Texas A&M 12, Texas 7

Friday, November 24

Austin, Texas

11:00 AM

Texas A&M

9-3 , 5-3

(#11) Texas

9-3 , 6-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Texas A&M

Texas

Nov 24, 2006 | Football

Box Score

By: Texas A&M Athletics

November 24, 2006

Stephen McGee scored on an 8-yard run with less than three minutes to play and Texas A&M stunned No. 10 Texas 12-7 behind a power running game and tough defense Friday to snap a six-game losing streak in the bitter rivalry.

The Aggies (9-3, 5-3) rushed for 244 yards against the nation's top run defense and intercepted Longhorns quarterback Colt McCoy three times, the last with just over a minute to play.

McCoy, who set a school record with 27 touchdown passes this season, was carted off the field after taking a hit on a pass attempt with 20 seconds left. He could be seen raising his left hand to the crowd as he left the field.

McCoy finished 17 of 28 for 160 yards in what was his worst game of the season. He threw an interception at the goal line at the end of the first half to kill one of the Longhorns' best drive.

The Aggies drove 88 yards for the winning score, chewing up nearly nine minutes in the fourth quarter. Mark Goodson scored the first touchdown on a 41-yard scamper in the first quarter.

The Longhorns (9-3, 6-2) could have won the Big 12 South Division title with a win. The loss means the Longhorns need Oklahoma to lose to Oklahoma State on Saturday or the Sooners will win the division and play Nebraska on Dec. 2 for the league crown.

Texas, which lost Nov. 11 to Kansas State, dropped consecutive games for the first time since 1999, which was the last time the Longhorns lost to the Aggies.

Coach Dennis Franchione's team got the win with an option running game that only crossed into Texas territory three times but chewed up yards and critical minutes in the fourth quarter.

Texas took a 7-6 lead in the third on Jamaal Charles' 6-yard TD run and had the Aggies pinned a their own 12 after a punt.

The Aggies converted four first downs on the winning drive, including a 14-yard run by McGee three plays before his touchdown run. The Aggies converted 10 of 16 on third down in the game.

Texas A&M Postgame Notes

TOP 10 ROAD VICTORY --- The Aggies' 12-7 win over No. 10 Texas (by USA Today coaches poll) in Austin was A&M's first road victory over a top 10 team since head coach Tom Wilson's Aggies beat No. 6 Penn State in Happy Valley. It was A&M's highest ranked victory since knocking off No. 1 Oklahoma in 2002.

The victory was A&M's second over a ranked team in 2006, and the fourth of the Dennis Franchione era. The Longhorns were the highest ranked team a Fran-coached team has beaten at A&M.

DOUBLE DUTY FOR DARNELL --- Aggie defensive coordinator Gary Darnell has now led a defense to victory over both teams in the Texas A&M-Texas rivalry. In addition to today's A&M win over Texas, Darnell oversaw the Longhorn defense when Texas halted A&M's 31-game home winning streak 16-6 in 1995.

The Wrecking Crew limited Texas to just seven points, which marked the Longhorns' lowest scoring output since the Ohio State game earlier this year. It was the fewest points allowed by the Aggie defense in the A&M-Texas series since Texas scored just three points in a 16-3 Aggie victory in 1986.

KING OF THE ROAD --- With the victory, quarterback Stephen McGee ran his road record as a starter to 5-0 (4 on the road, 1 neutral site). Prior to McGee's ascension to the starting job, the Aggies were just 3-13 in games away from Kyle Field.

DOMINATING THE CLOCK --- The Aggies, who came into the game ranked No. 3 nationally in time of possession, controlled the clock against the Longhorns with a 35:58-24:02 TOP bulge. A&M had more than a 10-minute TOP advantage for the fifth time this season.

NINE IS FINE --- The Aggies posted their first 9-win season of the Franchione era and A&M's first since the Big 12 Championship season in 1998 when the team went 11-3. It was the ninth 9-win season of Franchione's 24 seasons as a head coach. It marked the 19th 9-win season by the Aggies. The Aggies' other 9-win head coaches were D.X. Bible, Homer Norton, Bear Bryant, Emory Bellard, Jackie Sherrill and R.C. Slocum.

SOLID ON THIRD DOWNS --- As they have been all season, the Aggies were efficient on offensive third-down situations and stingy on opponent third-down tries. The Big 12 leaders in third-down offense and defense converted 10-of-16 tries on offense and limited the Horns to 2-of-9 on third-down tries.

MISCELLANEOUS --- The victory ended a six-game winning streak by the Longhorns, and marked the first time since 1994 that the Aggies have won in Austin ++++ The Aggies held Texas scoreless in the first half. The last time A&M shut out the Longhorns for a half was 1999 when the Wrecking Crew put up zeros in the third and fourth quarters of the Aggies' 20-16 Bonfire Game victory at Kyle Field. The last time A&M shut out any opponent in the first half came in the Aggies' most recent shutout - a 31-0 victory over Wyoming at Kyle Field in 2004.The last time A&M held Texas scoreless in consecutive quarters was 2001 when Texas failed to score in the second and third quarters at Kyle Field. The last time A&M shut out Texas for a half in Austin was 1994 when Texas didn't score until the third quarter in an A&M 34-10 victory. +++++ The Aggies scored on their opening drive of the game for the seventh time this season when Mike Goodson took a option pitch from Stephen McGee 41 yards for a touchdown. A&M has scored four touchdowns and kicked three field goals on opening drives in 2006. +++++ Today's 12th Man will be Nick LaMantia, a walkon sophomore from Mission, Texas. It will be LaMantia's ninth 12th Man assignment of the year and his career. +++++ Texas A&M head coach Dennis Franchione announced the 2006 Permanent Team Captains: sophomore Stephen McGee, senior Justin Warren, senior Ty Branyon, junior Cody Wallace, junior Red Bryant and junior Chris Harrington. Today's game captains will be the two seniors from the group, Warren and Branyon. Branyon is a graduate of Austin's Bowie High School.

