For the first time in a generation, not a soul in Aggieland is turning their lonely eyes to Jackie Sherrill, or, for that matter, even to R.C. Slocum. While these are certainly the two heavy-weights of our day, we now find ourselves with someone in the cockpit as nervy and slick as any of the the ultra-conservatives at A&M could’ve ever imagined. Change did Happen — and for the best. That's some prowess bold there, brother. Top Gun. Hey, we’re talking football here. It’s taken 35 years to transition from a no frills, full-house Wishbone offense (shh … three things happen when you pass) to the “Spread” offense peppered with occasional “No-Back” sets. This is tasty stuff, although for some old-timers, this latest craze equates to, dare I say, jet-black uniforms. While the decision-makers (fantasy GM legends in their own minds) were looking down their noses at the Run and Shoot and the Fun ‘n Gun and all the Shotguns out there, time was passing us by. While we were staying with the Old School Option (disguised by Fran with a two-back set) while ditching defense (‘Okay, you line up here’), Texas was winning a national championship in the “InVincible” formations with a former A&M assistant calling all their plays. With all due respect to these two fine gentlemen and the other head coaches whom A&M has given equal positions of authority, I’ve got to call “Jackpot” or “Bingo” or “Whoop” or something extraordinary here in this case. Don’t you? Maybe running out into the streets and screaming at the top of our lungs might do it. I mean, can winning the lottery be any more exciting than this football season was? Okay, this may be stretching it a tad — but it is a darned good feeling. More records fell than most folks could count but the one nearest and dearest to my heart was the one I’ve been fretting with you about all season from my Gamedayr perch. Other than the 20 points George Woodard scored in the ’76 season’s Sun Bowl — still an all-time bowl record for A&M — only one other offensive record from our era in the ’70s still stood. It was mine; the 35-year old single game rushing record for an Aggies quarterback. This story wasn’t deemed a ‘story’ by A&M or the other media outlets, so this will be its only publication, just for grins. With barely less than 12 minutes remaining in the Cotton Bowl, Johnny Heisman already had 176 yards rushing. Yes, I was keeping track in a scorebook for posterity. Wouldn’t you have been? I was tweeting the countdown to my Twitter followers, most of whom were hungry for obliteration. Okay, I get that. When they announced that Johnny held the all-time record for one half’s rushing yardage for all the quarterbacks in Cotton Bowl history, I had a hunch he was definitely on pace to kicking my butt as well. You see, I spent 11 years of my life teaching children the intricacies of Algebra. I knew it would depend on what kind of kick I had at the finish and I was preparing myself for the challenge. This is Johnny ‘Football’ Manziel we’re talking about here — the Sugar Ray Leonard of college football who I had to get ready to stave off! Sometime in the second quarter, when I suddenly felt it slipping away, I calculated his progress and tweeted that he was on a 260-yard pace. It’s hard to turn that kind of locomotive around when it’s coming at you at full tilt – and who wanted to? Oklahoma? You’ve got to touch him to tackle him, hombres. My record of 182 yards was now nothing more than a sitting duck waiting for its inevitable fate. Road kill, but still upright. This Stun Gun offense of ours didn’t need no stinkin’ Zone Read! It just needed “Sweet Feet” back there playing flag football with a few of the intramural boys over there on defense. Then right on cue on a second down play, Johnny Manziel skipped off on a beautiful 16-yard run to eclipse the summit I’d finally reached after playing 40 games of hard-hitting, smash-mouth, Wishbone triple-option football. He blew by my little peon record by a full 10 yards on this scamper, and as former Aggie referee Red Cashion used to say so eloquently in the NFL, “First Dooooown.” The play call? It was what we called “18 Option” in high school which we ran once a game like A&M does. It’s the lead option, in this case to the right. Beaten by the option — How fitting. I slumped further into my seat. Sure, I’d given the three and was winning my sixth bowl game in a row in my office pool, but I was somehow feeling nauseous. At 57 years of age and on the outside looking in, there may not be a whole lot more records out there left for me to achieve. I mean, I’m no marathon runner. Think about this for a minute. The option game of Franchione’s was long gone (and so was Stephen McGee) and I knew Sherman wasn’t going to run his quarterback helter-skelter from his multiple B.S. Pro sets that he was so enamored with, so when Coach Sumlin was hired, I was home free, right? He certainly wasn’t going to run any OPTION! I watched them at Houston! Throw, throw, handoff, throw, touchdown! Yes! This record of mine would live until Judgment Day came along! And it barely lasted through the sixth game of the season in Shreveport. Johnny wasn’t yet done, though, not on this night, pounding the other troops in Jerry’s House as though one day he’d own it, too. He kept piling it on; a 5-yarder here, a 31-yarder there, smiling from ear to ear, and I sat tweeting and Facebooking about what a marvelous game the Aggies had just played. For the record, Johnny Heisman rushed for an emphatic 229 yards against the vaunted Oklahoma Sooners, winners of eight of the last nine against the Ags and pre-game favorites in at least ten straight. Happy? Ecstatic? Would it be ungracious of me to use the term “tempered excitement?’ I mean, this wasn’t Alabama where I jumped out of my chair on that goal line stand, or breathing a deep sigh of relief when Johnny took a knee at La. Tech with 181 yards to his name. No, somehow I had to be bigger than this. I figured when all the writers called to ask how it felt to lose my record in such magnificent fashion, I’d say all the right things, like, “This really sucks. We didn’t need to be running Johnny with that big lead. How come he never slides or runs out of bounds? And by the way, why does he always tuck the ball away in his left arm when he takes off? How come nobody’s asked him that yet? Can you tell me?” “I’ll be okay. Now, can you excuse me?” See? This is how you handle the Press when inquired about delicate situations. Yeah, I’d be okay. I texted my daughter and said, “He’s done it. I’ve left the building.” She replied, “But Dad, it took a Heisman guy to break that ecord, and after 35 years at that. That’s a heck of a lot of games.” She had me there. But wait, this was Texas A&M and Oklahoma. These two teams, along with Alabama and Texas, ruled the Wishbone world for a decade or so, even longer at Oklahoma. I thought about what long-time OU coach Barry Switzer must have been thinking. “This kid has over 200 yards and he’s not even in my Wishbone? Heck, did I have a single quarterback ever break 200 yards in my Wishbone? What’s going on here? They’re not even running the loaded option. Man, if I’d only had Johnny Manziel in my Wishbone.” As one of the few true triple option guys who ran the Wishbone, I was wondering the same things myself. Johnny’s runs all look like so much fun. Ours resembled coming out from behind a bunker with lead flying everywhere, barely escaping through walls of barbed wire before a grenade went off in your head. Johnny dances from one end zone to the next as smoothly as a hot-shot cutting through San Francisco traffic on roller blades. It looks so graceful and effortless, and sometimes kind of impossible. These are two different teams and two different eras. Right, Coach Switzer? One more quick point and we’ll get back to the future. It’s been noted that this is the first time since the 1939 and 1940 teams that the Ags have won two consecutive bowl games. What I find a little more mind-blowing is that this is only the seventh time the Ags have won their last GAME two years in a row since ‘39 and ‘40. That’s right. What is that, seven for 72? Crazy. We repeated in ’50 and ’51, took 27 years off and then started racking them up season after season. We were on our way. Surprisingly, there was only one Texas A&M coach who never lost a season finale between 1951 and now, besides Kevin Sumlin, of course. He was my offensive coordinator and the guy who