Aggies win...they are most exciting team in awhile

[Jimcs50]

No. 22 Texas A&M 32, Texas Tech 25, OT
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Joel Anderson / Associated Press
Posted: 3 hours ago



COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) - Sonny bie fired a pass into the end zone, Byron Jones swatted it away and hundreds of maroon-clad players and fans stormed the field to celebrate.

The Texas A&M Aggies are getting this overtime thing down pat.
Courtney Lewis scored on a 25-yard run on the first play of overtime and Jones knocked down bie's fourth-down pass, sending Texas A&M to a thrilling 32-25 win over Texas Tech on Saturday.

The Aggies went into an extra period for the third time in four weeks, winning for the second time at Kyle Field.

"I guess we're just about one play better or one play worse than everybody," A&M coach Dennis Franchione said. "We made one more play tonight."

Lewis' second touchdown run of the afternoon helped the 22nd-ranked Aggies (7-3, 4-2 Big 12) dramatically end a two-game losing streak that included an overtime loss at Baylor and a seven-point defeat against No. 2 Oklahoma last week.

After Tech quarterback bie's 50th and final pass of the afternoon fell incomplete, A&M players rushed the field and the frenzied sellout crowd of 82,278 erupted with cheers. The Red Raiders (6-4, 4-3) watched the wild celebration in stunned silence.

Thousands of fans locked arms and sang the "Aggie War Hymn," A&M's traditional sendoff after games. When the final verse was sung, members of the Corps of Cadets sprinted onto the field to celebrate another rousing finish, this time in the last home game of the season.

"I can't think of a better way to go out," A&M senior offensive lineman Geoff Hangartner said. "Last game at Kyle Field, beating Tech in a rivalry game ... it doesn't get a whole lot better than that."

Lewis finished with 115 yards rushing on 19 carries and Reggie McNeal added 309 yards of total offense and a touchdown in a game that started as a surprising defensive struggle and ended with plenty of offensive fireworks.

The Red Raiders saw a three-game winning streak over their hated in-state rival come to an end in the kind of high-scoring, back-and-forth contest that favored the nation's No. 3 offense.

Both offenses, which came into the game averaging a combined 69 points and 952 yards a game, sputtered along for three quarters - A&M held a 12-7 lead - before coming alive in the electrifying fourth.

The Aggies, however, made one more play on offense when it really counted.

"About the time the offense started playing," Tech coach Mike Leach said, "the defense started playing poorly."

A&M fullback Keith Joseph bulled into the end zone from a yard out with 5:38 left, completing a 10-play, 80-yard drive to give the Aggies a 25-18 lead.

But bie methodically directed Tech's spread offense down the field, going 6-of-8 for 50 yards on the final drive of regulation.

His second touchdown of the game went to Jarrett Hicks, who dropped what would have been a sure touchdown in the end zone on the previous drive.

Hicks gave a slight shove to A&M cornerback Jonte Buhl, and quickly went to the ground to make the tying touchdown catch with 10 seconds left. Tech's sideline erupted while the mostly maroon-clad fans went eerily quiet.

That was the last hurrah for the Red Raiders' vaunted offense, though.

After Lewis' spinning, stumbling touchdown run on the first play of overtime, bie completed a 1-yard pass to Trey Haverty before throwing three straight incompletions to end the game.

"We didn't grab it when it was out there," bie said. "We just didn't execute the plays that were called very well."

bie finished 31-of-50 for 294 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions, his least productive game of the season. Taurean Henderson had 131 yards of total offense and two touchdowns and Cody Fuller added seven receptions for 124 yards.

For A&M, the win served as a bit of revenge for a 59-28 rout by Texas Tech last year behind a Big 12-record eight touchdown passes by B.J. Symons. Coming into this game, the Red Raiders had won three straight and seven of the last nine in this simmering rivalry.

"Tech is a team that was in the way of where we're trying to go," A&M linebacker Archie McDaniel said. There was "probably a little more bad blood between the schools than normal. This was just another team that had embarrassed us last year."

More than bragging rights were at stake in this game. A&M might now be the front-runner for a more attractive bowl, with the Cotton Bowl in Dallas the likely prize should No. 6 Texas make it into the Bowl Championship Series.

[Jimcs50]

This is 4th straight game where the game came down to the last play for the Aggies. A&M lost the coin toss for the 3rd straight time in OT, but this time it did not hurt them as they scored on 1st play in OT and stopped Tech on downs in their first possession.

I have no voice or fingernails left for the 2nd straight week at Kyle Field. There were 86,000 of us screaming our lungs out and this time, we got a win to show for it. The aggies need to stop worring about giving us our money's worth and just blow out a team for a change. I am going to the Cotton Bowl now!!!

[maxpower]

I'd rather they bring them down for the AlamoBowl.

[Jimcs50]

I'd rather they bring them down for the AlamoBowl.

Crap, now with Wisconsin losing, it puts Utah in BCS,and Michigan in the BCS, thus knocking Texas out of the BCS mix, and into the Cotton Bowl themselves, unless A&M beats UT in Austin(tall order) next week. So it is Holiday Bowl for A&M, damn!

[scott]

A&M certainly has added some flair to the Big 12 this year, at least the South.

[samikeyp]

Crap, now with Wisconsin losing, it puts Utah in BCS,and Michigan in the BCS, thus knocking Texas out of the BCS mix

Not yet Jimbo. Texas is 6 in the AP and 5 in the coaches poll...according to ESPN.com's BCS projections, Texas would stay at 5.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/s...roadtobcs/1114

[jalbre6]

Question for you Aggies out there...

