Texas A&M
SMU
Aggies Slam SMU, 66-8
Sep 17, 2005 | Football
September 17, 2005
Reggie McNeal set a school record with 449 total yards, throwing for 349 yards and running for 100 in just three quarters to lead Texas A&M to a 66-8 win over SMU on Saturday.
McNeal threw five touchdown passes and ran for another score, while surpassing the Aggies' yardage by a quarterback record of 418, set by Edd Hargett against SMU (1-2) in 1968.
It was also the first time a Texas A&M player has thrown for more than 300 yards and ran for more than 100 in a game, and McNeal's first 300-yard passing game.
The Aggies (1-1) led 24-8 at halftime and scored on six consecutive possessions in the second half to stretch the lead. The victory extends Texas A&M's streak of wins in home openers to 18.
A week after SMU upset TCU, the Mustangs managed to stay with the Aggies for one half.
McNeal was 15-of-24 with no interceptions and threw four touchdown passes in the third quarter before leaving with 2:41 remaining in the quarter.
Texas A&M took advantage of four SMU turnovers, a struggling running game and consistently poor tackling, which turned several short passes into big gains.
McNeal had touchdown passes of 80, 68, 32 and 47 yards in the third quarter. He also threw a 15-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter.
It was McNeal's first five-touchdown pass game. His previous high was four in 2002.
Perhaps the most dazzling touchdown of the afternoon came after Earvin Taylor caught a short pass from McNeal and shed a trio of defenders and before dashing for the 80-yard score.
Jason Carter caught five balls for 143 yards and two touchdowns of Texas A&M, and Chad Schroeder also caught two TD passes, giving him TDs each of his three catches this season.
Texas A&M's offense started slowly, with the special teams putting the first points on the board. Amos Gbunblee blocked an SMU punt midway through the first quarter, and Jaxson Appel recovered for a touchdown.
SMU's only touchdown came at the end of the first quarter when Jerad Romo found Bobby Chase down the sideline for a 67-yard score on third-and-19. The extra point failed, and the Aggies maintained their lead.
Romo finished 18-of-31 with one interception for a career-high 243 yards. A week after running for 118 yards and two touchdowns in his college debut against TCU, DeMyron Martin was a non-factor, gaining 8 yards on as many carries.
SMU managed just 39 yards rushing and 14 first downs to 309 yards rushing and 31 first downs for Texas A&M.
After SMU's touchdown, McNeal spun away from an SMU defender and coasted 63 yards for the longest run of his career and the score.
Texas A&M Postgame Notes
DUAL-THREAT REGGIE --- The nation's top dual-threat quarterback Reggie McNeal had a huge day with 349 passing yards on 15-of-24 attempts with five touchdowns and 100 rushing yards. Here is what Reggie accomplished in less than three quarters of action against SMU.
- McNeal became the first Aggie to pass for more than 300 yards and rush for 100 yards in the same game. He is the 16th player in NCAA history to do it and the first this season going into today's games.
- McNeal's 449 yards of total offense is a school record, breaking the 37-year old record of 418 set by Edd Hargett in a losing effort against SMU in 1968.
- McNeal's 349 passing yards were a career-best and his first 300-yard plus effort. Today's passing total ranks No. 6 in school history.
- His five passing touchdowns were a career-best and rank in a tie for third-most in school history.
- McNeal was responsible for a career-best six touchdowns (five passing, one rushing).
- McNeal's 63-yard touchdown run in the second quarter was a career long, His previous long run was 62 yards (touchdown) against Kansas State in 2004 at Kyle Field.
- McNeal rushed for 100 yards and one TD on just six carries, his second straight 100-yard rushing game and the fifth of his career. The last A&M quarterback to post consecutive 100-yard games was Bucky Richardson, who did it in the final two games of 1990 (109 vs. Texas and 119 vs. BYU in the Holiday Bowl).
TEAM OFFENSE NOTES --- Texas A&M's 66 points were its most since the Aggies beat Baylor 73-10 in 2003. It's also was the most ever scored by the Aggies against SMU (65-6 in 1991). The Aggies' 714 total offense yards, which rank as the No. 3 offensive effort in school history, were their most since they had 719 against Baylor in 2003. The Aggies' 405 passing yards were the second-most in school history and their most since a school record 428 against Kansas in 2002. The Aggies averaged 10.1 yards per play, which was just off the school record 10.2 yards per play against Louisiana-Lafayette in 1990.
