45-41 Discussion
Jimmy Wright
Hunter Goodwin
Texas A&M Football
Texas A&M's 50 greatest football victories: Nos. 45-41
May 17, 2016
4,148
There have been nail-biters and blowouts. There have been amazing comebacks and improbable upsets. There have been last-minute touchdowns and clutch goal line stands.
Through 121 seasons of Texas A&M football, the Aggies have posted 717 victories.
One resulted in cotton falling like snow at Kyle Field. Another had a historic “Bear” hug. Several came at the expense of Heisman Trophy recipients.
Some transformed star players like Crow, Hargett, Johnny Football and the Haskell Hurricane into legends.
From the Dixie Classic, to the Sugar Bowl, to — oh, my gracious — a stunning triumph at Tuscaloosa, TexAgs has attempted to rank the Aggies’ 50 greatest football victories to be revealed in sets of five.
See if your Top 50 matches ours.
Texas A&M’s greatest football victories: Nos. 50-46
45. Texas A&M 19, SMU 17 (Nov. 2, 1985): The Aggies had fought valiantly and led most of the game against the 19th-ranked Mustangs.
However, a five-game losing streak to the Mustangs appeared on the verge of being extended when Jeff Atkins scored a 4-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter.
A&M managed to drive to SMU’s 31-yard line in the final seconds, but was left counting on erratic kicker Eric Franklin to convert a long field goal. Even the most optimistic fans at Kyle Field might have doubted the Aggies could pull off the upset.
Franklin’s 48-yard field goal just squeezed inside the upright to lift A&M to a thrilling 19-17 victory that would be the first of three wins over ranked opponents on the way to coach Jackie Sherrill’s first Southwest Conference championship.
Franklin also kicked a 38-yarder, while Anthony Toney rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown; Kevin Murray hit Shea Walker with a five-yard TD pass.
44. Texas A&M 10, Arkansas 6 (Nov. 16, 1985): Two weeks after their upset of SMU, the Aggies faced another extreme challenge against ninth-ranked Arkansas, which was two points shy of a perfect record.
The Aggies took a first quarter lead on Eric Franklin’s 38-yard field goal. Then in the third quarter Kevin Murray and Roger Vick connected on a 18-yard touchdown pass for a 10-0 A&M lead.
A&M’s defense frustrated Arkansas throughout the contest. The Aggies yielded only 188 total yards and grabbed two interceptions.
The Razorbacks, though, blocked a punt for a touchdown to pull within 10-6 in the fourth quarter. That’s as close as the Hogs could get.
It was the first time A&M had posted consecutive victories over ranked opponents since 1956.
43. Texas A&M 34, Texas 10 (Nov. 5, 1994): Although ineligible to win the Southwest Conference championship, the Aggies appeared to be the league’s best team despite tying SMU the previous week.
A victory over Texas would answer any questions about the Aggies’ superiority.
Rodney Thomas and Leeland McElroy rushed for first quarter touchdowns and Brandon Mitchell returned a fumble 48 yards for another TD as the Aggies opened up a 21-0 lead and never looked back in posting their fourth straight victory over the Longhorns.
A&M went on to post its most recent unbeaten season with a 10-0-1 record. Texas finished in a five-way tie for second place in the SWC.
42. Texas A&M 20, LSU 18 (Sept. 19, 1970): The Aggies hadn’t defeated LSU since 1956, when Bear Bryant was their coach. That losing streak did not figure to end that day in Baton Rouge, either. LSU was ranked 12th and had the nucleus returning from a team that had finished 9-1 and was ranked 10th the previous season.
The upset-minded Aggies put up a heck of a fight to keep the game competitive, but still trailed 18-13 with 13 seconds remaining and deep in their own end of the field. That’s when quarterback Lex James connected with receiver Hugh McElroy for a game-winning 71-yard touchdown pass. McElroy had gotten past the LSU secondary and nobody was going to catch him from behind.
Texas A&M Media Relations
John David Crow's Heisman-worthy performance won a top-10 battle for the Aggies, who went on to win the 1956 SWC title.
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Unfortunately, that was the final victory of the season for the Aggies, who finished 2-9. However, McElroy was the first African-American to start for the Aggies. His game-winning touchdown helped change some minds at the time to make A&M more welcoming to African-American students.
41. Texas A&M 19, Baylor 13 (Nov. 27, 1956): The No. 7 Aggies were rolling with an unbeaten record and coming off a hard-fought 7-6 win over TCU when they traveled to Waco to face No. 8 Baylor. The Bears were also undefeated and coming off consecutive road wins over Maryland and Arkansas.
John David Crow made sure A&M’s win streak would continue and Baylor’s would not.
Crow passed to John Tracey for a touchdown, ran for another, grabbed an interception and rushed for 76 yards.
Still, Baylor took a 13-12 lead on Bobby Peters’ 4-yard run and Junior Beall’s extra point early in the fourth quarter. The Aggies answered with a 63-yard march for Crow’s game-winning 2-yard touchdown run with 9:20 to play.
A&M improved to 5-0-1 and easily won its remaining four games to win the Southwest Conference championship.
