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Game 10: Baylor Bears (4-6, 1-5 Big 12) at Texas A&M Aggies (5-5, 2-4 Big 12)
Nov. 17, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas--Texas A&M (5-5, 2-4) returns home and looks to snap a two-game losing skid when the Aggies host Baylor (4-6, 1-5) in the annual Battle of the Brazos ... kickoff is set for 2:35 p.m. at Kyle Field and the game will not be televised ... A&M, which will be playing at home for just the second time in six weeks, is coming off a loss at Oklahoma on Saturday night, while the Bears enter the game after dropping their home finale to Texas ... the Aggies are 4-1 at Kyle Field in 2009, while Baylor is 2-2 on the road ... Saturday's honorary game captain will be Ray Childress. GAME 11: TEXAS A&M AGGIES (5-5, 2-4 Big 12) vs BAYLOR BEARS (4-6, 1-5 Big 12) TELEVISION: none SATELLITE RADIO: Sirius Channel 154 SERIES HISTORY: A&M leads, 65-31-9 / Big 12 only: A&M leads, 11-2 FOLLOWING THE ACTION • RADIO -- The 50-station Texas A&M Sports Network will broadcast the game live from Kyle Field ... Dave South (play-by-play) and Dave Elmendorf (commentary) will call the action ... pregame show begins at 1:30 p.m. ... Sirius Satellite Radio will air the Aggie broadcast on Channel 154 ... fans attending the game can tune in on WTAW-AM 1620.
HALF-PRICE TICKETS AVAILABLE Texas A&M Athletics is offering half-priced tickets for $35 to the game against Baylor ... half-priced tickets are available in four designated sections, including the bleachers, at Kyle Field ... tickets are available on-line at AggieAthletics.com, via telephone at 1-888-99-AGGIE, and in person at the Athletic Ticket Office located at Kyle Field. A&M/BAYLOR SERIES NOTABLES Texas A&M leads the all-time series with Baylor, 65-31-9 ... Baylor is A&M's second most common opponent of all-time, as Saturday marks the 106th meeting between the schools in a series dating back to 1899 ... the Bears won last year's game, 41-21, in Waco, marking just their second win over the Aggies since 1985 ... A&M has won eight in a row over Baylor at Kyle FIeld and has not lost to the Bears at home since 1984 ... three of the last five meetings have been decided by 10 points or less ... Mike Sherman is 0-1 against Baylor ... Art Briles is 1-0 against Texas A&M. UP NEXT Texas A&M closes the regular season at home on Thanksgiving night against Texas ... Baylor will face Texas Tech in its regular-season finale next Saturday evening at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. INJURY UPDATE CORYELL JUDIE--shoulder surgery (out for season) ... RICKY CAVANAUGH--knee (out indefinitely) ... Lee Grimes -- knee sprain (questionable) ... Ryan O'Bryant -- concussion (questionable). ALREADY THERE AND ON THE HORIZON Quarterback Jerrod Johnson (Humble) already holds several single season school records, but several loom within reach on the horizon. ALREADY THERE ON THE HORIZON JOHNSON MIGHT BE BIG 12'S BEST Texas A&M junior quarterback Jerrod Johnson ranks in the top five in the Big 12 Conference in virtually every passing and total offense statistical category. BIG 12 PASS EFFICIENCY LEADERS BIG 12 POINTS RESPONSIBILITY LEADERS BIG 12 TOTAL OFFENSE LEADERS BIG 12 PASSING TOUCHDOWNS LEADERS BIG 12 INT PERCENTAGE LEADERS BIG 12 PASSING TD PCT. LEADERS JOHNSON HAS BEEN A DIFFERENCE-MAKER IN 2009 In his second season as a starter, quarterback Jerrod Johnson has developed into a difference-maker in 2009. He ranks among the nation's top quarterbacks in virtually every important statistical category. JOHNSON IN NCAA, BIG 12 RANKINGS JOHNSON SEEKS CAREER TOUCHDOWN RESPONSIBILITY RECORD In just his third season and second as a starter, quarterback Jerrod Johnson is within one touchdown of matching the school record for career touchdown responsibility. Johnson has thrown for 45 scores and added 13 rushing touchdowns for a total of 57 touchdowns. Reggie McNeal owns the school record of 59 with 44 passing scores and 15 rushing TDs. CAREER TD RESPONSIBILITY LIST JOHNSON KEEPS THE CHAINS MOVING Texas A&M junior quarterback Jerrod Johnson is on a record pace as a passer, but he consistently relies on his legs to keep drives going. Exacty one-half of his 80 rushes this season have produced a "money play," which is defined as a play that results in a first down or touchdown. Johnson is especially proficient on third and fourth down rushes with 21 money plays in 27 attempts, including 15 on 20 third down rushes. MONEY PLAYS FOR JOHNSON ALL-AMERICA CANDIDATE MILLER KEEPS RACKING UP SACKS A part-time starter in his first two seasons at A&M, junior Von Miller (DeSoto) has