Photo by Andrew Kilzer
Texas A&M Football
Etched in Stone: Unforgettable season ends in style
November 25, 2012
7,172
Spectacular football seasons are much like fine wine. They’re delicious, intoxicating and easily remembered by year.
That’s certainly the case for Texas A&M, where 2012 will be forever identified as a vintage year, especially by the 87,222 at Kyle Field who were drunk on the euphoria of another milestone victory after the Aggies finished overwhelmed Missouri 59-29 on Saturday night.
Add to that crowd total: Coach Kevin Sumlin, who appeared to have taken a dip in the drink after defensive end Damontre Moore gave him the ceremonial Gatorade shower and transformed Coach “Cool” into Coach “Cold.”
“It was cold,” Sumlin said. “Damontre got me with the ice. But that’s always worth it. For 12 weeks, to play the way they’ve played, they’ve accomplished a lot without a bye.
“It was really important for them to finish up the season and finish what they started. We weren’t always perfect, but we did play with a lot of effort and enthusiasm.”
Unlike other vintage A&M years like 1939, 1985 and 1991, no championship was won. Yet, when the 2012 regular season closed with another blowout, it was obvious this season was among the best in A&M history.
Some questioned if A&M could compete in the rugged Southeastern Conference. Skeptics assumed Sumlin’s rapid-fire spread offense would be squashed by the beastly defenses of the SEC.
Yet, the Aggies scored at least 30 points in nine games this season. They posted 10 victories for just the 12th time in school history. The program’s second Heisman Trophy seems all but assured.
“A lot of people were giving us crap,” senior linebacker Sean Porter said. “At SEC media days (last July) people were looking at us like we’re going to be doormats. We had the same caliber of athletes as anybody in the nation. It was great this season to prove that.”
The Aggies proved their point. Against Missouri, which had won three straight over A&M, the point was proven just three minutes into the second quarter.
By then, senior running back Christine Michael scored on touchdown runs of one and 38 yards, Ben Malena had a two-yard touchdown run and quarterback Johnny Manziel had thrown a touchdown pass to Ryan Swope to give the Aggies a 28-0 lead. The margin grew to 42-0 as the Aggies disposed of Missouri (5-7) in much the same way they dumped SEC rivals Arkansas, Auburn and Mississippi State.
“Texas A&M was like the team we saw on TV,” Missouri Coach Gary Pinkel said. “Their offense is very potent. It was a perfect storm the wrong way. We couldn’t get off the field on defense, and offensively we had our struggles as we’ve had all year. That combination is not very good.”
Missouri was without starting quarterback James Franklin, who sustained a concussion in last week’s loss to Syracuse. His replacement, Corbin Berkstresser, passed for 276 yards and two touchdowns, but most of that came after the Aggies had taken a 42-0 lead.
Conversely, A&M rolled up 647 yards of total offense and converted 12 of 16 third downs into first downs. At one point the Aggies were 10 for 10 on third down conversions.
Andrew Kilzer
Manziel was his usual dazzling self, even after a scary knee injury early in the game, and likely sealed his victory in the Heisman race.
{"Module":"photo","Alignment":"right","Size":"large","Caption":"Manziel was his usual dazzling self, even after a scary knee injury early in the game, and likely sealed his victory in the Heisman race.","MediaItemID":25284}
Much of that was credited to Manziel, the dazzling freshman quarterback who routinely tap danced away from frustrated tacklers only to deliver big plays down field. He threw for 372 yards and three touchdowns and added 67 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
It was the sixth game in which he’s generated at least five touchdowns.
“We are talking about a great quarterback,” Pinkel said. “Johnny made most of his plays running around back there just like John Elway did at Stanford. The things he did to us he did to a lot of people.”
The John Elway comparison is just one of a growing list.
Manziel has been compared to Fran Tarkenton, Roger Staubach, Doug Flutie, Brett Favre, Steve Young and Bucky Richardson — among others.
Twice this season he broke Archie Manning SEC’s single-game total offense record. And on Saturday night he broke Cameron Newton’s total offense record.
