Replies

UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA LAYFETTE (0-1) @ A&M AUG 31: The Wrecking Crew
established a new BIG 12 record with 10 turnovers, bailing out a sputtering
offense in a 31-7 win over the Ragin' Cajuns.

GAME SUMMARY: The Ags used the start of the first quarter to quickly show
why first games are so important for the skill positions on offense. After
receiving the kickoff, the Ags used a false start penalty, a soph Derek five
yard scamper and an illegal block to quickly move backwards from the 39-yd
line to the 24-yd line. After two incomplete passes, junior Cody Scates'
36-yd punt gave ULL the ball on their 33-yd line.

The Wrecking Crew forced ULL to punt after three downs, but in a game of
field position the Ragin' Cajuns seized the initial advantage by using their
38-yd punt to push the Ags back to their own 25-yd line.

After going three and out, A&M returned the ball to the Cajun's via Scates'
44-yd punt. Two first downs and an Aggie off sides allowed ULL to move the
ball to the 8-yd line before the WC forced a fumble and senior Brain Gamble
recovered it at the 10-yd line. Three plays and minus yardage later the Ags
punted again giving ULL great field position at the A&M 35-yd line. A 7-yd
sack did not deter ULL as they used two first downs and a defensive pass
interference call to move to the Aggie 2-yd line. Again the Wrecking Crew
forced a fumble that was recovered by junior tackle Linnus Smith. An illegal
forward lateral penalty gave the Aggies the ball on the 4-yd line.

The possession took the Aggies into the second quarter, but again they came
away empty handed, after senior QB Mark Farris drove them 71-yds in 12
plays, when Fish Todd Pegram was wide right on a 39-yd FG attempt. However,
the Wrecking Crew's intensity, feeding off the 75,087 record opening game
crowd, intensified and as a result the Ragin' Cajuns offense began to
disappear.

On the next series the ULL QB was sacked for a 17-yd loss, fumbled and
senior linebacker Jared Morris recovered at the ULL 5-yd line. After three
plays netted one yd, Pegram booted a 21-yd FG putting the Ags up, 3-0.

The Wrecking Crew continued to give the offense the ball in great field
position courtesy of Gamble's INT at the ULL 17 with 8:52 remaining and DB
senior Sean Weston's INT at the A&M 40 at 6:51. Added to the ULL offensive
disaster was senior DB Sammy Davis's INT at the A&M 6-yd line with 3:05 to
go. However, dropped passes by receivers, penalties, missed FG attempts, and
eight consecutive missed throws by Farris resulted in the senior being
benched. Back up QB soph Dustin Long came on to throw two INTs and the half
ended with A&M holding a 3-0 lead.

The Wrecking Crew seemed to start the third period with even more intensity
than they had displayed in the second period and the offense began to put
the gifts to use with the result that A&M created separation between
themselves and ULL on the scoreboard.

On the first play of the first second half series Gamble recovered a Cajun
fumble on the ULL 17-yd line. Four plays later senior fullback Joe Webber
scored from the two and with the PAT A&M was up, 10-0. The key offensive
play was a 13-yd completion from Farris to senior Bethel Johnson on third
and eight that moved the ball from the 15-yd line to the two to set up
Webber's plunge.

Two series later ULL was continuing to go nowhere when soph Bryon Jones'
returned an INT 36-yds for a TD. With the PAT the Ags increased their lead
to 17-0. And so it continued.

After the A&M offense turned the ball over on downs, the Ragin' Cajuns gave
it back to them as redshirt freshman Jaxson Appel collected the first INT of
his career on the A&M 47-yd line. Eight plays later senior Dwain Goynes ran
it in from the two and Pegrams' PAT made the score 24-0. Key plays in the
short drive were Farris' 24-yd pass to senior Greg Porter to the ULL 16
followed by soph Derek Farmer's 13-yd run to put the ball on the three yd
line.

On ULL's next series senior Terrence Kiel's INT gave the Aggies the ball on
the Cajun 26-yd line. With 11:02 remaining in the fourth quarter coach
Slocum inserted A&M's #1 recruit, fish Reggie McNeal, into the game at QB.

McNeal led a suddenly rejuvenated offense on an eight play 26-yd scoring
drive in his first series at QB. Key plays were a 19-yd pass to Johnson for
a first down at the 12-yd line, but an unsportsmanlike penalty pushed the
ball back to the 27. A nine yd pass to senior Greg Porter preceded scrambles
by McNeal of 5- and 7-yds and runs of 3-yds (junior Oschler Fleming), 4-yds
(Farmer) and a false start penalty. With a first down on the ULL four,
Farmer followed a one yd rush by senior Tracy Jones with a three yd TD
plunge. The PAT put the Ags up 31-0.

Slocum and the coaching staff continued to make liberal substitutions in
order to build depth and the defensive inexperience showed on ULL's next
series. After the Ragin' Cajuns recovered their own fumble on the A&M 36-yd
line they earned a first down at the 31-yd line. ULL finally broke through
on a 4th and 10, 31-yd TD pass play to culminate an 80-yd drive. The PAT
made the score 31-7 with 5:36 remaining.

