VOLUME 8, NO. 11, Page 2
Monday - November 11, 2002
EDITOR & WRITER - Billy Liucci
Copyright 2002, ASI, Inc., All rights reserved.

TEXAS A&M 30-OKLAHOMA 26 (GAME IN REVIEW)

OFFENSE IN REVIEW
The Oklahoma Sooners got a first-hand look at the future of the Texas A&M offense, and didn't like what they saw. Reggie McNeal, seeing extensive playing time for the first time in his college career, put his name on the college football map with an incredible performance that will go down as one of the best in A&M history. McNeal stared down the Sooners and didn't blink. After one possession to settle in, Reggie stunned the Sooner defense with an 18-yard scramble followed by a 61-yard laser shot to Terrence Murphy that put the Aggies on the board and woke up the 84,000 in attendance.

In McNeal's first two quarters of quality action, he shredded the Sooner defense for 352 yards and four touchdown passes (on four consecutive possessions). Yes, that's the same OU defense that had allowed a total three scoring tosses in their first eight games...combined.

After struggling through the first quarter, Dustin Long gave way to McNeal and the entire Aggie offense never looked back. Reggie had enough highlight-reel plays to fill an entire SportsCenter telecast, but there were a few plays that will forever be remembered by Aggie fans, not to mention Bob Stoops and the Sooner Nation.

The first was the rocket that McNeal stuck in Terrence Murphy's chest early in the second-quarter. On A&M's next series, McNeal got the ball with 1:38 left on the clock and cooly guided the Aggies 78 yards in six plays. A scramble and two first down completions to Murphy were followed by a 40-yarder touchdown toss to Greg Porter that was truly a thing of beauty. McNeal sat in the pocket, enjoying excellent protection from the A&M o-line, and lofted a bomb into the back of the endzone. With 0:07 left, Porter made an incredible grab that even managed to raise the eyebrows of Hall of Fame wideout Lynn Swann.

Reggie added a 17-yard scoring toss to Bethel Johnson, who had beaten all-Big 12 corner Derrick Strait on a double-move, and a 40-yarder off play-action to a wide open Murphy. However, it was a pair of second-half scrambles by McNeal that really altered the face of the game. Both were designed running plays. The first was the play of the game, in my opinion.

Coming out of the locker room, the Aggies had all of the momentum. Facing a third-and-16 at their own 22, the Ags' punt team was ready. Out of the shotgun, McNeal took the snap and did what comes naturally, he took off, broke several tackles, and raced thirty-three yards to the OU 45-yard line. Three plays later, the Aggies were in the endzone, the A&M players and fans could sense something special was in the air, and the Oklahoma Sooners were feeling the pressure of a Fiesta Bowl berth slipping away.

McNeal's other big second-half run, a 24-yarder to the OU six, set the Kyle Field crowd into a wild frenzy and set up a key fourth-quarter field goal.

With 191 passing yards and 4 touchdowns and 83 yards rushing, McNeal did to Oklahoma what Chris Simms couldn't do through the air and what Seneca Wallace couldn't accomplish on the ground. Pretty amazing stuff for a true freshman seeing his first significant action.

While Reggie was the story of the day, and for good reason, the entire A&M offense stepped up and played a flawless game. McNeal's scrambling and long bombs ignited inspired efforts from everyone in the huddle, especially tailback Joe Weber.

Reggie's early success forced Oklahoma to take linebacker Pasha Jackson off the field on many key downs, which really opened things up for the Ags' 235-pound back. Weber gashed the Sooner defense for a couple of big gains and finished the game with 83 yards and a 4.6 yard average. Joe's ability to get into the OU secondary kept Stoops and the Sooner defense honest, something no one could have predicted coming in from a defense that prides itself in shutting down the run.

McNeal and Weber were helped by a remarkable peformance from the A&M offensive line. Taylor Whitley, Geoff Hangartner, and Billy Yates all graded out at over 90% and the Aggie offensive front turned Tommie Harris and Jimmy Wilkerson into non-factors. Tackles Alan Reuber and Jami Hightower held Wilkerson to a mere two assists for the entire game. When you consider the opponent, Saturday's performance was the best by an A&M offensive line in years.

When Kevin Sumlin took over the play-calling duties in September, he challenged the A&M receivers, saying that the success of failure of the offense depended on their ability to make plays. The Aggie wideouts, and a different one each week, have answered the call. This week's hero was Murphy, who struggled with a few early-season drops. T-Murph scorched the talented OU secondary for 128 yards and two scores on five receptions.

The Ags rolled up 30 points and 404 yards against the nation's best defense and did so without 3 starters. No one, could have predicted such an output, save the players and coaches in the A&M locker room. Now that's what you call a total team effort.

DEFENSE IN REVIEW
Led by Quentin Griffin's 141rushing yards and a 249-yard, two TD effort from Nate Hybl, Oklahoma gained 405 yards and scored 26 points. However, a funny thing happened on the way to another OU victory. The Wrecking Crew came back from the dead. This was one game where the game stats were very misleading. Oklahoma had to earn everything they got, especially in the red zone. When the going got tough, the Aggie defense got going, forcing four OU field goals. Three of the four stops came after the Sooners enjoyed first downs inside the A&M 11-yard line.

Saturday was definitely a day of redemption for Mike Hankwitz, Jarod Penright, and the Wrecking Crew defense. The Aggies buckled down in the game's final minutes, thwarting two late Oklahoma drives long before they could ever get started. After forcing just two turnovers in the previous two games, both losses, the opportunistic Aggies created a pair of second-half Sooner mistakes.