emerged as the nation's most feared pass rusher in 2009. Miller, who shifted to a hybrid defensive end/linebacker position last spring, has been atop the NCAA's sack leaders list all season and remains on pace to break Texas A&M's school record of 20 sacks by Jacob Green in 1979. Through 10 games, Miller has compiled 15.5 quarterback sacks for a loss of 106 yards, and stands No. 2 on A&M's illustrious single season sacks list. ncaa qb sacks leaders ncaa TACKLES FOR LOSS leaders TEXAS A&M -- SEASON QB SACKS LIST * first-team AP All-American LEADER IN DISRUPTIVE DEFENSE The NCAA quarterback sack leader Von Miller leads the Big 12 Conference in three of the disruptive defensive categories - sacks, tackles for losses and forced fumbles. BIG 12 QB SACKS LEADERS BIG 12 FORCED FUMBLES LEADERS BIG 12 TACKLES FOR LOSS LEADERS NCAA SACK LEADER MILLER NAMED BUTKUS SEMIFINALIST With just 5.5 sacks and 66 tackles in his first two seasons, Von Miller was somewhat of an unknown commodity coming into the 2009 season. But after registering a NCAA-high 15.5 sacks in the first 10 games of the season, the accolades are beginning to roll in for the junior. Miller was added to the Ted Hendricks Defensive End Award "watch list" after two games and was recently named one of 16 semifinalist for the Butkus Award, which is given annually to the nation's top linebacker. GRAY, MICHAEL MAKE IMPRESSIVE TWO-HEADED RUSHING ATTACK Running backs Cyrus Gray (DeSoto) and Christine Michael (Beaumont) make Texas A&M one of only 13 teams nationally to have two rushers ranked among the top 100 in individual rushing yards. Texas A&M is also one of just two teams with two rushers ranked in the top 10 in the Big 12 Conference. The other 12 teams with a pair of Top 100 rushers is Air Force, Auburn, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia Tech, Middle Tennessee State, Navy, Nevada (3), Northern Illinois, Oklahoma and TCU. TWO AMONG THE BIG 12's TOP 10 RUSHERS CENTURY MARK IS UP NEXT FOR TANNEHILL Sophomore quarterback/receiver Ryan Tannehill (Big Spring) is only 21 games into his career at A&M and he is already within reach of the 100-catch plateau in career catches. He is easily the most prolific sophomore pass catcher in school. The previous high catch total by a sophomore was 72 by all-time receptions leader Terrence Murphy, who caught 36 balls in both his freshman and sophomore season. ... AND FULLER The only A&M player in the same fast start ballpark as Tannehill is current teammate Jeff Fuller (McKinney). With 76 catches to his credit, Fuller has also surpassed Murphy's two-year total. Due to injury, Tannehill has played four more games than Fuller, so Fuller's per game catch average is slightly higher than Tannehill's (4.47 to 4.33). AGGIES ARE EFFICIENT ON THIRD DOWNS Texas A&M leads the Big 12 and ranks No. 12 nationally with a 48.1 percent success rate in third-down situations. The Aggies have been successful on 75 of 156 third-down tries in 2009. WIDE RECEIVER VETERANS FIND THE FIRST DOWNS The Aggies are completing nearly 50 percent of their third-down situations in 2009 and that's in large part to the play of A&M's veteran trio of wide receivers, Ryan Tannehill, Jeff Fuller and Howard Morrow (Keller). The trio have combined to produce 22 first downs on 25 third-down receptions in 2009. THIRD-DOWN MONEY VETERAN PUGH STANDS TALL IN SECONDARY Senior Jordan Pugh (Plano) is the anomaly on Aggies' youthful defense with a team-best 34 career starts and action in 47 career games. Since missing the Oklahoma State game with a concussion, Pugh has produced 42 tackles (8.4 average), a fumble recovery, two interceptions and two broken up passes. PUGH STEPS UP FOR AGGIE "D" (LAST 5 GAMES) BIG PLAY NWACHUKWU Texas A&M true freshman Uzoma Nwachukwu (Allen) doesn't rank among the NCAA's top 100 in receptions, and doesn't even lead his team in catches per game. But his big play ability in terms of receiving yards per game is undeniable. Nwachukwu (pronounced watch-uh-coo) is one of only seven players in the NCAA FBS to average more than 20 yards per catch. ncaa's 20-YARD PLUS/CATCH RECEIVERS NCAA'S TOP FRESHMAN RECEIVERS NWACHUKWU MOVES UP THE FRESHMAN CHARTS If not for Ryan Tannehill and Jeff Fuller's 2008 freshman campaigns last year, Uzoma Nwachukwu would be within easy reach of the previous freshman school records for catches, yards and touchdowns. After only 10 games, Nwachukwu already ranks in the top four in all three categories. A&M FRESHMAN RECEPTIONS LIST A&M FRESHMAN RECEIVING YARDS LIST A&M FRESHMAN RECEIVING TDs LIST 100-YARD RECEIVING GAMES Texas A&M has had seven 100-yard receiving games from four individuals, which is one short of the school record. 