stepped in when Bellard said “Adios” to Wishbone haters everywhere – Tom Wilson. Coach Wilson had back-to-back season-ending victories on all three of his opportunities, from 1978 to 1981 (going 4-0 overall), before being blindsided with Jackie Sherrill’s sudden million dollar arrival. “You can just sit tight out there in Midland, Coach. Jackie won’t need our plane back for a couple of weeks. Hey, you’re the greatest; thanks for everything. Way to finish.” What’s troubling is that since Tom’s last season here in 1981, we’ve accomplished this feat only three more times, including 2011-‘12. Before now it was 1994-’95 under R.C. and before that it was 1984-’85 under Jackie. That’s it! As I said; crazy. This is also the only time since 1951 that two different head coaches have sealed the deal (Sherman and Sumlin now; somebody and somebody else, then). Just like the torrential downpours we’re now having in the Valley, the drought certainly appears over for the Fightin’ Texas Aggies. Provided our two new starters on the offensive line fall into place and the Titan behind them stays healthy, 2013 will be the dream season some of us Old Bloods have been awaiting for years. Johnny has won the USA Today’s first-team All-Bowl quarterback spot and is the first unanimous choice for the Manning Award. The fact that Jake Matthews is returning says a lot. He says we have a chance to do something very special. Our chances just got better. What I find amazing is that Johnny had his fourth-worst game against Oklahoma from the ‘NCAA Passer Rating’ perspective, yet still found a way to rack up 516 total yards, breaking the Cotton Bowl record of 407. Obviously the “Passer Rating” does not a complete quarterback make, but given time and experience, Johnny has all the tools to be pushing the No. 1 guy, A.J. McCarron of Alabama. Johnny finished the season ranked 15th in the country and 11th among returning underclassmen. Most had excellent bowl games, including McCarron, Aaron Murray of Georgia, Tajh Boyd of Clemson (the Coaches 1st Team All-American) and Conner Shaw of South Carolina. Keep those legs movin’, Johnny. We don’t need a No. 1 guy in Passer Rating to be No. 1 in the country. Johnny’s attaining No. 1 in Total Offense in the country by almost 20 yards per game is very special. When has thathappened before at Texas A&M? My first guess is never. Thanks for the terrific offensive scheme, Coach Sumlin, and I doubt anyone ever says Johnny’s a “product of the system.” Johnny also broke probably the oldest record on file, the single-season touchdown record of 19, which led the country at the time. It had been held by the original No. 8, Joel Hunt in 1927. Hunt’s record was later matched by Darren Lewis in 1990 and Jorvorskie Lane in 2006. It was also Johnny’s seventh 100-yard rushing game, breaking Greg Hill’s freshman record of six in 1991. Manziel’s 229 rushing yards broke the NCAA bowl record for rushing yards by a QB. The old mark of 201 yards was set by Dwight Dasher of Middle Tennessee State in the 2009 New Orleans Bowl. I wonder if it was Mike Mosley’s 180 yards in the Bluebonnet Bowl that Dasher broke. It’s possible, but the sports information department is a little sluggish and I’ve got a deadline to keep. The career receptions leader at Texas A&M, Ryan Swope, added the school record for career receiving yards to his long list of accomplishments. Swope’s 104 yards overcame Jeff Fuller’s old record of 3,092 yards. Swope finished his career with 252 catches for 3,117 yards. His 24 touchdowns were No. 2 in school history. He’ll be a tough player and personality to replace. We wish him all the best in the NFL. I think he’d be high on the list of the Patriots at this point. Defensively, we were outstanding against Oklahoma, repeatedly holding them to field goals in the early going. Oklahoma became the first team to score in the first quarter since Ole Miss pulled the trick in game 5 of 2012. We had two games with miracle finishes; the Ole Miss game offensively and the Alabama game defensively. Hold that thought … and keep the white helmets on; they’ve proven unbeatable. His was the only team in A&M history to have the grit, belief, confidence and determination to turn an 0-2 conference record into double-digit wins by running the table — besides my seventh-ranked 1976 team that won the Sun Bowl. In an earlier article I hoped for two things after beating Alabama; a Heisman for Johnny and a Top 5 finish for the Aggies for the first time since Bear Bryant’s 1956 team. We got both. The Vegas boys have moved us from 8th to 5th after the bowl games in terms of winning the national championship next season. The only teams they deem have a better shot are Alabama, Oregon, Ohio State and LSU. LSU is losing a lot of underclassmen suddenly to the NFL draft. The odds may change yet again, and very soon. Johnny is favored to win another Heisman. Some of the quarterbacks I mentioned will be right there with him. One thing I’m fairly certain of is that a defensive player will have hell getting into the Top 3 again for a long time. In the minds of the voters, as soon as someone starts gaining pundit awareness, he’ll get Te’o’d pretty quickly. Manti didn’t represent the nation’s defensive players very well in the BCS championship game, as we all noticed. It looked like he was wearing Chanel No. 5, not his normal No. 5. As long as Johnny doesn’t get Tebow’d himself, we’ll be alright. As you know, Tebow failed to win another Heisman after winning his first as a sophomore. Oh wait, we don’t want Johnny getting Clowney’d either. My God, did you see that back’s helmet fly? Remember what catcher Gus Sinski told Billy Chappel (played by Kevin Costner) in the movie, “For Love of the Game?” “The boys are all here for ya, we’ll back you up, we’ll be there, cause Billy, we don’t stink right now. We’re the best team in baseball, right now, right this minute, because of you. You’re the reason. We’re not gonna screw that up. We’re gonna be awesome for you right now. Just throw.” And run. As the BCS title game was winding down, I had only one vision dancing in my head. “Somewhere the Bear is smiling, marking September 14 at Kyle Field on his calendar, taking one more drag on his smoke, and one last shot of whiskey.” The way the A.P. works and its penchant for setting up pivotal games for maximum interest, I predict Alabama will be ranked No. 1 and Texas A&M will be ranked No. 2 when the first pre-season polls are posted. Hey, it will be cool to be Number 2. It already is. Later folks. Let’s Bring in the Ringers. Signing date’s only a month away.
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So much negative history abounds leading up to the 2013 Cotton Bowl matchup between the Texas Aggies and the Oklahoma Sooners that it’s downright frightening. Let’s look at a few of the facts around which I’ve found it difficult to wrap my head. Fact: The Aggies have won only 1 of their last 8 Cotton Bowls. Fact: The Aggies have won only 1 of their last 10 season finales. Fact: The Aggies have won only 6 of their last 25 season finales. Fact: The Aggies have won only 4 of their last 20 season finales played inside the state of Texas. Fact: The Aggies have won only 2 of the last 13 and 1 of their last 9 vs. the Oklahoma Sooners. Fact: The Aggies have yet to win in Cowboys Stadium in 4 tries. Fact: The Aggies didn’t have Number 2 quarterbacking or Kevin Sumlin head coaching in a single one of these above-mentioned games. [Related >> Seven other Heisman winners have played in the Cotton Bowl, how have they fared?] Is that all you’ve got? Then it’s time to push back in Aggieland. The key to continued failure boils down to one game, and this is it. Status quo has never built championships when you possess this kind of final-game legacy. Seniors hate leaving on a bad note and it doesn’t help morale. Look at Alabama: Tradition be damned, it’s time to redirect and refocus and bag this special quarry before the sun goes down. You have to leave the field with your heads held high and huge smiles on your faces. You need to look good on TV. You need to be brimming with confidence. All the Mommies and Daddies in high school land and the junior colleges need to feel the excitement with their stud kids watching along with them. You’ve got to come off the field a winner. You’re in the SEC now and you’re playing the rubber game for the conference, which is 3-3 in the bowls. Prove you’re better now than Florida or LSU could ever envision being. This is your destiny. 