August 31, 2002
COLLEGE STATION, Texas--Brian Gamble recovered two fumbles and had an interception as No. 23 Texas A&M set a Big 12 record by forcing 10 turnovers in a 31-7 win over Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday night.
The Aggies' "Wrecking Crew" defense was completely dominant, holding the Ragin' Cajuns to just 205 yards. A&M had six interceptions, another Big 12 record, and Byron Jones returned one of them 36 yards for a touchdown.
The offensive struggles continued for the Aggies, however, a year after they had the second-worst offense in the conference. Mark Farris, the 26-year-old senior, was benched for part of the game while three other quarterbacks played, including highly regarded freshman Reggie McNeal.
It was the season opener for both teams, and the head coaching debut for Lafayette's Rickey Bustle, an assistant coach at Virginia Tech for 13 of the last 14 seasons. The Aggies are 14-0 in home openers under coach R.C. Slocum.
The Aggies finished with 423 total yards but led just 3-0 at halftime, when the Ragin' Cajuns already had six turnovers.
On the opening play of the second half, Gamble recovered a fumble by Jerome Coleman at the Lafayette 17. Four plays later, Joe Weber scored on a 2-yard run.
Later in the third quarter, after Gamble put heavy pressure on quarterback Jon Van Cleave, Jones stepped in front of the receiver and raced down the sideline untouched for a 17-0 lead.
The Aggies built a 31-0 lead, on fourth-quarter TD runs by Dwain Goynes (4 yards) and Derek Farmer (3 yards), before the Ragin' Cajuns scored on backup quarterback Eric Rekieta's 31-yard pass to Fred Stamps with 5:36 left.
Stamps had seven catches for 115 yards.
After punting on its opening drive of the game, Lafayette lost fumbles on three straight possessions, the first two after driving inside the Aggies' 10.
Van Cleave, who threw for 2,499 yards last season and had just 10 interceptions in 407 attempts, was 13-of-34 for 143 yards and six interceptions.
Since upsetting Texas A&M 29-22 in the second game of the 1996 season, when the school was still known as Southwestern Louisiana, Lafayette is 13-52. That includes a 66-0 loss at Kyle Field in 1997, the last time the teams played.
Farris was benched midway through the second quarter, and coach R.C. Slocum said that was his decision and not because of elbow soreness that had affected the senior quarterback throughout the preseason.
Farris returned in the second half before being replaced by McNeal, but he was 13-of-32 passing for 171 yards. His primary backup, Dustin Long, was 3-of-12 with two interceptions in the second quarter.
TEXAS A&M POSTGAME NOTES
TONIGHT'S CAPTAINS, 12TH MAN REPRESENTATIVE: A&M's team captains tonight were defensive back Terrence Kiel, fullback Joe Weber, linebacker Brian Gamble and punter Cody Scates...defensive back Anthony Squillante, a sophomore from Southlake Carroll High School, was the Aggies' 12th Man Kickoff Team representative.
WRECKING CREW SETS BIG 12 RECORDS: The Texas A&M defense posted 10 takeaways (4 fumble recoveries and 6 interceptions) tonight, breaking the Big 12 record of seven set by Iowa State vs. Northern Iowa in 2001 (6 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery). The Aggies' six pickoffs tie the Big 12 record set by Iowa State against Northern Iowa last season and is the second most in school history (7 vs. Utah in 1936).
RANDOM NOTES: Senior fullback Joe Weber's one-yard TD plunge in the third quarter was the 10th rushing TD of his career...Dwain Goynes' 4-yard TD run in the fourth quarter was the first rushing score of his career. Goynes had three TD receptions as a receiver before making the move to running back this season...senior Greg Porter caught five passes for 59 yards, career highs in both categories. He previously had a best of four catches against several opponents and had a best of 51 yards against Oklahoma State in 2000...sophomore Derek Farmer's four-yard TD romp in the fourth quarter was the third of his career...ULL's fourth-quarter TD was the first offensive points against the Aggies since Texas scored 10 in the fourth quarter last year. The Aggies had a streak of seven straight quarters (including the bowl game) in which they did not allow an offensive point (TCU scored on an interception return and a safety in the bowl)...seven true freshmen played in tonight's game for the Aggies: placekicker Todd Pegram, quarterback Reggie McNeal, linebacker Archie McDaniel, tight end Patrick Fleming, defensive lineman Brian Patrick, defensive lineman Johnny Jolly and offensive lineman Aldo De La Garza.
