Courtesy of the BCS Eagle
By DAVID HARRIS
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S.Villanueva
Texas A&M's Jonathan Stewart (11) celebrates with his teammates Saturday after defeating Northwestern 33-22 at the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Houston.
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S.Villanueva
An Aggie fan holds a sign in honor of Joey Villavisencio, the Texas A&M player killed in a December car accident.
HOUSTON -- It took 10 years, three head coaches, 60 losses and five post-season defeats, but finally Texas A&M claimed victory in a bowl game, bidding adieu to the Big 12 and the Mike Sherman era in the process.
Under interim coach Tim DeRuyter, A&M (7-6) defeated Northwestern (6-7) 33-22 in the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas in Reliant Stadium -- just a short jog from the Astrodome, where the 2001 version of the Aggies throttled TCU 28-9 in the galleryfurniture.com Bowl for the Aggies' last post-season win.
A game pitting two .500 squads took on all kinds of meaning for the Aggies. Since the team lost to arch-rival Texas on Thanksgiving night, its head coach has been fired and a teammate has been lost.
Wearing "67 Joey V" decals on their helmets in memory of fallen offensive lineman Joseph Villavisencio, the Aggies played with a sense of purpose in erasing a 7-3 deficit with 27 unanswered points in front of 68,395 fans.
Despite the absence of leading-rusher Cyrus Gray -- who sat out his second consecutive game with a shoulder injury -- A&M controlled the game up front and Gray replacement Ben Malena reaped the benefits. He finished the game with 77 yards and two touchdowns.
Senior stalwarts Ryan Tannehill and Jeff Fuller connected on a 26-yard touchdown in the second quarter, a 38-yard bomb in the third and iced it with a 29-yard completion down the left sideline as the Aggies attempted to stretch the field from the get-go.
Tannehill capped his Aggie career with 329 yards throwing to go along with a touchdown.
The Aggies now look forward with optimism to a new era under Kevin Sumlin. The team will begin play in the Southeastern Conference on Sept. 8 when Florida travels to Kyle Field.
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