Texas Tech 43 - Texas A&M 25: game recap

Aggies outscored 23-2 in second-half after 23-20 halftime lead

The Texas A&M Aggies, turning what could have been a stunning upset the Texas Tech Red Raiders, into another disappointing loss.

It was a storybook first half! The Aggies scored first and finished the half leading 23-20. That was all that the Tech defense allowed them. The Aggie offense never scored in the second half.

Meanwhile Tech quarterback Graham Harrell and wide receivers Michael Crabtree and Detron Lewis scored on 44, 76, 80, and 76 yard drives.

Harrell threw for three touchdowns and ran for two scores. Crabtree caught eight passes for 71 yards. Detron Lewis, who went to high school at College Station Consolidated, caught nine passes for 92 yards. Tremain Swindall caught seven Harrell passes for 101 yards.

Aggie quarterback Jerrod Johnson appeared to beginning to have a stellar day. He engineered scoring drives of 46, 80, 80, 14, and 55 yards. The Aggies capitalized on two interceptions of Harrell passes and eight penalties.

The Aggies rolled up 274 yards of offense in the first two quarters, but that about all. Tech held the Aggie offense to 32 yards of offense in the second half.

Tech Coach Mike Leach didn’t leave Kyle Field without creating some controversy. With 23 seconds left and the ball on the Aggie one yard line, Leach called a time out. When they Raiders lined up to play, the crowd expected Harrell to take a knee. Instead he ran left into the end zone untouched.

The Aggies’ only score in the second half came when a lineman blocked an extra point attempt. Defensive back Arkeith Brown caught the deflection and raced 97 yards for two points. It was a record runback for the Aggies.

Johnson finished the game completing 26 of 39 passes and 283 yards. He had no interceptions. Wideout Ryan Tannehill caught five passes for 104 yards. Johnson was knocked down and twisted his knee in the first half. Stephen McGee came in and threw a TD pass.

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Although the Aggies failed to score in the second half, they kept it interesting enough that few Aggie 12 Man section left the early.

Texas Tech (7-0, 3-0 Big 12) is tied for first place in the Big 12 South division. Texas A&M (2-5, 0-3 Big 12) has yet to give head coach Mike Sherman a Big 12 victory.

By Jay Goode
Big 12 Fans Texas A&M Correspondent

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