SB Nation Dallas - Aggies Top Longhorns 24-17https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48887/dallas-fave.png2010-11-26T02:04:40-06:00http://dallas.sbnation.com/rss/stream/16003012010-11-26T02:04:40-06:002010-11-26T02:04:40-06:00Aggies Top Longhorns Behind Cyrus Gray
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<p>(Sports Network) – Cyrus Gray rushed for 223 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries, as the 17th-ranked Texas A&M Aggies topped the Texas Longhorns, 24-17, at Texas Memorial Stadium.</p>
<p>Ryan Tannehill threw for 128 yards on 14-of-30 passing with a touchdown for the Aggies (9-3, 6-2 Big 12), who won six straight to end the regular season.</p>
<p>Garrett Gilbert completed 20-of-37 passes for 219 yards, with a passing and rushing touchdown, but threw two interceptions for Texas (5-7, 2-6), which failed to become bowl eligible for the first time in 12 seasons.</p>
<p>Cody Johnson rushed for 107 yards on 14 carries and Foswhitt Whittaker caught five passes for 59 yards, and rushed for 35 yards for the Longhorns, who had won the last two meetings in this rivalry.</p>
<p>“I thought we were inconsistent offensively,” Texas head coach Mack Brown said. “We obviously had a chance to win the game at the end there and didn’t and gave up some big plays on defense.”</p>
<p>Trailing 24-14, Texas’ defense forced a three-and-out at the 11 minute mark in the fourth, and the Longhorns defense came up big as Carring Byndom blocked the punt giving Texas the ball at the A&M nine.</p>
<p>A false start penalty pushed them back to the 14 and after being stopped on three straight plays the Longhorns settled for a 24-yard Justin Tucker field goal to trim the deceit to 24-17.</p>
<p>Texas had the ball in the final six minutes, but after marching down to the Aggies 12, Gilbert threw his second interception of the game with 2:37 left, that allowed A&M to run out the clock.</p>
<p>The Aggies attempted to get on the board in the game’s opening drive, but Randy Bullock’s 38-yard field goal attempt went wide right.</p>
<p>Gilbert connected with Marquise Goodwin for a 31-yard pass in the final minute and a half of the first to put Texas up 7-0 heading to the second.</p>
<p>A&M was forced to punt at the seven-minute mark of the second, and after the Longhorns moved the ball down to the Aggies eight, Gilbert fumbled on a two- yard loss that was recovered by Texas A&M linebacker Sean Porter.</p>
<p>Ryan Swope advanced the ball to the A&M 16 and Gray took the second play of the drive 84 yards up the middle to knot the game at seven heading to the half.</p>
<p>Texas received the second-half kickoff, but Dustin Harris picked off a Gilbert pass on the third play of the third quarter. The Aggies added a 50-yard field goal by Bullock six plays later to go up 10-7.</p>
<p>The Longhorns committed their third turnover of the game on the following play when D.J. Monroe fumbled on a run to the right side that was recovered by Von Miller.</p>
<p>The Aggies took over at the Texas 22 and Tannehill connected with Jeff Fuller with a two-yard strike with 10:35 remaining to put A&M up 17-7.</p>
<p>Forced to punt at their own five-yard line, the Longhorns converted a muffed return by A&M’s Kenric McNeal.</p>
<p>Three plays later, Gilbert hit Whittaker for a 35-yard reception down the right sideline, and after a six-yard gain by Johnson, Gilbert punched it in on the one-yard sneak to close the gap to 17-14 with 4:39 left in the third.</p>
<p>A&M responded 16 seconds later when Gray took the first play of the next drive 48 yards to put the Aggies up 24-14 heading to the fourth.</p>
<p>“Our players showed tremendous resilency throughtout the course of the game,” said A&M head coach Mike Sherman. "The third quarter was the quarter of the game.</p>
<p>“We were able to take advantage of some situations offensively, our defense forced some turnovers. We were able to jump on that lead in the third quarter and were fortunte to hold on.”</p>
<p>Game Notes</p>
<p>This was the third consecutive year these two teams have met on Thanksgiving… Texas was held to only 140 yards rushing, while the Aggies amassed 238 yards on the ground…Goodwin caught two passes for 32 yards and the score… This is also the first time in 12 seasons that Texas ends the season non-ranked… Texas controlled the ball for 33:41 minutes…Gilbert was sacked three times… The Longhorns hold the all-time margin 42-19-2 against A&M in Thanksgiving games.</p>
https://dallas.sbnation.com/2010/11/26/1836918/aggies-top-longhorns-behind-cyrus-grayJP Starkey2010-11-25T11:22:01-06:002010-11-25T11:22:01-06:00Texas A&M Aggies Vs. Texas Longhorns: Aggies Look For Ninth Win
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<p><span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; line-height: normal;"> </span></p>
<p>The Sports Network</p>
<p>By Pat Taggart, Associate College Football Editor</p>
<p>Fresh off a statement victory, the 17th-ranked Texas A&M Aggies will attempt to carry the momentum into Thursday's Big 12 Conference clash with the Texas Longhorns.</p>
<p>In front of a raucous home crowd last weekend, the Aggies put forth a stellar defensive effort and knocked off mighty Nebraska by a 9-6 final. That win was the fifth in a row for A&M, which has obviously bounced back strong from a three-game losing streak. The club is 8-3 and will undoubtedly play in a strong non-BCS bowl, but a victory over Texas this weekend would obviously do wonders for the A&M program.</p>
