Sept. 1, 2007
COLLEGE STATION, Texas --Stephen McGee had 112 yards passing and added 121 yards rushing and two touchdowns to lead No. 25 Texas A&M to a 38-7 win over Montana State on Saturday night.
The Bobcats scored first but the Aggies scored 38 straight points to improve to 5-0 in home openers under coach Dennis Franchione.
The Bobcats, of the Football Championship Subdivision, formerly known as Division I-AA, outgained the Aggies and controlled the clock, but couldn't finish drives, missing three field goals and losing a fumble deep in Aggies territory.
McGee scored on a 65-yard run in the first quarter and made it 31-7 on a 3-yard run early in the fourth. He was replaced by backup Jerrod Johnson midway through the fourth quarter.
The Aggies passing game was shaky early with McGee going 4-of-7 for 47 yards in the first half. He was flagged for intentional grounding, sacked once and hurried a number of times.
He looked better after halftime, completing consecutive passes of 9, 9 and 15 yards to tight end Martellus Bennett on the first drive of the third quarter to set up A&M's next score. McGee completed 10 of 20 passes with a long throw of 23 yards.
Mike Goodson jumped over one player at the line and danced his way 18 yards for a touchdown to finish that drive and make it 24-7 early in the third quarter. Goodson finished with 10 carries for 65 yards.
Jordan Peterson fumbled a punt which Montana State recovered, but the Bobcats were left empty-handed when Eric Fisher's 28-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left in the third quarter. He also missed one from 42 yards later in that quarter and another from 39 yards in the fourth quarter.
The Bobcats, in their first season under coach Rob Ash, opened last season with a 19-10 upset of Colorado in Boulder and jumped out to an early lead in this one.
An 8-yard touchdown pass from Jack Rolovich to Elliott Barnhart capped a 13-play, 83-yard drive to start the game. Rolovich found Barnhart in the corner and the big tight end barreled into the end zone untouched to put Montana State ahead 7-0 with 9:44 left in the first quarter.
Rolovich was 21-of-39 for 267 yards.
A 34-yard field goal by Matt Szymanski on Texas A&M's first possession made it 7-3.
McGee gave Texas A&M its first lead on a 65-yard touchdown run that made it 10-7 with 2:54 remaining in the first quarter.
Goodson had runs of 34- and 13-yards to set up a 2 yard touchdown run by Jorvorskie Lane that made it 17-7 with midway through the second quarter. The 268-pound tailback lowered his head and knocked the helmet off his defender as he bulled into the end zone.
The Bobcats exploited Texas A&M's secondary throughout the first half, piling up 205 yards passing. A 50-yard pass from Rolovich to Josh Lewis, who got in front of two Aggies defenders, late in the second half got Montana State to the 12-yard line. But two plays later, Rolovich was sacked by Chris Harrington and fumbled which the Aggies recovered to leave the score at 17-7 at halftime.
The Aggies were better in the second half, allowing just 99 yards passing after halftime.
Johnson stretched Texas A&M's lead to 38-7 with 17-yard touchdown pass to Terrence McCoy with 1:20 left in the game.
NOTES...
Post-Game Quotes
HEAD COACH ROB ASH: "We didn't come here to play close. We lost by 31 points, so we didn't accomplish what we wanted to. I told the team after the game that we don't believe in moral victories. We came here with the intention of winning and fell short. We left a lot of points on the field. We have a long ways to go and some things we've got to put some finishing touches on. Big plays on defense, big plays on offense...we've got a long way to go. There are positives in this game. We're disappointed we didn't win, but I thought the offensive execution was excellent, we had very few penalties, the passing efficiency was excellent and the running game was very solid. I was happy with our offense and it showed we have a great future. The most pleasing thing was the performance of our offensive line. That was the area I had the most concern about going into the game. We had some trouble coming in with matchups. I was really, really pleased with their performance. They were really solid and I thought they had a tremendous first game. Demetrius (Crawford) and Isaiah (Taito) were really solid. I was very happy about that. Jack (Rolovich) was very comfortable running the offense. Around the third quarter, they were blitzing a little more and he got happy feet. The first three quarters of the game, he looked extremely comfortable. He's a tremendous quarterback with a great arm. A&M's defense has a very difficult scheme. On offense, they combine the option with the play-action pass and do a great job of execution. And they have athletes. McGee with his speed, Jorvorskie is huge and all their weapons make it very difficult. When they spread those guys out, it makes it very difficult. McGee was excellent. As McGee goes, their season will go. I wasn't unhappy with our defense. Because the style they play and their execution they were able to get a couple of things going."