How did Tech become such a hated rival? Was it allowing eight TD passes last year? Hatred of that asshole Mike Leach? Just curious.

[Marcus Bryant]

Their "fans."

Tech is the redheaded stepchild of Texas universities and their fan base seems to understand that.

[jalbre6]

I'm embarassed when the Horns suffer the occasional loss to Tech, but that is about as much as I ever think of them. Really, I thought that Tech and A&M became rivals because Tech doesn't really have a traditional rival, and A&M has been down the last couple of years.

[Marcus Bryant]

Actually, most Aggie fans feel that way about Tech.

[samikeyp]

Tech has a nasty habit of reaching up and biting both A&M and UT when least expected. There have been more than a few games over the years when A&M and UT had no business losing to Tech but did.

[2pac]

I dont consider Tech a rival.

There needs to be an unstated mutual respect between Rivals - Tech doesnt get that from A&M or t.u. Both A&M and Texas are top universities, both traditionally powerhouses in football - Tech is neither.

A&M has been down recently, but we had the second best record over the decade of the 1990s.

Tech is not respected - due to their lack of academic excellence, lack of class, and lack of football reputation.

[jalbre6]

Agreed, 2pac.

But why was it such a big deal to beat Tech this year? You guys already had some notches on your belt from beating ranked opponents.

The Red Raiders saw a three-game winning streak over their hated in-state rival...

See, I love that . It's funny seeing fans in Lawrence, Lubbock, and Boulder going nuts doing the upside-down hook-em-horns thing, and I don't even know their hand signs, or give a about their school or their football team. So I understand where you're coming from.

Does Tech have a traditional rival (or at least one that hates back)?

[2pac]

Agreed, 2pac.

But why was it such a big deal to beat Tech this year? You guys already had some notches on your belt from beating ranked opponents.


See, I love that . It's funny seeing fans in Lawrence, Lubbock, and Boulder going nuts doing the upside-down hook-em-horns thing, and I don't even know their hand signs, or give a about their school or their football team. So I understand where you're coming from.

Does Tech have a traditional rival (or at least one that hates back)?

They seem to claim us. We offer them Baylor, SMU, TCU, OSU.

[samikeyp]

It's funny seeing fans in Lawrence, Lubbock, and Boulder going nuts doing the upside-down hook-em-horns thing,

what cracks me up with when the OU fans do it....against Tech and A&M! Ok maybe...maybe I can kind of see it because both schools have "Texas" in their name but when I saw OU fans do it against OSU? That made me fall out! How ing stupid can you be? One of my very best friends is a huge Sooner fan..even he laughed! He commented "well, they are loyal just not too smart!" At least UT, Tech and A&M have hand signs ( A&M has a bunch...one for each class right?) but I guess OU isn't smart enough to have one that represents their school. With their success of late, a "#1" sign would work.

[jalbre6]

Another funny thing is seeing the "saw 'em off" car decals. Every time I wind up in Houston I see those things everywhere. I saw more anti-UT stickers on cars than I saw pro-OU ones when I was in Oklahoma City last month. I lived in Denver a couple of years ago, and I used to see black-and-gold "Tuck Fexas" bumper stickers with a little Buffs emblem. I work with a guy who went to Tech that has a "I'd rather die in Lubbock than live in Austin" sticker on his Jeep.

But the OU anti-hook 'em hand sign against all opponents takes the cake. It's not just against Texas schools, either. They were doing it against their instate rival OSU. They were doing it last year in the Big 12 le game against K-State. I don't remember if they were doing it against Miami in '01, but it wouldn't surprise me.

[samikeyp]

The "saw 'em off" thing in Houston doesn't surprise me...there is a large concentration of Aggies and Aggie fans there.

[jalbre6]

Man, I just realized, I can't say about this. Look at my avatar

[Jimcs50]

Mikey, here is article that says what I said about Texas being out in the cold now that Michigan is going to BCS Bowl from the 7 spot.

Great, not A&M has to play a pissed off UT team.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory...fb/fbc/2902998

[2pac]

Well - the deal is this.

1 and 2 for national championship
1 and 2 probably won their conference (Pac10 and Big 12)

Conference winners get bids

2 at large bids

Cal is teh highest rated non-conference winner - automatic bid

Utah is top 6, and they are from a non-BCS confernce - automatic bid.

Texas and A&M are playing for the Cottom Bowl, assuming wins by Cal, Utah, USC, OU.

[samikeyp]

thanks. What I didn't get was, I thought the top 6 teams in the BCS standings were automatically given berths in the BCS bowls. Guess not. So then for Texas to get into a BCS bowl, Auburn, USC, Cal, Michigan or Utah would have to lose. Or actually grow balls against OU.

[samikeyp]

Texas and A&M are playing for the Cottom Bowl,

Call it the "Retro Bowl" since it reminds us of the SWC days!

[jalbre6]

Jim,

Thanks for the article. I think Auburn could lose to the Rocky Tops, and UT would still be screwed, right? The Horns BCS (best case scenario) is for Cal to lose their rivalry game vs Stanford, hope for a decisive (read- better than squeaking by KU) W over A&M, and send a case of Crown Royal to each AP writer and D-1 coach.

[2pac]

Pretty much.

For Texas to get in - they are concerned about the at large bids. Utah and Cal. If OU loses, there is still the chance they woudl be ahead of Texas, same record, better head to head.

[samikeyp]

if OU loses that wouldn't help Texas. Auburn would have to lose twice, to Bama and then in the SEC le game.