2012 has been the year for the Aggies to turn over a new leaf, start fresh and eliminate old demons. They’ve even drawn up plans for renovation and expansion of Kyle Field; The sky really is the limit! Obviously the Aggies are way below the .500 mark as they head into yet another season finale and find themselves looking up from a deep well of muddy orange clay and green slime. It’s been quite ugly digging themselves further and further into the pit of no return. Needless to say, the Aggies have little reason to believe the upcoming set of results will differ from the previous. But the one thing the Aggies would appear to have going for them is the magical season they have now in progress. Momentum has swung their way after a quarter of a century, and at this point at least, there seems to be no stopping them. Oklahoma’s defense is certainly susceptible, as it’s given up over 30 points in its last three games. A&M’s offense is certainly an explosion waiting to happen, methodical in its striking abilities, and continues to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Superman himself leads the show, and reporters will be allowed to probe and prod him immediately following the game, for the first time in his career, in attempts to get inside his head. “What did you see out there, Johnny? What are you feeling? What was your primary point of attack? Did you ever expect to score 70 points and throw for 700 yards against this outstanding Oklahoma team? Will your entire offensive line return to protect you next year? How does it feel to hand Landry Jones his first bowl loss in four tries? Do you think Damontre Moore will go in the first round? When do you plan to go pro, Johnny? You’re already a third of the way there to tie Corey Pullig’s all-time leading win total as an Aggie QB … when do you expect to catch him? How are you and your girlfriend going to celebrate this record win tonight? Where will you go, by the way? Are y’all hooking up with Romo and Jerry later on? Will you be hosting Saturday Night Live anytime over the next few weeks? Do you remember Bill Murray? Can you win the Heisman again? How much did you miss Coach, uh, what’s his name, Johnny?” [One star offensive lineman has already committed to playing in College Station in his senior year] His legend grows, and as reporters continue to query the young man, his formula for success is finally presented. Johnny reveals that by articulating the letters and numbers of the formula, “3X2(9YZ)4A,” he is instilled with the power of super speed; speeds so fast he is even capable of flying for short distances (what once was referred to as a long jump, but now cubed). This is when he becomes Johnny “Quick” Manziel. This formula envelops Johnny in an invisible aura that protects his body, helmet and uniform from friction. It grants the anti-gravity powers that enable Johnny to actually fly. That’s right, I didn’t stutter. To revert back to his normal state, Johnny whispers the counter-acting formula, “Z25Y(2AB)6.” Although he says it’s still a work in progress, he hopes to have it perfected prior to the 2013 season following a few more trips to California to meet with his physics coach. Fact: Johnny Manziel needs 278 yards running and passing to overtake Baylor’s Nick Florence for No. 1 in the Nation in Total Offense. Fact: A&M needs over 800 yards to pass Baylor in total offense, but should easily finish in the Top 5 and be one of only four teams nationally to surpass 7,000 yards (currently sitting pretty with 6,628). Fact: During this bowl season, the highest ranked offense has covered the spread in 68-percent of the games (17-8). Entering the Cotton Bowl matchup, Texas A&M’s offense ranks third in yards per game while Oklahoma ranks 10th. The Aggies are favored by three. Fact: Both teams are perfect on the road this season and are riding five-game winning streaks. Fact: The Sooners boast the Big 12’s top pass defense. Edge: I’d be forgettin’ about the previous quarter century and the ‘Sooners Hex’ and go ahead and have yourself a big ol’ night in Big A, or Big D, or wherever you might end up. When in doubt, call a cab, but beat the hell outta Oklahoma first, even if it takes a game-winning field goal as time expires to do it. We need this win, Taylor Bertolet. You can do it! We’ve even had a place kicker named MVP before in a bowl game; Tony Franklin in the ’77 Sun Bowl! No pressure!! The next quarter century starts NOW, Ags! Own it! Johnny Heisman gunning for 2nd bowl victory ever by an Aggie Freshman quarterback (63,611 reads)12/19/2012 The official list of freshman quarterbacks who have started football games for Texas A&M in the modern era now numbers 12 — obviously an appropriate number for rabid Texas A&M followers — with Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel topping it off in the most dynamic of fashions. Once again my long-time personal motto, The 12th Shall Be First, has prominently come into play in Aggieland. There’s no question that Johnny Manziel is 112% Pure Aggie, and that’s no brag. After the bowls were picked and the individual awards were announced, I became interested in discovering how many of our “Early Risers” had completed their freshman seasons with starting nods in a bowl game. Whether they had started the full season or only a game was irrelevant, as I was only interested in the end game. It’s how I roll. While I am the first and youngest of the true freshmen in this group of former Aggie QBs, I also included those who’d had a previous season of practice squad duty, a full academic school year and an official spring training under their belts before stepping into their starting offensive huddles in their second seasons on campus – yes, the individuals we now call “Redshirt” freshmen. Because of Johnny Manziel there is no longer an asterisk beside the classification. Either type of “freshman” designation bears the same weight when awards are being handed out, and while not technically identical, we gladly push technicalities aside in accordance with the selections of the nationwide voters. Go freshmen, whichever you are! As I’ve stated before — and Bucky Richardson and I have both experienced this — you don’t realize what “redshirting” means until everyone in your class is suddenly gone and you’re the only one still playing football. You lose major friends and teammates in this transition. It can be difficult. This I refer to as a player’s second senior season, because it’s exactly how it feels. You’re now the grizzled old veteran on the squad. With it comes one more shot and a truly great opportunity, provided you don’t skip out with your sidekicks and go Pro. Entering our forty-first season after freshmen had become eligible for varsity sports in 1972, only three freshman quarterbacks had started for the Aggies in bowl games. That’s right; three. I was eliminated quickly from inclusion on this “list for the ages” as my ’73 team fell a game short of bowl eligibility. In our next-to-last game while holding five victories versus four defeats, we lost at Rice as time expired with our offense inside their five yard line. We then lost to Number 1 Texas on Kyle Field in our finale. This was the only loss I had as an Aggie starter at home until my final season in 1977. Another game which we should have won up in Fayetteville would have also done the trick, but we had no two-minute offense. We were probably the only team in college football history that didn’t have a two minute offense — but don’t get me started. After the ’77 regular season ended, I watched Mike Mosley become the very first freshman quarterback to ever start a bowl game for the Texas Aggies. Perhaps if you dig deeper, Mike may be the first freshman from any school to start at quarterback in a bowl game. It was quite exciting and the place was packed. Mike was a true freshman who had collected a previous start earlier in the season and beaten TCU at Amon Carter Stadium. Amon Carter, coincidentally, was the very same stadium where I had received my first start as a freshman four seasons earlier at age 17. I might add, Mike is the only starting quarterback A&M has ever had who had Johnny Manziel type speed. The Monday prior to the TCU game my senior year I requested a week-long breather to heal up several body parts to prepare for a do-or-die battle the following weekend against Earl Campbell and the Number 1 Longhorns. My