Texas A&M
(#16) Texas Tech
Texas Tech 56, Texas A&M 17
Nov 05, 2005 | Football
November 05, 2005
Taurean Henderson ran for 109 yards and four touchdowns and No. 16 Texas Tech beat Texas A&M 56-17 Saturday night for its sixth straight home win over the Aggies.
It took a half for Tech's passing game to click, and surprisingly, the Red Raiders rushed as many times as they passed (19), sputtering through the first two quarters.
Quarterback Cody Hodges, who likes to spread his passes around to as many as seven receivers, threw to only three for just 82 yards in the first half.
When the Red Raiders (8-1,5-1 Big 12) did begin to click in the third quarter, they used the pass to get close and scored touchdowns on six of their seven possessions in the second half -- four on rushes.
They also started throwing to more receivers. By the end, nine receivers Red Raiders had caught balls, including Hodges' twin brother, Slade Hodges, who caught the final TD from backup quarterback Graham Harrell.
The margin of victory was the largest for Tech in the history of the series. In 1954, Paul ``Bear'' Bryant's first year at the helm of the Aggies, Tech beat A&M 41-9.
Henderson carried the ball 20 times, and ran for TDs of 19, 4, 4 and 1 yards. With his last touchdown, he tied for third place on the NCAA career list for points (408) by non-kickers with Brock Forsey of Boise State.
Only Ricky Williams of Texas (452 points) and Travis Prentice of Miami of Ohio (468) are ahead of Henderson.
Hodges was 29-of-44 for 408 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for another score. He threw one interception.
Tech's trouble in the second quarter came from its failure to score after driving deep into Aggie territory twice.
Henderson's second and third TDs put Tech up 35-10 as the third quarter ended. Hodges got his rushing TD, a 1-yarder, earlier in the period.
A&M (5-4, 3-3) appeared to be in contention until the start of the second half. On the Aggies' first possession, Tech safety Dwayne Slay hit running back Jorvorskie Lane and forced a fumble at the A&M 37. Antonio Huffman recovered the ball, and nine plays later, Hodges ran it in to put Tech up 21-10.
On their next possession, the Red Raiders marched 58 yards before Henderson got his first TD to extend Tech's lead to 28-10.
The game could have been out of reach for the Aggies early. Twice in the first half, Tech squandered scoring opportunities after driving inside the Aggies 10. After Texas A&M failed to convert on a fake punt from the Tech 48, the Red Raiders took over and drove from the 50-yard line to A&M's 27.
A 27-yard touchdown pass from Hodges to Jarrett Hicks was called back on a holding penalty on Robert Johnson in the end zone. A&M held firm -- thanks in part to a second holding penalty -- and forced the Red Raiders to go for a field goal.
But Robert Trlica, whose career record from inside the 40 was unblemished, missed it wide to the right from 38 yards, though Tech remained ahead 14-10.
On their next possession, Tech drove 68 yards to the Aggie 5 before Hodges threw a pass that was interception by Melvin Bullitt at the goal line.
A record crowd of 55,755 watched Tech beat the Aggies for the sixth straight time in Lubbock. The last time Texas A&M won at Jones SBC Stadium was 1993.
Texas A&M Postgame Notes
MCNEAL NEARS CAREER PASSING RECORD --- With 131 pass yards against Texas Tech, senior quarterback Reggie McNeal drew within 12 yards of A&M's record for career passing yards. He now has 6,834 career passing yards, which is just shy of the 6,846 yards by Corey Pullig from 1992-95.
CARTER MOVES UP RECEIVING CHARTS --- With 6 catches for 53 yards, senior Jason Carter continued his climb up the single season receptions and receiving yards charts. Carter has 49 catches (t8th with Barney Harris, 1968) for 732 yards (No. 7).
TURNOVER BATTLE REMAINS INDICATOR --- Throughout Dennis Franchione's tenure at A&M, the result of the turnover battle has been a reliable indicator of the Aggies' success on the field. In tonight's game, the Red Raider had a 2 to 1 advantage in takeaways in their victory. The Aggies are 13-0 in games when they win the turnover battle, and 3-17 when they are even or lose the turnover battle.
FOR THE RECORD --- Game captains were Ty Branyon, Jaxson Appel, DeQawn Mobley and Boone Stutz ... The 12th Man was John Ray, a junior from Giddings, Texas.
Texas A&M Postgame Quotes
HEAD COACH DENNIS FRANCHIONE:
Opening Statement... "After the first half, I was really proud of our guys. They got behind 14-0 and bounced back and went to the locker room 14-10. They knew we were going to receive the opening possession in the third quarter. In the third quarter, we just didn't get anything going on either side of the ball. We had two three and outs and a turnover on offense, defensively we just couldn't get any stops. When that offense gets going, it's difficult. We didn't have the answers and it's my job to get them."
"It's hard to beat this team when you leave the ball on your side of the 50-yard line."