<p>"The consequences of winning are the expectations get higher," said Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman after upsetting Nebraska. "We jumped over another hurdle and have taken another step. We still have another step to take."</p>
<p>It is hard to believe that Texas, which played in the national title game last season, has more losses than wins heading into this regular-season finale. At 5-6, the Longhorns need a victory just to become bowl eligible. Last weekend, the club was happy to step outside of Big 12 play to battle an inferior Florida Atlantic squad, as a 51-17 victory halted a four-game skid.</p>
<p>"Coaches, players, everybody - they've been so beaten down," says Texas coach Mack Brown of all the negative attention directed toward his players and coaches because of the disappointing season.</p>
<p>Texas owns a 75-36-5 series advantage over Texas A&M, which includes a 49-39 victory over the Aggies last season.</p>
<p>Texas A&M failed to score a single touchdown against Nebraska last weekend, and the offense managed to make good on just 2-of-13 third-down conversion attempts. Still, Cyrus Gray deserves a great deal of credit for the victory, as he ran the ball 26 times for 137 yards and caught nine passes for 65 yards.</p>
<p>"I would say extraordinary," said Sherman when asked to describe Gray's performance "With his catches and his runs and picking the holes. If he didn't play the game he did we wouldn't have been able to kick the field goals. Nothing he ever does surprises me. I'm not shocked looking at his stats."</p>
<p>Gray is the first Aggie running back in 20 years to have five straight 100- yard rushing games, and he has 396 rushing yards in the three games since fellow tailback Christine Michael broke his leg. A&M didn't commit a single turnover against Nebraska, key to the win.</p>
<p>Give plenty of credit to the swarming Texas A&M defense for holding a potent Nebraska offense to 306 total yards. The Cornhuskers are one of the best running teams in the nation, but they managed a mere 3.8 yards per carry against the Aggies. A&M came through with two big interceptions in that tilt.</p>
<p>Through 11 outings, the Aggies are generating 32.5 ppg and 455.0 total ypg. Ryan Tannehill, who has replaced the turnover-prone Jerrod Johnson as the club's quarterback, has completed 68.8 percent of his passes for 1,306 yards and 10 scores with only three interceptions. Gray has run for 810 yards and 10 touchdowns this season, while Jeff Fuller has 11 receiving scores. Fuller needs just 41 yards to reach the 1,000-yard plateau.</p>
<p>Defensively, A&M is limiting opponents to 20.6 ppg and 357.4 total ypg, numbers that have certainly improved significantly during the five game winning streak. The Aggies are tough against both means of attack, limiting foes to 3.3 rushing ypc and 9.6 yards per pass completion. With 20 takeaways and 25 sacks, A&M has certainly registered some impact plays. Michael Hodges leads the Aggies with 98 total tackles, while Von Fuller has 7.5 sacks to his credit.</p>
<p>Under coach Brown, Texas has seemingly always featured a high-powered offensive attack, but that clearly isn't the case this season. Sure, the 24.4 ppg and 384.6 total ypg are respectable, but strong performances against weak opposition have been offset by sluggish efforts against quality teams. Brown has stuck with Garrett Gilbert, and the quarterback has struggled mightily. Gilbert has thrown only nine touchdown passes with 15 interceptions and he has completed fewer than 60 percent of his passes, a far cry from what Colt McCoy was able to do last season. James Kirkendoll leads the Texas receivers with 45 catches for 655 yards and two scores, while Cody Johnson paces the backfield with 485 rushing yards and six touchdowns.</p>
<p>Opponents are scoring 23.6 ppg against Texas, which is allowing only 294.2 total ypg. Clearly, the defense has remained strong, yielding a mere 3.2 yards per carry on the ground and limiting passing yardage as well. Texas has committed 26 turnovers this season, and those giveaways have often put the defense in vulnerable positions. While the Longhorns have only posted 16 of their own takeaways, they have notched 29 sacks and continue to battle. Keep an eye on Sam Acho, as he has registered nine sacks.</p>
<p>Gilbert certainly needed a good performance against Florida Atlantic to boost his confidence, and the first-year starter threw for 263 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions while also running for 60 yards and a score. Kirkendoll finished with four catches for 123 yards and a touchdown, while Johnson ran for 124 yards and a score.</p>
<p>"I thought it would give him great confidence going into Thursday," said Brown of Johnson's heavy workload. "We've needed a back around here to carry the load."</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the Texas defense limited FAU to 298 total yards and came up with three takeaways.</p>
<p>Texas is a prideful group and will find a way to win this finale at home. Expect this contest to be decided in the final minute.</p>
https://dallas.sbnation.com/2010/11/25/2325084/texas-a-m-aggies-vs-texas-longhorns-aggies-look-for-ninth-winJP Starkey