A&M's #4 QB redshirt freshman Jason Carter led the Ags on their last series
driving the team from the A&M 39 to the ULL 30. The 10 play series ended
when Pegram missed a 47-yd FG attempt. Key plays in the 31-yd drive were 21-
and 16-yd scrambles by Carter. The game ended with ULL on the Cajun 30-yd
line.

OFFENSE: Best that can be said is the offense's play was very uneven. In the
first half they failed to take advantage of five of six turnovers, receivers
dropped passes (at least six hit them in the hands), penalties killed
drives, and the OL's mental mistakes often made one think they were
operating from a different playbook.

By games end the offense had generated 423 total yds even with the QBs a
dismal collective 18-for-47 with two INTs. Most of the yardage (140 yds in
the third quarter and 150 yds in the 4th quarter) came after the ULL defense
had collapsed. The 179 yds running on 47 rushes is also somewhat deceptive
considering the QBs accounted for 70 of those yds on plays not necessarily
designed for a run. A&M had five scoring drives, but the longest was 53 yds
and the other four were 26 yds or less.

QUARTERBACK: All four QBs received playing time. Farris was 13-32-0-171,
Long was 3-12-2-45, McNeal was 2-2-0-28 and Carter was 0-1-0-0.

RUNNING BACK: The running game still has not gelled. A&M gained 37 yds on 14
carries in the first half. In the second half the Ags added 142 rushing yds.
In all the tailbacks gained 88 yds on 33 carries while the QBs and receivers
rushed for 90 yds. The top three rushers were Carter (3-42), Farmer (18-39),
and Goynes (8-34).

RECEIVERS: The top three receivers were Johnson (6 catches for 96 yds),
Porter (5-59, both career highs), and junior Jammar Taylor (4-80). Johnson
has now caught at least one pass in 23 straight regular season games.

DEFENSE: The Wrecking Crew had 6 INTs (Every member of the Aggies' starting
secondary posted a pickoff.) and recovered four fumbles to erase the old BIG
12 standard of seven takeaways in a game and establish a new conference
turnover standard of 10. They limited ULL to 11 rushing yds on 23 attempts,
194 yds on a 14-of-42 effort by Cajun QBs, and sacked the signal caller
twice for 12 yds in a dominating display of effort. All 31 points scored by
the Aggies were the result of turnovers.

Hidden in the glow of the Wrecking Crews outstanding performance was the
fact that ULL's Fred Stamps had seven catches for a career-high 115 yds.
However, the WC's collective effort thoroughly disrupted the rest of the
Cajun offensive schemes allowing the A&M offense to run 94 plays that
included an unproductive first half.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Scates punted six times for a 41.2 average. Pegram missed FG
attempts of 39, 45, 37 and 47 yds and connected on a 21-yder.

PENALTIES: First game jitters were costly. A&M was penalized 16 times for
102 yds.

12TH MAN REPRESENTATIVE: Soph DB Anthony Squillante, from Southlake Carroll
High School, was the 12th Man Kickoff Team representative.

SLOCUM'S COMMENTS: " I was disappointed we weren't sharper. 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. It looked like we were trying too hard. At the half, I
told them to just relax and start making plays. ... I thought our defense
played solid all night. We controlled their offense. If we had been more
efficient on offense, we could have had a bigger margin. ... I wanted to get
all the quarterbacks into the game. I just thought that we would be looking
at a situation a year from now when Mark will be gone, and one of those guys
will have to be the starter. I wanted to give him (McNeal) a chance to
compete. If you hold him out all year, he might go into the competition a
little behind. I wanted to be fair to all three of them. ... "

UNDER THE GOAL POSTS: How difficult has it been to learn "the system" at A&M
as an offensive player? During the past 10 years the Ags have had five
different offensive coordinators. ... Wondering where to look for
improvement this season on the offense? Try the third down conversion stats.
Last year the Ags converted just 30 percent of their third downs, 11th in
the BIG 12 and ahead of only KU (25%). As a result of the inconsistent
attack, they ranked 106th nationally in total offensive. League leader was
tu at 49 percent. ...

Defense, on the other hand, was great but national improvement statistically
might not result in a higher conference ranking. Defensively the Ags were
10th in the nation one year ago, but that only put them 5th in the BIG 12
conference. The Wrecking Crew has not allowed a 100-yd rusher in 13 straight
regular season games dating back to OSU RB Reggie White's 112-yd effort in
the ninth game of the 2000 season. ...

The Ags played seven true freshmen (PK Todd Pegram, QB Reggie McNeal,
linebacker Archie McDaniel, TE Patrick Fleming, defensive lineman Brian
Patrick, and Johnny Jolly and offensive lineman Aldo De La Garza) in the ULL
game. The Aggies are 14-0 in home openers under coach R.C. Slocum and 29-0
against non-conference teams at Kyle Field. ... The Wrecking Crew's 10
takeaways broke the BIG 12 record of seven set by ISU vs. Northern Iowa in
2001 (6 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery). The Ags' six pickoffs tied the
Big 12 record set by the Clones against Northern Iowa last season and is the
second most in school history (7 vs. Utah in 1936). ... Senior QB Mark
Farris needs 131 yds to join Corey Pullig (6,846), Kevin Murray (6,506) and
Edd Hargett (5,379) in the 5,000-yd club.