QUARTERBACK JACK ROLOVICH: "I went out there and tried to do my best. We lost and the score doesn't reflect how we played today. We have to point the finger at ourselves because of all the points we left on the field. The offensive line did a great job of picking up stunts. The crowd was not a problem. We didn't mess up one signal. But you can see the potential of this stadium. I hurt my tailbone but the adrenaline kept me going."
DEFENSIVE END DANE FLETCHER: "Our defensive line was a little smaller than they expected, but we showed them the little guys can do the job. We represented D-double-A very well. It felt good to get some licks on McGee. Kyle Field is very intense. Whether you are a fan or not, it's and experience and a half."
SENIOR LB MARK DODGE: (on Montana State) "They're a good team. Real good team. They came out and performed extremely well and took advantage of what we were giving them. There's going to be a little correction we have to do this week but hat's off to Montana State. That's for sure."
(on if Montana State scoring quickly shocked the defense) "It did a little bit. Me personally, the first drive of the year is always one of those where your adrenaline is going so fast, and you're breathing hard, and you get cotton mouth and you're kind of flying around. It's one those drives you just settle in and start using the plays the coach is giving you rather than going out there and playing. So it was a little bit of a shock. We had to get ourselves going and regroup, and we did."
JUNIOR TE MARTELLUS BENNETT: (on the performance of the passing game) "(It was) All right. I mean, we've got a lot of things got to work on as far as the passing game goes but I think (QB) Steve (McGee) did a good job. We've to pick up some blitzes here and there. A couple of things they ran we didn't pick up that well. That was more on us. They did a good job with the blitzes they ran, but as far as the passing game goes, we can always get better."
SENIOR DL CHRIS HARRINGTON: (on his first-half sack) "I just came off, got off the ball really low and came off the edge. I don't know exactly what happened. I've got to watch it on film. It felt good to be back out there and playing."
(on the team's mood after a game like this) "We know we've got work to do. This was a good test for our team and we had to battle through it. I think that's a credit to Montana State. They played really hard when they came out. They didn't give up and just played their butts off. But I think it shows some of the things we have to work on and I think that's a really good thing for this team right now."
SOPHOMORE DB JORDAN PETERSON: (on the early struggles due to trying to figure out Montana State's gameplan) "A little bit it was. I think we made some mistakes. Don't get me wrong, Montana State played really well, but we have things to clean up. We did have some question marks coming into the game, not knowing what they were going to do. We've got to get back to work this week."
JUNIOR QB STEPHEN McGEE: (on his 65-yd touchdown run) "It was a big play for us. The important thing to remember is on any good run play it's always a good block down field by the receivers. I know I'm going to find a really good block by the receivers, and the line did a good job of sealing it up. It was a huge hole to hit and it was a good play for us. We needed that at that time."
(on the passing game) "Well, we got into a rhythm later in the game but had a couple called back and, I think, for the first game we had some typical communication mistakes and some stupid penalties that kind of set us back. We'd be moving the ball good then shoot ourselves in the foot, especially early on getting behind the chains. So we were putting ourselves in tough situations on 3rd-and-15 to throw the ball, and it's not very hard to defend 3rd-and-15, so it was tough for us in those types of situations because they were blitzing so much."
