COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- As the final seconds ticked away,
the Texas A&M Aggies swarmed their embattled coach and raced to the
corner of Texas' Memorial Stadium, where ecstatic fans saluted them
with "Horns Down" hand signals.
A season of wild road victories and bitter home defeats had
culminated in a gritty 12-7 win over Texas, A&M's first victory in
Austin in a dozen years.
Now, it's time to move forward. Time to prove that the landmark
win over their biggest rival wasn't a fluke, but a declaration that
A&M is a Big 12 power again.
All the Aggies have to do is navigate one of the nation's most
difficult schedules after their second blowout bowl loss in three
years, 45-10 to California in the Holiday Bowl.
"We know the challenges ahead are going to be tough," said
junior quarterback Stephen McGee. "But, hey, if you want to be the
best, you've got to beat the best. It's a great opportunity for
us."
McGee's game-winning, 8-yard scramble against the Longhorns was
the lasting image from A&M's 2006 season for more reasons than one.
The TD ended a 16-play drive that lasted almost nine minutes. A&M
won several games by simply keeping the ball away from the opposing
offense and ended up leading the nation in average time of
possession (33 minutes, 35 seconds per game).
The winning drive also symbolized the chemistry and closeness of
the team that's been absent since the "Wrecking Crew" days.
"It was just us. It was just 11 guys in the huddle, taking care
of business, playing hard," said McGee. "That's what we're all
about, just playing together."
With the entire line and nearly every skill player back on
offense, the Aggies may be ready to expand the playbook and take a
few more shots down the field.
McGee threw for 2,295 yards and completed a school-record 62
percent of his passes, most of them short, safe routes. Coach
Dennis Franchione later revealed that McGee tore a muscle in his
throwing arm early in fall practices and never fully recovered.
As a result, McGee often ran the option last season and rushed
for 666 yards. Franchione said he is healthy now and will pass more
this season.
But McGee still will have one of the nation's most unique
running tandems behind him.
Mike Goodson was A&M's leading rusher and the Big 12 Freshman of
the Year, a 6-foot, 192-pound speedster who tore off 6.7 yards per
carry. He'll again split the carries with Jorvorskie Lane, a
6-foot, 274-pound battering ram who tied a school record with 19
touchdowns in 2006.
"No one wants to hit Jorvorskie. It's like hitting a brick
wall," said senior defensive end Chris Harrington. "And then to
go from him to seeing somebody like Mike, who's lightning-quick,
quick like a cat, it's hard to prepare for that."
The Aggies also have one of the nation's most experienced
offensive lines, with 110 career starts among a group that led A&M
to an average of 207 rushing yards per game.
The linemen don't mind another season of grind-it-out
possessions, but they wouldn't mind seeing a few more shots down
the field.
"It helps the defense if we can put together a long drive and
it helps us out, too, because we can wear on the other team's
defense," said senior center Cody Wallace, who has started 24
consecutive games. "But, yeah, it's good to get those quick drives
every once in a while. As long as we get the ball in the end zone,
it doesn't matter."
The Aggies' defense had a modest 2006 under new coordinator Gary
Darnell, ranking 46th in the nation (323 yards per game). Darnell
implemented a 4-2-5 alignment and kept things basic last season.
With 14 of their top 18 tacklers from 2006 back, Darnell is
ready to add some wrinkles and give the unit more freedom to be
aggressive.
"We're in a growth mode," said Darnell. "We're movin' on and
kind of movin' out of Football 101 and moving into Football 202."
Darnell said the Aggies have focused on eliminating the "fluff
yards" -- deep passes and runs of 10 yards or more. Darnell said
the Aggies didn't miss many tackles, but were caught out of
position too often.
As the Aggies have grasped Darnell's system, their confidence
grows.
"Everybody's in the comfort zone," junior safety Devin Gregg
said. "This year, everybody knows the system, so we can all focus
on playing together. And playing together is always going to make a
defense play better."