THE AGS NEXT OPPONENT - PITT (1-0): This is not the Pitt team I remember
when I was a member of the faculty at Penn State. In those days the Panthers
were led defensively by a tough DE named Hugh Green and offensively by a
youngster named Dan Marino. They played in a dilapidated stadium that was an
injury risk to any who bought tickets.

The current squad doesn't have the magnetic star power of the former
All-Americans and All-Pro player twosome, but they play in a state of the
art two-year-old stadium named Heinz Field. Yes, the same family that makes
ketchup.

The 2002 version of the Pitt Panthers extended their winning streak to seven
with a 27-14 win over Ohio University in their opening game on Saturday.
Most consider it an ugly win because junior QB Rod Rutherford struggled
(9-of-22 for just 97 yds, two TDs, and three INTs). Pitt totaled just 193
offensive yds against the Bobcats, considered by many in the East as a weak
sister of the Mid-American conference.

Like the Aggies, the Panther's showing was simply so-so and, like the Ags,
they are thankful that a season is not defined by one game. For Pitt the A&M
game now looms as a potential breakout contest. A win will position them for
a 5-0 mark when they meet conference foe Syracuse on Oct 5.

In a game reminiscent of A&M's offense against ULL, Pitt's receivers dropped
at least four passes, gave up three sacks, had difficulty creating running
room, and had a TD nullified by a penalty. And, like the Aggies, the Panther
fans are hoping a lot of that was first game jitters. Pitt featured two true
freshman wideouts (Larry Fitzgerald and Billy Gaines) and soph Roosevelt
Bynes started at WR opposite senior Lamar Slade (all four totaled 8 catches
for 97 yds).

In the sound familiar department, Pitt has "anointed savior" freshman QB
Tyler Palko waiting in the wings (his redshirt was removed in the second
quarter against Ohio for a single series). However, it seems unlikely that
head coach Walt Harris will start true freshman at all the critical skill
positions for the A&M game. Consequently, Rutherford should start at QB, but
if he struggles again Palko, now listed as #2 on the depth chart, will
probably see more than one series.

With all five starters returning on the offensive line, Pitt was expected to
have a season breakout ground game against Ohio University, but even when
leading 20-0 they were unable to establish a running game (96 yds on 44
attempts). Starter soph Raymond Kirkley finished with 17 yds on 7 attempts,
junior Brandon Miree rushed for 62 yds on 15 tries and soph Marcus Furman
had 15 on 6 attempts.

The Pitt defense, while highly regarded, does not mirror the Wrecking Crew's
front seven. Pitt's defense gave up 119 yds rushing on 24 carries to OU
tailback Chad Brinker, 216 yds on 44 total rushing attempts and 283 yds
overall. They also accounted for six turnovers. Linebackers senior Gerald
Hayes and junior Lewis Moore had an INT and 11 tackles and blocked a 34-yd
FG attempt, respectively.

The secondary is very good and contributed five INTs to prevent Ohio U. from
stealing a win. A critical fourth quarter INT set up Pitt's game clinching
TD when it was run back to the Ohio two. Junior DB Shawntae Spencer (his
three INTs against Ohio are a Big East and school record) is the national
leader in INTs. With senior Torrie Cox (interception, fumble recovery), the
Pitt secondary will play havoc with the Aggie receivers if they don't get
better separation on their routes and passes are not thrown more accurately
than they were against ULL.

Special teams appear solid. Punter Andy Lee averaged 42.8 yards on six
punts, Gaines returned two punts for 13 yds, and kicker David Abdul booted
five kickoffs and made a 40-yd FG. Soph walk-on J.B. Gibboney hit three PATs
and also kicked a 37-yd FG with 1:46 remaining in the first half.

Without a doubt the Wrecking Crew is equal to the task of stopping Pitt and,
based on Pitt's single game of the season, could even dominate the Panther
offense. The question this week is: Will the A&M offense show up with the
team in Pittsburgh?

First, even though Pitt is a much more talented opponent than ULL, it is
probable the Wrecking Crew will be the catalyst that causes Rutherford to
struggle. But to win and gain national respect, the offense must pull their
weight by sustaining a running game rather than hit the panic button. A
solid rushing effort will ensure the Ags avoid the Pitt falls (pun intended)
of having to throw into a very talented secondary to sustain every drive.

The challenge is there. ULL bulled through the A&M OL to make eight tackles
for losses so there is much work to be done in preparation for the Pitt
game. If the offense produces the physical effort up front necessary to
sustain a running game, then A&M returns to College Station with a win. If
the offense continues to run on empty then Heinz Field will leave a nasty
blotch on the Maroon and White.

WHAT'S NEXT: A&M @ Pitt Sep 7, televised ESPN @ 11 AM CDT.