Texas A&M Postgame Quotes

HEAD COACH DENNIS FRANCHIONE

On the game: I am really happy for our players. What a great day for them. They have fought so valiantly and so hard all year long in every game and nine out of the last ten went down to the wire. To get this win on the road makes me feel good for the guys. We are undefeated on the road this year. We should play all road games. I will need some time to absorb this win. It feels good. We felt that there were some things we could do against the Texas defense, and we knew if we were going to win the game, we had to have some rushing yards.

OL KIRK ELDER

On the game: We had a game plan going into the game, and we executed it well. We ran into some adversity in the second and third quarter, but we overcame it. They have fast defensive backs and big, strong defensive lineman. We tried to run the option on them and get it out there as fast as we could.

DB MELVIN BULLITT

On the game: This is going to change a lot of things for Texas A&M football. Defeating the defending Big 12 and National Champions is a huge game for us. We made a statement earlier in the week that we were going to be more physical than Texas and beat them off of the line and that's what we did.

WR CHAD SCHROEDER

On returning home and leaving with a win: It feels great. I can't think of a better way to end a senior year than to come back to your hometown in front of your family and come away with a win. Texas has a great defense. You have to give it up to them. They have a great team. We came out in a smash-mouth football game, and we came out on top.

Texas Postgame Quotes

HEAD COACH MACK BROWN

On the game: I was very disappointed for our seniors and the fans. We didn't win today. Give credit to A&M; they made the plays to win the ball game. It was a day where nothing was working and nothing happened well for us. We still had our chance to win at the end, but give them the credit. When we didn't score up 7-6, they took an 80-yard drive and put it in the end zone and then intercepted the ball. If you go back and look at football games, turnovers, turnovers went to them and explosives went to them. We didn't make a fourth-and-six inches. There was an interference call that took away a touchdown. Whether it was a good call or a bad call, it was one they made and it stuck because it is not reviewable. They rushed for a bunch of yards, and we didn't. They made third-down situations, and they scored in the red zone, and we didn't. Give them credit.

On momentum: We came back out in the second half and shut them down and played a great third quarter. We didn't score like we usually do, and that is what got us in trouble. Then we left the defense out there too much, and they had the great drive at the end of the game. They took over in the third quarter with field position, and we stop them, we get the ball at midfield and we fumble. That is just the way the day was. We stop them again, we get down on our end, take it and get it on the other end and force a fumble and then we score. Then we stop them and get it back, and we don't move it.

On the fourth-and-one drive: Anytime you don't make a fourth-and-1 when you're at the 10, on the first drive of the game and you are moving the ball well, as close as that game was, you score there you win the game.

On how Texas A&M played: The best thing to do is to give A&M credit. They have played some close games and they have lost some here. They played a close one with us and they won. It is the best thing to do.

OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR GREG DAVIS

On the Texas A&M defense: Well, I think they did a nice job of keeping their pads down, and we just couldn't go for it. They were big and strong upfront, and they were giving us good reads on the zone-read when we ran that play, but we just didn't get in rhythm, and I think a lot of that has to do with not converting on third downs.

CO-DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR GENE CHIZIK

On the game: [Texas A&M] did a great job early on in the first quarter; some of it early on was off a few scrambles, on a few passing downs when [Stephen McGee] was getting out of trouble, and then the tailback broke the long one. We seemed to get everything adjusted and everybody calmed down, and we got adjusted to the speed of the game and then they methodically moved it down the field on the last drive, and up until that point, I felt like we had gotten everything under control after that first series.

On the Texas A&M offense: They did a good job of balancing out the option and being able to run it both ways, and they decided to attack into the boundary right there, and they hadn't done that a bunch all day. That was really the first time they kind of felt like they had found something that worked. I think there were a couple of times, and I can't be sure till I watch the film, but it looked like there were a few a tackles we missed. As [the last] series went on, we kept getting them to third down, and then we couldn't close the door. They would get to third-and-three or third-and-two, and then they would convert. So I think we got a little worn out and tired in there, and [Texas A&M] did a great job of being physical and keeping the drive alive.

S MICHAEL GRIFFIN

On the game: We went out there and played our hearts out. It came down to a play here and there. They would pick-up a first down; they were just constantly moving it down the field. Our main objective today was to win the Big 12 South and that's what we were playing for; we were the keepers of our destiny. We just went out there on defense, the offense played, I guess you could say there were a few calls here and there, but no excuses. [Texas] A&M is a great team; they have great [running] backs, a great quarterback, great receivers, and a great offensive line, and they went out there and executed and played a great game all the way down to the wire.

On Texas A&M QB Stephen McGee: I wasn't surprised [by his abilities] because he's been doing it all year. We watched 10 or 11 games of him running the ball and running the option. I know he's a tough guy; we hit him 20-some times last year, and he still continued to run, run, run. He's a hard, tough quarterback that loves the game, and he went out there and played his tail off, so I've got to give him credit.

RB SELVIN YOUNG

On the game: It was a difficult game to swallow obviously, but I felt like everybody went out and tried their best, we just fell short.

DE BRIAN ROBISON

On Texas A&M's running game: They have so many great weapons, Stephen McGee is a guy that can run or pass and he has great size and speed, Jorvorskie Lane is the big bruiser, and then Michael Goodson is the guy that can give you speed on the edges. There are so many things to try and prepare for and try to stop, that it makes it tough on the defense, but no excuses, we just didn't do the job today.