Texas Longhorns 40 Texas A&M Aggies 29
The 5-6 Ags came up with an unexpectedly spirited performance for me behind redshirt freshman QB Stephen McGee (pictured) and true freshman RB Jovorskie Lane before the 11-0 Horns put the clamps on late to stay on course for their long-awaited BCS National Championship showdown with Southern Cal.
McGee and Lane were incredible, literally throwing the dispirited Aggie team on their shoulders and having the Ags in position to tie the score with just over 8 minutes left in the game. But Texas promptly tacked on another field goal, the Horns’ defense didn’t allow A&M another first down for the remainder of the game, and UT heaved a huge sign of relief as they pulled out the victory. The Horns finish their regular season on Saturday in the Big 12 Championship game at Reliant Stadium against overmatched Colorado and then it’s on to the Rose Bowl in early January against USC.
Much has been made about the Aggies’ disappointing season, but my sense is that it’s too early for the Ags to banish Coach Fran from Aggieland. Coach Fran and his staff have been responsible for the past two recruiting classes (2004 and 2005), partially responsible for the 2003 class (with former coach R.C. Slocum’s staff) and not responsible at all for the 2002 class. The Aggies basic problem is that they do not have enough good players in the junior and senior classes because, by my count, at least 17 of the 47 recruits in the 2003 and 2002 classes are no longer in the program. Losing a third of those older and more mature players left this particular Aggie team with little quality depth, and a bad spate of injuries — particularly at the wide receiver and defensive back positions — undermined that poor depth further. With a much more favorable schedule next season, along with another solid recruiting class and maturation of the previous two recruiting classes, Texas A&M’s program should turnaround solidly next season and trend upward over the next several seasons. What is unclear, however, is whether Coach Fran has what it takes to compete against Mack Brown of Texas and Bob Stoops of Oklahoma at the top echelon of the rugged Big 12 South Division. That issue will ultimately be the pressure point for Franchione’s success or failure at Texas A&M.