Aggies Roll to 27-6 win over No. 25 Clemson

Saturday, September 18

College Station

6:00 PM

Texas A&M

2-1

(#25) Clemson

1-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Clemson

Texas A&M

Sep 18, 2004 | Football

Box Score

By: Texas A&M Athletics

September 18, 2004

Courtney Lewis rushed for 165 yards and two touchdowns and Reggie McNeal added 307 total yards, leading Texas A&M to a surprising 27-6 rout of Clemson on Saturday night.

Lewis bounced back with an impressive performance after injuries forced him to miss last week's game against Wyoming, McNeal skillfully directed the offense, and the Aggies' defense overwhelmed Clemson's no-huddle offense.

Thought to be a contender for the ACC title this season, Clemson (1-2) took its second straight defeat to an unranked team. The Tigers were ranked No. 20 before last week's loss to Georgia Tech.

The Aggies (2-1) may finally be able to reclaim the "Wrecking Crew" moniker after hounding Clemson quarterback Charlie Whitehurst into one of his worst performances. A&M coach Dennis Franchione had stripped his defense of the longtime nickname following a string of embarrassing performances last season.

Whitehurst, the ACC's leading passer, finished 20-of-36 for 192 yards with three interceptions and a touchdown. He was sacked five times and chased around all night by Aggies.

Clemson was held to 250 yards, its lowest total since getting 199 in a loss to Georgia in the 2003 season opener.

A&M's offense was almost as impressive as its offense, rolling up more than 500 yards and committing no turnovers for a second straight week.

Lewis, who last year became the first 1,000-yard rusher at A&M since Dante Hall in 1998, had his first 100-yard game of the season. McNeal ran for a career-high 129 yards and completed 14 of 26 passes for 178 yards.

Lewis scored both touchdowns within a five-minute span of the second quarter. The first was a 1-yard plunge for a 7-0 lead and the next came on a 29-yard sprint down the middle of the field to extend the lead to 14 points.

Clemson got on the board late in the second quarter when Whitehurst found Ben Hall for a 15-yard touchdown pass to cap a four-play, 59-yard drive. Stephen Furr missed the extra point, making it 14-6.

Just before halftime, A&M freshman Erik Mayes returned a punt 49 yards to the Clemson 21 and Todd Pegram kicked a 32-yard field goal four plays later to extend the Aggies' lead to 17-6.

On their first drive of the second half, the Aggies marched 99 yards in nine plays and scored on Jason Carter's 3-yard run to all but seal the victory.

A&M has a bye week, then opens its Big 12 schedule against defending league champs Kansas State on Oct. 2.

Texas A&M Postgame Notes

THE VICTORY --- The Aggies' 27-6 win over No. 25 Clemson was their first win over a ranked opponent since A&M's 30-26 upset of No. 1 Oklahoma in 2002. It also marked head coach Dennis Franchione's first top 25 victory as the Aggies' coach.

DUAL 100-YARD RUSHERS --- Running back Courtney Lewis and quarterback Reggie McNeal became the first Aggies to rush for 100 yards in the same game since Lewis and Derek Farmer did it against Baylor in 2003. The last time a QB and RB did it was 1991 when Greg Hill rushed for 109 and Bucky Richardson had 128 against Rice. McNeal and Lewis combined for 294 rushing yards, the most by an A&M tandem since Greg Hill (141) and Rodney Thomas (179) combined for 320 yards against Texas Tech in 1992. It's the sixth most combined yards by a pair of Aggies in a game in school history. For a QB/RB combination, it ranks third on the school chart. Richardson (180) and Darren Lewis (207) combined for 387 yards against SMU in 1990 and George Woodard (185) and Mike Mosley (180) combined for 365 yards against Southern California in the 1977 Bluebonnet Bowl.

QB McNEAL HITS CENTURY MARK --- With 129 yards on 17 carries, Reggie McNeal became the first A&M quarterback to rush for 100 or more yards in a game since Bucky Richardson rushed for 128 on 18 carries against Rice in 1991.

GOING ON THE OFFENSIVE --- McNeal generated 307 yards of total offense (178 pass/129 rush), marking only the second time in school history a player has gained at least 300 yards in consecutive games. The other player to do it was Bucky Richardson against Rice (359) and TCU (348) in 1991 (both games were on the road). McNeal is the first player to gain 300 or mare yards in consecutive games at Kyle Field. Tonight's game was the third 300-yard total offense game in McNeal's career, tying the school record shared by Randy McCown (1996-99), Mark Farris (1999-02) and Dustin Long (2002-03). All three of McNeal's 300-yard games have been at home. Last week, he gained 342 yards (298 pass/44 run) against Wyoming and last season he gained 330 yards (259 pass, 71 run) against Kansas.