wish was granted because TCU was no threat this particular season, and I stood and cheered and high-fived Mike throughout the game. It seemed poetic at the time that Mike had gotten his first start in the same arena I had. The only difference was we were a struggling football team back in ’73, while Mike was handed the keys to a Ferrari and a triple option scheme like none other. Fullback George Woodard still holds the A&M record for most points scored in a bowl game with the 20 he scored against Florida in the Sun Bowl the previous season. George, Mike and the guys romped to a 52-23 victory and set an all-time Aggie single-game rushing record of 606 yards. Mike did wonderfully in the Bluebonnet Bowl, too. Southern California was ranked 20th and the Aggies were No. 17 coming in, having fallen from No. 4 earlier in the season after a bitter loss in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I personally decided to sit out the Bluebonnet Bowl, explaining to offensive coordinator Tom Wilson beforehand that I’d played my last game for head coach Emory Bellard and was only going for the party. I was later voted team captain, with the announcement made the day before we left for Houston. It was the second such honor of my A&M career. Looking back at this 2012 season, I think it’s a shame the A&M team captains were chosen prior to the season. I feel very confident Johnny’s name would now be engraved on the new plaque about to be hung in the Bright Athletic Complex along with ours. He is the Captain and I say, “Keep the hardware coming. Back to the game, Mike had us on top 14-0 in the old Astrodome before the roof caved in (no, not literally). USC stormed back for a 47-28 win, but Mike came within two yards of the all-time single game rushing record held by an A&M quarterback. In fact, Mike’s 180 yards rushing now rank third in A&M history behind Johnny Manziel’s 181 and my 182. Yeah, it was that close. Twitter was blowing up about Johnny’s big rushing night against La. Tech in a wild game, but this ol’ Aggie QB still holds that 35 year-old record and has a news clipping to prove it. A record-saving kneel down at the end of the game saved my bacon. Soon after taking a picture with me at the reception for the team when they got home after beating Alabama, a young man named David Harris predicted, “Not for long, Hoss.” This would be correct. That single-game rushing record could go down in Arlington, for all I know. Mike had the jets; I had some necessary Wishbone operator’s quickness; but, Johnny has it all, plus eyes in the back of his head. The second freshman quarterback to start a bowl game was Baton Rouge’s Bucky Richardson ten years later. Like me, Bucky got his first start in the sixth game of his first season on the A&M campus, and led the Aggies to the 1988 Cotton Bowl. Bucky took over in ’87 for fellow freshman Lance Pavlas after entering in relief against Southern Miss and the magical Brett Favre. In the Cotton Bowl on January 1, 1988, the Aggies blitzed Heisman winner Tim Brown and Notre Dame 35-10 in the first meeting ever between the two schools. Bucky was named the game’s outstanding offensive player after rushing for 96 yards and two scores, and went on to a fabled career for the Aggies. Only three freshmen have ever received player of the game honors in the history of the Cotton Bowl, and Bucky remains the only Aggie recipient. The only other freshman quarterback to start in a bowl game eventually surpassed me, Kevin Murray and Bucky Richardson to become the winningest quarterback in A&M history. Corey Pullig, a youngster from Deer Park, Texas, took over for A&M’s other lefthander, Jeff Granger (concussion), late in the 1992 season and never looked back, winning the final four games of the regular season. Once again the Aggies faced Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl but didn’t fare nearly as well as Bucky’s bunch had, dropping the contest to the fifth-ranked Irish, 28-3. The Aggies gained only 165 yards of total offense and managed just 11 first downs, while Notre Dame compiled 439 yards and 28 first downs. Corey completed 7 of his 18 passes for 87 yards, respectively. This game spoiled what could have been a perfect 13-0 season for the third-ranked Aggies, who finished the year in the final polls at Number 7. All told, twenty years have now rolled by since an Aggie freshman QB has taken the first snap in a bowl game. In forty-plus years of football, Bucky Richardson still owns the only freshman-led bowl victory. Corey Pullig, A&M’s all-time leader with 33 career wins, precedes the man presumably destined to eclipse his record in the form of Johnny Manziel. If the world doesn’t end on my older sister’s birthday, both will have begun their bowl careers in the Cotton Bowl, albeit at different locations, and for the third straight time an Aggie freshman quarterback’s first bowl appearance will be in the Cotton Bowl. This time around though, the game isn’t our ‘reward’ for winning the Southwest Conference championship, and we’ve got the Sooners instead of the Irish. I think we’d have preferred to have Notre Dame in the BCS title game on January 7, and with just a little luck against LSU, perhaps we would have. This is the eleventh season a freshman quarterback has started at least one game and only the fourth time in those years that we’ve earned a bowl bid. Obviously we beat almost all the odds this season and have come far, Pilgrims. (Also, please be on the lookout for my new “Kliff Who?” t-shirts. They’ll soon be all the rage.) Will Johnny become only the second freshman QB to win a bowl game for A&M? That’s his number, so I expect him to do so. As I headlined earlier in the season, it’s now Cool to be Number 2. Now, let’s get those Sooners! We have a great chance of heading into next season with the longest winning streak in the country. After losing 9 of our last 10 season finales, 14 out of 17, 16 of 20 and 19 of our last 25, we desperately need to take the high road in this one. We need to finish with a flurry and send all the demons in the opposite direction, once and for all. We cannot let this wonderful thing called momentum slip away, particularly against one of the smuggest college football coaches around. Beating TCU for the 24th straight time in the Galleryfurniture.com Bowl in 2001 seems like a long time ago, but believe it or not, it’s the last time A&M has finished a season on a winning note since last year’s win in Houston over Northwestern. In my five seasons with what was called A&M’s “Great Resurgence” under Bellard, we lost our final game four of those five seasons. None were even close. This is the dreaded setback that leaves a bad taste in your mouth for months. Even Sherman thought he’d finally turned the tanks around before LSU pulled the plug on the 2010 season in our last Cotton Bowl. We all remember the recurring theme in 2011 that LSU initiated, and it wasn’t pretty. We’re far from done though, with a whole lot of proving still left to do. Texas A&M has run the table only once in its history after losing is first two conference games, and that was our 10-2 Sun Bowl team in ’76. Meanwhile, as Old School meets New School, my personal congratulations go out to Stun Gun QB, Johnny Manziel, the young man I knighted as “the best there’s ever been” following the SMU game. Thanks for proving me correct, young fellow. Gig ‘em, and like the rest of us Aggielanders, I thoroughly enjoyed your guest appearance on Jay Leno’s show. The Top Ten was pretty good, too. Best of luck to you in your career. What kind of gum do you chew, by the way? For the record, these are your freshman Aggie QBs since 1972, as listed by someone on the Internet: David Walker, 1973; Mike Mosley, 1977; Gary Kubiak, 1979; Kevin Murray, 1983; Craig Stump, 1984; Lance Pavlas and Bucky Richardson, 1987; Jeff Granger, 1991; Corey Pullig, 1992; Reggie McNeal, 2002; Stephen McGee, 2005; Johnny Manziel, 2012. The four winningest quarterbacks in A&M history are all from this list: Corey Pullig – 33; David Walker and Kevin Murray – 25; Bucky Richardson – 24; and Johnny Heisman Manziel – 53? Wait, that’s five…it can happen. Kliff Who? I was quoted on Friday in the Eagle newspaper in Bryan/College Station as saying, “You can’t stop this offense and you can’t stop the guy who is running it. This is the best A&M’s ever had. There’s no question. He’s just a combination of so many that makes him so unique, you can’t put a finger