On if Tech did anything differently offensively in the third quarter... "I don't think so. I just think they strung some good plays together. We were not able to get first downs and we got behind on the chains. On one possession, we threw three passes and did not complete one of them and that hurt us."
On the fake punt... "We were just trying to win the game. We should have checked out of it, but I'm not sure without seeing the video. But we were able to hold them to a missed field goal, so it did not hurt. With our trips open line, if they give us a certain look we like to run something like that."
On the second half passing defense... "One thing that I noticed is it seemed like they got a lot more time to throw in the second half. We had a hard time putting pressure on the quarterback. That is not a good thing with those guys because sooner or later they are going to find someone open. In the first half, I thought we were able to make him scramble and get him off rhythm a little bit. We just didn't have the same thing happen for us in the second half."
On where the team goes from here... "We still have two games to go and we still have a chance for a winning season. We just have to learn from this one, regroup and go forward."
On shutting the Tech offense out after the first two opening drives... "I was proud of our guys. That start was about as tough to a start to a game that you can get. Our guys were able to bounce back and make some plays and get it to 14-10 which was good when you get to the locker room 14-10 like we did, you're receiving kickoff in the second half, you feel like you have done some things to give ourselves a chance and make this a fourth quarter game."
SENIOR QUARTERBACK REGGIE MCNEAL
On Lane's fumble in the opening possession of the second half... "It was huge but, you still have to bounce back strong, you can not sit there and dwell on that one play."
On only being down 14-10 at halftime... "We were right where we wanted to be, we just didn't come out and execute in the second half."
JUNIOR DEFENSIVE BACK MELVIN BULLITT
On going into halftime trailing 14-10... "We were feeling really good and confident going into halftime. We were just trying to stay focused. We felt that if we stayed focused we had a really good shot of taking the game."
On the Texas Tech offense... "They are a team that when they get on a roll, they are hard to stop no matter who they are playing. They can play with the best of them. I really thought they played a great game and I thought that in the first half, we were right there with them. After that, they really started to open it up and we didn't score. There were a couple of times that we could have stopped on third and fourth down, but we didn't, so they got on a roll. With the crowd and the momentum, things really worked out for them."
Texas Tech Postgame Quotes
HEAD COACH MIKE LEACH
On the difference between the first and second half... "I thought we played well the first half. We had some mishaps that we couldn't overcome or went against us. Some of the same things happened in the second half. The defense had a better tempo in the second half and the play was much more explosive. The special teams played really well. It was a solid performance on both sides of the ball."
"The defense really played faster in the second half. As a team, we played faster in the second half. We were solid on all three sides of the ball at the same time."
On the play of Taurean Henderson... "He's really solid. He rushes well. He got us started (offensively). He's a guy that can do a lot and factor in in so many ways."
On Slade Hodges' touchdown... "I'm really happy for Slade to get a touchdown tonight. He's done a great job for us for so many years. It's good to see him have success."
On Cody Hodges' play... "He played well in the first half. He settled down and bounced back well. He regroups well. The offensive line played well too. They regrouped well and handled some blitzes well."
On Texas A&M... "They throw a lot of different schemes at you and they all look similar. It's a lot of stuff we haven't seen before. He can really keep you off balance."
SENIOR RB TAUREAN HENDERSON
On getting the momentum started... "I do what I can for the team, but I don't think it was just me. I think it was all of us as a whole group. We always have to believe in one another and think that we are always going to go out there and play as a team and get the job done."
On his last game against Texas A&M... "I try to come out and play like it is my last game every game. It doesn't matter who we are playing against I just want to go out there and win the game."
On struggling late in the first half... "I didn't think we were a little bit off. I just felt that we had to readjust a little bit and that is what we did. We came out the second half and got points like we enjoy doing."
SENIOR QB CODY HODGES
On frustration after the first half... "I was frustrated when that guy made the pick. I thought I could throw it over the guy but he made a great play. I was just frustrated that we had a chance to score seven points and not necessarily put Texas A&M away early, but just have momentum going into the locker room. But at half time everyone was really focused, and Coach Leach said to just come out and not make any mistakes in the second half, and we didn't do that. Defense stepped up and got turnovers, special teams played good and once our offense got into rhythm it was hard to stop us."
On Taurean Henderson... "It seems like anytime he gets the ball in his hands he scores a touchdown, regardless if he is catching or running the ball. He continues to have his best year so far, and we still have two or three games and a bowl game. It will be exciting to see what he is going to be able to accomplish this entire season."
On Slade Hodge's touchdown... "I am more excited about that than anything tonight. I probably should have gotten a personal foul. I was on the field as quick as possible. But he has worked very hard five years and he deserves it."
SENIOR FREE SAFETY DWAYNE SLAY
On causing fumbles... "It is about handling the ball. Running full speed, getting under control and running to the ball carrier."
On the fumble in the third quarter... "Any big play that involves a turnover gives the entire team a spark. The offense came back and put points on the board and we came out with a big win."
