The last time I watched an Aggie football game in Kyle Field, I'm almost positive the head coach was R.C. Slocum and Kevin Sumlin was his offensive coordinator. The game would have been played in early 2002; it was a non-conference game against a mediocre small-college opponent. I don't remember who A&M played or the score, but I distinctly remember that the offense was more impressive than most Aggie offenses had been to that point, and the name Kevin Sumlin kept coming up as the man responsible for the improvement. I may be mistaken, but I'm almost positive I'm not.
I've been trying to jog my memory about that game because next Saturday I'll be making my once-a-decade visit to Kyle Field to watch A&M against their former SWC and current SEC adversary, the Arkansas Razorbacks. The Aggies are favored by 13.5 points, which is a little stunning -- I would've predicted a two touchdown Arkansas win as recently as last month. TAMU has lost three straight to UA, and if I'm going to spend roughly four hours in the September heat, my effort should be rewarded with an Aggie win, shouldn't it?
Added 1:58 PM, Thursday:
College Football News predicts the score: Aggies win 34-27.
And the Weather Channel predicts the forecast: 76 degrees, 80 percent chance of rain.
Added 5:00 PM, Saturday:
Final score: Aggies 58, Arkansas 10.
Since graduation, I've seen an Aggie football game at Kyle Field about once every decade, and today I saw my second one in the 21st century. What I know tonight is that Arkansas is better than Southern Methodist and South Carolina State, and Texas A&M is better than all three of them. The Razorbacks kept me on the edge of my seat the whole first quarter and most of the second. The Aggies pulled ahead, leading 27-10 at halftime; still, after last year, I wasn't comfortable even then. But the Aggies were able to convert turnovers into instant touchdowns, and that turned a suspenseful game into a blowout.
This was a day when at least twenty or thirty things could've gone wrong, and none of them did. Sometimes I have a day when nearly everything goes the way I want it to, and those days offset the ones when things turn to shit.
Added 9:06 AM, Sunday: Some final thoughts regarding the Arkansas game.
Some things never seem to change. The Corps marching past the reviewing stand and the band's halftime performance made me nostalgic for the 1960s. The Corps uniforms haven't changed much since 1968, but the people wearing them have. I saw at least one female CO leading an outfit that included both young men and women, and several women in senior boots marching in the band. The yells and sawing varsity's horns off brought back memories, but Kyle Field itself has changed since my last visit... and it seemed like beautiful young women in tight shorts and tee shirts were everywhere I looked in a crowd of about 86,000 people. To sum up, it was like nothing had changed and everything had changed. Weird.
I've been trying to jog my memory about that game because next Saturday I'll be making my once-a-decade visit to Kyle Field to watch A&M against their former SWC and current SEC adversary, the Arkansas Razorbacks. The Aggies are favored by 13.5 points, which is a little stunning -- I would've predicted a two touchdown Arkansas win as recently as last month. TAMU has lost three straight to UA, and if I'm going to spend roughly four hours in the September heat, my effort should be rewarded with an Aggie win, shouldn't it?
Added 1:58 PM, Thursday:
College Football News predicts the score: Aggies win 34-27.
And the Weather Channel predicts the forecast: 76 degrees, 80 percent chance of rain.
Added 5:00 PM, Saturday:
Final score: Aggies 58, Arkansas 10.
Since graduation, I've seen an Aggie football game at Kyle Field about once every decade, and today I saw my second one in the 21st century. What I know tonight is that Arkansas is better than Southern Methodist and South Carolina State, and Texas A&M is better than all three of them. The Razorbacks kept me on the edge of my seat the whole first quarter and most of the second. The Aggies pulled ahead, leading 27-10 at halftime; still, after last year, I wasn't comfortable even then. But the Aggies were able to convert turnovers into instant touchdowns, and that turned a suspenseful game into a blowout.
This was a day when at least twenty or thirty things could've gone wrong, and none of them did. Sometimes I have a day when nearly everything goes the way I want it to, and those days offset the ones when things turn to shit.
Added 9:06 AM, Sunday: Some final thoughts regarding the Arkansas game.
Some things never seem to change. The Corps marching past the reviewing stand and the band's halftime performance made me nostalgic for the 1960s. The Corps uniforms haven't changed much since 1968, but the people wearing them have. I saw at least one female CO leading an outfit that included both young men and women, and several women in senior boots marching in the band. The yells and sawing varsity's horns off brought back memories, but Kyle Field itself has changed since my last visit... and it seemed like beautiful young women in tight shorts and tee shirts were everywhere I looked in a crowd of about 86,000 people. To sum up, it was like nothing had changed and everything had changed. Weird.
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