on who he’s like. He’s creating his own persona of what a space-age, new millennium quarterback can look like.” “He’s just fabulous in every phase of the game. I don’t think we could have a better guy leading our program. And Johnny’s going to take us to brand new heights. My gosh, for three more years, if he stays healthy, and everything stays together, he’s going to be one amazing kid who walks away with every record there is known to man.” “There’s no doubt. If I had a vote, he’d win the Heisman, hands down. I’m kicking myself in the butt for not going to Vegas earlier this year. He’s had the Heisman moments and he’s had them against the very best.” Texas A&M’s Trademark and Branding Hawk-eye, Jason Cook, was quoted in an earlier article from New York as saying, “What we must remember is that the Texas A&M brand is bigger than Johnny Manziel.” Well, shoot, if he wants to play one-upsmanship with our own quarterback, it’s his prerogative. We’re just going to enjoy the show. What’s great is how the entire SEC has rallied behind this newcomer in the conference. The support really speaks volumes, not only of the school, but for Johnny in particular. He calls opposing players by their names when they tackle him. “Nice hit, Sam,” he’ll say as they get up. You don’t find this in many players, those who’ll take the time and effort to know their opponents so very well. Along with his valiant play, his attitude toward his competitors has gained him even greater respect among his peers. He’s won the Davey O’Brien Award as the best Quarterback in the country and was also named the first-team All-American quarterback on the Sporting News All-American Team. The only awards left are the Heisman Award and the long-awaited inaugural “I’ll Tell You When You’re Good” Award. I hand this one out personally with a standing offer to purchase a copy of my book and several cool Aggie t-shirts from NoBrag.com. (We can’t give this stuff away, you know. NCAA.) I can already tell you that my vote is in. Congratulations, Johnny Football. You’re Good! Now, let’s get to the Alabama game, the one that shot the odds for Johnny’s Heisman bid from 20 to 1 to 8 to 1 — not that we’re keeping track. By the way, have I mentioned how much I love the uniforms we wore against Alabama and Missouri? Yeah, they made me a little nostalgic. Thanks, Coach Sumlin; great calls! Post-Game Read for Alabama DOWN GOES ‘BAMA! DOWN GOES ‘BAMA! WHOOP! Johnny Manziel and Baylor quarterback Nick Florence continue to battle it out for the national Total Offense crown with Johnny, despite playing the Number 1 defense in the country, closing the gap between the two to 15 yards per game. While the new storyline is “Johnny Football Manziel for Heisman,” there is another current situation that many of us only dared dream would become reality; “Alabama remains in position to win the SEC West by beating rival Auburn on Nov. 24, or by seeing the Aggies lose to Missouri on Nov. 23.” That’s right; we’re the only two in the hunt. We played Saturday like the West Division depended on it, and it did. Johnny led the offense to 4 of 5 Red Zone scores against Alabama, the team that had led the country in Red Zone defense for most of the year and was ranked third going into the A&M matchup. The first three penetrations into the Crimson Tide’s Red Zone produced touchdowns. The crowd seemed completely unnerved by the quick-strike, Stun Gun attack. “We weren’t stunned at all,” Tide linebacker C.J. Mosley said, with a straight face. “As a defense, we knew they were going to make plays, that’s what their offense depends on. They got a great quarterback; they got a great running back. We just have to settle down and play Alabama football.” First there’s business to be taken care of here in 12th Man Stadium, and that is Sam Houston State and Missouri. I’ve yet to see us come out of the tunnel not ready to play, so there is no reason to start fretting now. As I said after our SMU game about Johnny Manziel, stop critiquing and begin appreciating him. He will be gone in a flash, much too soon. It’s all in front of him, us and our football team. Winning a three-game road swing for the first time since ’75 would normally be a strong enough statement, but to top it off by whipping the defending champions on their own home turf, well, that’s just darn near a Mission Impossible that we just accomplished. Inside four magical downs of defense, after surrendering the bomb a play earlier that would surely seal our collective fates, all eras would instantaneously become irrelevant to the NOW that is occurring. Like Coach says, “No moment is too big.” I can’t tell you how important it is to hear and feel this on a football team. The classiest and the smartest thing this head coach and his offensive coordinator have done is simply allow Johnny Manziel to lead. There are a lot of coaches whose egos don’t allow this. We’re very fortunate. Our goal now is to finish at least in the Top 5, a feat not accomplished at Texas A&M since 1956 with Bear Bryant’s near perfect 9-0-1 squad. Adding only seven Top 10 finishes since then has left the school hungry for more success –and thankful and extremely excited for this opportunity. “Whoop!” Pardon the Swagger; we’re coming through. Post-Game Read for Sam Houston “Alabama’s just mad, and they’re going to take it out on Johnny Football and Texas A&M!” was Joey Harrington’s assessment on FOX Sports prior to kickoff. Much like this 2012 version we’re now celebrating, by the end of the year media types were saying, “Of all the teams out there, A&M is the team no one wants to play.” Hail to these Ags — at least in the minds of many. We realize somewhat begrudgingly that only the polls prevent us from being that team not only in the minds of many, but also on paper. Rest assured the case has been made even as we wade through a muddled mess of scenarios. Well done Aggies, but you can’t beat City Hall. What a tremendous comeback season, particularly with so many road games, a new staff, new offenses and defenses and only one spring training under your belts, and it was one which did not even include Johnny Manziel as starting quarterback. But what if it had? If the spring isn’t good for getting your ducks in a row then teams wouldn’t have one, right? Regardless, against all odds this team refused to be negatively affected after narrow losses to two great, powerful football teams, and as a result they accomplished the near-impossible — impressively. Johnny Manziel is a marvel to watch and can entertain you even on the lamest of plays. We’re not ALL spit and polish out on that field, you know. It all looks pretty, choreographed and synchronized, but trust me, there’s a lot of grunt work going on protecting both this young man and our end zone. ‘Third and shorts’ do happen, and then we go to our jumbo set … sometimes. And somehow sparks fly from this young guy regardless of the situation, the play call or the competition. For instance, on his first rushing touchdown we were running the lead option to the right. The defensive end, Johnny’s pitch key, shot up-field and took away Johnny’s pitch back. Then a linebacker slipped through the line preparing to tackle Johnny for a loss when he cut up-field. Dead to rights, right? I’m telling you right now, Johnny has to have eyes in his earholes because he did not give himself up and just cut up into the carnage. He didn’t surrender and just take the hit. No, he reversed back to the left down the line and out-quicked everyone to that end zone untouched. He scored an easy touchdown on a perfectly defended play by the Bearkats. Boy, that’s got to be frustrating! The poor linebacker who was about to tackle ‘Johnny the Great’ just stood there and watched, shaking his head as he went back to the defensive huddle. Sure, it was only a four-yard touchdown run, but it would have gone 80 if that’s what was needed. His second score came by ‘zone blocking’ to the right side by the O-Line, a fake to Ben Malena up the gut over right guard, and then a quick scoot around left end behind a great sealing block by junior Nehemiah Hicks. It looked like the old “loaded” option we once ran, except Johnny doesn’t need anyone out there with him to pitch to. This one went one yard and could have gone 99; it’s the same difference. A minute and 26 seconds into the second half, Johnny played himself out of the ball game by completing a beautifully thrown 89-yard touchdown pass on first down