ANOTHER 99-YARDER --- The Aggie offense produced a 99-yard touchdown drive for the second straight week against Clemson. On their first drive of the second half, the Aggies took possession at their 1-yard line after a Tiger punt. With A&M quarterback Reggie McNeal fully in control, the Aggies went the length of the field in nine plays and drained 2:55 off the clock. Last week against Wyoming, Kerry Franks finished off a 99-yard drive with an 84-yard TD catch from McNeal. Prior to 2004, the most recent 99-yard drive was in 1999 when quarterback Mark Farris (who was in the press box tonight) and receiver Chris Taylor did the heavy lifting with a 96-yard pass and catch for a touchdown.

OFFENSIVE POWER - As a team, the Aggies gained 502 yards of total offense (324 rush/178 pass), their most since gaining 547 last year against Kansas. A&M's 324 rushing yards were its most since gaining 336 against North Texas in 1997 at Texas Stadium in Irving. The last time A&M had more rushing yards at Kyle Field was in 1996, when the Aggies gained 425 yards against Louisiana Tech.

GETTING DEFENSIVE - A&M has allowed just six points in the last two games (0 last week vs. Wyoming), its smallest total in a two-game span since 1999, when the Aggies beat Oklahoma State, 17-6, in Stillwater, then shutout Oklahoma, 29-0, at Kyle Field. A&M allowed just 250 yards of total offense after allowing just 181 against Wyoming. The last time A&M held consecutive opponents to 250 or fewer yards was in 2002 against the first three opponents of the season (Louisiana-Lafayette, Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech). Clemson gained just 58 yards rushing after Wyoming was held to minus-3 yards last week. A&M also posted five sacks after recording six against Wyoming.

TURNOVER TURNAROUND --- The Aggies grabbed four turnovers (three interceptions and one fumble recovery). The interceptions were by Byron Jones (Bay City, Texas), Japhus Brown (Edna, Texas) and Erik Mayes (Humble, Texas), with the forced fumble and recovery by Jonte Buhl (Pflugerville, Texas). The Aggies have gained seven turnovers (six interceptions, one fumble recovery) this season, while losing none. The Aggies have attempted 93 passes this season without suffering an interception and rushed the ball 126 times without a fumble or fumble lost.

MAYES ELECTRIFIES --- A source of Aggie angst in 2003, redshirt freshman Erik Mayes (Humble, Texas) looks to have solidified the A&M punt return position. For the game, Mayes had a two returns for 58 yards, including an electrifying 49-yarder that set up a field goal. The 49-yarder was the longest by the Aggies since a 55-yarder for a touchdown by Jason Webster against Oklahoma in 1998.

MORE FIRST-TIME STARTERS --- The A&M offense, which had already used 13 different starters in the first two games, saw two more new starters against Clemson. Starting their first games ever were junior Jesse Woods (Katy, Texas) and sophomore Earvin Taylor (Mission, Texas). After three games, the Aggies have used 15 different starters on offense and defense.

RETURN OF LEWIS --- The return to the lineup by running back Courtney Lewis paid immediate dividends for the Aggies. Lewis, who missed last week's game due to an injury, reeled off a 44-yard run late in the first quarter and eventually ended that drive with a one-yard TD plunge. On the following A&M possession, Lewis romped for a 29-yard TD run through the gut of the Clemson defense. For the game, Lewis rushed for 165 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries, the second most yards of his career and the most carries. It marked the sixth 100-yard game of his career and the first of 2004.

MISCELLANEOUS --- Three of A&M's last four head coaches before Dennis Franchione were in attendance at tonight's game --- R.C. Slocum (1989-2002), Jackie Sherrill (1982-88) and Emory Bellard (1972-78). Gene Stallings (1965-71), Bellard's predecessor, attended last week's game against Wyoming for the "Junction Boys" reunion. ... Game captains for the Aggies were senior Keith Joseph (Houston, Texas), senior Byron Jones (Bay City, Texas), redshirt freshman Red Bryant (Jasper, Texas) and junior Archie McDaniel (Bay City, Texas). Honorary game captains were former A&M head coach Emory Bellard (1972-78) and former A&M running back Bubba Bean, who was coached by Bellard from 1972-75 ... The 12th Man Kickoff Team representative for the third straight game was John Ray, a sophomore from Giddings, Texas.

