2011 texas a&m coaching staff - Aggie Athletics

BOWL HISTORY
SECTION IX • TEXAS A&M BOWL HISTORY
If that wasn’t the key play of the game, then the blocked punt some six minutes later
was. With OSU leading 14-7, Ohio State’s Derek Ross blocked Shane Lechler’s punt, and
Kevin Griffin scooped it up and ran 16 yards for the score to put the Buckeyes up, 21-7. It
was the first blocked punt against the Aggies since 1993, and it proved to be devastating.
“That was a significant play,” A&M head coach R.C. Slocum said. “Being behind 21-7 is
a whole lot different than being behind 14-7. Our team settled down and played a whole
lot better in the second half, but it took us too long to get it going.”
But unlike most games this year, the Aggies’ magic ran out in the end, as a brilliant
season met with a bitter end. Still, the Aggies proved all year long - and again in the Sugar
Bowl - that they belong on the same center stage with the elite teams of college football.
“It’s disappointing to end the season with a loss, but I can’t say enough about my
team,” Slocum said. “We were Big 12 Champions, won 11 games and played eight bowl
teams. A loss (in the Sugar Bowl) doesn’t take away from a tremendous season.”
BUCKEYES 24, AGGIES 14
-- by Rusty Burson, 12th Man Magazine
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Tot
Texas A&M (11-3) 7 0 7 0 — 14
Ohio State (11-1) 21 3 0 0 — 24
1 st QUARTER
A&M: D. Hall 9 run (Bynum kick), 10:53 7 - 0
OSU: R. Germany 18 pass from Germaine (Stultz kick), 8:34 7 - 7
OSU: J. Montgomery 10 run (Stultz kick), 4:10 7 - 14
OSU: K. Griffin 16 run (Stultz kick), 1:59 7 - 21
2 nd QUARTER
OSU: D. Stultz 31 field goal, 0:16 7 - 24
3 rd QUARTER
A&M: L. Hodge 7 pass from Stewart (Bynum kick), 5:24 14 - 24
1999 ALAMO BOWL
( # 13) PENN STATE 24, ( # 18) TEXAS A&M 0
TUESDAY, DEC. 28, 1999 • SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
ALAMODOME • ATTENDANCE: 65,380
SAN ANTONIO (AP)—Rashard Casey passed for a touchdown and ran for one as No.
13 Penn State, ending a three-game losing streak that cost it a possible shot at the national
title, defeated No. 18 Texas A&M 24-0 in the Alamo Bowl.
“It seemed like a Hollywood script,” All-American linebacker LaVar Arrington said after
Penn State’s first shutout of the season. “It’s too bad it’s too late to show what we had—
but better late than never.”
Penn State (10-3) sent longtime defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky into retirement
with a strong performance, holding Texas A&M to just 80 net yards rushing and 122 yards
passing.
“We played like a Penn State defense,” said Sandusky, the defensive coordinator since
1977. “We bent, but we didn’t break, and people made plays in the clutch. That is what did
it. And that’s symbolic of the way we played so many, many times.”
The defense had carried Penn State to a 9-0 start and a No. 2 national ranking, before
the team’s title hopes were dashed by losses to Minnesota, Michigan and Michigan State.
Penn State avoided what could have been the first four-game losing streak in Joe Paterno’s
34-year career as coach.
As the Lions received their Alamo Bowl trophy, Paterno praised his players and the
Penn State fans who traveled to Texas.
“It was a great effort by our team, and I’m very, very proud of them,” he said. “Let’s go
get a shower and have fun tonight, guys!”
Penn State jumped to a 14-0 lead by halftime, then added another touchdown when
Casey ran in for the score from the 4 on the first play of the fourth quarter.
A 39-yard field goal by Travis Forney pushed the Lions’ lead to 24-0.
Casey had his first start of the season and played the whole game for Penn State, which
had used Casey and Kevin Thompson at quarterback this year. Paterno said Monday that
Thompson’s arm was slightly sore.
“I knew I was going to get the start because coach had told me Kevin had messed up his
shoulder,” Casey said. “I went and practiced like I was going to be the starter.”
Casey was 8-of-16 for 146 yards and Penn State added 175 yards rushing.
