A&M blown away by ISU, 42-14

It was an atrocious game for Texas A&M. The only Big 12 team to never beat the Aggies did so in convincing fashion on Saturday, pounding Texas A&M 42-14 in front of a sold out crowed at Kyle Field. The win gave the Iowa State Cyclones their first ever victory over the Aggies.

Todd Blythe of Iowa State had a record-breaking day and was the name of the game for the Cyclones. The sophomore wide receiver had 8 receptions for 216 yards and 4 touchdowns, including the longest touchdown of the season for the Cyclones. Blythe and running back Stevie Hicks dominated the Texas A&M defense from start to finish.

Iowa State scored on their opening drive of the game, a 10-play, 80-yard drive, and never looked back. A&M had not trailed at halftime at home all year, but were down by 7 against the Cyclones heading into the locker room.

The Aggies were forced to punt on their first two drives, and never got into any groove afterwards. Texas A&M had 5 penalties for 45 yards in the first half.

Running back Courtney Lewis returned to the Aggie roster after having missed the past 3 games due to injury. Lewis rushed for 88 yards, including a 73-yard touchdown, the highlight of the game for A&M.

Third down conversions executed by Iowa State killed the Aggies. The Cyclones had 3 consecutive 3rd down conversions for touchdowns, and was 7 for 8 in conversions on third down in the second half, with each one going longer than 12 yards.

Aggie senior quarterback Reggie McNeal was sacked 4 times and struggled all day. McNeal threw two interceptions, one late in the third quarter, resulting in an ISU touchdown that put the Cyclones out of reach. The second was picked off in the Aggie endzone late in the fourth quarter.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Stephen McGee replaced McNeal in the remaining few minutes of the game, but the damage was done, and the position move was a futile one.

The struggling Aggies must regroup in a hurry. Texas A&M begins the toughest portion of their schedule next week when they travel to Lubbock to take on the Red Raiders. A&M then heads to Norman for a showdown with OU and closes the season against arch-rival Texas, the number one team in the country.


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