to Uzoma Nwachukwu. His extra-point kick somehow sailed wide right and did not land in downtown Hearne, as was earlier reported. This attempted extra point will probably go down as the most inconsequential kick to never be forgotten in the annals of college football. “Hey, you remember that day Johnny kicked that extra point?” “Legend” will one day tell a different story. This is how “Legend” works, especially in Texas. “Damn right, I do. It went right through the uprights and some guy caught it at the Hearne Post office. What is that, about 30 miles? Amazing stuff! That Johnny Football was a PLAYUH!” As little as Johnny Manziel played and as well as Baylor played, I assumed Johnny had lost ground on Baylor’s Florence in the Total Offense race nationally. Not so. Johnny closed the gap to five yards from 15 as they still rank Nos. 1 and 2. This is excellent news, from a quarterbacking standpoint. Besides the polls, players look at stats, and you can bet that everyone involved with these two offenses knows the score here. The “Battle of the Brazos” is only on paper this season but braggin’ rights are always of significant importance. I’ve stated in earlier articles that had Johnny stayed in games an equal amount of time as Florence has, the numbers would be adjusted in Johnny’s favor. For instance, Johnny was on a pace to hit 699 total yards against Sam Houston as opposed to the 367 yards with which he was actually credited. Now for the Heisman. I’ve never seen anyone having so much fun playing QB as Johnny Manziel. Can you imagine sticking this guy behind the wheel of a Wishbone? No, me neither. I’ve known Johnny’s high school coach, Mark Smith, for 30 years. Mark has nothing but the highest of praise for Johnny’s character, ability and leadership qualities. I give immense credit to Mark and his staff for allowing Johnny to develop into this ungodly scoring machine without enforcing common systematic hindrances which most high school coaches apply to their players and teams. Sure, you’ve got to rein them in and sometimes break them from behaviors detrimental to your team’s success on occasion, but the stallions, hey, you’ve got to let them run. And this Stallion can go! Yet, even after the sloppy and unpolished play of the latest Heisman front-runner, Collin Klein, the second from the Big 12 to fall from grace (West Virginia QB Geno Smith was the other), we still find ourselves watching in horror as the talking heads try to gather up steam for anyone not named Johnny Manziel. I have to ask, “Why do voters feel they’re doing some kind of disservice to the game if they vote the Heisman to a freshman?” The game’s ego will survive and after all, Johnny turns 20 next month. Isn’t 20 old enough? It could be that Texas A&M and Johnny Manziel and Kevin Sumlin have come too far too fast for anyone to grasp. Sometimes it’s the obvious pill that is toughest to swallow. Beat the Hell Outta Missouri. And don’t change a thing. Post Game Read for Missouri I’ll tell you right now how tenuous a career and starting position can be. I was in the stadium Saturday night when Johnny got twisted up awkwardly during a tackle and stayed down. I was in the third deck and could have heard Reveille moaning quietly in horror on the far sidelines. It was so very silent. I mean, I watched a referee succumb to a fatal heart attack at a high school all-star game and didn’t see this kind of reaction. The collective sigh of relief when Johnny stood up and walked to the sidelines was also noticeable — and then the cheers. Johnny cannot go down, y’all. This is part of what makes this award so different and yet, so important. We have for the first time a redshirt freshman leading the charge for the Heisman. He first showed up in the betting circles the week of the LSU game after throwing 59 points up against La. Tech. Even then he was an after-thought, but still a possibility. He was on the board. In case you’re not aware, the wise guys normally recognize talent when they see it. Then the LSU game knocked him down from 12/1 to 20/1 and everyone figured he was finished. There were still 5 or 6 guys rated better than Johnny and this is when I decided not to take a trip out to the desert and take advantage of those odds. Oh me of little faith. Well, lo and behold, after traveling to Auburn and Mississippi State and blowing those guys away, he and the Aggies made their third trip in a row, this time to none other than Tuscaloosa, Alabama for a date with Godzilla himself. The Alabama quarterback was now a front-runner in the Heisman race after his great drive a week earlier that had beaten the LSU Tigers. The odds were not in Johnny’s favor but he suddenly had the Aggies ahead 20-0 before the first quarter had ended, and with a “goal line stand for the Ages” (Brent, don’t you just love that statement?) against the unflappable A.J. McCarron, they came away with possibly the most unlikely victory on the road against a No. 1 team in modern college football history. Heisman possibilities were suddenly back in gear out on the track. Still, although he is No. 2 in the USA in total offense and his football team has only been beaten by what are now the No. 4 and No. 7 teams around, Johnny was stuck behind a great kid at Kansas State who’s also a quarterback and was leading the new No. 1 team. All this QB had to do to win the trophy, being a senior and all, was win out. Then Baylor shocked K-St. and made this quarterback look rather pedestrian in the process, and BOOM; Up Flies Manziel! Up Flies Manziel! All season long it was like being on the cover of Sports Illustrated for these Heisman hopefuls, from Geno Smith to A.J. McCarron to Collin Klein, and now on to Johnny Manziel. None of them could hang. Johnny never flinched. Johnny flourished, as he has in every game since LSU, including that stretch of 5 of 6 straight games as visitors. The guy went 6-0 on the road…as a freshman! Then back inside 12th Man Stadium against Missouri, Johnny had his hands on the ball for 10 different drives and came away with 8 touchdowns and a field goal. They were long 70 and 80 yard drives, too — the kind we like here! It’s why we fair-catch punts back inside our 10 yard line! We love our length-of-the-field touchdown drives at A&M! Johnny analyzing the Missouri defense. Oh, and for the meticulous ones among us, I’m not counting the one-play kneel-down just before the half as a possession, but there are probably Heisman voters out there who are. Let’s talk a little perspective now. Johnny is 19 and turns 20 in December, just as I did when I was a JUNIOR. If someone had told me I was too YOUNG to win the Heisman as a Junior, well, I’d have asked them to show me their eligibility requirements. When I was growing up nobody could play as freshmen, but no one had a problem voting a Sophomore the Heisman Trophy. If you played, guess what; you were eligible. Johnny will be participating in his third spring training in April. He has already had two college football seasons under his belt, although like the freshmen who played when I was growing up, he sat out all the Varsity games his first year. He practiced and went to class and watched Tannehill play the games. I’m not sure when the first coach came up with the idea of redshirting freshmen but it’s a great idea if your team can afford it. In my situation at A&M I became the starter as a freshman when I proved on the field I was the best at A&M and the best freshman football player in the conference. Johnny has proven in his redshirt freshman year that he’s the best and most exciting player in the country. You can forget the statistics; just watch him play. There’s not a running back or receiver who comes close, much less a quarterback. As Charlie Daniels tweeted recently, there’s no reason a freshman shouldn’t be allowed to win it. ‘Cuz he’s the best there’s ever been…well, Charlie didn’t say that, but he’s easily the best A&M has ever seen. