the nation at Kyle Field. (On Penright's early-week statements) He spilled his heart and he was challenging us to step up. It was important to get the crowd into it early. We did that with the play to Porter at the end of the first half and it carried over. Tonight was picturesque Kyle Field. Coach Slocum's got to be excited. He's known what we could do all along. We made the plays and finally got it."
TEXAS A&M LINEBACKER JERROD PENRIGHT:
(On early week statements he made) "It wasn't a challenge just to the team, but to me as well. We had settled for less in the past and we had to take advantage of the abilities we've been given. It is us understanding the ability God gave us and us using it. We can do anything that we put all of our hearts and souls into. (on fourth quarter) When knew we had lost most of our games in the fourth quarter, so we gave it our all. We gave 100 percent effort."