(on settling for a field goal early in the game following MSU's touchdown) "We were in situations like that a lot last year but, you know, I think we did a great job responding. Montana State came out and played really well for the first game. We knew we would get a great game for from them. They're used to playing good teams. They really challenged us well and played really well. Our defense responded really well, not giving up any points, and finally our offense kind of got into a rhythm and kind of stopped shooting ourselves in the foot, which unfortunately is normal for a first game."
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR GARY DARNELL: "I think it would be a injustice for me to say anything without being congratulatory to (Montana State Coach) Rob Ash and his staff on what they've done and how they went about their business tonight with their football team. I served with Rob Ash on a national committee and knew what a fine person he was and what a sound football coach, and that's exactly what happened tonight. They came out with a very sound plan that they've been able to put together with innovation while utilizing a put-together staff in short period of time, and I think it was great credit to them.
"I don't want to take away from our own players' performance. There were a couple of things you would like to change but we got into it. We really didn't want to try to do a lot of different things tonight because their style of offense is so fundamental. We pushed those (play calls) and paid for it, but I think in the long run having done some of the things we did tonight is going pay off for us. I think the bottom line is it's very easy to say I'm proud of our guys but I think we obviously want better and we want to start off quicker than we did tonight."
(on Montana State's play taking the defense out of their scheme a little bit) "I'm going to say this...this team lost on a trick play at Appalachian State (last year in Division I-AA playoffs). That is a good football team. I've had some experience with I-AA teams before, and this was a very, very fine I-AA football team. So fundamentally, when they throw the ball like they did last year, (QB Jack Rolovich) has the arm and they have the receivers. And, any time you're in a one-back set, there's a soft spot somewhere, and Rolovich is able to find it and get the ball there. Any time you get into a deal like that you've got to trick your coverages up a little bit."
HEAD COACH DENNIS FRANCHIONE: "Well, it's good to be 1-0. Obviously we did some really good things tonight and we've got plenty of things to work on which is never unexpected after the first game. There are a lot of things to build on and a lot of things to work on as we go into the week.
"I want to give Coach Ash and his staff a lot of credit, too. I think for a coaching staff that took over a job on June 11th, they came in and played a real solid football game. I think they deserve a lot of kudos for that. I thought their team played nice and solid. They only scored once, but still not a bad football game for a coaching staff that was in a tough situation with a little over two months really before they played a game."
(on things to work on) "A little bit of defense areas. I think getting closer in pass coverage and things like that. There were just a lot of little things offensively that hurt us. There for a while we either scored very quick or went 3-and-out, and that's not a good M.O. for us to be like that. That's the way we were in '05, and as a result our defense played about 80 something snaps tonight. We played 50 some snaps tonight and got a lot of points, which is still the No. 1 goal, but I know across the board we're going to see a lot of things that we need to work on. The players, with a win, will be purposeful in doing that."
(on what to take out of the game) "38 to 7, we're 1-0, I'm going to take a positive out of it. And again, we're not Michigan tonight. Keep this in perspective. Last year, in our first game, we beat The Citadel 35-3, a pretty comparable score. I wasn't concerned about whether we scored 50 points and ran up the score on this team. I respected Montana State for what they had accomplished coming in. I thought they would give us a good game, be a good test for us and that was good. You learn from these things. Heaven knows we got plenty to work on. But we did a lot of good things and I saw that tonight, too. I don't feel bad."
(on getting Jerrod Johnson in) "That was big, and that was a hard decision when to do that. I kind of wanted to put him in one drive sooner but I knew we had only ran a minimal amount of plays offensively so felt like those guys needed to play a little bit longer. I utilized our time outs at the end of the game so we had time for that second offense and Jerrod to play and that was huge. I wasn't trying to run score up or anything like that, just trying to get them time out there. That's a huge start for him. We didn't ask a whole lot of him but still he got in the game got some experience and got to execute and as we all know that'll only pay dividends as we go on."