Texas A&M's football team again failed to become bowl-eligible Saturday after being defeated by Oklahoma, 65-10 Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Norman.
Following the loss, Texas A&M drops to 5-5 in 2009, 2-4 in Big 12 play, and sits at fifth place in the Big 12 South standings. The defeat in Norman marked the Aggies' fourth loss away from home in 2009. In those games, A&M's opponents have averaged 52 points per game.
"One thing about this team is we handle adversity well," said A&M quarterback Jerrod Johnson. "I think we will handle this situation well. We don't really have a choice or any other way to handle it. Just get back, keep your head strong and stay together. You don't want to start pointing fingers at this point and we want to stay together as a group and become closer as a team and try to get to work and get better."
Following a nine-yard Johnson touchdown pass to sophomore Jeff Fuller in the first quarter, A&M brought the score to 14-10. Mistakes, however, plagued the Aggies and led to 51 unanswered points by the Sooners. A&M suffered from 4 turnovers including 3 fumbles and an interception.
"We shot ourselves in the foot numerous times," said Texas A&M head coach Mike Sherman. "Things just kind of spiraled on us and we just never ever recovered. We have to give Oklahoma their credit. They took total advantage of the opportunities that we gave them and then the opportunities that they created themselves."
Special teams terrorized the Aggies, who fumbled two punts and three kickoffs. Despite his special teams success in 2009, sophomore running back Cyrus Gray found it difficult holding on to the ball at Oklahoma.
"I wish I knew why that was today," Sherman said. "Last week, Cyrus Gray returned a touchdown and we're all excited about that and this week he has a tough time hanging on to the football. We fumbled one that we also recovered too, so it wasn't a good day from that standpoint."
Quarterback Jerrod Johnson and the A&M offense came into Oklahoma as the best offense in the Big 12. The Sooners defense quickly changed that, forcing Johnson into 21 incomplete passes on only 33 attempts and a season-low 115 yards through the air.
Although A&M held Oklahoma's offense to 86 yards and only three first downs in the first quarter, the defense fell apart following a fumbled punt in the second quarter. The Sooners put up 28 points and over 200 yards in the second quarter alone.
"Offensively, we started off a little slow but then got things going," said Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops. "(Jones) took care of the football; that is a big factor. We had good balance. We're able to run the ball effectively and throw it. Some guys came up with some big plays and we haven't had a ton of those, the big strikes. We had some of those and that was positive."
Oklahoma freshman quarterback Landry Jones torched the Aggies' secondary for a career-high 392 yards passing and five touchdowns.
"He played well," said A&M defensive back Jordan Pugh. "It was him and his team and you have to give Oklahoma credit. They just played better than we did. We couldn't make stops at certain times and couldn't stop their pass and couldn't stop their run. You have to give all the credit to them."
Mistakes hampered the Aggies from the first drive of the game. Following a 19-yard pass from Johnson to Morrow, Michael lost a fumble in Sooners' territory. Oklahoma defensive back Brian Jackson picked up the ball and returned it 52 yards for the first score of the game. The Sooners would go on to score 28 points off A&M turnovers.
Oklahoma has dominated the series in recent years, outscoring A&M 173-52 in their last three meetings. Since Stoops arrived in Norman, the Sooners are 10-1 against A&M and have been victorious in the last seven games.
Bowl eligibility will be on the line for the Aggies Saturday when Baylor comes to Kyle Field. A&M will be seeking revenge for last year's 41-21 loss in Waco.
Be the first to comment on this article!