OTHER NOTABLES ---
- Jaxson Appel's touchdown recovery of the first quarter blocked punt by Amos Gbunblee marked the third touchdown of his career. A preseason All-American, Appel also had a 64-yard TD interception return against Baylor in 2003 and a 5-yard TD fumble return against Kansas in 2003.
- Since last year's Baylor game, wide receiver Chad Schroeder has made seven catches for 213 yards with five touchdowns. His touchdown strikes have come from lengths of 49 (vs. BU), 45 (vs. OU), 31 (vs. Clemson) and 15, 32 (vs. SMU), and average 30.4 yards in length. For his career, Schroeder has six TD catches that average 35.6 yards in length.
- Earvin Taylor's 80-yard TD catch was the longest of his career, bettering a 71-yarder against OU in 2004.
- The last time A&M blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown was 2002 when Anthony Squillante blocked a Nebraska punt and Terrence Thomas returned it 12 yards for a touchdown against the Cornhuskers at Kyle Field.
- The last time A&M blocked a punt was 2004 when Blake Kendrick did it against Wyoming.
FOR THE RECORD --- Texas A&M Game Captains were Jason Carter, Trey Brooks, Courtney Lewis and Red Bryant ... Today's 12th Man was John Ray, a junior walkon from Giddings, Texas ... For much of the fourth quarter, the Aggies employed an all-walkon 12th Man Kickoff Team against SMU...freshman quarterback Stephen McGee made his debut today, completing 3-of-3 passes for 56 yards and gaining 20 yards on two carries...Jaxson Appel had five tackles today, running his career total to an even 300, an A&M record for a defensive back. The previous record was 298 by Brandon Jennings in 1996-99.
SMU Postgame Notes
- Ryan Mentzel's 61-yard punt in the first quarter was SMU's first 60+yard punt since Nov. 1, 2003 (Mentzel, 71 yards vs. Fresno St.).
- The 67-yard touchdown pass from Jerad Romo to Bobby Chase set a number of marks - it was Romo's longest career completion, Chase's longest career reception and the first 60+yard pass play for SMU since Nov. 1, 2003 (Tate Wallis to Chris Cunningham, 61 yards vs. Fresno St.).
- The 40-yard kickoff return in the second quarter by Jessie Henderson was the longest of his carer.
- The second-quarter safety recorded by SMU was the first for the Mustangs since Justin Rogers notched a two-pointer against Tulsa last season.
- The interception thrown by Jerad Romo in the second quarter was the first thrown by an SMU quarterback this season.
- Romo's 243 yards passing is a career high.
- WR Zack Sledge got his first career start and caught five passes for 73 yards.
- Jessie Henderson's 143 kickoff return yards ranks as the 9th-best single-game total in school history.
Texas A&M Postgame Quotes
WR EARVIN TAYLOR --- (on the mood in the locker room at halftime) "We were kind of sluggish in the first half and I mean, when we got in the locker room, leaders stepped up. Jason Carter he got every one together, he told every one we need to play as a team. We weren't playing as a team that first half and he got us all together, got us riled up and we exploded in the second half."
WR JASON CARTER --- (on the feeling that the offense may be unstoppable) "We have so many weapons. We don't get credit for it. We have so many weapons out there. I was telling Reggie I think on the fourth one we scored, man we aren't giving our defense any rest. When we play against some of the better schools we need to try to grind it out a little bit more. We need to get our points but get the defense a rest."
(on what he said in the locker room) "I don't know if we can put it on tape. I challenged the guys. We were playing like crap and, other words. And I just told them I was sick of it. I challenged the wide receivers to step up and make blocks and make the catches, because we got hounded two weeks ago for some dropped balls. I challenged the offensive line. I said, 'People don't think y'all are physical enough. Y'all step up. The defense needs to step up. The linebackers can't miss any tackles. They shouldn't get another point.' And some different words."
QB REGGIE MCNEAL --- (on Chad Schroeder) "I have great confidence in Chad. Around the locker room we call him 'TD'. Chad 'TD' Schroeder. Anytime I throw the ball I know he's going to make a play for me."
(on the approach to this game) "I didn't approach it any differently. I did the same thing I do every week. I go out, have a good week of practice, watch film, and do my same things during game day. The team didn't approach it any differently. The game we played against Clemson, we said it was all about us, and we said the same thing this week."
(on the offense's play at halftime) "We were moving the ball but we had too many mistakes. We were sluggish. We corrected everything at halftime and came out and played like something in the second half."
DB MARQUIS CARPENTER --- (on his first start) "No difference to me. I went in there confident like I was in the Clemson game. I hadn't been nervous because my adrenaline was pumping. When I saw that tipped ball, I thought it was going to tip high. I made a play on it. It was a good chance and I got it I but I expected to do better than what I did today."
