Texas Tech Shocks No. 5 A&M
Who, No. 5 Texas A&M might ask, is Sammy Morris.
For the record, he's a reserve running back with little action since 1996 because of academic problems. On Saturday, he was a Ricky Williams lookalike, running for 170 yards in pacing Texas Tech to an improbably 21-19 upset of the Aggies.
"Coach told me to be prepared to get a lot of carries," Morris said while watching students tear down the goal posts. "I was getting a lot of reps in practice but I didn't think I would get that many carries (33)."
Morris wasn't even mentioned by coach Spike Dykes in the week leading up the game as a possible replacement for Williams, who is out for the year with a knee injury after running for 1,582 yards last season.
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Down 21-10 at the half, Texas A&M (3-1 overall, 0-1 Big 12) inched back on the foot of Terence Kitchens, whose four field goals included two in the third quarter and another with 8:15 to play.
With the Aggies again driving and needing only a field goal, Tech's Dorian Pitts sacked quarterback Randy McCown, whose pass on the next play was intercepted by Antwan Alexander with 1:28 to play.
"Tech's defense did a great job of holding us out of range," McCown said. "It definitely hurts, but we've got to bounce back. This is just a reality check."
The Aggies dominated early.
Kitchens' 36-yard field goal five minutes into the game gave the Aggies a 3-0 lead. Josh Page blocked a punt and Jay Brooks returned it nine yards for a TD as A&M built the lead to 10-0 with 5:52 left in the quarter.
Any idea that a rout was imminent ended when Tech (2-2, 1-0) struck for three touchdowns. The Red Raiders moved 46 yards in six plays for their first score, on Rob Peters' 15-yard pass to Tim Baker with 12:18 left in the half.
Tech forced a punt, then went 52 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. Morris' 29-yard run on a draw play set up his 2-yard TD run with 9:48 left in the half.
After Kitchens missed a field goal attempt for the Aggies, Tech went 52 yards for yet another touchdown, the score coming on Peters' 9-yard pass to Darrell Jones with 25 seconds left in the half. Morris' 31-yard dash highlighted the drive that gave Tech a 21-10 halftime lead.
Texas Tech's victory, which comes after a 21-14 loss to lowly North Texas, isn't the first shocker in the series. Tech won 14-7 in 1995 when Texas A&M was ranked eighth and 16-13 in 1997 when the Aggies were 20th.
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