1998 Southwestern Bell Cotton Bowl (#5) UCLA 29, (#19) Texas A&M 23 January 1, 1998 • Cotton Bowl • Dallas, Texas

DALLAS--The No. 19-ranked Texas A&M football team, despite being double-digit underdogs to No. 5 UCLA, out-played and led the high-powered Bruins for much of the 62nd Southwestern Bell Cotton Bowl Classic, but in the end the youthful Aggies couldn't squelch a late comeback and fell to the Bruins 29-23 before 59,215 fans at the Cotton Bowl.

The game pitted Aggie head coach R.C. Slocum against UCLA's Bob Toledo, who served as Slocum's offensive coordinator on his original coaching staff. The game marked the first time that Slocum had faced a former assistant, who was now a head coach.

Slocum's Aggies drew first blood in the game, courtesy of A&M's trademark big-play defense. In the face of intense A&M pressure, Bruin quarterback Cade McNown lofted a pass that Aggie linebacker Dat Nguyen quickly snatched out of the air and took toward paydirt. Nguyen returned the theft 19 yards before pitching the ball to teammate Brandon Jennings, who took it the final 64 yards for a touchdown and an early 7-0 Aggie lead.

In the second quarter, pressure by the Wrecking Crew forced another UCLA error and put more points on the scoreboard. After a 45-yard punt by Shane Lechler was downed on the UCLA 3, senior defensive end Zerick Rollins captured McNown in the endzone, resulting in a safety and a 9-0 lead.

The Aggies increased their first-half lead to 16-0 in the second quarter when A&M running back Dante Hall burst through the heart of the UCLA defense for a 74-yard touchdown run. Hall's gallop tied for the fourth-longest run (tying Georgia's Kent Lawrence, 1967) in Cotton Bowl history.

But UCLA grabbed crucial momentum just before halftime. After a 51-yard punt by Lechler, UCLA return man Eric Scott gave the Bruins excellent field position at the A&M 47 with a 33-yard return. McNown quickly moved UCLA down the field and then connected with wide receiver Jim McElroy on a 22-yard touchdown strike with just 0:02 remaining the first half.

With momentum on its side, UCLA continued to chip away at A&M's lead in the second half. On the Bruins' first second-half possession, McNown found running back Skip Hicks open on a sideline route and Hicks rumbled 41 yards for a touchdown, cutting the A&M lead to 16-14.

But the Aggies answered the Bruins with a strong drive, despite losing quarterback Branndon Stewart to an achilles tendon injury on the previous possession. With sophomore Randy McCown at the controls, the Aggies methodically drove into UCLA territory, setting up the Bruin defense with runs up the middle and short timing patterns. Then Slocum threw a changeup by running a reverse to Chris Cole and the sophomore wide receiver sprinted 43 yards for a touchdown and a 23-14 Aggie lead.

The Aggies and Bruins exchanged punts before UCLA's comeback hit high gear. Mixing up the run and the pass, UCLA drove 65 yards in eight plays, culminating in a 20-yard touchdown scamper by McNown. The touchdown brought the Bruins to within two points at 23-21 as the teams entered the fourth stanza.

The Bruins took the lead for good midway through the final quarter with a crisp 71-yard scoring drive. Once again the Bruins mixed the run and the pass as they chewed up hunks of yardage. After consecutive runs of 16 and 24 yards by Hicks, fullback Ryan Neufeld went the final five yards for the touchdown on his only carry of the game.

The Aggies got two more cracks on offense, but the UCLA defensive pressure produced two sacks and forced McCown to scramble two other times. UCLA clinched the game when safety Larry Atkins intercepted McCown's desperation pass.

Taking defensive player of the game honors was Aggie linebacker Dat Nguyen, who produced 20 tackles, including a Cotton Bowl record 15 solo stops. Nguyen. who also posted an interception, made six total tackles behind the line of scrimmage with one quarterback sack.

UCLA rolled up 393 yards of total offense and 23 first downs, while A&M posted 247 total yards and 10 first downs. A&M limited the UCLA to 154 yards rushing while grinding out 192 yards on 40 carries. UCLA's Skip Hicks led all rushers with 140 yards on 31 carries, while the Aggies were led by Hall's 93 yards on seven carries. Sirr Parker also contributed 40 yards on 11 carries, and D'Andre Hardeman chipped in 36 yards on 10 tries. McCown finished the day with 239 yards passing, including two touchdowns, while completing 16-of-29 throws. A&M QBs Stewart and McCown combined to complete 7-of-14 passes for 55 yards.

The Aggies honored former A&M standout Reggie Brown, who sustained a career-ending neck injury in mid-December, by wearing Brown's NFL jersey number 59 underneath their game jerseys. Slocum wore Brown's number on the side of his cap.