Postgame Quotes

CLEMSON HEAD COACH TOMMY BOWDEN: "Offensively, we just shot ourselves in the foot. You can't turn the ball over and win any games, against Texas A&M or anyone else. We turned the ball over on offense, didn't put ourselves in position on defense, and didn't force any turnovers. We didn't create anything to change the momentum, offensively or defensively. This is the worst we've looked on both sides of the ball. We have a tough schedule, the second toughest in the nation. You have to learn to deal with that kind of schedule and have success. I think we played pretty hard. It looked like we had a lot of missed tackles late in the game. Until I look at the tape, I won't know if it was technique or if we just gave up on the blocking. They made us execute the passing game and we did not. We ran it fairly good at times. We knew (Reggie McNeal) was fast. They gave us some isolated type formations with no backs to try and man up and isolate him. We couldn't tackle the kid. Whether it was poor tackling, scheme, or whether it was him, I'll have to look at the tape to determine. You don't mind passing stats if you're shutting the running game down and that's the only way they're moving the ball. When they're throwing the ball and running the ball, that's not very good."

CLEMSON QUARTERBACK CHARLIE WHITEHURST: "They definitely blitzed us. We expected that. We'd played two games now and they were going to scheme us. I think I had four turnovers by myself and they didn't have any. That was definitely huge. I don't think we ever really got it going. We had the plays to make and just didn't make them. I give credit to Texas A&M, but we didn't do anything. We could have at least made it a game if we had shown up. Every game is going to be tough, but offensively we haven't shown up yet. Until that happens, I'm not as concerned with the opponent as I am our team. We didn't give up, we just didn't make plays. I think that's the bottom line. First and foremost, if I can play to the best of my ability this stuff doesn't happen. We just had guys not show up and I'm probably number one on that list."

TEXAS A&M DEFENSIVE BACK ERIK MAYES: "We have to play good to prove the Wyoming thing was not a fluke. If we didn't play good everybody was like it's Wyoming. We felt in practice we had to practice twice was hard, come out and -- we all bet we'd be ready to get this thing going in the right direction.

TEXAS A&M DEFENSIVE BACK BYRON JONES: "(The Utah game is) Still in my mind, but we feel like that team was not us and we came out tonight to let everybody know we are a better team. The team y'all saw against Utah that wasn't us. It's fresh on our mind, but we came out to prove a point that this is a better football team."

TEXAS A&M RUNNING BACK COURTNEY LEWIS: "Well, last week when I was at home watching the game I had a little urge to come back out and make a statement that -- that I'm still here; still have my running ability no matter what happens. I had a little adversity at first, but I came back strong and dealt with it. (On running the option) I guess the first game they played it so well. We tried to run it against Utah but we were unsuccessful then. But it depends on the schemes they give us. (on health) I guess I'm a hundred percent. I finished the game today. So -- yeah it was bothering me at first but after the game went by -- felt more confident being on it and making my cuts and doing the second quarter I completely forgot about it. Not bothering me."

TEXAS A&M QUARTERBACK REGGIE MCNEAL: (On the 99-yard drive) "We started pounding on them and we could tell they were getting worn down so we just continued to execute our offense and just played together. (backed up at the 1 in the third) I just got to stay calm. You can't get over excited with yourself just because you're throwing the ball, but Coach Fran's got a lot of faith and confidence in us. Hold up, get the ball out on the perimeter to our receivers. (Clemson looking for you or Courtney) Well, that could have possibly been the case but I mean, with me and Courtney back there just -- just like one two punch except you can't just key on one of us and -- I mean, you get out there and most people don't have enough speed to get out on the edges because Courtney's got speed. So I mean teams try to account for one or the other and end up losing on the other. So it's kind of hard for most defense to account for both of us."

TEXAS A&M HEAD COACH DENNIS FRANCHIONE: "I'm real proud of our team, the way they bounced back from that first game. And I'm really proud of our coaching staff. It was a team effort all the way across the board. I mean, our defense got four turnovers and 250 yards. Pressure -- I think both the offensive line and defensive line have to get some credit tonight. We pressured the quarterback well and protected the quarterback pretty well this evening. That was instrumental having a third straight game without a turn over. That's huge. Courtney welcome back and Reggie had a fine game. I thought Erik Mayes played fantastic. A lot of guys you can go across the board with a number of them that played well. The crowd was awesome this evening. You know, there was -- I'm sure it had a impact on their ability to function somewhat and they did a great job for us. It was just wonderful experience in that regard. (is this a landmark win) Well, you know it's like we talked the other day. We won't know that until we look back. But it is a big win. You beat a top 25 team at home and get yourself to 2 and 1 going into open day and getting ready for Big 12 play and -- you know, we got to go back to work tomorrow and I think the open date comes at a good time for us to get some things cleaned up and better, but it was a big win. Any time you can knock off a top 25 team and do it convincingly like we did and is significant. (on the difference between this team and the one that played Utah) We all said after the Utah game we were better than that. The coaches said that and the players said that and to their credit they never waived with that and they hung together and we played a very good football team that night at their plays and stuff situation and a lot of our kids played their first football game. This team can get better as we go along. Especially with positive reinforcement with a victory like this one right here."