LB JUSTIN WARREN --- (on improvement from game one to game two) "We corrected a little bit more of the tackling problem. We worked hard for two weeks, tackling circuits every day. I think we tackled well today. We have to look at the film. We tackled well and ran to the ball better than we did against Clemson."
HEAD COACH DENNIS FRANCHIONE --- "Well, this was a good day for us in a lot of ways. I thought we got off to a little bit of a tough start, or not as smooth a start as you hope for. But it was almost like going into this game, we were starting the season again. I think playing one game and then taking two weeks off and playing another game made us all a little -- with a little wonder about it. We got to the locker room in pretty good shape, and we get in the locker room and Jason Carter's got the team rallied together and he's giving the coaches talk, which was good. It's great to see leaders step up and everything he was saying needed to be said, and it was a lot better coming from him than me. I'm sure there will be plenty of things we look at that we need to work on yet, but you know, a lot of our mistakes came at the time when they weren't critical as they will be in some games as we go forward."
(on Reggie McNeal's performance) "Well, I think our offensive coaches had a good game plan, and Reggie McNeal played like Reggie McNeal. He executed well. We called the same play for two touchdowns there in the third quarter. It was a play-action pass that worked very well and guys made good runs after the catch. I think great players can get in the zone and maybe this was Reggie McNeal's zone today. He broke some records today. They're probably not going to be the first or last records he breaks this year, but it was one of those days where things went our way."
(on his expectations of Reggie McNeal) "Every once in a while he does something (that surprises me) but my expectations of Reggie are high because of what he has done. There's still a play now and then I kind of go 'Wow. That was really something.' Chad Schroeder's touchdown pass, I thought he was throwing it away, honestly. I couldn't see. It must have been a fantastic catch in the corner of the end zone. It was a incredible throw."
(on getting to play Stephen McGee) "We were grateful for the opportunity to get Stephen in the game. On his first drive as a college football player, he gets a touchdown and a few completions, and he moved around out there and did well. I believe Stephen was to the point in practice where I don't know if we could have gotten much better without game experience. This will be something that he can build on. You can reach a point as a football team and as a player that you need to play to get better. It was good for him to get that. We got to play the back up tailbacks. I thought they all ran hard and did some good things. That'll be very valuable as we go through this season."
SMU Postgame Quotes
SMU QUARTERBACK JERAD ROMO - (on goal line fumble) "We felt good at that point. We just didn't execute. We'd been moving the ball all game and had the ball down by the end zone and I didn't secure the ball. That's all me. I've got to tuck it away. (on dropped passes) It is frustrating, definitely. Some of those drops put us in bad situations. At the beginning of the game, we had a lot of third-and-longs and that's hard on our offensive line. It's hard on our running backs. It's hard on everybody. It was a good crowd but that didn't force us to make mistakes. It was a great crowd but the crowd didn't make the plays. Special teams are something you don't notice unless they aren't going good. When they aren't going good, everybody notices it. It's the little things that got us out of the groove."
SMU HEAD COACH PHIL BENNETT - "They had an explosion and we never recovered from it. That's a tribute to them. Reggie (McNeal) is a good player. He broke a tackle on the line of scrimmage on his long run. When things started rolling for them, the crowd got into it. It was hard for us to get our feet back into it. Our kickoff return was really good, we just fumbled the ball. Our punt team has not been solid to this point. They had a problem also. It's one of those early-season things where you've got to keep working it. It's just attention to detail. I thought Ryan (Mentzel) kicked good later on. To come back from a blocked punt was big. We had six dropped passes in the first quarter. We're a better football team than we showed. If we do the right things, we'll learn from this. It's obvious, though, that we weren't ready for prime time. We have our first Conference USA game next week and we'd better have some guys ready to get hooked up. My biggest disappointment, besides the dropped balls, is our tackling on defense. It was horrendous. That's coaching and I'll take the blame on that one. If we respond right, we'll have a chance to be 2-2 before we leave town again. I think we have good kids and I think we'll come back and compete. This is a different team than you saw last week (against TCU). This is a tough place to play. They have great fans. Once they started sharking on us, it was a feast. They were bringing kids in three deep. I knew at halftime that our kids were gassed. That's not a slight to Texas A&M at all. That's the reason they are in the Big 12. They played a lot of kids and kept their starters fresh. That made a big difference. For us to have a chance in this game, we had to prove we could stick with them. You get a few opportunities and when you don't capitalize on them, it's going to be a long day."
