October 28, 2000
COLLEGE STATION, Texas-- The Texas A&M football team took a step closer to a berth in the Big 12 Championship game on Saturday, shutting down the 8th-ranked Kansas State Wildcats 26-10 in front of a marooned-out crowd of 80,659 at Kyle Field.
The win moves the Aggies to 6-2 on the season and 4-1 in the Big 12, and makes them eligible for a postseason bowl berth. KSU falls to 7-2 on the year and 3-2 in league play.
"Today was the loudest I've ever heard Kyle Field," A&M junior center Seth McKinney said. "I was getting a headache out there, but I loved every minute of it. It was great."
For the second-straight week, a total team effort led to a big win. The Aggies dominated the first half, scoring twice in the first seven minutes of the game, en route to a 19-point lead at the break.
A&M set the tempo early on their first drive of the game, marching 66 yards in 12 plays against a gusty south wind and getting a 31-yard field goal from Terence Kitchens to put the first points on the board. Senior wideout Chris Taylor, who led the Aggies with 68 yards receiving, caught a 39-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Mark Farris on 3rd-and-11 to keep the drive alive and move A&M into Wildcat territory.
K-State quarterback Jonathan Beasley was intercepted on his first pass attempt of the game by Aggie linebacker Jason Glenn. The senior picked the ball off at the KSU 25 and returned it all the way to the 3-yard line. Kitchens would connect again, this time from 22 yards out, to make the score 6-0.
The Aggies would cap another long drive, this one nearly six minutes in duration, on the last play of the first quarter when junior fullback Ja'Mar Toombs, who led all rushers with 89 yards on 24 carries, rumbled into the endzone from two yards out. Once again, it was Taylor who provided the spark, converting another 3rd-and-long situation with a 23-yard catch and run down to the Wildcat 10. The two point conversion failed, keeping the score 12-0.
Toombs would provide the only points of the second quarter on an 8-yard touchdown run with just over two minutes left in the half. Junior wide receiver Robert Ferguson made a great grab of a Farris pass for 36 yards on 3rd-and-4 to move the chains and keep the 97-yard scoring march going.
The Wildcats took advantage of the wind at their backs in the third quarter, getting on the board when Beasley connected with wide receiver Aaron Lockett on a 31-yard touchdown pass just four minutes into the half. Lockett led all receivers in the game with 119 yards on six catches. K-State would tack on a 22-yard Jamie Rheem field goal six minutes later to cut the A&M lead to nine.
Freshman punter Cody Scates pinned the Wildcats inside their own 5-yard line early into the final quarter. Beasley looked deep down the left sideline on the first play, and A&M junior defensive back Wes Bautovich intercepted the ball off a tip to give the Aggies possession inside the KSU 30.
Three plays later, Toombs would score for the third time in the game, again from eight yards out, to make the score 26-10.
Kansas State would get no closer than the A&M 29 on their final two drives as the Wrecking Crew defense held its ground.
Farris completed 12-of-20 passes on the afternoon for 155 yards, while his counterpart Beasley was held to 14-of-39 passing for 227 yards and a touchdown. The Wildcat quarterback threw two interceptions and was sacked once.
"This game shows what we can do if we put our minds to it," Farris said. "I think we have the talent in our locker room to beat anyone in the nation. We talked all week about gaining respect, and I think we did that today."
The Aggies now turn their attention to Oklahoma State, as they head to Stillwater on Saturday, Nov. 4 for a Big 12 matchup with the Cowboys. Kickoff at Lewis Field is set for 1 p.m. (CST).
TEXAS A&M POSTGAME NOTES
ABOUT THE AGGIE VICTORY --- The Aggies' victory over No. 8-ranked Kansas State today is: A&M's sixth straight over a ranked team at Kyle Field; third straight victory over top 10-ranked team at Kyle Field; improves R.C. Slocum's career record against ranked teams to 11-4 at Kyle Field; marked A&M's fifth win in six tries against teams ranked higher in the top 25 polls. The 26-10 victory by A&M was the Aggies' largest margin of victory against a ranked team since 1994 when No. 16 A&M defeated No. 15 Oklahoma, 36-14, at Kyle Field. The A&M win ended KSU's 60-game winning streak over unranked opponents. A&M has beaten KSU two straight games, the only other school to beat the Wildcats two straight since the start of the Big 12 in 1996 is Nebraska (1996, 1997). In KSU's last four seasons, the Wildcats have lost just six games with two coming at the hands of the Aggies. The win improves Slocum's career mark at Kyle Field to 64-6-1 (.909).
