By Austin Meek
Published: Thursday, November 17, 2011
Updated: Thursday, November 17, 2011 22:11
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| Chris Neal — UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAS |
After the 53-50 quadruple overtime defeat in Manhattan, Kan.,
junior linebacker Jonathan Stewart said in the following Monday's press
conference that he and the Texas A&M football team are relishing
the opportunity to come back home.
"We know that we have to bounce back," Stewart said. "We have two games left here at Kyle Field with this senior class and we didn't win as many games as expected but we want to win the last two and have some momentum and hopefully get to a bowl game."
A win over Kansas on Saturday would ensure the Aggies of a 33rd trip to a bowl. Although many pundits predicted in the preseason that A&M would get a BCS berth, five losses relegated A&M to more modest prospects.
Senior quarterback Ryan Tannehill said while the season hasn't met expectations, the team can still succeed moving forward.
"You can't do anything about what's past," Tannehill said. "But I feel like if we can make the best of what we have left and win our next games then yeah, we've done a great job of fighting adversity and getting better and keeping going until the end."
Senior running back Cyrus Gray leads a rushing attack that averages 221.6 yards per game, good for 16th in the nation. The offensive line has given up only seven sacks on the season, the country's 12th-lowest tally.
"There's a lot of things we've done well this year," head coach Mike Sherman said. "We've run the ball well, we have good balance, we've pass protected well. It's the best I've been around, ever, in pass protection. But we just better find a way to win a football game."
The Aggies have a golden opportunity to rebound this weekend in their first game back at Kyle Field in November. The visiting Kansas Jayhawks are 2-8 on the season and are winless in Big 12 play, but senior safety Trent Hunter said that means the Aggies will have to be on upset alert more than ever.
"They're gonna be hungry," Hunter said. "They have a lot of heat on their back. We think we have it bad losing three or four games in the conference, they've lost every conference game yet so they're gonna be hungry. They're gonna want it as much as anybody at this point."
The Jayhawks have looked better in recent weeks, losing their last two games by a total of four points. They nearly upset Baylor last weekend, but eventually fell 31-30 in overtime.
"In the last two weeks they've really played their best football of the year," Sherman said. "They've made some transitions and played a couple younger guys on defense that seems to really help them."
A strong ground game allows the Jayhawks to control the ball and the clock. Led by quarterback Jordan Webb, they've maintained possession an average of 30:33 minutes per game, good for third in the Big 12.
"I've watched him numerous times this season," Sherman said. "He's a smooth quarterback. He can run it. He can throw it. I really like his skill level."
The Aggies are a middling 5-5 on the season and have dropped three in a row. Kansas hasn't won a game since Sept. 10. Hunter said these two teams will put it all out on the line Saturday morning.
"It's like the old saying, 'You back a dog into a corner and it'll come out fighting,'" Hunter said. "You back somebody up into a corner and they're gonna be willing to fight. That's what it's gonna be this weekend, a fight."
"We know that we have to bounce back," Stewart said. "We have two games left here at Kyle Field with this senior class and we didn't win as many games as expected but we want to win the last two and have some momentum and hopefully get to a bowl game."
A win over Kansas on Saturday would ensure the Aggies of a 33rd trip to a bowl. Although many pundits predicted in the preseason that A&M would get a BCS berth, five losses relegated A&M to more modest prospects.
Senior quarterback Ryan Tannehill said while the season hasn't met expectations, the team can still succeed moving forward.
"You can't do anything about what's past," Tannehill said. "But I feel like if we can make the best of what we have left and win our next games then yeah, we've done a great job of fighting adversity and getting better and keeping going until the end."
Senior running back Cyrus Gray leads a rushing attack that averages 221.6 yards per game, good for 16th in the nation. The offensive line has given up only seven sacks on the season, the country's 12th-lowest tally.
"There's a lot of things we've done well this year," head coach Mike Sherman said. "We've run the ball well, we have good balance, we've pass protected well. It's the best I've been around, ever, in pass protection. But we just better find a way to win a football game."
The Aggies have a golden opportunity to rebound this weekend in their first game back at Kyle Field in November. The visiting Kansas Jayhawks are 2-8 on the season and are winless in Big 12 play, but senior safety Trent Hunter said that means the Aggies will have to be on upset alert more than ever.
"They're gonna be hungry," Hunter said. "They have a lot of heat on their back. We think we have it bad losing three or four games in the conference, they've lost every conference game yet so they're gonna be hungry. They're gonna want it as much as anybody at this point."
The Jayhawks have looked better in recent weeks, losing their last two games by a total of four points. They nearly upset Baylor last weekend, but eventually fell 31-30 in overtime.
"In the last two weeks they've really played their best football of the year," Sherman said. "They've made some transitions and played a couple younger guys on defense that seems to really help them."
A strong ground game allows the Jayhawks to control the ball and the clock. Led by quarterback Jordan Webb, they've maintained possession an average of 30:33 minutes per game, good for third in the Big 12.
"I've watched him numerous times this season," Sherman said. "He's a smooth quarterback. He can run it. He can throw it. I really like his skill level."
The Aggies are a middling 5-5 on the season and have dropped three in a row. Kansas hasn't won a game since Sept. 10. Hunter said these two teams will put it all out on the line Saturday morning.
"It's like the old saying, 'You back a dog into a corner and it'll come out fighting,'" Hunter said. "You back somebody up into a corner and they're gonna be willing to fight. That's what it's gonna be this weekend, a fight."
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