Don’t look now, but the Texas A&M football team is starting to roll.
After playing relatively close games in their first two outings, the Aggies have completely dominated both Oklahoma State and Notre Dame with a stifling defense that did not allow the opposition more than 200 yards per game.
After Saturday’s 24-3 win over Notre Dame, A&M made its first appearance of the season in the two major polls, coming in at No. 24 in the Associated Press rankings and No. 22 in the ESPN-USA Today Coaches poll.
The Aggies (4-0, 1-0 in Big 12) look like a team that has potential to post major upsets this season — something they have plenty of chances to do. Road games are on the schedule against Colorado, No. 12 Kansas State, No. 3 Oklahoma and always-tough Texas Tech.
The Aggies also will play No. 5 University of Texas at Kyle Field Nov. 23.
Of the seven Big 12 teams left on the A&M schedule, there is a record of 18-4. The road will not be easy.
But it was not easy in 1998 when the Aggies stunned the college football world by capturing the only Big 12 championship in school history.
The Aggies started the 1998 season ranked No. 14, but looked lethargic during their nonconference schedule, never scoring more than 28 points in a game.
Then, in its second conference game, A&M surprised the nation by upsetting defending national champion Nebraska, 28-21, at Kyle Field.
The win gave A&M the momentum to run off five more wins and earn a spot in the Big 12 championship game.
Now, after Saturday’s thrashing of Notre Dame, A&M looks to be gaining momentum much like it did in 1998.
The similarities between 1998 and 2001 are not lost on football head coach R. C. Slocum.
“I told the players all week that this reminded me of the Nebraska game in 1998,” Slocum said after Saturday’s game. “Prior to that game … the team really hadn’t played all that well. But we came out and beat Nebraska and grew up a lot that day.
“As the season progressed, we grew into a championship team,” Slocum said.
It is obvious after four games this year that A&M has grown.
In the last two games alone, the defense has brought its `A’ game, recording 12 sacks, forcing 15 punts and giving up an average of just 67 yards rushing. The special teams has converted two blocked punts into touchdowns and averaged 15.3 yards on kickoff and punt returns.
The offense also has shown flashes of improvement, mounting scoring drives of 80 and 76 yards against Notre Dame and using an effective running game to control the clock.
This Saturday’s game against Baylor will give the Aggies a chance to grow together more, and if they do, the rest of the Big 12 will be in for a surprise.
True Brown is a sophomore agricultural journalism major.