November 25, 2005
Texas A&M redshirt freshman Stephen McGee rushed for 108 yards and two touchdowns in his first career start at quarterback, but No. 2 Texas held on for a 40-29 victory Friday in the State Farm Lone Star Showdown before 86,617 fans at Kyle Field.
McGee, who was starting in place of Reggie McNeal, rushed for 108 yards, the most for A&M quarterback against Texas since Bucky Richardson did so in the 1990 matchup.
Texas' Ramonce Taylor ran for two touchdowns, Cedric Griffin returned a blocked punt for score in the third quarter and the No. 2 Longhorns survived Young's shakiest game of the season to keep their national championship hopes intact with a win over A&M.
Young is one of the leading contenders for the Heisman Trophy, but McGee made the plays the Longhorns' quarterback usually makes. McGee ran for 108 yards and a pair of touchdowns in his first start as A&M made a strong run at pulling off one of the biggest upsets in a 111-year-old rivalry.
Young came in likely needing a big game to keep pace with USC's Reggie Bush in the chase for the Heisman Trophy -- and his penchant for making big plays in Texas' biggest games seemed to guarantee it.
Instead, he struggled against a defense ranked 109th in the country with 162 yards passing, 19 rushing and two turnovers that led directly to Aggies' touchdowns. He did throw for a touchdown and led to key late drives for field goals.
Despite his bad game, Texas (11-0, 8-0) moves on to the Big 12 title game next Saturday against the winner of the North Division. Win that game and the Longhorns are a lock for a return trip the Rose Bowl on Jan. 4 to play for the Bowl Championship Series title.
The Aggies (5-6, 3-5) did everything they could to spoil those plans.
Behind McGee and the punishing running of 265-pound freshman Jorvorskie Lane, the Aggies had the Longhorns reeling before finally running out of gas late in the fourth quarter.
Lane finished with 104 yards on 17 carries.
Taylor ran for 102 yards on 15 carries for Texas. His second touchdown, an 8-yard scamper through the right side in the third quarter capped a 10-play, 80-yard drive after the Aggies had taken a 22-21 lead on McGee's 11-yard touchdown run.
The Longhorns got the critical blocked punt on A&M's next possession when Michael Griffin crashed over the left side. Cedric Griffin snared the ball in mid-air and cruised into the end zone for a 34-22 Texas lead.
McGee's second touchdown -- a 1-yard run -- got the Aggies within five before the Longhorns stretched the lead on David Pino's 41-yard field goal. Pino also kicked a 29-yarder with 2:22 left for the final points.
The Longhorns had to feel lucky to get out of this one battered and bruised but otherwise rolling along.
Texas led 14-0 in the first quarter thanks mostly to A&M mistakes: an interception and a short punt that set up Texas with short drives for TD runs by Henry Melton and Taylor.
Then Young threw an interception that gave the Aggies the ball on the Texas 35. A&M struck quickly when Lane threw a halfback pass to Jason Carter, who was five steps behind the nearest defender and waltzed into the end zone.
That cut it to 14-9 and whipped the crowd of 86,617 into a frenzy as the Aggie fans waved their white "12th Man Towels." McGee then dashed 49 yards to the Texas 22. That set up Brandon Leone's touchdown run that made it 15-14 after a 2-point conversion attempt failed.
Texas answered with a 77-yard drive to retake the lead. Young almost gave that one away as well when he fumbled on a 13-yard run but the Longhorns recovered. On the next play, Young hit Ahmard Hall for a 14-yard touchdown for a 21-15 lead at the half.
Young is 28-2 as a starter and Friday's win tied him with Bobby Layne for the most in school history. The Longhorns have won six in a row over their fiercest in-state rival.
Texas A&M Postgame Notes
McGEE ENTERS FRAY --- With three-year starter Reggie McNeal on the sideline in street clothes, redshirt freshman Stephen McGee (Burnet, Texas) started at quarterback. McGee finished with a game-high 191 yards of total offense, rushing for 108 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries and completing 9-of-23 passes for 83 yards.
RUSHING PROWESS --- The Aggies rushed for 277 yards, the most of any Texas opponent this season. McGee (108) and fellow freshman Jorvorskie Lane (17-104) became only the second A&M duo to each rush for 100 yards against Texas, joining Bucky Richardson (25-150) and Darren Lewis (16-109), who did it in 1990. The last freshman quarterback to rush for 100 yards for A&M was Richardson (8-137) against Rice in 1987.
TURNOVER ADVANTAGE --- Each team had three turnovers with two fumbles and one interception. In the Franchione Era, A&M is 3-18 when it has an even or minus turnover margin. The Aggies are 13-1 under Fran when it has a turnover margin advantage.
CARTER WRAPUP --- Senior receiver Jason Carter had two catches for 60 yards and a touchdown in is final game for A&M. Carter?â„¢s senior season ranked in A&M?â„¢s top 10 in receiving yards 4th with 827), receiving touchdowns (5th with six), and receptions (6th with 54). For his career, Carter also ranks high in receiving yards (6th with 1,457) and receptions (6th with 102).