100-YARD GAMES in 2009 AVERAGING OVER 80 OFFENSIVE PLAYS PER GAME Texas A&M is one of only two teams in the NCAA FBS to average over 80 offensive plays per game. Former A&M offensive coordinator Kevin Sumlin's Houston Cougar leads the nations with an average of 83.8 plays per game and the Aggies are right behind with 81.1 plays per game. 2009 NCAA LEADERS -- PLAYS PER GAME TEXAS A&M -- PLAYS PER GAME OFFENSIVE TURNAROUND The 2009 Aggies have seen a marked improvement in their offensive production, ranking among the BIg 12 and NCAA leaders in the major categories... 2009 OFFENSE (AFTER 10 GAMES) 2008 OFFENSE (FINAL) GRAY EARNS BIG 12 WEEKLY HONORS Sophomore tailback Cyrus Gray was named the Big 12's Special Teams Player of the Week by a select media panel on November 9. Gray totaled 181 yards on four kick returns in A&M's game at Colorado, including a career-best 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the second quarter. He also added a 45-yard kick return in the fourth quarter to set up the Aggies' final score. The honor is the second of Gray's career, who also earned special teams POW honors last season after his performance against Oklahoma. It is also the first Big 12 weekly football honor of any kind for an Aggie in 2009. JOHNSON SETS SCHOOL RECORD FOR 300-YARD PASSING GAMES Junior Jerrod Johnson hit the 300-yard mark in for the fourth time this season with 314 passing yards against Kansas State (Oct. 17), which is a new school record. It also extended Johnson's school mark for career 300-yard passing games to six. MULTIPLE 300-YARD PASSING GAMES UNDERCLASS FLASH The Aggies have produced 81 plays of 20 yards or more, including an eye-catching 69 coming from freshmen or sophomores. The Aggies' 10 longest plays of the season have been produced by underclassmen. AGGIES PLAYING 18 TRUE FRESHMEN IN 2009 Texas A&M is playing an extraordinary number of true freshmen in 2009. The Aggies have used 18 true freshmen from head coach Mike Sherman's second signing class, which is a school record. The previous high number of true freshmen to see action for the Aggies was 15 for Tom Wilson's 1980 team, which finished 4-7. Including among the 1980 freshmen were future NFL Draft picks Jeff Fuller Sr., Keith Guthrie, Mark Lewis, Ken Reeves, Tommy Robison and Thomas Sanders. Since 1972, the Aggies have awarded varsity letters to 10 or more true freshman in a season only a handful of times: 15 in 1980, 11 in 1973 and 10 in 1972 and 2008. Interestingly, only once since the advent of freshman eligibility have the Aggies not played a single true freshman (1989). early risers Defense (10) NUMBER-CRUNCHING THE UNDERCLASSMAN IMPACT Freshmen and sophomores are having an enormous impact for the Aggies in 2009. Underclassmen have accounted for 1,379 of A&M's 1,720 net rushing yards or 80.2 percent. Despite two of the Aggies' top four receivers being seniors, underclassmen have accounted for 2,079 of 2,804 receiving yards or 74.1 percent. 80 percent of the Aggies' 330 points have been scored by freshmen or sophomores. Defensively, 464 of 737 total tackles have come from underclassmen (63.0). EARLY RISERS TURNING OVER THE ROSTER If there are times that the 2009 Aggies look like a totally different team than last year's 4-8 edition, it's because they virtually are. Second-year head coach Mike Sherman has played a total of 76 players in 2009, including 36 or 47 percent that have made their maroon and white playing debuts this season. Thirteen of the 36 newbies have made at least one start. Leading the way is Sherman's stellar 2009 signing class, which has seen 19 of its members earn playing time. Here's a closer look at where all the new blood came from: 2009 SIGNING CLASS (19) SQUADSMEN (9) REDSHIRT FRESHMEN (5) TRANSFERS (3) JOHNSON'S PICKOFF-FREE STREAK ENDS IN BIG 12 RECORD FASHION Junior quarterback Jerrod Johnson (Humble) threw his first interception of the season against Kansas State (Oct 17), but not before breaking the Big 12's single season record for consecutive pass attempts without a pickoff. Johnson threw 225 straight passes without a pickoff to open 2009 before KSU's Tysyn Hartman stepped in front of his pass attempt in the second quarter. He broke the old single season mark of 213 set by Kansas' Todd Reesing in 2007. He had increased his overall Big 12 record streak to 242 attempts, which dated back to last year's Baylor game. CHANGE FOR THE BETTER A look at some of the Aggies' impact players showcases head coach Mike Sherman's ability to shift players to different positions