Baylor finished 9-2 and third in the SWC.
Through 121 seasons of Texas A&M football, the Aggies have posted 717 victories.
One resulted in cotton falling like snow at Kyle Field. Another had a historic “Bear” hug. Several came at the expense of Heisman Trophy recipients.
Some transformed star players like Crow, Hargett, Johnny Football and the Haskell Hurricane into legends.
From the Dixie Classic, to the Sugar Bowl, to — oh, my gracious — a stunning triumph at Tuscaloosa, TexAgs has attempted to rank the Aggies’ 50 greatest football victories to be revealed in sets of five.
See if your Top 50 matches ours.
Texas A&M’s greatest football victories: Nos. 50-46
45. Texas A&M 19, SMU 17 (Nov. 2, 1985): The Aggies had fought valiantly and led most of the game against the 19th-ranked Mustangs.
However, a five-game losing streak to the Mustangs appeared on the verge of being extended when Jeff Atkins scored a 4-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter.
A&M managed to drive to SMU’s 31-yard line in the final seconds, but was left counting on erratic kicker Eric Franklin to convert a long field goal. Even the most optimistic fans at Kyle Field might have doubted the Aggies could pull off the upset.
Franklin’s 48-yard field goal just squeezed inside the upright to lift A&M to a thrilling 19-17 victory that would be the first of three wins over ranked opponents on the way to coach Jackie Sherrill’s first Southwest Conference championship.
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They shouldn’t have.Franklin’s 48-yard field goal just squeezed inside the upright to lift A&M to a thrilling 19-17 victory that would be the first of three wins over ranked opponents on the way to coach Jackie Sherrill’s first Southwest Conference championship.
Franklin also kicked a 38-yarder, while Anthony Toney rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown; Kevin Murray hit Shea Walker with a five-yard TD pass.
44. Texas A&M 10, Arkansas 6 (Nov. 16, 1985): Two weeks after their upset of SMU, the Aggies faced another extreme challenge against ninth-ranked Arkansas, which was two points shy of a perfect record.
The Aggies took a first quarter lead on Eric Franklin’s 38-yard field goal. Then in the third quarter Kevin Murray and Roger Vick connected on a 18-yard touchdown pass for a 10-0 A&M lead.
A&M’s defense frustrated Arkansas throughout the contest. The Aggies yielded only 188 total yards and grabbed two interceptions.
The Razorbacks, though, blocked a punt for a touchdown to pull within 10-6 in the fourth quarter. That’s as close as the Hogs could get.
It was the first time A&M had posted consecutive victories over ranked opponents since 1956.
43. Texas A&M 34, Texas 10 (Nov. 5, 1994): Although ineligible to win the Southwest Conference championship, the Aggies appeared to be the league’s best team despite tying SMU the previous week.
A victory over Texas would answer any questions about the Aggies’ superiority.
Rodney Thomas and Leeland McElroy rushed for first quarter touchdowns and Brandon Mitchell returned a fumble 48 yards for another TD as the Aggies opened up a 21-0 lead and never looked back in posting their fourth straight victory over the Longhorns.
A&M went on to post its most recent unbeaten season with a 10-0-1 record. Texas finished in a five-way tie for second place in the SWC.
42. Texas A&M 20, LSU 18 (Sept. 19, 1970): The Aggies hadn’t defeated LSU since 1956, when Bear Bryant was their coach. That losing streak did not figure to end that day in Baton Rouge, either. LSU was ranked 12th and had the nucleus returning from a team that had finished 9-1 and was ranked 10th the previous season.
The upset-minded Aggies put up a heck of a fight to keep the game competitive, but still trailed 18-13 with 13 seconds remaining and deep in their own end of the field. That’s when quarterback Lex James connected with receiver Hugh McElroy for a game-winning 71-yard touchdown pass. McElroy had gotten past the LSU secondary and nobody was going to catch him from behind.
Texas A&M Media Relations
John David Crow's Heisman-worthy performance won a top-10 battle for the Aggies, who went on to win the 1956 SWC title.
{"Module":"photo","Alignment":"right","Size":"large","Caption":"John David Crow\u0027s Heisman-worthy performance won a top-10 battle for the Aggies, who went on to win the 1956 SWC title.","MediaItemID":21998}
41. Texas A&M 19, Baylor 13 (Nov. 27, 1956): The No. 7 Aggies were rolling with an unbeaten record and coming off a hard-fought 7-6 win over TCU when they traveled to Waco to face No. 8 Baylor. The Bears were also undefeated and coming off consecutive road wins over Maryland and Arkansas.
John David Crow made sure A&M’s win streak would continue and Baylor’s would not.
Crow passed to John Tracey for a touchdown, ran for another, grabbed an interception and rushed for 76 yards.
Still, Baylor took a 13-12 lead on Bobby Peters’ 4-yard run and Junior Beall’s extra point early in the fourth quarter. The Aggies answered with a 63-yard march for Crow’s game-winning 2-yard touchdown run with 9:20 to play.
A&M improved to 5-0-1 and easily won its remaining four games to win the Southwest Conference championship.
Baylor finished 9-2 and third in the SWC.
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