NCAAF 1 2 3 4 OT OT F
- - - - -- -- --
Kansas St (1) 10 7 10 0 3 3 33
Texas A&m (10) 0 6 6 15 3 6 36 FINAL
Kansas St-FG Gramatica 47
Kansas St-Swift 16 pass from Bishop (Gramatica kick)
Texas A&m-FG Bynum 25
Kansas St-Mcdonald 66 pass from Bishop (Gramatica kick)
Texas A&m-FG Bynum 26
Texas A&m-Toombs 2 run (two-point conversion failed)
Kansas St-FG Gramatica 45
Kansas St-Bishop 5 run (Gramatica kick)
Texas A&m-Hodge 13 pass from Stewart (Bynum kick)
Texas A&m-Parker 9 pass from Stewart (Parker reception for
two-point conversion)
Texas A&m-FG Bynum 18
Kansas St-FG Gramatica 22
Kansas St-FG Gramatica 25
Texas A&m-Parker 32 pass from Stewart
Kansas St Texas A&m
First downs 23 25
Rushed-yards 48-178 41-128
Passing yards 341 324
Sacked-yards lost 2-26 5-25
Return yards 18 10
Passes 19-28-1 15-31-1
Punts 2-41.5 3-45.3
Fumbles-lost 5-2 1-1
Penalties-yards 13-110 7-51
Time of possession 31:44 28:16
Individual Statistics
RUSHING: Kansas St-Bishop 28-101, Hickson 16-55, Lockett 1-12,
Allen 2-6, Murphy 1-4. Texas A&m-Hall 27-113, Parker 3-30,
Toombs 5-9, Stewart 6-minus 24.
PASSING: Kansas St-Bishop 19-28-1-341. Texas A&m-Stewart
15-31-1-324.
RECEIVING: Kansas St-Mcdonald 6-140, Swift 6-81, Lockett 3-32,
Hickson 2-29, Burnett 1-54, Goolsby 1-5. Texas A&m-Taylor 4-99,
Spiller 4-92, Parker 3-49, Bumgardner 1-36, Cole 1-31, Hodge
1-13, Brinkley 1-4.
Att: 60,798
Game Story
ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- Texas A&M has turned the race for the
national championship into a free-for-all.
Branndon Stewart connected with running back Sirr Parker on a
32-yard touchdown pass in the second overtime to lift the
10th-ranked Aggies to a shocking 36-33 victory over No. 1 Kansas
State in the Big 12 Conference championship game.
Kansas State blew the chance for a shot in the national
championship game created when, just hours before, UCLA fell at
Miami. The Wildcats (11-1) had been third in the Bowl
Championship Series (BCS) standings, and the top two teams in
those rankings play in the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona on January
4th.
"It's very evident that we are tremendously disappointed," said
Kansas State coach Bill Snyder. "This is a big hurt for our
coaches, players and fans. I have so much pride in the players
and fans, I have so much pride in these players. This may be
the most difficult thing to happen in their young lives that
they have been forced to handle."
Martin Gramatica connected on a 25-yard field to begin the
second overtime and give Kansas State a 33-30 lead. The Aggies
proceeded to lose two yards on their first play of the ensuing
possession and were faced with a 3rd-and-17 after a penalty. But
Stewart threw a slant pass to Parker, who shook off Luke Butler,
beat Lamar Chapman and raced to the right corner of the end
zone, barely crossing the goal line with the football for the
winning score.
"We were trying to get in field-goal range," Parker said about
the final play. "The play was in motion for me out of the
backfield. I was supposed to have one-on-one coverage with me
and the safety, but the corner came over and played me and he
was much smaller than the safety. Once I caught the slant, I
felt him fall off may back and I saw I had one man to beat, so I
ran for the end zone. I did not know if I was in or not, but I
saw the ref come up with his hands and then I went to celebrate
with the Corps."
"I said all year that this team was a special team," Texas A&M
coach R.C. Slocum said. "Ever since early in the season, we
have had a lot of adversity. The players never wavered and they
got closer together. This has been one of the easiest teams I
have ever coached in terms of managing themselves. It has been
a very unselfish team."
Stewart also threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes for Texas
A&M (11-2), which rallied from a 15-point deficit in the final
9:20 of regulation. The Aggies, who won their first league
crown since claiming the old Southwest Conference title in 1993,
will play in either the Sugar Bowl on New Year's night or the
Orange Bowl the next evening as Big 12 champions.
Kansas State (11-1), which 10 years ago was 0-11, had its
19-game winning streak snapped and failed in its attempt for its
first conference title since claiming the Big Six championship
in 1934.
"We made some key plays and didn't give up," said Wildcats
quarterback Michael Bishop. "It's hard to fight hard all year
and have it come to what it did. When we heard the UCLA score,
we just held one goal in mind. We had to finish the game and
come out on top. It's a sick feeling. I feel terrible about
the situation, but we can't led that control what we do for the
rest of the season and how we get ready for a bowl game."
