Texas A&M 21, Kansas 18

Saturday, October 7

Lawrence, Kan.

11:00 AM

Texas A&M

5-1 , 1-1

Kansas

3-3 , 0-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Texas A&M

Kansas

Oct 07, 2006 | Football

Box Score

By: Texas A&M Athletics

October 07, 2006

Stephen McGee engineered an 80-yard touchdown drive in the final three minutes, capped by Jorvorskie Lane's 2-yard run, and Texas A&M came from behind Saturday to beat Kansas 21-18.

Until Lane crashed his 274-pound frame into the end zone with 34 seconds to go, the Aggies (5-1, 1-1 Big 12) had trailed the entire game.

McGee was 7-for-9 in the nearly flawless drive, including a 2-point conversion pass to Joey Thomas.

McGee, who had 240 yards passing, did not have a pass play go farther than 10 yards in the game-winning march until L'Tydrick Riley took a screen pass over the middle that completely fooled the tiring Kansas defense and sped 35 yards to the 5.

On three separate possessions, the Jayhawks (3-3, 0-2) had first downs on the A&M 22, 18 and 13. But each time they came away with nothing but field goals after Texas A&M's quick, aggressive defense refused to yield.

Adam Barmann, who passed for 405 yards the week before against No. 22 Nebraska, was only 13-for-31 for 127 yards and consistently underthrew and overthrew open receivers. His 6-yard touchdown pass to Dexton Fields gave Kansas a touchdown after punter Kyle Tucker's shovel pass to Brandon McAnderson clicked for 48 yards to the 8.

Jon Cornish, the Big 12's No. 2 rusher, had all but 19 of his 128 yards in the second half and helped Kansas seize an 18-7 lead on Scott Webb's third field goal late in the third quarter.

After Webb's 33-yard field goal put the Jayhawks up 10-0, the Aggies staged an impressive 12-play, 74-yard touchdown drive that consumed almost 7 minutes of the second quarter. Lane scored on his first 2-yard touchdown run to make it 10-7.

Webb's 36-yarder put Kansas on top 13-7 in the third quarter after Cornish broke a 49-yard run to the 18. The Jayhawks got a safety when the Aggies snapped the ball through the end zone on an attempted punt.

Texas A&M freshman Mike Goodson had runs of 24 and 25 yards and McGee picked up 16 late in the third quarter before McGee scored on a 2-yard run on a quarterback keeper. McGee then failed on a 2-point conversion run.

Texas A&M Postgame Notes

The Aggies are 2-0 away from Kyle Field in 2006 with victories over Kansas in Lawrence and a win over Army in San Antonio.
The Aggies once again controlled the clock with a 33:16 to 26:44 edge over Kansas in time of possession.
The Aggies converted 8-of-17 third-down situations on offense, while limiting KU to 3-of-15 on third-down tries.
Quarterback Stephen McGee posted his career highs in completions and attempts with a 25-for-45 effort for 240 yards with no interceptions.
The Aggies ran a season-high 76 offensive plays, surpassing the 72 plays they ran against Louisiana-Lafayette.
The Aggie defense limited Kansas to 113 rushing yards on 27 carries (4.2 per carry), which was 48 yards below KU's season average coming into the game.
Tight ends Martellus Bennett and Joey Thomas combined for seven catches for 72 yards, and Thomas also had a catch on the two-point conversion that gave A&M the three-point bulge late in the fourth quarter. Bennett's six catches for 67 yards were both career highs, surpassing the five-catch, 54-yard effort against Louisiana-Lafayette.
Junior wide receiver Earvin Taylor's seven catches for 36 yards surpassed his previous career high of five catches (vs. Tennessee in the 2005 Cotton Bowl).
The Aggies were held scoreless in the first quarter for the first time this season and the first time since last year's Colorado game.
The Aggies didn't win the turnover battle (both teams had one turnover), but still emerged with the victory. The win improved A&M's record to 6-19 when the Aggies lose or are even in turnover/takeaway margin in the Franchione era.
A&M improves to 7-1 all-time vs. the Jayhawks, including 5-0 in the Big 12 era.
McGee used eight different receivers: four wide receivers, two tight ends and two running backs.

FOR THE RECORD --- The 12th Man was Nick LaMantia, a walkon sophomore from Mission, Texas. It was the fifth 12th Man assignment of the season for LaMantia. ... Game captains were Earvin Taylor, Chris Harrington, L'Tydrick Riley and Mark Dodge. ... Making his first career start was former walkon Marques Thornton at defensive tackle.

