Texas A&M 31, Baylor 21

Saturday, October 28

Waco, Texas

6:00 PM

Texas A&M

8-1 , 4-1

Baylor

4-5 , 3-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Texas A&M

Baylor

Oct 28, 2006 | Football

Box Score

By: Texas A&M Athletics

October 28, 2006

Martellus Bennett rumbled 75 yards on one of his two touchdown catches and Mike Goodson added a game-clinching 64-yard TD run with 2:15 left to give No. 22 Texas A&M a 31-21 victory over Baylor on Saturday night.

A&M's Layne Neumann, who had a 22-yard field goal attempt blocked by Braelon Davis on the first play of the fourth quarter, kicked a tie-breaking 22-yard field goal with 6:32 left.

Texas A&M (8-1, 4-1 Big 12) had a third-and-4 when Goodson broke to the left sideline and raced virtually untouched to the end zone.

The Aggies finished with their largest margin in a Big 12 game, the previous four decided by six points or less. They've won four in a row since a 31-27 loss to Texas Tech.

Baylor (4-5, 3-2) went three-and-out after Davis' blocked field goal. Texas A&M answered with the go-ahead drive, Bennett's 17-yard catch converting a third-and-13.

Bennett, the 6-foot-7, 248-pound tight end, caught five passes for 133 yards. Jorvorskie Lane, the bruising 274-pound runner, ran 13 times for 53 yards and his 17th TD, a 2-yard run.

The Battle of the Brazos -- named for the river that touches both college towns only about 90 miles apart -- had gone to overtime the past two years. Baylor won at home in 2004, its only victory in the series since 1985, when Dominique Zeigler caught a 2-point conversion.

Zeigler caught five passes for 180 yards Saturday, including a 79-yard TD in the first quarter that gave Baylor its only lead.

With Baylor having a chance to get over .500 and within one victory of bowl eligibility for the first time since 1994, there was a record crowd of 51,385 on the Waco campus. Still, it was split roughly half-and-half with fans from both schools.

Bennett gave Texas A&M a 21-14 halftime lead when he took a third-down dump pass from Stephen McGee, broke an initial tackle and rumbled down the field. The Bears didn't get another hand on him until Anthony Arline tripped Bennett, and he fell into the end zone.

After Bennett's 3-yard TD in the first quarter, Neumann's extra-point attempt was wide left.

Baylor needed only two plays to take the lead. Shawn Bell hit Zeigler wide open at midfield behind the entire secondary, and Ryan Havens' PAT made it 7-6.

The two teams traded long TD drives in the second quarter, Lane's TD capping a 13-play, 87-yard drive.

Mikail Baker returned the ensuring kickoff to the A&M 21, but a block in the back penalty made the Bears instead start at their own 9. Zeigler had catches of 49 and 29 yards before Brandon Whitaker's 3-yard run made it 14-all.

Texas A&M, one of only four teams averaging more than 200 yards rushing and 200 yards passing, had more than 200 in both categories in the same game for only the second time. The Aggies had 507 total yards -- 292 rushing and 215 passing.

McGee was 12-of-21 passing, and ran 17 times for 89 yards.

Shawn Bell had his school-record 11th straight 200-yard passing game for Baylor, hitting 14-of-20 for 260 yards and a touchdown. Zeigler had four catches for 166 yards by halftime, that accounting for most of his team's 190 yards.

Paul Mosley's 1-yard run capped Baylor's opening drive of the second half, and tied the game at 21.

Texas A&M Postgame Notes

Quarterback Stephen McGee is 4-0 in starts away from Kyle Field during his career.
McGee produced 304 yards of total offense, which was the second-highest output of his career (345 vs. Louisiana Tech was his season high).
McGee threw 21 more INT-free pass attempts against Baylor, raising his streak to a career-high 134. For the season, McGee has attempted 225 passes with only one interception, which is the nation?™s best attempt-interception ratio.
Running back Mike Goodson?™s 64-yard touchdown run was a career long and it was the long rush of the year by the Aggies.
The Aggies rushed for a season-high 292 yards and matched their season-high with 48 carries (A&M also had 48 carries vs. Oklahoma State).
The Aggies?™ 507 total yards were a season high (previous best was 496 vs. Louisiana-Lafayette)
The Aggies are 8-1 for the first time since 1998 when A&M started the season 10-1. The 2006 Aggies are the 11th team Franchione has coached to eight wins or more in a season.
The 10-point win marks A&M?™s biggest lead advantage at any time against conference foes in 2006.
One of four 200/200 offenses in the nation, the Aggies actually rushed and passed for over 200 yards for just the second time this season. A&M rushed for 292 yards and passed for 215 yards.
The Aggies held a 36:52-23:08 advantage in time of possession.
The Aggies converted 8-of-14 third down tries, while limited Baylor to 2-of-9 on third downs.
Jordan Peterson?™s game-clinching interception ended a streak of 139 pass attempts without a pickoff against the Aggies dating back to the 2003 game. In four games against A&M, Shawn Bell attempted 120 passes without a pickoff.
The sellout crowd of 51,385 was the largest in Floyd Casey Stadium history.
The Aggies?™ seven-point 21-14 lead at halftime against Baylor marked their largest lead at any point of the game against conference opponents this season. The previous biggest point advantage was six points in the Aggies?™ 25-19 win over Missouri.
The Aggies?™ 269 yards in the first half was the second-highest first half offensive output of the year (best was 296 vs. Louisiana-Lafayette).
Chad Schroeder?™s 30-yard punt return was a career long and the Aggies?™ longest punt return of the 2006 season.
By halftime, tight end Martellus Bennett already had the first two touchdown game and first 100-yard receiving game of his career. Bennett grabbed four catches for 116 yards and two scores in the first two quarters. His career-long 75-yard catch and run was also a career long and a season-best for the Aggies. He finished with five catches for 133 yards and two touchdowns.
Junior college transfer Johnathan Batson made his first career start in place of the injured Brock Newton.
Sophomore walkon Nick LaMantia was the Aggies?™ 12th Man for the eighth time this season.

Texas A&M Postgame Quotes

HEAD COACH DENNIS FRANCHIONE: This was a typical Big 12 football game between two teams that were playing extremely hard. I?™m so proud of the way our guys kept fighting and found a way to win. The defense had to come up some big stops and they got the job done. Great players make great plays in close ball games.

QUARTERBACK STEPHEN MCGEE: ?Once again we showed a lot of heart and we fought to the very end. It was another close Big 12 game. It took every single guy that put on the maroon and white to pull this one out. It was a total team effort.

(On running the option): We felt like we could run the option on them. Most of the time they took the tailback and that opened it up for me. The O-line did a good job of blocking it up. I just made the read and most of the time, it was for me to take it.?

DEFENSIVE END CHRIS HARRINGTON: ?We had a lot of fun tonight. This game was built up all week with the chit-chat going back and forth. The defense got a big stop when we needed it, which is what we have been doing all year. Up front, we got lots of pressure on the quarterback. We put the line of scrimmage behind them and I think the pressure really got to them.?