After giving up 112 first-half yards to Griffin and allowing Hybl to complete 12-of-16 passes, the Aggie coaches made some halftime adjustments and the players tightened the screws. The turning point came late in the second quarter. After McNeal's first TD toss, the Sooners answered with an impressive 16-play, 75 yard drive. When Curtis Fagan landed about six inches out of the endzone, Oklahoma was forced to settle for a field goal and a short-lived six-point lead. From then on, the Aggies pretty much controlled the potent Oklahoma attack.

Fagan did manage to beat Byron Jones for a 68-yard score on OU's first 2nd-half possession, but the A&M defense responded by forcing an OU field goal after an interception set the Sooners up at the A&M 28-yard line. Other than Fagan's score, the Ags kept the Sooners out of the endzone and the rest of OU's second half drives netted 3, 6, 8, 64, 24, and (-5) yards. For those of you keeping score, that's an average of under 16 yards per possession.

The Ags' effort on Saturday was sensational, especially when you consider that A&M played most of the game without four defensive starters (Ty Warren, Jaxson Appel, Jared Morris, and Sean Weston), and were working with just five healthy defensive backs.

I said this week that it would take several remarkable individual efforts for the Ags to pull of the upset, but every member of the A&M defense played important roles in this one. Whether it was Sammy Davis delivering a crushing blow to Antwone Savage, Brian Gamble jarring the ball loose from Trent Smith, Byron Jones ripping the ball away from Mark Clayton's hands at the A&M 2-yard line, Ray Ray Jones coming up with the game-clinching fourth-down tackle, or Terrence Kiel sealing the upset with a leaping pick, there was always someone in a maroon jersey stepping up to make the big play.

As one would expect, the Ags did indeed benefit from some exceptional individual showings. Leading the way was Keelan Jackson. The little-used sophomore was the Ags' defensive MVP, collected 10 tackles, 3 TFL's, a sack, and one pass breakup. Keelan doesn't get much fanfare, but, when called upon against OU and Tech, Jackson has responded with flying colors.

Defensive linemen Linnis Smith (7 tackles) and Marcus Jasmin (two TFL's) both picked up the slack when Warren went down, while Randall Webb (6 tackles, 2 TFL's) and Archie McDaniel (six tackles) stepped up when Morris went down. Webb and Smith, in particular, were disruptive forces all afternoon. Don't look now, but Randall Webb has clearly emerged as the emotional leader of this defense.

The heart, resolve, depth, and even the talent of the A&M defense have been questioned over the past few weeks. Those questions were put to rest on Saturday, along with the Sooners' national title hopes.

SPECIAL TEAMS IN REVIEW
Led by Cody Scates, the Aggie special teams out-played Oklahoma. That's mighty praise, especially when you consider the fact that, under Bob Stoops, the Sooners are generally considered the Big 12's best in the all-important category.

When the stakes were at an all-time high, Scates had a career day, a game that would have made even Shane Lechler jealous.Cody averaged 52.8 yards on five punts, nailing four inside the OU 20-yard line, and three inside the five. Cody's fourth-quarter, 62-yard bomb, which was downed by Sammy Davis at the Sooner 2-yard line, was one of the two biggest plays of the second half. The other was McNeal's 33-yard scramble on 3rd-and-17. Scates' punting kept the Sooners pinned deep all afternoon. The five rockets also kept the ball out of Antonio Perkins hands.

TEXAS A&M/OKLAHOMA GAME QUOTES
"It was just something I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to play both of them. We had the same game plan whether it was Dustin or Reggie in the game. Reggie's poise was impressive. I can't say I was surprised. I thought all along that he had special qualities."--R.C. Slocum on playing Reggie McNeal.

"I knew what he was capable of doing, but I just didn't know he would do it like he did it today."--Aggie SS Terrence Kiel.

"The most pleasing thing is the character of our team. We've had a lot of things not go our way this year. We talked this week about how it was more important to focus on how well the guys on the field play and not those who aren't able to play."--Aggie Head Coach R.C. Slocum.

"We were just trying to score. At the last second, I saw Porter and took a hit for the team, but I found him. I knew I'd have chances to go deep on them. It's a great feeling to beat the No. 1-team. I knew going into the game that I would play a little, but I didn't know I'd play almost the whole game. I just gave it 110 percent and it worked out. I was able to get in the groove of the game and that might have helped. Coach told me if I got in to play like I knew I could play. After the first touchdown to Murphy, I felt like tonight was the night."--Aggie QB Reggie McNeal.

"It wasn't a challenge just to the team, but to me as well. We had settled for less in the past and we had to take advantage of the abilities we've been given. It is us understanding the ability God gave us and us using it. We can do anything that we put all of our hearts and souls into."--Aggie OLB Jarrod Penright on his Monday tirade.

"There is no way we were looking ahead coming to College Station. It is disappointing we gave up those long plays. It won't happen again. Our goals are still in front of us."--Oklahoma CB Andre Woolfolk.

"I don't like losing; my players don't like losing. Today, we got out-played and out-coached. We lost together. McNeal made the plays. The passes were the same as they've thrown in the past. They just executed very well. A&M ran better on us than I thought they should. They just blocked better and hit the creases."--Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops.

"McNeal's speed opened things up. Because Reggie was able to do some of the things he did, they weren't just worried about our running backs and the running game."--Aggie running back Joe Weber.