DEFENSE BENDS BUT DOESN'T BREAK --- The Wrecking Crew allowed 345 yards of total offense, but limited the high-scoring Wildcat offense to just 10 points. KSU came into today's game averaging 455.4 yards (No. 15 nationally) and 48.4 points (No.3) per game. Last week, the Wrecking Crew held the nation's No. 12-rated Iowa State offense to just 239 yards.
The Aggie defense has allowed just 17 points in the last three games. During that span, opponents have been held scoreless in 10 of 12 quarters.
The Wrecking Crew held the Wildcats to just 10 points, KSU's second-lowest offensive output since joining the Big 12 Conference in 1996 (12-0 loss at Colorado in 1996).
BALANCED OFFENSE --- After leaning primarily on the passing game for the first six games of the season, the Aggies have found a successful balance in the last two games against high-quality opponents. Against Iowa State and Kansas State, the Aggies have rushed for 392 yards and passed for 403 yards while tallying impressive victories.
J. GLENN KEYS 19-0 FIRST HALF BULGE --- Senior All-America candidate Jason Glenn keyed the Aggies 19-0 first-half bulge with a dominating defensive effort. Glenn intercepted KSU QB Jonathon Beasley's pass attempt on the Wildcats first offensive play and then energized the Aggies with an across-the-field return to the KSU 3. He also contributed 2 passes broken up, a quarterback hurry and 3 total tackles in the first half. He finished the game with 7 tackles, including 1 for loss of yardage, 3 PBUs and 1 interception.
TOOMBS POUNDS WILDCAT DEFENSE INTO SUBMISSION --- Junior fullback Ja'Mar Toombs punished the KSU defense with 24 carries for 89 yards and three touchdowns, all of which are season-high efforts. Toombs' three TD effort matched his career high, which was previously achieved against Missouri in 1999 and UTEP earlier this year. Toombs has had multiple-TD efforts six times in his last 10 games. For the season, Toombs leads the Aggies with 11 touchdowns on 74 carries (189 yards).
LONG STREAKS LIVE --- Despite facing two of the Big 12's top return men in David Allen and Aaron Lockett, the Aggies' long streaks of not allowing a return touchdown remain intact. Including today's game, the Aggies haven't allowed a punt return for a touchdown since Oklahoma State's Barry Sanders turned the trick in 1988 (320 punt return chances) or a kickoff return for a touchdown since Texas Tech's Rodney Blackshear did it in 1990 (435 kickoff return chances).
TIDBITS --- Today's crowd of 80,659 was the third-largest in Kyle Field history ? Senior Chris Taylor had 4 receptions for 68 yards against KSU. Taylor has moved into the top 10 on A&M's career receiving chart with 1,269 yards (on 72 catches). *** Junior Robert Ferguson has caught 39 passes for 661 yards, already ranking No. 10 on A&M's season reception list and No. 7 on the season receiving yards list. *** Senior Terence Kitchens booted two field goals against KSU, raising his season total to 13-of-16. He has connected on 12-of-12 from 40 yards and closer. Kitchen's 28 career field goals rank No. 7 on A&M's career list. His career field goal percentage of .718 (28-of-39) is the best in school history. *** The Aggies' 97-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter ties for A&M's longest of the year (with a 97-yarder against Baylor) *** The Aggies made four excursions into KSU's "red zone" in the first half and emerged with four scores - two field goals and two touchdowns *** Six of today's Aggie starters also were starters in 1998 when the Aggies beat Kansas State in the Big 12 Championship game - fullback Ja'Mar Toombs and center Seth McKinney on offense and defensive linemen Ron Edwards and Ron Flemons, and linebackers Cornelius Anthony and Roylin Bradley on defense. Injured defensive end Rocky Bernard also started against KSU *** Bowl representatives in attendance at Kyle Field today were: Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, SBC Cotton Bowl, Culligan Holiday Bowl, Sylvania Alamo Bowl, Insight.com Bowl and the Samford Independence Bowl *** The Aggies' 12th Man Kickoff Team representative was Robert Jordan, a 5-9, 186-pound senior from Brenham.