BOWL RECAPS
156 2011 TEXAS A&M FOOTBALL MEDIA SUPPLEMENT
Randy McCown of Texas A&M was 13-for-22 for 105 passing yards but threw four interceptions,
matching the career high he threw in a loss to Nebraska this season. McCown
was sacked three times.
“It was tough to stay positive,” McCown said. “We wanted to get a good start and we
didn’t. You’re not going to win many football games playing like that.”
Arrington, a junior who might make himself available for the NFL draft, had a big game
for Penn State with 14 tackles, including one for an 8-yard loss.
“We had a lot of pressure on the quarterback,” Arrington said.
Texas A&M coach R.C. Slocum knew going into the game that Arrington, not to mention
his two fellow All-American defensive teammates, would pose problems for his offense.
“He’s a great player,” Slocum said. “He was up for every postseason award for a linebacker,
so this is not the first time he’s done it.”
The Aggies had only one promising drive in the first half, and it failed when Shane
Lechler—also the team’s punter—saw his 44-yard field-goal attempt fall short.
Texas A&M looked as though it might get its running game together to start the second
half, as Ja’Mar Toombs and D’Andre Hardeman combined for an impressive drive to begin
the third.
But when the Aggies got near the end zone, Ron Graham of Penn State intercepted Mc-
Cown’s pass at the 7. Other Aggies mistakes followed, including Bethel Johnson’s fumble of
a kickoff return in the fourth quarter.
An ocean of Aggies fans packed the 65,000-seat Alamodome, but the loud maroonclad
crowd couldn’t keep the Aggies afloat. Some fans started to head for the exits with 10
minutes left in the game.
The defeat ended a season of tragedy for Texas A&M (8-4), whose players wore a helmet
decal honoring the students killed in the Nov. 18 bonfire log collapse on campus that
killed 12 people and injured 27.
The Lions got on the scoreboard early when Derek Fox ran 34 yards for a touchdown in
the first quarter after intercepting a pass by McCown.
Earlier in the first quarter, the Lions took points off the board when they opted to take
a first down on a roughing-the-kicker call after Forney made a 38-yard field goal. Four plays
later, Forney was wide right on a 30-yard field goal attempt.
Penn State drove 73 yards and scored on a 45-yard pass from Casey to Eddie Drummond
and moved ahead 14-0 with 8:54 left before halftime.
This was Paterno’s 30th bowl appearance, breaking the record of 29 he shared with
Bear Bryant of Alabama. Paterno has won more bowl games than any other coach and now
has a bowl record of 20-9-1.
NITTANY LIONS 24, AGGIES 0
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Tot
Penn State (10-3) 7 7 0 10 — 24
Texas A&M (8-4) 0 0 0 0 — 0
1st QUARTER
PSU:
2
Fox 34 interception return (Forney kick), 6:31 0 - 7
nd QUARTER
PSU:
4
Drummond 45 pass from Casey (Forney kick), 8:54 0 - 14
th QUARTER
PSU: Casey 4 run (Forney kick), 14:56 0 - 21
PSU: Forney 39 field goal, 13:44 0 - 24
2000 INDEPENDENCE BOWL
MISSISSIPPI STATE 43, TEXAS A&M 41 (OT)
SUNDAY, DEC. 31, 2000 • SHREVEPORT, LOUISIANA
INDEPENDENCE STADIUM • ATTENDANCE: 36,974
SHREVEPORT, La.—Snow blanketed Independence Stadium prior to the 2000 Sanford
Independence Bowl on New Year’s Eve and provided one of the most unique experiences
for Texas A&M and Mississippi State.
Barely able to make out the yard lines, the teams were forced to concentrate on the
ground game. A&M junior running back Ja’Mar Toombs carried the ball 35 times (a school
bowl record) for 193 yards and three touchdowns (a school bowl record), while MSU’s
Dontae Walker netted 143 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
The Aggies held an early 14-0 lead in the first quarter after touchdowns by Richard
Whitaker and Toombs. MSU answered with two touchdowns in the second before A&M
quarterback Mark Farris connected with receiver Robert Ferguson on a 42-yard TD pass.
The Aggies led 20-14 at the half, but would trail 21-20 entering the fourth. Farris