Some have even suggested his blend of elusive running and accurate passing makes him comparable to Michael Vick. Except Vick hurt dogs and Manziel saves cats.
Yet, for a moment in the second quarter it was feared Manziel might be most comparable to former Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon, who in 2007 was the frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy until suffering a season-ending knee injury late in the year.
Trying to break out of a tackle by Missouri’s E.J. Gaines in the second quarter, Manziel collapsed and began to writhe in pain as a hush immediately came over the crowd.
“When I have my headsets on I can’t hear much of anything,” Sumlin said. “When I took my headset off it was just as quiet. It was the first time I heard Kyle Field quiet.
“He was about 10 feet away. You worry, but just from talking with him and our medical people we knew it wasn’t severe pretty quickly. He was the first guy saying he wanted to get back in there.”
Andrew Kilzer
Kevin Sumlin's first season turned everything battered Aggies believed on its head and positioned A&M as a national talking point.
{"Module":"photo","Alignment":"left","Size":"large","Caption":"Kevin Sumlin\u0027s first season turned everything battered Aggies believed on its head and positioned A&M as a national talking point.","MediaItemID":25267}
Once back in the game, Manziel twice scrambled away from apparent sacks and delivered touchdown passes to Mike Evans and Uzoma Nwachukwu on highlight reel plays that should place him alongside John David Crow (1957) on the list of A&M’s Heisman Trophy recipients.
Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o is thought to be Manziel’s chief competition. He had four tackles and an interception in the Irish’s victory over USC.
Obviously, Manziel’s teammates think he should win the prestigious award.
“Have you ever seen anybody like Johnny?” said receiver Kenric McNeal. “He’s the only person in the world that can do what Johnny does.”
Added defensive tackle Spencer Nealy: “Johnny is the most exciting player in the world. ‘Heismanziel’ is pretty catchy. Johnny deserves it and he has competed consistently. He is an incredible player and a good guy, too.”
The superlatives were flowing like a good wine and the Aggies were drinking it up.
And why not?
The Aggies have 10 wins. They’ve flourished in the SEC. They may get the Heisman Trophy.
Yes, it’s been a very good year.
That’s certainly the case for Texas A&M, where 2012 will be forever identified as a vintage year, especially by the 87,222 at Kyle Field who were drunk on the euphoria of another milestone victory after the Aggies finished overwhelmed Missouri 59-29 on Saturday night.
Add to that crowd total: Coach Kevin Sumlin, who appeared to have taken a dip in the drink after defensive end Damontre Moore gave him the ceremonial Gatorade shower and transformed Coach “Cool” into Coach “Cold.”
“It was cold,” Sumlin said. “Damontre got me with the ice. But that’s always worth it. For 12 weeks, to play the way they’ve played, they’ve accomplished a lot without a bye.
“It was really important for them to finish up the season and finish what they started. We weren’t always perfect, but we did play with a lot of effort and enthusiasm.”
Unlike other vintage A&M years like 1939, 1985 and 1991, no championship was won. Yet, when the 2012 regular season closed with another blowout, it was obvious this season was among the best in A&M history.
A lot of people were giving us
crap. At SEC media days (last July) people were looking at us like we’re
going to be doormats. We had the same caliber of athletes as anybody in
the nation. It was great this season to prove that.
{"Module":"quote","Alignment":"left","Quote":"A
lot of people were giving us crap. At SEC media days (last July) people
were looking at us like we’re going to be doormats. We had the same
caliber of athletes as anybody in the nation. It was great this season
to prove that.","Author":"A&M senior LB Sean Porter"}
That it started with so much doubt made it even sweeter.Some questioned if A&M could compete in the rugged Southeastern Conference. Skeptics assumed Sumlin’s rapid-fire spread offense would be squashed by the beastly defenses of the SEC.
Yet, the Aggies scored at least 30 points in nine games this season. They posted 10 victories for just the 12th time in school history. The program’s second Heisman Trophy seems all but assured.
“A lot of people were giving us crap,” senior linebacker Sean Porter said. “At SEC media days (last July) people were looking at us like we’re going to be doormats. We had the same caliber of athletes as anybody in the nation. It was great this season to prove that.”