BIG CROWD --- Today?â„¢s crowd of 86,617 ranks as the fourth largest in stadium history, which also makes it the fourth largest in state history.
McNEAL WRAPUP --- Quarterback Reggie McNeal finished his A&M career as the school?â„¢s career record holder in passing yards (6,992) and total offense (8,881). He finished No. 2 on the quarterback career rushing chart (1,889), No. 3 in career passing touchdowns (44), completions (478) and attempts (875). McNeal suffered an undisclosed injury while being sacked for a safety in the third quarter of the Oklahoma game on Nov. 12.
DEFENSIVELY --- A&M held Texas to a season-low 336 offensive yards, ending a streak of three straight 600-yard games and eight straight 400-yard efforts. Vince Young posted 181 total offensive yards, his second fewest of the season and his fewest since he had 177 (101 pass/77 rush) against Rice. Young?â„¢s 162 passing yards also were his second fewest of the year as were his 19 rushing yards.
PEGRAM CLIMBS TO THIRD --- Senior kicker Todd Pegram ended his career with 309 points, third most in Big 12 history. His 56 career field goals are the second most in Big 12 annals and tie for second in A&M history. His career percentage of .747 (56-75) is the best in school history.
BRANTLY SETS FRESHMAN MARK --- Punter Justin Brantly led the nation?â„¢s freshmen this season with a 43.2 average, setting an A&M freshman record. The old mark was 42.7 by Shane Lechler in 1996.
Texas Postgame Notes
TEAM NOTES
VINCE YOUNG
RAMONCE TAYLOR
HENRY MELTON
MICHAEL GRIFFIN
CEDRIC GRIFFIN
BILLY PITTMAN
DREW KELSON
ROBERT KILLEBREW
AHMARD HALL
RASHAD BOBINO
ROD WRIGHT
BRIAN ORAKPO
MICHAEL HUFF
DAVID THOMAS
Texas A&M Postgame Quotes
HEAD COACH DENNIS FRANCHIONE: "Well, I was proud of our guys. I thought they accepted the challenge well and played very hard all the way to the end, and gave it their all. We probably made just a few too many miscues there to be able to beat a No. 2 ranked team in the nation. Gosh, we moved the ball well. We had a couple of 100-yard rushers. I thought defense played well. We held Vince Young pretty well today. They're a good team and they deserve to be where they are. They found a way to get it done on a day like today. (on the play of Stephen McGee) We're excited about Stephen and the kind of competitor he is. I assume he's already been in here to see y'all today and I know how he probably was. He doesn't take losing well, and he's very accountable. His attitude and enthusiasm is going to spread through this team even more. The keys to the car get turned over to him now and it's hard to not be excited about him, and Jorvorskie (Lane) and Martellus (Bennett) and so many of our younger players. (on the high rushing yardage numbers) Well, I think the offensive coaches did a great job of putting together a game plan. The offensive line played pretty well on the running game. I thought Stephen did a great job with Jorvorskie and with Courtney when he was in there. We had a good plan and executed fairly well and I think our line played pretty well, our backs ran hard. It was not just one thing. It was a combination of several. (on whether or not there was a turning point in the game) You know, I don't know if there was a singular play that you pick out as a turning point. When we lost the punt on the fumble there that hurt us because there was still plenty of time to go down and drive and score a touchdown and make a two point conversion or maybe get another possession. It was a game that went back and forth and we just couldn't miss a turn and we missed our turn."
QUARTERBACK STEPHEN MCGEE: "Well, I first want to say I'm just extremely proud of Reggie and all he's meant to me?...and not only me, but this university and this football team. You can look at stats and all that stuff but Reggie's really done some wonderful things here for this football team. I guess I'm just thankful to be able to learn from a guy like Reggie. He was there for us today on the sideline. He was encouraging us. That's the kind of guy Reggie is. (on his emotions after finding out he would start) You know, my biggest thing is to always stay focused and to mentally prepare myself as well as I can. I'm not worried about how many people are going to go to the game, or whether it's going to be on television or not. The most important thing is that I prepare myself for what I'm going to see and what I'm going up against and I think mentally I just try to stay locked in and keep out all the outside emotions. I had a great opportunity that's what I focused on how I was going to make my team better this week. (on rushing for over 100 yards) I've been known to be a throwing quarterback, and that's probably my greatest strength, but what's most important to me is moving our team down the field. I wanted to go out there and compete and have fun and move these guys. Throwing it or running it every down, I wanted to do it with everything I had and put everything I had into it until the game is over. (on what he said to the team when down 14-0) I told them, 'Guys, when we came into the game we're the only guys that believed that we have a chance. I'm telling you we have a chance. Keep fighting. Believe in each other and play for the name on front of the jersey.' Those guys really responded, we never quit and we faced adversity like we have all year and we responded. I was just proud of the guys. We didn't always execute perfectly but you know as a team we hung in there and fought and we had a lot of people's help. (on the fumble deep in Texas territory) That was just a bad play on my part. I didn't hold the ball. That's my job as quarterback. I look back on it now as a deciding factor in the game and I saw the guy there, I stepped up and tried to avoid him, and he made a great play and knocked the ball out?...that's what it comes down to. I should have held on to the ball. I take responsibility for that and I think that'll be something that I hold dear in my memory about this game."
