All 82,589 pairs of eyes at Kyle Field Saturday were fixed on the south end zone, waiting for a mass of players to untangle so the most important call of the Texas A&M and Baylor football game could be known.
Fortunately for the Aggies, sophomore free safety Dawon Gentry came away with an interception in the end zone for the Aggies, ending the Bears’ final chance at coming away with the upset victory, and completing A&M’s 16-10 victory over the Baylor.
“It was a toss up,” said junior linebacker Jarrod Penright. “Anyone could have had the ball.”
Once again, the Aggie defense had their backs against the wall, and again, answered with a solid defensive performance. The Wrecking Crew did so without two starters, senior linebacker Christian Rodriguez and junior noseguard Ty Warren, who were recovering from injuries.
After the Aggies handed the ball to the Bears on the Aggies’ 1-yard line, the defensive unit was forced to buckle down and take on the Bears.
On the first play from the one, junior linebacker Jessie Hunnicut met Baylor running back Jonathan Golden in the backfield, pushing back the Bears one yard to the two. On the ensuing play the Aggie defense looked to shut down the Baylor short-yardage crew again, but the Aggies were called for illegal participation and gave the Bears another shot on second down from just outside the goal line.
If not for the penalty, the Wrecking Crew’s momentum might have stopped the drive there, but Baylor’s Golden found the end zone on the next play on a toss to the left side.
That would be the only touchdown the Aggie defense would allow the Bears to put on the board.
“They came in here and were really motivated,” said junior linebacker Brian Gamble. “We played solid, but we didn’t really dominate.”
Despite the play of the Aggie defense, they were still forced to come through on the biggest play of the game, and possibly save the season. They also had to do it on back-to-back plays, each time facing defeat.
After the Aggies failed to convert on a 48-yard field goal that would have sealed the Aggie victory, the Wrecking Crew walked on the field and were asked to make one more stop.
With just 1:36 left on the game clock and the Bears with no timeouts remaining, Baylor quarterback Greg Cicero moved the ball down the field, connecting on sideline passes to allow the Bears to position themselves for a chance to find the end zone.
On first and 10 from the A&M 40-yard line, Cicero lofted the ball into the end zone, where junior wide receiver Reggie Newhouse went up with A&M cornerback Sammy Davis. Newhouse had the ball initially, but Davis would get a late hand on the ball, and knocked it from the Baylor receiver and saved the game.
On the following play, the Aggie defense would be tested once again, in almost the exact same spot as the previous battle for the ball. Cicero put the ball high into the air again, and with all but three defensive players back in coverage, a mass of Baylor and A&M players gathered in the end zone, all wanting to come down with the desperation pass.
At that moment, Kyle Field was silent, until the official found Gentry with the ball, and signaled the touchback, with no time left on the clock.
“We are not very satisfied,” Gamble said. “We didn’t play near the caliber of the last two games. We need to look at what we did and continue to improve.”
Leading the Aggie defense for the third week in a row was Penright, who has seven sacks in the last three contests. Against the Bears Penright recorded three sacks and continually put pressure on Cicero, who put the ball into the air 38 times for Baylor.
“Overall, we were playing pretty solid defense,” said A&M football head coach R.C. Slocum. “They are a much better team. I knew that would come here and play well.”
The Aggie defense will need to play well next week, as the Aggies travel to Boulder, Colo., to take on the Colorado Buffaloes.