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9y2jtwS3SsI&w=420&h=315] There’s one more thing about this quarterback you might want to know. He has played almost 600 official minutes this season, which is the equivalent of 10 games. Time-wise, he sat out two full games (120 minutes). Most teams have a game or two where they get to sit their starters but Johnny sat out eight full quarters. If Johnny’s 4600 yards are an all-time SEC total offense record, how do 5,530 yards sound for a regular season, before he’s even played a conference championship game or a bowl game? This would be Johnny’s numbers had he played 60 minutes in all 12 games; 5,530 total yards. These are phenomenal numbers, but the real ones are quite impressive, as well…especially for a second-year Rookie. Look out America! It’s looking like the 12th Shall Be First!! This is the third part in my recap series in following the clever footsteps of one Johnny Football Manziel. With the rest of us 20,000 who are reading this column, I’d like to wish this young man whose heart and soul are always in the right place, a very happy twentieth birthday. I saw he was on the golf course with two superb ESPN announcers, Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler, each of whom have shown total fairness in their observations of Johnny’s exploits and seem as enamored with this Aggie QB as we are. Now, lets’ talk some Johnny Football! My Part 2 synopsis was completed with this statement: “All kinds of Texas A&M records could fall. Let’s just hope they’re all on the offensive side of the ball — stun-gun style.” Let’s see what happened with some short outtakes from previous observations which remain identically the same as when they were written. Please realize, Johnny is still on no one’s Heisman list. Post-Game Read for Louisiana Tech I’ve been chastised to a small degree on some forums for being so head-over-heels pro-Johnny Manziel ever since the first day I saw him take a snap. Going back to my very first blog for Gamedayr following the loss to Florida, I stated how amazed with his poise and confidence I was. Forget his eligibility or scholastic year or any of that, “Wow, he’s good for his age,” stuff. He’s good at any age! His instincts and vision are unsurpassed for anyone in the college game and his elusiveness is beyond comparison. I was upset however, that the Aggie coaches could not find a single crack in the Florida defense to be exploited, thus costing us the victory. What advantages does this 2012 squad have over our ’74 team that set Aggieland on fire? Well, I had 5 yards passing that night in Baton Rouge, and my high school coach complained to Emory Bellard he was wasting the best passer to ever come out of Louisiana. Do you really wish to return to yesteryear? Nope, it’s time we change gears. The Sumlin Stun Gun Attack is the best thing to happen to A&M football since the Wrecking Crew, efficiency-wise. Secondly, we are protecting our own house this time. The 12th Man is only .500 in Kyle Field since 2000 but I’m sensing a new attitude, one more than just “happy to be here”. LSU players will love the cheers, TV and the atmosphere. That’s why you’ve got to come at them hard. Make no mistake; we WILL be booed heartily when we return to Death Valley. They are NOT your friends. Leave the kids at home if it means having an outer-body experience which you’d rather the youngsters not see taking place. Get us this W. It’s that important. Johnny Manziel leads the SEC in rushing. He does this by turning on the jets on a few designed running plays and the rest he gets on scrambles. Defensively, you can’t rush him with your linemen and you can’t spy him. What exactly does that leave? Is he looking for a passing lane or a running lane? Can you really tell in the heat of the moment? Johnny came just 1 yard short of breaking the all-time single game Aggie Quarterback rushing record last week against La. Tech. It went down to the wire, right up until his backwards kneel-down that sealed the victory. That record I’m referring to is mine personally. I had 182 yards rushing against SMU in a game we won 37-21 after trailing 21-7 at halftime … 35 years ago. That’s a long time to hold a record. I have no doubt its days are numbered. The funny thing is, when we hired Coach Sumlin I assumed I’d have it for many more years. Here’s what NOBODY can get their head around when it comes to Johnny. Johnny doesn’t get it done by running the option. He doesn’t get it done by running the Zone Read, a play where you read the defensive end while you have the ball in the stomach of your running back crossing in front of you, determining the handoff or QB keep based on which way the defensive end goes. It’s the predominant play in high school and college football these days for teams running the Spread. We do none of that. And still. Johnny is phenomenal just the way he is, and I applaud the coaches for their professional discretion. They COULD be asking for more from Manziel but they don’t; all the more credit to them. Now, that’s coaching. The LSU coach says they have the fastest defense Johnny will ever see. I counter that Johnny has moves that even Johnny hasn’t invented yet. Post-Game Read for Louisiana State The highlights? First downs were won by the Aggies 26-18. Third down efficiency was 6/16 for the Aggies compared to LSU’s 2/16. Total yards were 410 for the Aggies and 316 for LSU. Penalties were 6/65 for the Aggies and 13/102 for the Tigers. That’s just for hullabaloo sake. The Bugaboo starts here. Aggies: 4.7 yards per pass attempt. Aggies: 3.5 yards per running attempt. Aggies: 3 interceptions (sound familiar?). Aggies: 2 lost fumbles. Tigers: 2/2 on fourth down conversions. The rest of the story? The Tigers used two turnovers late in the second quarter to turn the momentum after falling behind 12-0. Redshirt Freshman phenom Johnny Manziel’s first interception set up Michael Ford’s 20-yard touchdown run to make it 12-7 and, after a Ben Malena fumble, Zach Mettenberger hit Kadron Boone versus Man coverage for a 29-yard touchdown play to give LSU a 14-12 lead with only 11 seconds left in the half. Déjà vu had busted the Aggies right square in the chops out of nowhere. Aggies traditionally don’t do so well after surrendering double-digit leads. In fact, once one is attained, that’s when things get worrisome for the Maroon and White. For many in the crowd of 87,429, it would only be a matter of watching the clock tick down to nothing and then heading out. We’ve all been here before. With the victory the Tigers improved to 2-7-1 all-time in College Station, posting their first win at Kyle Field since 1987. LSU also improved to 31-2 under coach Les Miles when it has a 100-yard rusher (freshman Jeremy Hill: 18 carries for 127 yards and one score.) A missed extra-point and two missed field goals could have been the difference, but there’s no guarantee the Aggies would have scored their final touchdown since LSU went to a soft prevent defense in a two-score game. Otherwise, they may not have done so. Now we do what we must do; clear our heads, regroup and get ready for three road games in a row. I mentioned in one of my earlier posts that A&M hasn’t played three in a row on the road since 1979. That season the Ags opened in Houston to play BYU and then traveled the next four weekends. In 1977, my final season with the Aggies, we had five straight games on the road, winning four. Two of the teams we played back-to-back were ranked; Texas Tech and Michigan, respectively. The only team to win three consecutive games on the road in the modern era was the 1975 team, which beat three unranked opponents. A&M’s first visit to Jordan-Hare Stadium should mark Coach Sumlin’s 10th straight win on the road including his last season with Houston. With a streak going like this, maybe we CAN be the first team in 37 years to win three straight on the road. Now THAT would p**s them off. Post-Game Read for Auburn As I’ve watched the Aggies progress this season, it has become obvious that the Zone Read is a perfect complement to the rest of their offensive system. In Johnny Manziel, they certainly have a quarterback with amazing speed, elusiveness and agility. His passing ability is unquestioned and he is like a cottontail rabbit back in the pocket. A pack of wolves would probably wear itself out chasing him down. I have continuously praised this Texas A&M staff for bringing the offense along with Johnny, and never imposing the opposite. When you force a quarterback into doing something he isn’t comfortable with, you steal his confidence, slowly but surely. “Triple option” coaches did this to many high school and college quarterbacks, because it was the “next hot thing” during their eras. This stubborn persistence in force-feeding uncomfortable offensive schemes contributed immensely to Texas A&M University losing real shots at national championships in the 70’s. I would assume ours isn’t the only case study you could find