Texas A&M
OKLAHOMA STATE
Texas A&M 62, Oklahoma State 23
Oct 15, 2005 | Football
October 15, 2005
Reggie McNeal threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score, and Texas A&M rebounded after falling last week by routing Oklahoma State 62-23 on Saturday.
Jovorskie Lane, taking the place of injured starter Courtney Lewis, rushed for 139 yards and scored three touchdowns to help Texas A&M (4-2, 2-1 Big 12) shake the unease of a 41-20 loss at Colorado last week.
Julius Crosslin had two touchdowns runs for Oklahoma State (3-3, 0-3), which fell behind again early in its third straight loss. The Cowboys trailed 27-3 in the first half after the Aggies scored on their first five possessions.
Last week, Oklahoma State trailed by 22 before closing the gap late in a 38-31 loss to Missouri. The week before, the Cowboys were beaten 34-0 by Colorado.
McNeal, held to minus-14 yards rushing against Colorado, ran for a career-best 150 yards on 12 carries. His last run was a 34-yard scramble he punctuated by diving over the end zone pylon and losing his helmet while tumbling out of bounds.
McNeal was ruled out at the 3, but the run brought the A&M crowd to is feet. It was the most convincing win for Texas A&M since routing SMU 66-8 on Sept. 17 for its first victory.
Chris Alexander, Boone Stutz and Brandon Leone caught their first touchdown passes of the year, all from McNeal. He finished 18-for-26 for 263 yards with an interception.
Oklahoma State sophomore Al Pena, making his first start in place of the injured Bobby Reid, was 13-of-32 for 194 yards and one touchdown. He also threw four interceptions, including two in Texas A&M territory in the third quarter that deflated hopes of a comeback.
The first snap was an ominous start for Pena -- dropping back to pass, he was stripped by freshman Devin Gregg and Texas A&M recovered on Oklahoma State's 42-yard line. Lane, a 235-pound freshman, plowed into the end zone for his third touchdown on the following play.
Mike Hamilton led Oklahoma State with 97 yards rushing.
Jason Carter caught four passes for 58 yards to lead all Texas A&M receivers.
Texas A&M Postgame Notes
OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION --- The Aggies punted just twice as they clicked from beginning to end on offense. A&M gained 694 yards of total offense with a balanced 399 rush/295 pass attack. The 694 yards were the second-most gained by A&M this season behind the 714 yards gained against SMU. It was the sixth best total in school history.
DEFENSIVE REDUCTION --- After allowing opponents nearly a 50 percent success rate on third down through the first five games, the Aggie defense limited the Cowboys to only 5-of-12 on third-down chances.
LUFKIN CONNECTION --- For the first time in school history, the Aggies had a pair of 100-yard rushers from the same high school in same game. Senior Reggie McNeal and true freshman Jorvorskie Lane, both products of coach John Outlaw's Lufkin High School football program, rushed for 150 and 139 yards, respectively.
MR. OCTOBER --- Senior quarterback Reggie McNeal rushed for a career-high 150 yards on just 12 carries (12.5 per carry average), while passing for 263 yards and three touchdowns on 18-of-26 attempts. His 69.2 completion percentage was a season-high. It was McNeal's third career 200 pass/100 rush game. He produced 413 yards of total offense, his third 400-yard-plus total offense game of the season. Prior to this year, there had been only two 400-yard games in school history.
FAST START --- A&M's 20 first-quarter points were the most by the Aggies in the first quarter since they scored 21 points against Iowa State in 1997, a span of 99 games. It was the second most prolific quarter of the season (28 points vs. SMU in the third quarter). The Aggies scored on their first five drives of the game.
THE BIG 5-0 --- Todd Pegram connected on two field goals today, which were the 50th and 51st of his career. Pegram is just the fourth player in Big 12 history to reach 50 in a career. Pegram passed Dusty Mangum of Texas (50 field goals) to move to No. 3 in conference history behind Kris Stockton of Texas (58) and Tim Sydnes of Iowa State (52). One of Pegram's field goals was a 45-yarder, his career long. His previous long was a 44-yarder against Baylor in 2004.
AGGIE FIRST-TIME STARTERS --- The Aggies used four first-time starters, including three true freshmen. Starting their first career games against the Cowboys were: junior Brandon Leone at running back, true freshman Howard Morrow at wide receiver, true freshman Pierre Brown at wide receiver and true freshman Devin Gregg at defensive back. It was the first action of the season for Gregg. It also marked the first offensive action of Leone's career. Leone has been injured all season, and previously served as a reserve defensive back before switching to running back last spring.
TURNOVER ADVANTAGE --- With the victory, the Aggies moved to 12-0 during the Dennis Franchione era when winning the turnover battle. The Aggies had five take-aways, and only two turnovers. In games, when the Aggies are even or lose the turnover battle, their record is 3-15.
MISCELLANEOUS --- Game captains were WR Jason Carter, TE Boone Stutz, LB Archie McDaniel, DB Jaxson Appel ... The 12th Man was John Ray.
Oklahoma State Postgame Notes
- Sophomore quarterback Al Pena made his first career start for the Cowboys.
- Senior cornerback Daniel McLemore's 59 yard kick return in the first quarter was the longest of his career, surpassing his previous best of 55 yards. He also had a 44 yard return in the game, giving him five kickoff returns of 40 yards or more this season.
- McLemore's 155 kickoff return yards were the most in a game by a Cowboy since Chris Massey's school-record 208 yards against Texas in 2001.
- Senior wide receiver D'Juan Woods has now caught at least one pass in his last 16 games. He finished the game with 81 yards, giving him 1,673 receiving yards for his career.
- Redshirt freshman fullback John Johnson's second-quarter touchdown was the first of his career.
- Freshman cornerback Calvin Mickens registered his second-career interception with 5:36 left in the second quarter.
- Sophomore linebacker Rodrick Johnson's second-quarter fumble recovery was his first of the season and the ninth on the year for the OSU defense.
- Redshirt freshman running back Mike Hamilton's 38 yard rush in the second quarter was his longest of the season and set up OSU's second touchdown.
- Sophomore running back Julius Crosslin's touchdown in the second quarter was his sixth of the season and seventh of his career. He added his seventh score of the season at the 12:44 mark of the fourth quarter.
- OSU's 17 points in the second quarter are the most the Cowboys have scored in a quarter all season. The previous high was 15 in the third quarter against Missouri.
- Freshman Jeremy Broadway made his first career reception with a 15 yard catch with 59 seconds remaining in the game.
- The 62 points by Texas A&M were the most vs. an OSU squad since 1996, when Texas scored 71 in a 71-14 victory in Austin on Oct. 5 of that year.
