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COLLEGE STATION – Same end zone. Another juggling act. It was the 15th anniversary of the greatest Texas A&M-Baylor game, when the Aggies needed a Tony Thompson bobbled touchdown catch to notch a 31-30 classic victory in 1986 at Kyle Field. Fast-forwarding to 2001, it was Baylor doing the tip drill with two Hail Mary passes in the corner of the end zone, and again, the Aggies came out on the right side of a dicey situation.
This game, however, wasn’t a classic like its 1986 predecessor. Rather, it was a classic example of A&M playing like a team coming off a 24-3 win over Notre Dame, and Baylor playing like a team who had been through one too many losses to the Aggies, now owners of 11 straight wins over the Bears. In an eerie walk to the locker room, A&M players and coaches labored with their heads down as if the 16-10 victory had, indeed, been a six-point loss. Until the last two desperation passes were batted down by the Aggies, it appeared as if A&M could lose this game. Penalties, red zone failures, missed field goals and inspired play by the Bears all added up to a close game that left a bitter notion to contemplate the rest of the season: Play much better or else. "We had too many (mistakes) to elaborate on," A&M coach R.C. Slocum said. "We have plenty on our plate. Hopefully, we’ll get it sorted out and get ready to go play a good football team next week." The Aggies begin the daunting part of their schedule, with streaking Colorado up next. The Buffs handed Kansas State a rare loss at home and have now won four in a row. "Give them a lot of credit, they played well," A&M quarterback Mark Farris said. "I don’t know how much of it was them and how much of it was us. I’d say they’re much improved. But it’s going to take a much better effort than we had to get the job done next week." A&M’s defense was good enough to shut out the Bears in the second half, and for the season, A&M has outscored its opponents in the second half, 66-10. Although the Bears surpassed the 200-yard mark in total offense – something Notre Dame and Oklahoma State could not do – Baylor could never sustain enough drives to score more than 10 points. Unfortunately, the Aggie offense couldn’t sustain many drives, either. In arguably its most spotty performance of the year, the A&M offense sputtered four times inside the 10-yard line, coming away with just 10 points.
Two missed field goals and a failed fourth-and-goal rushing attempt just before halftime shackled any idea of lighting up the scoreboard against the Bears, who were ransacked by Iowa State the week before, 41-0. "Our offensive line was pretty upset by that (play)," said receiver Dwain Goynes, who finished with seven catches for 71 yards. "We worked hard on our short game because we didn’t want to make Cody’s (Scates) job harder than it is. They just outplayed us down there (in the red zone). When you get down there, you have to punch it in and get focused." Slocum and his players admitted to a lack of focus during the practice week leading up to the game. Blame the emotional Notre Dame win or the fact Baylor had not won a Big 12 game since 1998. In any case, the Aggies were flat and flat-out escaped with a win to move to 5-0. "I’ve been through these situations before," Slocum said of the letdowns that can bog down a team. "I’m not going to overreact to it. I was concerned all week about not being revved up to play the game. I knew they’d come in here and play well. We usually get their best shot, and we did today." Baylor’s improvement can be traced to its new offensive schemes, which utilize Greg Cicero’s presence at quarterback. The no-huddle attack that relies on the short passing game never allowed the Aggies to come up with game-changing defensive plays. Save for Jarrod Penright’s three sacks, the Wrecking Crew couldn’t get a read on the Bears the entire game. "A lot of it was Baylor’s offense," linebacker Brian Gamble said. "We never got a chance to make big plays. It wasn’t a game where we could tee off on them, and that affected the emotion of the defense. So we couldn’t get into a rhythm." At the end of the season, few people will remember that Baylor almost had a Baptist prayer answered in the end zone for a stunning win over A&M. But right then and right there, Gamble – and 82,589 tense fans – could hardly forget their thoughts as a season-changing game almost unfolded. "I was thinking, ‘Man, only Baylor could make this play in this game," Gamble said. Only Baylor was playing A&M, which always seems to make those plays in these games.
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