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BOULDER, Colo. – Branndon Stewart used to be the king of the hard luck club, surviving a topsy-turvy career at Texas A&M that finally ended in proper fashion – a magnificent performance to lead the Aggies to a thrilling 36-33 win over Kansas State in his second-to-last game in the maroon and white. Midway through his playing career in Aggieland, you can only hope good-guy quarterback Mark Farris gets his just due… and his legendary victory to cement his place in the Aggie annals, as well.
The time almost came Saturday at Folsom Field, until a brutal outside blitz and fumble return for a touchdown ruined Farris’ eye-popping game and the Aggies’ unbeaten season. Instead of Farris and the Aggies staging an improbable fourth-quarter comeback, they were left having to answer again to some what-if questions that marred an otherwise memorable afternoon in the Rockies. But the Buffaloes notched a deceiving 31-21 victory, escaping a game in which the Aggies erased a 24-14 lead and nearly marched all the way for the tying or go-ahead score in the final minutes of regulation. Having carved up a Colorado defense for a 36-yard touchdown pass to Terrence Murphy with 5:09 left and a subsequent precision drive in which he completed his 13th straight pass, Farris directed A&M to the CU 35-yard line, trailing by three with under a minute remaining. And the momentum had swung so dramatically that the Aggie sideline looked as comfortable as it did when Stewart caught fire against the Wildcats in the 1998 classic Big 12 title game. Every Aggie player and coach, not to mention most of the 49,521 in attendance, thought this might be the Aggies’ day, after all. A&M wasn’t even thinking overtime, but figured the offense was so hot picking apart the Buffaloes that only a touchdown would be the final exclamation point. Then CU outside linebacker Kori Mossoni flew in untouched from Farris’ back side, and linebacker Joey Johnson picked up the fumble and raced 52 yards for the deciding score. Farris’ numbers were definitely impressive, as he threw for 334 yards and three touchdowns. But just as the late interceptions against Oklahoma and Mississippi State last season tarnished solid efforts in near-miss games, the unlucky fumble overshadowed what could have been his finest moment so far in the Aggie uniform. "I do feel for him because I know how that guy is and how competitive that guy is," linebacker Christian Rodriguez said. "And I know he’s going to take this loss on his shoulders pretty hard. The thing that he needs to know is we’re behind him and we support him in everything. That’s my quarterback. When No. 10 hits the field, I have no doubts in my mind, he’s going to get the job done." Even in the loss, A&M stretched the field and showed some new capabilities in the passing game. Farris’ pick-up of a blitz in the first half and then laser throw to Jamaar Taylor for a 64-yard touchdown pass was the longest – and perhaps most sizzling – play of the year for the Aggies. And Murphy and Taylor both hauled in 146 receiving yards and combined for 19 catches. Did the Aggies pass their first real "test" of the year? No, but they hardly flunked, either.
"Pretty much everyone on the sideline was pretty
sure we were going into overtime or we were going to win it right
there," tight end Michael de la Torre said. "It’s
just one of those things that blindsides you. You look at it and
almost can’t believe it happened. "We’re all kind of in shock because we were just sure we were going to win it. I feel great about our team and our chances to run the table. We didn’t expect a (Buffalo) blowout. We knew it was going to be a hard-fought game, and we should have won the game. The only statement was we couldn’t get it done." Farris is going to set a bunch of passing records at A&M, already becoming the sixth passer in school history to throw for over 4,000 yards in his career. He’s even averaging 202.1 yards a game through the air, topping career average leader Kevin Murray’s mark of 185.9. Farris has done all the legwork for some hard-earned glory to come his way. Some inexperienced throws and bad luck have just slowed the process. Yet, to know Mark Farris is to know he could care less about individual numbers. The losses are what hurts. And the big wins can’t come any sooner for him. But there’s a sense the comebacks and game-winning throws are just a flick of the wrist away. "We came close to beating Oklahoma and came close to beating all these teams," Rodriguez added. "I think Mark has a couple (big performances) in him. Maybe a little bit down the road against a K-State, Oklahoma or Texas, we’re going to pull it out. (The odds) can only be bad for so long. It’s going to turn out good sooner or later." As Branndon Stewart can attest.
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