Texas A&M Postgame Quotes

HEAD COACH DENNIS FRANCHIONE: "Our kids battled hard all day long and found a way to win. You have to take your hat off to Kansas. They played extremely hard and had a good gameplan. We talk about Aggie Spirit and that last drive was all about grit and determination. We've still got a lot of things to work on, but I will go to battle with these guys any time."

(On Kansas blitzing) "I don't think Kansas blitzes more than any one else. They just blitz in timely situations."

(On choosing to start second half against the wind) "It gave us a chance to have the wind at our back in the fourth quarter. Every point was scored going with the wind today. Our defense definitely hung in there and played outstanding. Obviously, offensively and with the kicking game we have lots to improve on. I thought we'd have to survive one more quarter and win it in the fourth."

(On the last drive) "It definitely will give Stephen McGee a lot of confidence. Our defense saved one and now our offense saved one. All these things are confidence builders and they give you something to draw from when you play more games."

SOPHOMORE QUARTERBACK STEPHEN MCGEE: "This is a huge win for Texas A&M. Things were not going our way, but we fought back and found a way to win. We've played together all year, and we've stuck together all year. Because of that, we all believed we could do it and we did."

JUNIOR DEFENSIVE END CHRIS HARRINGTON: "Everytime we (the defense) went on the field in the second half, it was a pressure situation for us. We knew if they got a first down or a score, that would put the game out of reach. We buckled down and gave the offense one last chance and they responded with a huge drive and made it happen for us. I can't believe I'm already thinking about next week already, but this win definitely gives us a confidence boost and a lot of momentum going into the Missouri game."

RUNNING BACK JORVORSKIE LANE: (On not giving up) "No one gave up today and put their heads down. Our sideline was with us. Our fans were with us. We overcame adversity and played as a team and got the job done. We took the loss to Texas Tech last week really hard including the coaches. We didn't get over that loss until after Wednesday's practice. Coach Franchione preached to us about bouncing back and I think we got our swagger back after beating Kansas today. Our offense was struggling a bit today and we need to clean some things up this week in practice."

(On the last touchdown) "I usually look at the defensive line and the linebackers, but on the last play I just told myself that I had to score."

Kansas Postgame Notes

Kansas' loss to Texas A&M...

Makes Kansas 1-7 all-time against Texas A&M.
Snaps KU's nine-game home winning streak.
Snaps KU's three-game Big 12 winning streak at home.
Makes Kansas 0-2 in Big 12 play for the third straight season.
Gives Mark Mangino an overall record of 22-32 as a head coach.
Ends a three-game homecoming winning streak for Kansas and makes KU 41-48-5 all time on homecoming.
Makes Kansas 539-534-58 all time.

NOTES:

