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A&M
Interceptions Flatten Horned Frogs
 By
MICHAEL A. LUTZ
AP Sports Writer
HOUSTON (AP) � Not a bad way to begin a career.
Freshman Byron Jones intercepted three passes
in his first start, and Joe Weber scored two touchdowns, helping Texas A&M
end a four-game bowl losing streak with a 28-9 victory over Texas Christian
in the Galleryfurniture.com Bowl on Friday.
Jones, one of five freshmen in the lineup,
helped the Aggies beat their
former Southwest Conference rivals for the 24th straight time. He had to
fight off the flu to do his job.
``I really think it was just a bit of
nervousness,'' Jones said. ``I woke up this morning and my stomach was
queasy. But the doctors took care of me, and I played pretty well.''
Texas A&M coach R.C. Slocum was concerned
before the game.
``Some of our players had a bug this morning,''
Slocum said. ``Byron didn't look very good so the doctors gave him some
medicine. I want to find out what kind of medication it was or what the bug
was because he played a spectacular game.''
A&M won a bowl game for the first time since a
22-20 victory over Michigan in the 1995 Alamo Bowl.
``It was fun to finally win a bowl,'' Slocum
said. ``But I haven't beat myself up personally about it. Sometimes we were
just playing one of the best teams in the nation and we just weren't good
enough to win. Today, the better team won the game.''
The Aggies ended the season 8-4 after losing
their final three regular-season games. The Horned Frogs (6-6) haven't
beaten the Aggies since 1972, and trail the series 56-29-7.
Weber, voted offensive player of the game,
broke a 7-7 second-quarter tie with a 2-yard touchdown run and added a
14-yard run that put the Aggies in control with 1:14 left in the third
quarter.
TCU's Casey Painters was intercepted four
times, including the first three of Jones' career.
Aggies safety Wes Bautovich got A&M's fourth
interception. On the very next play, Mark Farris hit Mickey Jones for an
82-yard touchdown pass and a 28-7 lead with 14:40 left in the game.
Weber broke straight up the middle on his
second touchdown, knocking aside two tacklers and running into the end zone.
He finished with 59 yards on nine carries.
Jones was the game's MVP and also was the
defensive player of the game. He had three tackles and ran back his
interceptions a total of 77 yards.
Jones, wide receiver Terrence Thomas and tight
end Thomas Carriger � all freshmen � helped the Aggies to a 14-7 halftime
lead.
Starting in place of the injured Sean Weston,
Jones had only two broken-up passes on his defensive chart in 11 games
before he returned his first interception 62 yards in the first quarter to
the Frogs' 35.
The Aggies couldn't score on that chance, but
Jones had a 15-yard interception return to TCU's 1-yard line in the second
quarter, setting up Farris' quarterback keeper for the score.
Charlie Owens scooped up a fumble by A&M
running back Derek Farmer and returned it 89 yards for a TCU touchdown with
four minutes left in the half, tying the game 7-7. It was the second-longest
fumble return in school history.
``We felt like we had the momentum after the
touchdown,'' Owens said. ``Then they got a couple of turnovers, and the
momentum changed.''
Thomas returned the ensuing kickoff 43 yards,
and Carriger, a converted defensive lineman, lumbered 19 yards with his
second reception of the season to set up Weber's 2-yard touchdown run with
1:06 left in the half.
``We played a heck of a defensive game,'' TCU
linebacker LaMarcus McDonald said. ``It's not like they showed us anything
new. We've been practicing against that stuff for two weeks. Nothing
surprised us. It was the little things that hurt us.''
The loss by the Horned Frogs, coupled with East
Carolina's double-overtime defeat at the hands of MAC foe Marshall in the
GMAC Bowl on December 19, dropped Conference USA to 0-2 in the post-season,
with two bowl appearances by league teams still to be played.
Cincinnati faces another MAC member, Toledo, in
today's Motor City Bowl, while C-USA champion Louisville will battle Brigham
Young, the Mountain West kingpin, in the Liberty Bowl on New Year's Eve.
AP-NY-12-28-01 1812EST
Copyright 2001
Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Bonesville.net contributed to this
report.
02/23/2007 10:47:48 AM
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