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Volume 5, No. 14
Branndon Stewart heard the pop and instantly felt the shooting pain in his knee. Stewart had never endured a debilitating knee injury in his football career, but as he lay on the artificial turf of the Trans World Dome, Stewart believed this was serious. "I figured I had torn a ligament," said Stewart, now a systems engineer for an Austin high-technology company. "I thought my knee was gone. It felt bad enough to be very serious." The Aggies, who already trailed No. 2-ranked Kansas State, appeared to be in serious trouble even with Stewart under center. Without him, A&M wouldn’t have a prayer.
Randy McCown had been lost the week before, breaking his collarbone against Texas. And while Shane Lechler’s leg was second to none, the All-American punter felt comfortable running just six pass plays. The Aggies appeared destined for a disastrous defeat. But then amid the frenzied noise produced by the K-State fans, Stewart heard another pop. "I laid there for a second, and it popped again," Stewart said. "I don't know what happened, but at that point, it started feeling better. I guess I just got lucky. When it popped, it started feeling better almost immediately. It still hurt, but now I could bend it." With a gimpy, hyperextended knee and a shaky track record against the Wildcats, Stewart returned to the field on A&M’s next series and began one of the most magical performances in Aggie history. Stewart had completed just four passes for 32 yards the year before against K-State, as the Wildcats pounded the Aggies, 36-17, in Manhattan. And in 1996 at Kyle Field, Stewart tossed two interceptions and took blame for a 23-20 loss to K-State after his quarterback sneak audible at the end of the first half cost the Aggies a touchdown. But this was a different day and a much different Branndon Stewart than the Wildcats remembered. After being carried to the sidelines with an apparent serious knee injury, Stewart put the Aggies on his back and carried A&M to the 1998 Big 12 title in one of the most memorable performances imaginable. Stewart dissected the nation’s No. 2 defense for 324 passing yards, three touchdowns and 452 yards of total offense. A&M trailed 10-0 after one quarter, 17-3 early in the second and 27-12 one-third of the way through the fourth. But Stewart’s fourth-quarter performance was absolutely incredible, as he tossed darts at A&M receivers and daggers into K-State’s heart. Stewart, who completed just four passes in the first three quarters, caught fire. In fact, he was John Elway-like in his precision under pressure. He made it look easy. He now admits that it was. "I hate to say it, but it was like they were leaving guys open on purpose," said Stewart, who plans on attending this weekend’s A&M-K-State game at Kyle Field. "It just happened to be the guys I was looking at most of the time. I guess I was in a zone. I guess that’s what it’s like when you get into a zone. It seemed like they were going, ‘OK Branndon, we’re just going to leave Derrick (Spiller) open on this one, so you might want to send him for 20 yards.’ "It was that easy. Then we had a couple of great catches. Leroy (Hodge) jumps up and catches it in the end zone, and Matt (Bumgardner) made the great diving catch. We were just clicking. Plus, we were throwing a lot, which is fun. When you do that to a defense, you keep passing on them, they get frustrated, they start making bad decisions and you can just keep doing it over and over." The Aggies certainly kept coming at the Wildcats. And as A&M battled back into contention, Stewart says he could read the frustration in the eyes of the K-State players. Kansas State needed only to dispatch of the pesky Aggies to earn a trip to the Fiesta Bowl for a shot at the national championship. Purple-clad fans in the stands were already tossing huge tortilla chips on the field and pulling out cell phones to book travel plans to Tempe. But the Aggies would not go away. As A&M pulled to within a touchdown and two-point conversion of the lead, Stewart noticed that the Wildcats’ frustration was turning into panic. "They just wanted to get it over with," said Stewart. "It’s kind of like the last test you have to take on a Friday just before spring break. You have to pass the test, so you can go to Colorado to go skiing or hit the beach. It was kind of like one of those, ‘let’s get these guys out of the way’ deals for them. "But when you finally get into that test, you know you have to do well, and the test ends up being a little more than you expected. They were like, ‘We’re ready to get to a national championship, we just have to get through this game. Why are these Aggies bugging us?’" A&M continued to turn up the heat and forced the game into overtime thanks to some key defensive plays and pinpoint passing by Stewart. A&M tied it at 27-27 with 1:05 left in the fourth on a 9-yard TD pass from Stewart to Sirr Parker and a two-point conversion pass to Parker. Once the Aggies got it to overtime, it was over for K-State. "When we got a little momentum there in the fourth quarter, there was a calm on the sidelines that everyone had a sense that we were going to win," Stewart said. "It was like we knew the outcome prior to the game. Even when we were down by two touchdowns, no one panicked. I’d never been a part of anything like that before. Usually when you’re down, some of the players start getting down, but none of the guys did that. "Then when we got it into overtime, we had all the momentum. They’re frustrated and don’t know what’s going on. I think they lost a little confidence at that point. People are smiling, having a good time on our sidelines. We all knew that they were down on themselves, and all we had to do is go out and take care of business." Despite the wave of confidence on the A&M side of the field, the Aggies still appeared to be in trouble in the second overtime. A&M trailed 33-30 and faced a third-and-17 from the 32. When the play call came in from the sidelines, Stewart assumed the Aggies were simply setting up for a tying field goal. "We wanted to hit Sirr on the slant, because that’s a high-percentage pass and you don’t want to go for a bomb and miss it and have a super-long field goal," Stewart said. "That’s what I was trying to do, trying to get us at a position to be able to kick the football with a good throw and a good read." But the short pass turned into an unforgettable 32-yard jaunt when Parker avoided a tackler and dove into the end zone to give the Aggies a dramatic 36-33 win. While A&M fans erupted and players piled joyously on top of Parker, Stewart first looked for penalty flags. Seeing none and realizing what had just happened, the quarterback went on a spirited victory lap of sorts. "It took a few seconds to register," Stewart said. "Then it clicked that they don’t get the ball back, we just won the game. I don’t remember much after that, but I do recall running around so fast, for so long, that I almost started hyperventilating. I thought I was going to pass out. I sprinted to the end zone, and I sprinted down K-State’s sidelines. I was just running around acting stupid, but it was a blast." The memories still are. It may have been the most unexpected and thrilling win ever for the Aggies. It will also be the way Aggies forever remember Stewart. And rest assured, A&M fans are still grateful for his heroics. "I would say probably 90 percent of the Aggies I meet – they try to prevent it from being the first thing out of their mouth, but it’s the second thing – say that was the best game they’ve ever seen," Stewart said. "I guess when I’m 75, I’ll be talking to people that are like, ‘Hey, great to meet you. A&M is a great school, and that was the greatest game I’ve ever seen.’" Probably so. Considering the circumstances and what was at stake, it will be awfully difficult to top the story of Stewart’s day – from the pops in his knee to the bursting of K-State’s bubble.
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