Texas A&M trailed 27-12 entering the fourth quarter but cut into
the deficit 5:40 into the period when Stewart hit Leroy Hodge on
a 13-yard scoring strike. Down a touchdown and a two-point
conversion, the Aggies later began a drive from their own 10
with 5:58 to play and immediately moved 76 yards in four plays
to the Kansas State 14. But Stewart was sacked for a 10-yard
loss and the drive stalled.
Kansas State took control with 3:26 to play, hoping to run out
the clock. But on the second play, Bishop was hit by Warrick
Holdman, fumbled, and linebacker Cornelius Anthony recovered at
the Wildcats 35.
Following an offensive pass interference call, Stewart hooked up
with Chris Taylor for a 36-yard gain to the 14 and two plays
later hit Parker on a slant for a nine-yard TD. The Aggies
called timeout and on the two-point conversion play, Stewart
lofted a floater to the right side that Parker caught two yards
into the end zone for the tie.
Stewart, who completed 15-of-31 passes for 324 yards -- the
third-best single-game total in school history, was playing
because on Wednesday the Aggies learned that starter Randy
McCown broke his collarbone in last weekend's loss to Texas.
Stewart completed just 4-of-11 passes for 89 yards and one
interception in the first three quarters but was 9-of-16 for 185
yards and two scores in the fourth.
"I can't recall being this excited about a football game before
the game," said Stewart. "I felt fortunate to play again,
especially a game like this. It's just a great finale to our
great Big 12 season.
"For some reason, I thought Branndon was going to have a good
game tonight," added Slocum. "He had confidence this week and
has been relaxed in practice. Branndon was disappointed about
Randy McCown not playing, but he was excited about this
opportunity to play. I am extremely pleased with his
performance."
Stewart began his career at Tennessee, but transfered to Texas
A&M when it became apparent Peyton Manning was the Volunteers'
future at quarterback. He struggled for two seasons and
eventually yielded the starting job to McCown this season, but
played the best game of his career in the biggest spot.
The Wildcats began the final drive of regulation on their own 19
with 59 seconds left and moved into Texas A&M territory. With
three seconds remaining, Kansas State let Gramatica line up for
a 69-yard field goal, but a delay-of-game penalty prevented the
try. Instead, Bishop lofted a "Hail Mary" pass that Aaron
Lockett hauled in at the 1, but was tackled.
Kansas State won the overtime coin toss and elected to play
defense. The Aggies moved inside the 1 but on fourth down
settled for Russell Bynum's 18-yard field goal. Kansas State
picked up 21 yards on three plays on its possession and forced a
30-30 deadlock when Gramatica connected on a 22-yarder.
Texas A&M's rally from 15 points down to a victory matches the
biggest comeback in school history. It equals the 15-point
comeback against Oklahoma State in 1997, a 28-25 overtime
victory.
"We never felt the game slipping away," said Wildcats linebacker
Jeff Kelly. "Their running attack just came out and ran basic
plays. They came right out and hit you. It's not a surprise
how he (Stewart) played. He came out and just made the plays."
Bishop was 19-of-28 for 341 yards with two TDs and one
interception while adding 101 yards on 28 attempts. Darnell
McDonald hauled in six passes for 140 yards and Justin Swift
racked up 81 yards on six receptions.
Kansas State jumped out to a 10-0 first-quarter lead on a
47-yard field goal by Gramatica and Bishop's 16-yard TD toss to
tight end Justin Swift.
Bynum kicked two field goals in the second quarter, converting
from 25 yards early in the period and 26 yards with 4:16 to play
in the half. But Bishop and Darnell McDonald hooked up on a
66-yard scoring bomb in between as Kansas State went to the
locker room with a 17-6 advantage.
Ja'Mar Toombs' two-yard TD run midway through the third quarter,
despite a failed two-point conversion, brought the Aggies within
17-12. But Gramatica connected from 45 yards and Bishop scored
on a five-yard run as the Wildcats built their advantage to
27-12 entering the final 15 minutes.
"I told some of the young guys after the game to remember what
this feels like and what it took to win all the games we played
this year," said Aggies tight end Daniel Campbell. "I think
this year was a pretty good start towards a dynasty. I think
this was a really special team and a really special group."
Dante Hall carried 27 times for 113 yards for Texas A&M, while
Taylor and tight end Derrick Spiller caught four passes apiece
for 99 and 92 yards, respectively.
Texas A&M star linebacker Dat Nguyen (pronounced Win) broke the
Big 12 championship game record with 17 tackles. The previous
record of 14 was held by Texas linebacker Dusty Renfro against
Nebraska in 1996.
