Vol. 4 No.17

Final Review Texas A&M vs. Missouri By Homer Jacobs

COLUMBIA, Mo. — As R.C. Slocum tried to speak to reporters outside the Texas A&M locker room following the Aggies’ 51-14 victory over Missouri, he had to stop talking as the Missouri Marching Band drummed their way out of Faurot Field.

While he waited for the noise to subside so he could be heard, Slocum broke into a one-man jig, shimmying like he was lead tuba at Florida A&M.

And how can you blame him? The Aggie head coach had to sidestep criticism from fans all week, not to mention the Dante Hall suspension.

But on this sun-splashed day in Missouri, Slocum and the Aggies danced because they finally could. They smiled because it was time again. For at least one Saturday in the fall, the game of college football had become fun again... only it was nine weeks in the making.

Losses to Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Nebraska had sapped this team of much of its spirit. But the season has yet to drain the Aggies of their desire to make amends.

Against the Tigers, the Aggies resembled the Aggies everyone thought would take 1999 by storm.

Ja’Mar Toombs and Joe Weber rumbled in the running game. Randy McCown hit Bethel Johnson on a perfect 39-yaard touchdown strike, like the scouting reports said they would back in August.

The Wrecking Crew pitched three quarters of shutout ball, giving up two meaningless touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

"This game is so much fun when you have things like that," said offensive lineman Chris Valletta.

No one is claiming the Aggies’ beat one of the nation’s premier teams in Columbia, but they did show some flashes that have been absent for much of the season.

Weber’s 77-yard run to set up a score was the Aggies’ longest run of the year, and the true freshman became A&M’s first 100-yard rusher of the season. A&M also scored an offensive touchdown on its first series, the first such happening in the first quarter all year, and A&M’s 44 second-half points were a school record for a second-half scoring surge.

Now, the big question: Can A&M take any gained momentum into the Texas game at Kyle Field? The largest crowd that will ever see a game in Texas — let’s start the promos now — will be waiting in all its maroon splendor.

"It was a great game for morale," said linebacker Brian Gamble. "And it’s a great confidence booster going into the Texas game. Everybody’s going to be jacked up and fired up."

Jacked up and fired up... the Aggies were both against Missouri even with just a 7-0 lead at halftime.

The game-opening 70-yard drive was the season’s most sparkling, as A&M pounded the ball at Missouri with Toombs following his newfound blocker in Tiki Hardeman. Then in a 24-point third quarter, A&M used the wind and good field position to rip the game open.

And seeing Weber break into the open field in the fourth and nearly score on his 77-yard run drew the biggest applause from the Aggie faithful, perhaps because no such long run had been seen since a 30-yard run by Eric Bernard against Kansas.

"We had no doubt we were going to come up here and play well," said Gamble. "This was a make or break game for the season. The offense did a great job."

A&M rolled up 455 yards, but it was how the Aggies amassed the yardage that was so important. Balance came to the attack, as A&M rushed for 254 yards and threw for 201 more.

The same type of numbers will be needed against the Longhorns, who reached the Big 12 title game using uncanny balance of their own.

No matter how the oddsmakers break down the game, A&M is an underdog heading into this game. While A&M lost to Tech, OU and Nebraska, the Horns beat those same three teams by a combined score of 120-55. Only the breakfast bedlam at Kyle Field is clearly an A&M edge.

But you get the feeling the Aggies know much fun they can have in the next week or so and plan to take full advantage of their time in some kind of spotlight. Coming off a loss to Mizzou would have been unbearable around the big campus, and the players knew it. The relief on their faces after the win over the Tigers said it all.

"It’s been a while since we’ve had fun," linebacker Jason Glenn said. "But we showed that we have character and we have pride."

And there won’t be any more players-only meetings or the distractions of the Dante Hall saga.

No, the time now is about the hype, hoopla and hullabaloo that is Texas week.

It feels like college football in College Station again. So enjoy the big fire on Thanksgiving night, because the Aggies are beginning to show some.

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