R.C. REMAINS PERFECT IN HOME OPENERS: With tonight's victory, A&M coach R.C. Slocum improves his career record in home openers to a perfect 14-0. Slocum is 11-3 in season openers and is 29-0 against non-conference teams at Kyle Field. Slocum is 14-2 in his career against teams from the state of Louisiana and has won six straight. A&M is now 70-8-1 at Kyle Field under Slocum.
MR. JONES STRIKES AGAIN: Sophomore defensive back Byron Jones returned an interception 36 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter, his fourth interception in his last two games. Jones had three pickoffs against TCU in the gallery furniture.com Bowl on Dec. 28 in Houston en route to defensive MVP honors. As bowl statistics don't officially count in career statistics, Jones's pickoff tonight is the first "official" one of his career. The last time an Aggie returned an interception for a touchdown was in last year's opener against McNeese State, when linebacker Christian Rodriguez returned one 11 yards for a score.
AGGIES SET ATTENDANCE MARK FOR HOME OPENER: Tonight's attendance of 75,087 is a Kyle Field record for a season opener, breaking the mark of 71,282 set against LSU in 1987.
THREE QUARTERBACKS MAKE DEBUTS: Sophomore Dustin Long and freshmen Jason Carter and Reggie McNeal made their official debuts at quarterback tonight (although Long logged unofficial playing time against TCU in the gallery furniture.com Bowl in December). Long completed 3-of-12 yards for 45 yards and two interceptions, McNeal completed 2-of-2 passes for 28 yards and Carter was 0-for-1...McNeal also rushed twice for 12 yards while Carter ran three times for a team-high 42 yards...Long aqdded one carry for 18 yards.... Senior Mark Farris started the game and completed 13-of-32 for 171 yards.
OFFENSE EMERGES IN SECOND HALF: After gaining just 133 total yards and scoring three points in the first half, the Aggies gained 290 yards and scored 28 points in the second half. A&M finished the game with 423 total yards, its best since it gained 507 against Wyoming in the second game of last season. A&M's 179 rushing yards would have ranked as its second best performance of 2001 (190 vs. Iowa State). The Aggies dominated possession, getting off 94 offensive plays, tying for the fifth most in school history...the Aggies' 47 pass attempts were the seventh most in school history and were the third most since 1969.
TEXAS A&M POSTGAME QUOTES
OFFENSIVE LINEMAN TAYLOR WHITLEY: "For our first game, I thought we were rusty and had to get some kinks out in the first half. We made adjustments at halftime and came out in the second half and put a few nails in the coffin. I thought the defense played great, as always. If we as an offense can give them some help, we could have a fun year."
LINEBACKER BRIAN GAMBLE: "I thought we played a solid game defensively. We pressured the ball, stopped their running game and caused some turnovers. I love to play games like this. Our game plan was the pressure them and cause turnovers. I'm pleased with our performance -- we're only going to get better."
HEAD COACH R.C SLOCUM: "We got off to a slow start, but the guys hung in there and stayed focused. We had too many dropped balls and too many penalties, but I saw some very positive things out there tonight. I was especially pleased with our defense. This game reminded me a lot of Oklahoma's game last night (vs. Tulsa).
LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE POSTGAME QUOTES
DEFENSIVE BACK CHARLES TILLMAN: (On A&M's Offense) "I give the A&M offense a lot of respect, they came out and wanted it more."
(On your offense) "I still have faith in our offense." (On defensive play) "You can only go so long (on defense). We got tired out there."
QUARTERBACK JON VAN CLEAVE: "It was a bad day. Every bounce went their way. We have to eliminate that. Their front seven is unbelievable. We need to capitalize (in the red zone), we didn't, and you saw the result. I thought we had the turnovers out of our system (at halftime), then we come out and immediately give it to them. I didn't get it done. I have to roll with the punches and move on."
WIDE RECEIVER FRED STAMPS: "Tonight was a weird game with all the pics Van Cleave threw. Our offense has relied on our defense for a long time. It is time for our offense to step up."