Texas crushes rival Texas A&M

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Posted 5:46PM on Friday, November 29, 2002

AUSTIN, TEXAS - Texas A&M coach R.C. Slocum has heard the drumbeat to fire him all season. Losing big to rival Texas won't calm things down. The 10th-ranked Longhorns rolled to a 50-20 victory Friday in a game of redemption for quarterback Chris Simms that raised even more questions about Slocum's future with the Aggies. While Simms was passing for 278 yards and three touchdowns, Slocum had to be wondering if his 14-year tenure at A&M will soon end. ``Anytime you lose a game by that score it stinks,'' Slocum said. The Aggies committed a season-high six turnovers in the 109th meeting in the rivalry. Slocum's 123 wins are the most in school history but the Aggies (6-6, 3-5 Big 12) are just 29-23 over the last four years. They finished with their first losing season in league play since 1984 and the days of the old Southwest Conference. Slocum has said he won't quit. University president Robert Gates gave Slocum a vote of confidence last month but left his future in the hands of a new athletic director to be hired later. ``I'm disappointed - and that's as mild as I can put it - about this season,'' Slocum said, ``and I look forward to going back to work. ``There is no question in my mind about my intent to coach the team in a bowl game, or my intent to coach the team next season or for many seasons to come.'' Slocum and the Aggies had a tough week, having to play Texas just four days after freshman defensive tackle Brandon Fails died suddenly in his dorm. Fails' was to be buried Saturday and his teammates wore stickers with his No. 89 on their helmets. ``Without a doubt, we had a major distraction with a young man's death,'' Slocum said. ``I wouldn't want in any way to somehow attribute this loss to losing this player. That wouldn't be fair to his family.'' When Simms came to Texas (10-2, 6-2) in 1999 he brought with him expectations of Big 12 and national titles and even a Heisman Trophy. He will end his career without any of those. Instead, Simms and Texas will have to be satisfied with doing something no Texas quarterback had done in 55 years: leading the Longhorns to three straight victories over the Aggies. Simms, 3-1 in his career against the Aggies, is the first Texas quarterback to win three in a row over A&M since Bobby Layne in the 1940s. He made his final home game, in front of 83,711 at Royal-Memorial Stadium, a memorable one. He'll leave Texas 15-0 as a starter at home. ``I know everybody back home in New Jersey was watching,'' said Simms, whose father, Phil, helped the New York Giants win the 1987 Super Bowl. ``I had to put that last one good showing on TV. It's tough to explain - I almost started crying before the game when I had to hug my mom, but it ended up being a great day.'' Simms had to answer to his own critics, even during a season in which he passed for a school-record 24 touchdowns and 2,938 yards, second best in school history. ``He's meant a lot to this program,'' Texas coach Mack Brown said. ``He took a lot of undue criticism, but his standards were different than others.'' Texas broke open a tight game with 27 straight points in the second half. Roy Williams caught touchdown passes of 75 and 38 yards from Simms, Michael Huff returned an interception 28 yards for a TD, and Nathan Vasher went 60 yards with a punt return to score. The Aggies couldn't recover from the turnovers, including four by quarterback Dustin Long that led to 16 points for Texas. Texas led 9-0 in the first quarter after the Aggies turned the ball over on their first three possessions. Dusty Mangum kicked field goals of 37, 41 and 28 yards. Simms cranked it up in the second. B.J. Johnson took a short pass on a crossing route, broke Byron Jones' tackle and raced 44 yards for a touchdown. After forcing a punt on A&M's next possession, Texas needed just one more play to find the end zone again. Williams burned Jones on a slant, hauled in Simms' pass on his hip and coasted in for the 75-yard score. Simms connected with Williams again in the fourth on a perfect strike into the end zone after another Aggies turnover. Williams finished with 149 yards on six catches. The junior said he'll wait until after Texas' bowl game to announce whether he'll leave early for the NFL.