The Aggies proved their point. Against Missouri, which had won three straight over A&M, the point was proven just three minutes into the second quarter.
By then, senior running back Christine Michael scored on touchdown runs of one and 38 yards, Ben Malena had a two-yard touchdown run and quarterback Johnny Manziel had thrown a touchdown pass to Ryan Swope to give the Aggies a 28-0 lead. The margin grew to 42-0 as the Aggies disposed of Missouri (5-7) in much the same way they dumped SEC rivals Arkansas, Auburn and Mississippi State.
“Texas A&M was like the team we saw on TV,” Missouri Coach Gary Pinkel said. “Their offense is very potent. It was a perfect storm the wrong way. We couldn’t get off the field on defense, and offensively we had our struggles as we’ve had all year. That combination is not very good.”
Missouri was without starting quarterback James Franklin, who sustained a concussion in last week’s loss to Syracuse. His replacement, Corbin Berkstresser, passed for 276 yards and two touchdowns, but most of that came after the Aggies had taken a 42-0 lead.
Conversely, A&M rolled up 647 yards of total offense and converted 12 of 16 third downs into first downs. At one point the Aggies were 10 for 10 on third down conversions.
Andrew Kilzer
Manziel was his usual dazzling self, even after a scary knee injury early in the game, and likely sealed his victory in the Heisman race.
{"Module":"photo","Alignment":"right","Size":"large","Caption":"Manziel was his usual dazzling self, even after a scary knee injury early in the game, and likely sealed his victory in the Heisman race.","MediaItemID":25284}
It was the sixth game in which he’s generated at least five touchdowns.
“We are talking about a great quarterback,” Pinkel said. “Johnny made most of his plays running around back there just like John Elway did at Stanford. The things he did to us he did to a lot of people.”
The John Elway comparison is just one of a growing list.
Manziel has been compared to Fran Tarkenton, Roger Staubach, Doug Flutie, Brett Favre, Steve Young and Bucky Richardson — among others.
Twice this season he broke Archie Manning SEC’s single-game total offense record. And on Saturday night he broke Cameron Newton’s total offense record.
Some have even suggested his blend of elusive running and accurate passing makes him comparable to Michael Vick. Except Vick hurt dogs and Manziel saves cats.
Yet, for a moment in the second quarter it was feared Manziel might be most comparable to former Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon, who in 2007 was the frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy until suffering a season-ending knee injury late in the year.
Trying to break out of a tackle by Missouri’s E.J. Gaines in the second quarter, Manziel collapsed and began to writhe in pain as a hush immediately came over the crowd.
“When I have my headsets on I can’t hear much of anything,” Sumlin said. “When I took my headset off it was just as quiet. It was the first time I heard Kyle Field quiet.
“He was about 10 feet away. You worry, but just from talking with him and our medical people we knew it wasn’t severe pretty quickly. He was the first guy saying he wanted to get back in there.”
Andrew Kilzer
Kevin Sumlin's first season turned everything battered Aggies believed on its head and positioned A&M as a national talking point.
{"Module":"photo","Alignment":"left","Size":"large","Caption":"Kevin Sumlin\u0027s first season turned everything battered Aggies believed on its head and positioned A&M as a national talking point.","MediaItemID":25267}
Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o is thought to be Manziel’s chief competition. He had four tackles and an interception in the Irish’s victory over USC.
Obviously, Manziel’s teammates think he should win the prestigious award.
“Have you ever seen anybody like Johnny?” said receiver Kenric McNeal. “He’s the only person in the world that can do what Johnny does.”
Added defensive tackle Spencer Nealy: “Johnny is the most exciting player in the world. ‘Heismanziel’ is pretty catchy. Johnny deserves it and he has competed consistently. He is an incredible player and a good guy, too.”
The superlatives were flowing like a good wine and the Aggies were drinking it up.
And why not?
The Aggies have 10 wins. They’ve flourished in the SEC. They may get the Heisman Trophy.
Yes, it’s been a very good year.
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