regarding this subject. Now we have a head coach who is playing his own game in the development department. He isn’t the kind to walk on the field and say to his starter, “Hey, let’s see if you can do this,” and after a couple of unstable repetitions say, “Wow, you look great! Okay guys, here’s what we’re doing from now on.” Nope, Coach Sumlin has known all along what the ultimate plan was and when to spring it. Now, Aggies everywhere will be flipping out when they see what the TOTAL PACKAGE with Johnny Football will look like. This isn’t your father’s Aggie football anymore. Any time you’re reading a defensive player to decide whether to hand the ball off to your back or keep it yourself, there are distinct possibilities the ball will end up on the ground, or the play will lose yardage due to a bad read. This was what old-timers once said about passing: “three things can happen and two of them are bad.” Well, phooey on that. We have watched the Aggies run 635 plays this season, give or take. Did you notice what happened on play number 608? Well, this is probably not quite enough information so I’ll give it to you straight, with a hint attached. It was Johnny Manziel’s final play of the night at Auburn. It was his 20-yard “dance in the Moonlight” that represented A&M’s seventh touchdown of the game coming with twelve minutes left in the third quarter. That’s right; this was Johnny Manziel’s first Zone Read of his college football career. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUcAEty1JMw&w=420&h=315] And then, just like that, he was gone; and with him the Zone Read. On this single play for an easy untouched 20-yard romp, we saw the bright, immediate future of Texas Aggies football. Sumlin’s Stun Gun Offense is all off the rack now, but we’ve only seen traces of what’s yet to come. Well played, Maroon and White. Well played. The amazing thing is that Johnny Manziel had already accumulated 773 rushing yards on 116 carries, a 6.7 average, before running a single Zone Read. This is because the Aggies have implemented several other designed running plays for his abilities; one is a sweet counter play where he shuffle-steps one way while his Pistol backfield mates lead him the other, as was the case on his 72-yard burst to clinch the La. Tech game. Let’s prorate Johnny’s performance from Saturday night and look at his numbers, had he finished the game. How does 636 yards sound, compared to 350? Yes, I know. Still, the offense collected 671 yards, a record amount for anyone playing against an Auburn team… ever. Overall the Aggies had eight scoring drives for touchdowns that each averaged 69 yards, 3 ½ minutes and 8.6 plays. That is moving right along. We’re third in the country (behind Air Force and Marshall) in third-down efficiency at 54.03%. Money. It will be another excellent test in Starkville for Johnny Football… and now a dose of “Zone Read” for the Bulldogs to concern themselves with. One play addition to the arsenal with Johnny Manziel around, even if it’s called only once every 600 plays or so, still equates to one huge headache for defensive coordinators from here on out. And with each of the A&M running backs having alternately big games, who do you key on? You’ve got the No. 3 guy in total offense back there with them. Finally, it’s mentally very difficult for a team that thought it was making huge strides to get completely horsewhipped like Mississippi State did last Saturday by the Tide. A team like this, you’ve got to kick ‘em when they’re down, like we did Auburn. We’re learning. Then we get ‘Bama. Post-Game Read for Mississippi State Speaking of continuously getting better, I get a chuckle occasionally from fans who assert the A&M coaching staff needs to reduce Johnny Manziel’s running and insist he stand in the pocket and deliver the football downfield. This primeval mindset reminds me of my first start for Texas A&M. It was long ago … in primeval times. I was a skinny 17 year-old kid starting my first college game just out of high school, when I ran with the ball 19 times in a 35-16 win over TCU at Amon Carter Stadium. It was the first win for the Ags over the Horned Frogs in five tries and evened our SWC record at 1-1. We were running the Wishbone for its devoted Father, coach Emory Bellard. For you who are not familiar with this formation, it was an option offense with a full-house backfield in which I faked to the fullback and zipped to the corner to isolate the defensive end, strong safety or cornerback for either a pitchout or a keeper. For those fans bent on reducing our offensive capabilities for the sake of protecting our quarterback, you can henceforth forget about it. Seriously. I don’t think the coaches have any more intention of restricting the talents and instincts of Johnny Manziel than they do of apologizing to “Old Army” fogies for wearing those cool jet-black uniforms last Saturday. In fact, those guys in the white Hail State jerseys who were honoring Jackie and their once-upon-a-time Independence Bowl victory were looking for some serious shelter immediately after the first couple of drives. The Aggies’ Stun Gun assault with its quick-witted sharpshooter at the helm has redefined football in the Lone Star state. Texas A&M can now be seen steamrolling talent-wise, recruiting-wise and P.R.-wise like never before as the Home of the 12th Man grows even more massive. As we once said as kids, “The one who laughs last, laughs loudest.” Now we even get to say it as adults. I’ve heard a little personal criticism on occasion about my fondness for Johnny Manziel as a quarterback, like, since the very first time I saw him play the game. I said then, even on a day when we didn’t come out the winner, he’s the best there’s ever been — at this university, anyway. I’ve noticed recently that the naysayers have somehow either vanished or are out in the fields somewhere hunting crows. Saban has a quarterback there, AJ McCarron, who already has one championship ring and has been in the Heisman conversation all season. He’s led the nation most of this season in passer rating. Right now McCarron is the third choice to win the Heisman behind favorite Collin Klein of Kansas State and Kenjon Barner of Oregon, the talented running back now making a big late push. McCarron led a beautiful game-winning drive in his first real test of the year to beat the Tigers 21-17 last Saturday. It was epic. Still hanging around in the Top 7 is the redshirt freshman phenom from Aggieland, Johnny Manziel. While Johnny Football is virtually destroying his Heisman Trophy competition statistically, his “freshman” status and playing for a school that only recently burst onto the national scene are preventing him from scrambling into this esteemed end zone as well. Unlike former counterparts of the system he amazingly runs so efficiently, Johnny has innate talents the others could only dream of possessing. Fortunately, in my estimation, Johnny will never be accused of being a product of the system. He creates astonishingly within the system, an ability which only a select few can boast about in such “Superman-like” fashion. In fact, the top two total offensive guys in the country just happen to play football ninety miles apart. They’re Texas A&M’s Manziel (383.2) and Baylor’s senior quarterback, Nick Florence (412.25). Florence is responsible for 95.2% of the Baylor quarterbacks’ passing and rushing attempts thus far this season, while Manziel has only 90.2% of the Aggies’. A similar percentage of plays for Johnny would place him at 404.4 yards per game. Regardless, this dude can go. These are all you need to see, defensively. The Aggies have soared high above expectations both offensively and defensively in its previous two SEC road games. Should we win, it will be our first sweep of a three-game road trip since 1975 when the Aggies had its all-time best defense. Ours this season isn’t No. 1 but it’s certainly going to fight you tooth and nail to the very end. They also got the big turnover last Saturday to quell any hopes of a comeback by Mississippi State. That play was big. When it’s all said and done, I’m very much looking forward to seeing who’s wearing the smiley face after this showdown is completed. Next Up: Alabama and the Run for the Heisman |
David Walker
College football's youngest starting QB and Aggie great, the first 4-year starting QB ever at Texas A&M. Archives
September 2013
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