'CATS IN THE CRADLE Aggies still have Kansas State's number, 31-24 By Rusty Burson

MANHATTAN, Kan. – John on a mobile phone spoke for many disgruntled Kansas State fans when he dialed in the "PowerCat Postgame Show" following Texas A&M’s nail-biting, 31-24 win over the Wildcats on a gorgeous autumn afternoon in the "Little Apple."

Traveling east along I-70 from KSU Stadium to Topeka, John questioned play calls, voiced concerns about K-State coach Bill Snyder and – primarily – wondered aloud what miracle it would take for his Wildcats to ever beat the Aggies again.

"R.C. Slocum has our number," John said during the radio call-in show. "It doesn’t matter if we have the lead, if we’re ranked, if we’re in the national title hunt or if we’re on our way to a miraculous comeback. The Aggies just have our number."

Quarterback Mark Farris shows his appreciation for Joe Weber and his touchdown run.

Who could argue with that? Based on most of the statistical numbers, the Aggies had no business winning Saturday’s thriller before 49,935 boisterous fans in the Sunflower State. A&M (6-1 overall, 3-1 Big 12) was dominated by K-State (2-4, 0-4) in terms of total yardage, time of possession and many other meaningless numbers.

And thanks to some conservative play-calling – and that’s putting it mildly – the A&M offense was virtually non-existent in the second half, producing a paltry 36 yards in the final two quarters. In fact, A&M had no yards on eight plays in the final quarter.

That’s zero. Nada. Absolutely nothing for the final 15 minutes.

Overall, the Aggies’ 189 total offensive yards were the fewest since a 1998 game at Southern Miss, enabling K-State to run 33 more offensive plays than A&M.

But the bottom line is that the Aggies once again found a way to break the Wildcats’ heart. Three years ago, it was Sirr Parker on the slant. Last year, it was JaMar Toombs thundering up the middle. And this time, it was a "Kiel" shot in the final minute.

It was a huge win for the Aggies; it was a bizarre win; and it was a dramatic, thrilling win. Most of all, it was yet another improbable example of the Aggies finding another way to crush the ’Cats.

Some children have monsters under the bed. Some adults have phobias in their head. The Wildcats have Texas A&M. And the misery in Manhattan continues.

"You can analyze the numbers all you want, but the most important number is that final score," said A&M linebacker Christian Rodriguez, who played an instrumental role in A&M’s third straight win over the Wildcats. "It got tight, and it got a little nerve-wracking at the end. But all that counts is that we won, baby. That’s all that matters to me. It’s over, and it’s a ‘W.’"

Oschlor Flemming reaches the end zone on a shovel pass.

It remained in doubt until the closing minute, as K-State made a valiant comeback from a 21-point deficit in the fourth quarter. The opportunistic Aggies scored 17 points in a span of 2:08 in the third quarter to build a seemingly commanding 31-10 lead entering the final quarter. A&M needed just nine yards of total offense to score the 17 points.

But led by backup quarterback Marc Dunn, the Wildcats came roaring back. Dunn engineered two impressive, fourth-quarter touchdown drives to cut A&M’s lead to just seven points. And after Aaron Lockett returned a punt 52 yards to the A&M 23, the Wildcats, who were feeding off the roar of the of the purple-clad crowd, were in perfect position to at least send the game into overtime.

Or so it seemed.

In what may eventually be viewed as the play of A&M’s season, however, junior strong safety Terrence Kiel stuffed KSU’s Josh Scobey a half yard short on a fourth-and-2 option play at the Aggies’ 3. Eighteen inches further, and the Aggies may have been dealt a devastating defeat.

Instead, the Wrecking Crew saved the day – and possibly saved the Aggies from less desirable bowl destinations.

"I told the guys (during the final K-State drive) that this is our season," said A&M inside linebacker Brian Gamble, who contributed a key interception. "I said, ‘If we lose this game, it’s back to Shreveport (for the Independence Bowl) or some place else we don’t won’t to be.’ We weren’t going to let that happen."

It didn’t, and the Aggies, who are now bowl-eligible, may avoid another "Snow Bowl" thanks to an avalanche of big plays by the defense.

A&M surrendered 358 yards of total offense to the Wildcats – 110 more than the Aggies had been allowing this season. K-State also rushed for 258 yards, which is 159 yards more than A&M’s defense had been allowing.

But aside from the final score, the critical number in this game involved turnovers. The Aggies had three takeaways, leading directly to the 17 third-quarter points. Meanwhile, the Wildcats couldn’t force an A&M turnover all day.

"In a game between two evenly matched teams – and I think this was two very similar teams – it is often going to be decided by turnovers," said A&M quarterback Mark Farris, whose two first-half touchdown passes staked A&M to an early 14-0 lead. "We didn’t win many of the statistical battles, but we won the turnover battle."

As a result, the Aggies, who resembled a MASH unit by the game’s end, also won the war. By at least 18 inches.

Kiel’s fourth-down stop was the key play of the game, but virtually everyone left standing on the A&M defense came up with a big play at some point during the game. Defensive back Jonte Buhl recovered a fumbled punt to set up a field goal. Gamble intercepted a pass to set up a 9-yard touchdown drive. Rodriguez forced a fumble that Jarrod Penright scooped up and returned 17 yards for another TD.

Walk-ons, little-known reserves, true freshmen and virtually everyone else on the A&M traveling squad also made some sort of key contribution. The Aggies needed every one of them.

"Nothing to it," Slocum said with a laugh and a sigh of relief. "Those photo finishes are really exciting, aren’t they? I’m very pleased with our team. We came up here and really fought hard together. I just thought we showed a lot of character in pulling that one out."

It seemed to be slipping out of the Aggies’ hands during the final quarter. But on the game’s pivotal play, Dunn ran the speed option to his left. It was a play that had worked exceptionally well for the Wildcats all day, as K-State piled up huge numbers on the ground.

With the game on the line, however, Kiel flew toward the pitch man, Scobey, and dropped him just short of the first down at the A&M 3.

"I actually didn’t know (he was short of the first down) at first," Kiel said. "I thought he had gotten the first down until I looked over at the sideline (at the chains). When I saw it was short, I almost couldn’t believe it."

Neither could John on a mobile, although he and his fellow K-State fans should be getting used to this by now.