November 24, 2000
AUSTIN, Texas-- Chris Simms threw for 383 yards and three touchdowns to lead the 12th-ranked Texas Longhorns to a 43-17 victory over the 22nd-ranked Texas A&M Aggies Friday before 84,012 fans at Royal Memorial Stadium.
The sophomore quarterback broke open a tight contest in the third quarter, leading the Longhorns (9-2, 7-1 Big 12) to four touchdowns on their four possessions in the period by completing all eight passes he threw for 234 yards and three scores. Texas, which led 10-7 at the break, exploded for 27 points in the third to take a 37-17 lead into the final frame.
The 'Horns got on the board first when free safety Greg Brown picked off a Mark Farris pass on the Aggies' first play from scrimmage and raced 10 yards into the end zone.
A&M (7-4, 5-3) would respond early in the second quarter when, on 3rd-and-10 deep inside UT territory, redshirt freshman running back Richard Whitaker took the handoff on a draw play and cut 15 yards through the defensive secondary for a touchdown.
Kris Stockton would connect on a field goal from 34 yards out on the ensuing drive, giving Texas a 10-7 lead at the break.
UT took the third quarter kickoff and quickly marched into A&M territory on the first three plays of their drive. Roy Williams then took the ball on a reverse on first down from Simms and scampered 40 yards for the score to increase the Longhorn lead to 10. Williams, who ended the day with 125 all-purpose yards, would score again on Texas' next drive on a 20-yard slant pass from Simms to put UT up 24-7.
A&M would respond with a 56-yard bomb from Farris to junior wide receiver Mickey Jones on the ensuing drive, cutting the lead to 10. Farris, who ended the day 25-of-43 passing for 290 yards, became the Aggies' most prolific single-season passer with 2,551 yards. The old mark of 2,463 was set by Kevin Murray in 1986.
Sandwiched around a 40-yard Terence Kitchens field goal were two long touchdown passes by Simms, a 55-yarder to Sloan Thomas and a 70-yarder to B.J. Johnson. Johnson finished the afternoon with 187 yards receiving on eight catches.
Stockton would add a pair of field goals from 31 and 30 yards, respectively, in the fourth to close out the scoring.
Senior Chris Taylor was A&M's leading receiver, grabbing eight balls for 72 yards. Taylor finished his career with 1,316 yards on 83 catches. Junior fullback Ja'Mar Toombs was A&M's leading ground-gainer with 53 yards on 13 carries.
The Aggies, eligible for postseason play for the 11th time in R.C. Slocum's 12 seasons as head coach, now await bowl selections after the Big 12 Championship Game on Dec. 2.
TEXAS A&M POSTGAME NOTES
FARRIS BREAKS PASSING RECORD --- Sophomore quarterback Mark Farris became Texas A&M's most prolific single season passer with 290 yards today against Texas. In 11 games, Farris threw for 2,551 yards breaking the old record of 2,463 passing yards by Kevin Murray in 1986. Farris' first season as a starter yielded 208 completions (No. 2 behind Murray's 212, 1986), 347 attempts (tied for No. 2 behind Murray's 348, 1986) and a 59.9 completion percentage (No. 2 behind Murray's 60.7, 1986). All of Farris' passing marks are A&M sophomore records. Farris also broke the total offense school record with 2,667 yards (old mark of 2,431 by Randy McCown, 1999).
KITCHENS BREAKS ACCURACY MARK --- Senior Terence Kitchens finished his A&M career as the most accurate placekicker in school history - single season and career. Kitchens connected on 15-of-18 field goals in 2000 for a .833 success rate which broke the old season accuracy record of .818 set by Kyle Bryant in 1997. For his career, Kitchens connected on 30-of-41 field goals (.732) breaking the former accuracy record of .706 set by Bryant from 1994-97. His 30 career field goals rank No. 6 in school history. Kitchens, who is a Lou Groza Award semifinalist, connected on 14-of-14 field goals from 40 yards or closer in 2000.
SOPHOMORE WARREN HAS BIG GAME --- Sophomore Ty Warren earned Player of the Game honors from ABC-TV after he made 7 tackles, including 3 for losses against the Longhorns. For the season, Warren compiled 16 tackles for losses, which tied for team-high with Jason Glenn.
TIDBITS --- Missing today's game were wide receiver Robert Ferguson (ankle sprain) and linebacker Jason Glenn (knee surgery), which represents two of A&M's three players on the Coaches All-Big 12 first team that was released today. Also making the first team was center Seth McKinney. Also gaining mention was running back Ja'Mar Toombs (second team) and placekicker Terence Kitchens (third team). ?Junior Mickey Jones' 56-yard touchdown catch from Mark Farris was a career long, and the third-longest by the Aggies this year. ? Former President George Bush and his wife, Barbara, were guests of Texas A&M athletics director Wally Groff at today's game. ?Representing the A&M student body on the 12th Man Kickoff team against Texas was senior Robert Jordan (Brenham, Texas). ? Texas wide receiver B.J. Johnson's 187 receiving yards were the most-ever by an Aggie opponent (former mark was 177 yards on 15 catches by Louisiana Tech's Chad Mackey). ? With 17 points against the Longhorns, the Aggies surpassed the 300-point barrier for the 12th straight season or every season R.C. Slocum has been head coach. Prior to Slocum's arrival, A&M had compiled just six 300-point seasons in history. ? Since the formation of the Big 12 Conference in 1996, the home team has won every meeting between Texas and Texas A&M. ? Junior Christian Rodriguez started at outside linebacker in place of injured starter Jason Glenn. It was Rodriguez's first start of the 2000 season and just the third start of his career. ? Freshman punter Cody Scates finished his first season with a 40.2 average on 52 punts. Scates is the fourth freshman in school history to average more than 40 yards for a season. ? Senior wide receiver Chris Taylor finished his career with 83 catches for 1,316 yards. His 83 catches ranks No. 11 in school history and his yards rank No. 7 in school history.