Today marked the 19th straight game an individual opponent has not rushed for 100 yards in a game against Kansas.
Kansas has forced at least one turnover in 36 of its last 39 contests, including 13 of its last 16 games.
Kansas recorded its second safety of the season - also at Toledo. This is the third straight season Kansas has recorded two or more safeties and the seventh safety during the Mark Mangino era.
The attendance of 46,445 was a season-high home mark and was the eighth straight 40,000-plus attended game at Memorial Stadium.
Kansas' three losses this season have been by six points or less with two in overtime and a three-point loss.
Senior QB Adam Barmann threw for 127 yards and moved into eighth place on the KU career passing yards list, currently at 2,921. Barmann passed Bobby Douglass who had 2,817 yards from 1966-68.
Barmann moved into seventh on the KU all-time completion list, currently at 281. He passed Dylen Smith who completed 275 passes from 1999-2000.
Senior RB Jon Cornish rushed for 128 yards, 12 more than his season average. Cornish's 100 yards mark the fifth time in six games this season he has surpassed the century mark. Cornish has rushed for 100-plus yards nine times in his career which ties him with Clark Green (2002-05) for fifth on the KU all-time list.
Cornish moved into the KU's all-time top 20 career rushing list, currently 17th place with at 1,498 yards. Cornish moved past Robert Miller (1,384 from 1972-74), Ken Coleman (1,400 from 1961-63), Ray Evans (1,431 from 1941-2, 46-47) and Eric Vann (1,481 from 1994-97).
Cornish's 49-yard run in the third quarter marked his third run of 40-plus yards this season.
Sophomore Dexton Fields' recorded his third touchdown catch of the season and fourth of his career.
Senior DL Wayne Wilder blocked a Texas A&M field goal, the first blocked kick of his career, in the second quarter. It was the first blocked field goal for Kansas since Charles Gordon blocked an Oklahoma field goal attempt on Oct. 23, 2004.
Junior FB Brandon McAnderson caught a career-high three passes. His 57 receiving yards were also a career high.
Junior punter Kyle Tucker's 48-yard pass to junior Brandon McAnderson was Tucker's first career pass. It was McAnderson's longest reception of his career.
Tucker pinned Texas A&M inside the 20 yard line four times. He has pinned KU opponents inside the 20 yard line 13 times in the last five games.
Junior PK Scott Webb's three field goals tied his single-game high as he also made three against Iowa State last season. Webb has made at least two field goals in each of his last three games.
Sophomore Aquib Talib's three pass break ups tied his season high. He also had three against Toledo.
Senior DB Jerome Kemp recorded a career-high 11 tackles today.
Kemp recorded his first sack of the season and second of his career.
Freshman DB Justin Thornton doubled his career high in tackles with 10. His previous high was five against Northwestern State.
Freshman DB Anthony Webb doubled his career high in tackles with 10. He also recorded his fourth pass broken up of the season.
Sophomore LB Joe Mortensen's nine tackles were a career high surpassing his eight against South Florida earlier this season.
Sophomore LB James Holt's eight tackles were seven more than his previous single-game high.
In the second quarter freshman Caleb Blakesley forced a fumble and freshman Justin Thornton recovered it for KU. Both were career firsts for Blakesley and Thornton.
Senior WR Jonathan Lamb caught a career-high three passes.
Freshman DB Darrell Stuckey made his first appearance of the season.
Senior OL Bob Whitaker started his 42nd straight game. Whitaker has started every game while at KU.
Senior center David Ochoa has started his last 29 games, which includes every game for the last three seasons.
Junior Derek Fine recorded his first career kick return.

Kansas Postgame Quotes

HEAD COACH MARK MANGINO: (On the game) "Our kids competed. They played hard -- played their hearts out. We have to continue to learn from these experiences. We've lost to two good football teams, two weeks in a row, and we had chances to win, but we didn't, so we've got to learn from it."

(On KU's defense) "I thought we played pretty well. (Texas A&M's) passing game was decent. When we gave their quarterback time, he found open receivers. One of the things we had to do was to not give him time. We were pretty successful at that in the second half."

(On Kansas' offense) "I really never felt that we were in sync on offense. We just weren't sharp, and there are reasons for that. We had a lot of kids that didn't get many reps on the practice field this week. We had chances to make plays and didn't do it."

"We have to get back to 100-percent (health) on offense. It showed that you have to practice and get in repetitions. We had opportunities today on offense, but just didn't make enough plays."

(On next week's game against Oklahoma State) "We will get back on the field tomorrow and learn from another tough experience. Tough experiences make the kids tougher. It makes them even hungrier."

JUNIOR FULLBACK BRANDON MCANDERSON: (On the offense) "We didn't really play very well. We struggled a little bit. We need to pull together and get ready to play again. We've got to keep pushing through. We have to maintain our mental toughness to be able to do the things we have to do."

(On another tough loss) "Any loss is difficult, especially when we lose them at the end. It happens, and you've got to get over it and get ready for the next week."

SENIOR SAFETY JEROME KEMP: (On pressuring Texas A&M's quarterback) "In tight games, we don't' blitz as much in those situations. We thought that if we brought a little pressure, we could get a turnover."

(On the defense) "The only thoughts we had were to make sure to get three-and-outs, keep their offense from scoring, and hopefully get the ball back for our offense."

SENIOR WIDE RECEIVER JONATHAN LAMB: (On losing another close game) "It's tough. Anytime you lose a game on the last drive, it is really tough. I think we played well, but just not enough to win this one. We just didn't play enough to win. I don't know what else to say, it was just a tough loss."

(On the offense) "At times, I definitely felt like we were rolling. Offensively, we put together some good drives, but it was hit and miss."

SENIOR QUARTERBACK ADAM BARMANN: (On the offense) "You have to give a lot of credit to A&M's defense. They played pretty well, but for whatever reason, we weren't executing. We will just have to go back and watch film and see what was happening. We had a couple of drives in the second quarter, but that was really about it. They were a real good football team, and they will win a lot of games, but we didn't play as well as we should have."

(On the close losses) "It is tough, and we are disappointed, but we are definitely not out. It will just make us stronger as a team. We just have to get ready for Oklahoma State next week."