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR LES KOENNING: "We were trying to establish the run early. We were trying to move the ball up and down the field. We got that done a little early. (on Stephen McGee quarterbacking today) In practice we work two quarterbacks every day. We've been doing that all season, so Stephen has been getting reps. It's not like a situation where we grabbed him off the scout team and said, 'Guess what.' It was one of those situations he had been prepped for and I thought he did a really good job. We felt (Stephen) had some abilities to take care of the football running the ball and he made positive yards for us and it was really nice."
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR CARL TORBUSH: "it was a hard fought ballgame. we had many opportunities. there's no question that texas has got an outstanding football team and we knew that before we played them. they are very deep at every position. i'm very proud of the fact we did have a chance to win the ball game. i thought our kids played extremely hard. we had a chance to make a few plays, especially on third downs, and that continued to be the achilles' heel. like i say, there's no fun in defeat, but as far as the effort as far as the want to seeing guys compete for 60 minutes i think our players did that very, very well."
RUNNING BACK BRANDON LEONE: "Losing doesn't feel good. We fought hard. They're a great team. Anytime you play a team ranked No. 2 in the nation and play as well as we did today it's good, but always hurts to come away with a loss. (on this performance different than his first) Oklahoma State was my first time playing running back in a long time. I had to learn a little lesson about keeping the ball high and tight. I was excited to play the way I did. I tried to do the best I could for the team. (on the play of Stephen McGee) I think he surprised a lot of people. When you think of Stephen McGee you think of heart. He plays hard, leads good, is really smart and he wants to win and that was evident today as hard as he played."
WIDE RECEIVER JASON CARTER: "I'm real proud of these guys. They came out and fought their tails off. We were asking them to play hard for the seniors and for themselves, and the guys did a great job of fighting. I think they've really got some building for next year out of this game. I'm real proud of them. (on Reggie McNeal) Last night when I saw him at yell practice, he was real emotional. Reggie and I became close over the years and not to play our last game together was real emotional but you've got to move on. (on Stephen McGee) I'm so proud of Stephen. I told him 'I've got your back. No matter what happens, just throw it and I'll do what I can to help you out.' He's one of the toughest guys I played with. Stephen's going to be a great quarterback. He's a natural born leader, he takes control and he's going to be great."
DEFENSIVE BACK JAXSON APPEL: "I think everybody got tired of listening to people tell us how bad we were and we knew we weren't. We didn't want to listen to it anymore. We played hard. (on what it's been like playing at A&M) It's been a blessing to me. As I was walking off the field, I was like, 'Man, these five years went by really fast.' It's pretty sad. That's something I'm going to have to deal with, but it's been possibly the five best five years of my life to date."
LINEBACKER ARCHIE MCDANIEL: (on if it's a consolation that they played Texas hard) "In my opinion, no. Regardless of how we played, a loss is a loss. We came into the game expecting to win and that's what we wanted to do. We wanted to win this game and that's the bottom line."
Texas Postgame Quotes
TEXAS COACH MACK BROWN: ?This is one of the toughest places to play in the country. We didn?â„¢t play very well in the first half. Credit Texas A&M for playing so hard. They had a good plan. I thought their fans were great, just like they always are. Give our football team credit for not panicking with all that?â„¢s on the line. We did the things we needed to do to win. It?â„¢s so hard to go 11-0 anymore. You?â„¢re playing against a national championship-like effort every weekend because the other team wants to beat you so bad. I think this is the best possible thing that could have happened to us today because it got our guys?â„¢ attention and it got our coaches?â„¢ attention. Stephen (McGee) did a great job. Give Texas A&M credit. This is a 112-year-old rivalry that means a whole lot to all these guys.?
TEXAS QUARTERBACK VINCE YOUNG: ?They gave us all they had. Our defense came up with big turnovers. All that matters to me is that we won. I think I did a good job of managing the game. We got a ?'W.?â„¢ We spread the ball around pretty good and got the ball in different people?â„¢s hands. We didn?â„¢t play as good as we?â„¢ve been playing. A&M came in hard and gave us all they got. They are a good team. We?â„¢re just looking forward to whoever we get to play in the Big 12 Championship.?
TEXAS DEFENSIVE TACKLE RODRIGUE WRIGHT: ?They played their hearts out. They ran a whole lot of options and the quarterback was able to scramble. He?â„¢s a fast guy and we weren?â„¢t tackling well. Basically, they just put a lot of pressure on us. And we didn?â„¢t answer for a while.?