Wed, Nov 23, 2005
After injuring his left ankle last week against Oklahoma, quarterback Reggie McNeal will get the start today against the No. 2 Texas Longhorns.
McNeal?s Texas A&M Aggies are 28-point home underdogs, bet up from an opening number of 23 ?. The total is set at 69.
Stephen McGee, a redshirt freshman, replaced McNeal last week, leading the Aggies on three scoring drives in the final quarter and a half. A&M lost 36-30 as 13-point road underdogs.
?This is the final game of the Aggies season,? says *********Steve Merrill. ?McNeal is a veteran senior, and was rated one of the top quarterbacks in the nation in preseason polls. This season has obviously not gone the way he or his team wanted.?
The Aggies are 5-5 straight up and 3-6 against the spread. A win would get the team into a bowl game, but they face an undefeated Longhorns squad that?s dropped the cash just once in 10 games.
?Usually, the way to look at a rivalry game like this is that anything can happen,? says Merrill. ?But Texas has just rolled over opponents this year. Realistically, this is the Aggies bowl game. They?ll put it all on the line.?
The Longhorns have won the last five meetings by an average of 23 points and eight of 10 overall. They also have a history of shutting down dual threat quarterbacks such as McNeal, limiting Missouri?s Brad Smith to just 238 total yards earlier this year.
?All the stats favor Texas, but the intangibles in this game definitely favor Texas A&M,? says Merrill. ?Sure, this is a rivalry game for Texas, too, but they could easily get caught looking ahead to the Big 12 title game or even the national championship game.
?The Longhorns struggled at Oklahoma State in a very similar situation.?
A week nine meeting with the Oklahoma State Cowboys remains the only game Texas has failed to cover all season. The Cowboys led 28-12 at the half, before the Longhorns ran off 35 unanswered points in the second half, failing to cover the lofty 37-point line.
McNeal is listed as probable today. He?s thrown for 1955 yard and 16 touchdowns this season, while running for three more.
After injuring his left ankle last week against Oklahoma, quarterback Reggie McNeal will get the start today against the No. 2 Texas Longhorns.
McNeal?s Texas A&M Aggies are 28-point home underdogs, bet up from an opening number of 23 ?. The total is set at 69.
Stephen McGee, a redshirt freshman, replaced McNeal last week, leading the Aggies on three scoring drives in the final quarter and a half. A&M lost 36-30 as 13-point road underdogs.
?This is the final game of the Aggies season,? says *********Steve Merrill. ?McNeal is a veteran senior, and was rated one of the top quarterbacks in the nation in preseason polls. This season has obviously not gone the way he or his team wanted.?
The Aggies are 5-5 straight up and 3-6 against the spread. A win would get the team into a bowl game, but they face an undefeated Longhorns squad that?s dropped the cash just once in 10 games.
?Usually, the way to look at a rivalry game like this is that anything can happen,? says Merrill. ?But Texas has just rolled over opponents this year. Realistically, this is the Aggies bowl game. They?ll put it all on the line.?
The Longhorns have won the last five meetings by an average of 23 points and eight of 10 overall. They also have a history of shutting down dual threat quarterbacks such as McNeal, limiting Missouri?s Brad Smith to just 238 total yards earlier this year.
?All the stats favor Texas, but the intangibles in this game definitely favor Texas A&M,? says Merrill. ?Sure, this is a rivalry game for Texas, too, but they could easily get caught looking ahead to the Big 12 title game or even the national championship game.
?The Longhorns struggled at Oklahoma State in a very similar situation.?
A week nine meeting with the Oklahoma State Cowboys remains the only game Texas has failed to cover all season. The Cowboys led 28-12 at the half, before the Longhorns ran off 35 unanswered points in the second half, failing to cover the lofty 37-point line.
McNeal is listed as probable today. He?s thrown for 1955 yard and 16 touchdowns this season, while running for three more.