TEXAS A&M POSTGAME QUOTES
Head Coach R.C. Slocum:
"(on Bautovich interception) That was a big play to get the momentum back in the third quarter. We didn't get off to a good start in the second half. We had a mixup on second down and didn't get the first down after having second and short. We had talked about coming out and getting off to a good start. It was our choice and we wanted the ball (in the second half). If we could weather the third quarter, we would have the win in the fourth quarter. (On crowd) I thought the crowd was fantastic. It was a beautiful day for college football with a good opponent and the crowd really responded. Ja'Mar Toombs is a good football player. He makes things happen and gets extra yards on most of his runs. I thought we needed balance on offense and the line did a good job of getting movement and the backs ran hard. We worked especially hard on the special teams because we have a great deal of respect for David Allen. I thought our kickoff coverage was good. Part of our defensive plan was keeping the quarterback in the pocket. I thought our secondary did a good job. The first eight minutes was a great way to start with the drives into the wind. (on 97-yard drive at end of first half) It was a big, big drive. We talked on the sideline about getting the ball out of here. And once we got going, don't stop, let's finish this 97-yard drive."
Quarterback Mark Farris:
"This game shows what we can do if we put our minds to it. I think we have the talent in our locker room to beat anyone in the nation. We talked all week about gaining respect. I think we did that today. The offensive line did a great job today and when Ja'Mar Toombs gets a head of steam he's hard to bring down. The combo of Ja'Mar and the offensive line worked well today. On the opening drives, I was worried because we weren't getting touchdowns. When you are playing a team like Kansas State, you have to get on them early."
Center Seth McKinney:
"Today was the loudest I've ever heard Kyle Field. I was getting a headache out there, but I loved every minute of it. It was great."
Linebacker Jason Glenn:
(on interception return) "The d-line put pressure on Beasley and I hid behind the tackle. I didn't realize I had the ball until two seconds later. Then instinct just took over. (On game plan) Our game plan was great. We got a lot of pressure on Beasley and we executed. We did what we had to do to win."
Fullback Ja'Mar Toombs:
"I knew that I would have to step up this game. After Jason Glenn's interception, I got called for a motion penalty on the next play. I realized that I had lost my concentration for a second and that forced me to be focused for the rest of the ballgame."
Offensive Coordinator Steve Kragthorpe:
"In the first half, we were able to run the ball effectively and mix in some passes. We had our guns loaded and were able to hurt them a little. Our defense did a great job and rose to the occasion to get us on the field and we were able to get some points on the board. The crowd was great today and did a good job of interrupting their timing. They also got us some delay of game penalties. I talked to Ja'Mar Toombs on the way off the field before the game. He told me that he would get the job done, so I saddled him and rode him off into the sunset."
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Kansas State Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Bill Snyder:
"We couldn't put anything together today. The two turnovers and six penalties in the first half really hurt us. We'd get a play here and a play there, but we just couldn't sustain it. A&M did a nice job with their offense and their defense. Their third down plays hurt us, but that's been hurting us for the last three or four games. We lost to a very fine football team today. I'm not concerned about our confidence, but we'll have to see how that plays out. (On false starts) I think it was a lack of focus. If it was solely due to the crowd, we'd have one on every play. Was it loud? Of course. Was it difficult on us? Of course. (On Toombs) He's a fine player. We could have tackled better, but he's an extremely fine football player and he makes you miss some tackles. We're not playing as well as we should be right now. We're about what you see, which is not real good right now. That's not to say we can't be. A&M"s offense is much more broad-based than in the past. They are a difficult team to prepare for. They understand what it takes to win. I like Farris. He's poised and well-balanced. He does a lot of different things well."
Quarterback Jonathan Beasley:
"We just didn't execute today. We have to go back and work on that harder and get better. I know we are not playing as good as we are capable of playing, but we still have confidence. (On crowd, false starts) It was loud, but it wasn't as tough as we thought it would be. We worked on that all week. Sometimes I think my offensive linemen might not have heard the cadence and that may have been the problem. (on Glenn's interception) I didn't see that guy at all. It was a timing route and he just stepped in there and made the play."
Defensive End Monte Beisel:
"This is a big loss for us. We've got two losses now and that's tough. We need to bounce back and finish the season. We did a decent job on defense. We played well. Toombs is a great running back. He's a big guy and he ran over us today. It's tough watching him gain yards with everybody lying on the ground."
Linebacker Ben Leber:
"(On Toombs) He's a tremendous back. He's got good size and he can run the ball. We just didn't tackle well today. A&M was very physical up front. They have a big line that stuck on their blocks. They played excellent football. We're pretty frustrated. It's hard to take any kind of loss. We just have to go back to the drawing board."