to maximize their talents: Von Miller LB to `jack' leads FBS with 15.5 sacks IT'S PRONOUNCED "CHRIS-TIN" Christine Michael's first name is spelled "Christine," but it's pronounced "Chris-tin." Michael reports that his unusual first name was given to him by his mother, who really wanted her first child to be a girl and already had the name chosen. "My mom wanted her first child to be a girl, and she had my name picked out from Day 1. She thought it was unique for a boy. Now, whatever anyone wants to call me, I just go along with it." [Source: San Antonio Express-News, Sept. 8, 2009] PRO DADS The 2009 Texas A&M football roster is dotted several players whose father were accomplished professionals in the NFL or NBA. Senior offensive center Kevin Matthews' father, Bruce, was a perennial All-Pro offensive lineman for the Houston Oilers and Tennessee Titans, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007. Sophomore wide receiver Jeff Fuller's father, Jeff Sr., was a standout defensive back for the Aggies from 1980-83 and then the San Francisco 49ers from 1984-88. True freshman defensive lineman Spencer Nealy's dad, Ed, was an All-Big Eight forward at Kansas State and played 10 seasons in the NBA, including with the 1992-93 Chicago Bulls that won the NBA title. True freshman defensive lineman Wells Childress' father, Ray, still ranks in the top five in tackles and QB sacks in A&M history and went on to a long career with the Houston Oilers in NFL. "BULL" MARKET A question mark a year ago, the placekicker position appears to be a strength for the Aggies in 2009 with the return of sophomore Randy Bullock (Klein, Texas). In last year's season-opener, the Aggies missed a pair of field goals from less than 40 yards in a 18-14 loss. Bullock pulled off his redshirt in the sixth game of 2008 and responded with 6-of-7 field goals and made 20 straight extra points after missing the first one of his career. Bullock also showed a strong leg by booting a 46-yard field goal against Texas Tech, which was the longest by an A&M kicker since 2004. TURNOVERS TELL STORY Since 2005, the Aggies have compiled a 22-5 record in games with a plus turnover margin. In games with an even or minus turnover margin, the Aggies are 7-23. (see chart on page 3) EXCELLING IN THE CLASSROOM Seven Aggies have already earned their bachelor's degree from Texas A&M, which ranks among the most in the nation. The Aggies with diplomas already in hand are: Derek Dumas, Matt Featherston, Lee Grimes, Jordan Peterson, Michael Shumard, Vincent Williams and Jeff Wood. In addition, there are a large number of Aggies set to graduate in December of 2009: Cody Beyer, Chevar Bryson, Marcus Gold, Jerrod Johnson (will complete all course work, has an internship to finish degree plan in spring), Kevin Matthews, Jamie McCoy, Ryan O'Bryant, Jordan Pugh, Matt Rankin and DeMaurier Thompson. MOST GRADUATES, 2009 ROSTERS IMPRESSIVE ASSISTANTS • Mike Sherman's coaching staff at Texas A&M is an impressive blend of veteran NFL and college assistant coaches. Tapping into his deep NFL ties, Sherman plucked Nolan Cromwell from the Seattle Seahawks, Tom Rossley from the Green Bay Packers and Kirk Doll from the Denver Broncos. From the college ranks, Sherman hired Joe Kines from Alabama, Randy Jordan and Buddy Wyatt from Nebraska, Charles McMillian from TCU and Jim Turner from Delaware. He retained Van Malone from the previous coaching staff. NFL EXPERIENCE The Aggie coaching staff has deep ties to the National Football League. Of the 10 coaches on the A&M staff, seven have experience in the NFL either as coach or as a player, or both. Leading the way is offensive coordinator Nolan Cromwell, who coached 17 years in the NFL with three teams and played 11 seasons. Other double-digit NFLers are head coach Mike Sherman (11 years with three teams, including six as head coach of the Green Bay Packers) and quarterback coach Tom Rossley (11 years with four teams). AGGIE COACHES WITH NFL EXPERIENCE Mike Sherman RADIO SHOW The final Mike Sherman Radio Show of the year will air on Tuesday at 7 p.m. live from Wings N More at the University Drive location in College Station. The show is broadcast locally on WTAW (1620 AM) and fans are invited to join Coach Sherman and host Dave South, along with selected players, at the restaurant to ask questions and to get Coach Sherman's thoughts on the season. If you are unable to attend in person, fans can submit questions via email to coach@athletics.tamu.edu as well as a link on the front page of the football section of AggieAthletics.com. |
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