TEXAS A&M VS LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE: Sept. 16, 11 A.M. ESPNU Aggies look to build upon last week’s narrow victory By Heath Clary @Heath_Clary
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fter surviving last week’s 24-14 win over Nicholls State that was much closer than it should have been, Texas A&M is still searching for improvement before the start of SEC play next Saturday. The Aggies’ next opportunity to showcase that improvement comes with another home contest against a non-Power Five opponent as Louisiana-Lafayette comes to Kyle Field Saturday for an 11 a.m. kickoff. “I think our team mentally is in a pretty good place based on what’s happened to them the last couple of weeks,” head coach Kevin Sumlin said at Tuesday’s press conference. “Are we the team we want to be right now? Not yet. Were there some things we improved on? Yes. Do we have to get better? Yes.” The Ragin’ Cajuns (1-1) boast an explosive offense that has scored at least 42 points in each of its first two games. They defeated Southeastern
Louisiana in a 51-48 Week 1 shootout and fell to Tulsa 66-42 last Saturday. The Aggies, meanwhile, are still trying to find their way on offense. They shifted their offensive line alignment multiple times against the Colonels and Sumlin indicated they will run out a different starting five for the third time in as many games. “We’re just trying to find the best combination of starting five that will produce the best right now,” junior offensive lineman Conner Lanfear said. “It’s just business as usual.” And at quarterback it appears both Jake Hubenak and Kellen Mond will play Saturday against Louisiana. Mond started strong against Nicholls but then sputtered to a 12-for-21, 105-yard final line, while Hubenak came off the bench to lead A&M on two fourth-quarter scoring drives that ultimately were the difference in the game. “We’ve got to continue to develop both of them in my opinion, not just one guy,” Sumlin said of his two QBs. “Both guys need GAME PREVIEW ON PG. 2
Cristian Aguirre — THE BATTALION
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Texas A&M quarterback Brandon Stewart threw four interceptions in the Aggies 29-22 loss at Louisiana-Lafayette in 1996.
A ragin’ nightmare for Aggies in 1996 21 years ago, A&M lived through one of its worst football losses By Alex Miller @AlexMill20 Dave South knows how the game between Texas A&M and then Southwest Louisiana was supposed to go back in September 1996. “That was a game we weren’t supposed to lose,” South, the Aggies’ longtime radio announcer said. In fact, the then No. 25 Aggies, coming off a tough 41-37 loss to BYU, were expected to win by such a large margin the Cajuns’ radio announcers came by South’s booth before the game to give a mercy plea. “I remember their broadcasters came over to our booth and said, go easy on us tonight,” South said. It was the Aggies though who needed to be given a break, as the Cajuns forced eight turnovers, taking three back for touchdowns in a shocking 29-22 upset over A&M. “The biggest thing for the game was that we turned the ball over repeatedly,” Brad Marquardt, A&M associate director of media relations, said. “We killed ourselves.” The game had been marked on every Lafayette fan’s calendar, but was one no Cajun fan imagined winning. Don Allen, the radio
announcer who stopped by South’s booth before the game, said he would shave his head if the Cajuns lost. “You were driving and going, what have we gotten ourselves into here because their fans aren’t used to having a big-time Power Five school like A&M coming to their place,” Marquardt said. “You just wondered what we had gotten ourselves into. It looked like we were going into a snake pit and it turned out to be correct.” A&M, though, jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead after intercepting the first pass of the game. The Aggies lead would not last for long though, as the miscues began to come. Lafayette scored two touchdowns off turnovers to take a 14-7 lead in the first quarter. The first two fumbles were frustrating, as A&M drove to the Lafayette 8-yard line before coughing up the ball which resulted in a touchback. On the first play of the next drive, Sirr Parker dashed 65 yards into the red zone before being stripped of the ball, which was returned for a Cajun touchdown. After falling behind 21-7, the Aggies fumbled inside the Lafayette 10-yard line, missing another scoring chance. A&M would regain a 22-21 advantage in the third quarter, but in the middle of the fourth, Britt Jackson took back an interception 30 yards for a Lafayette touchdown,
Katherine Garcia — THE BATTALION
Ph.D. candidate Alfredo Costilla works on perfecting his product.
Education for the environment
giving the Cajuns a 29-22 lead with 6:30 remaining. In part of Lafayette taking the lead was the connection of quarterback Jake Delhomme, who went on to win a Super Bowl with the Carolina Panthers, and wide receiver Brandon Stokley, whose father Nelson was the Cajuns head coach at the time, another player who went on to win two Super Bowls himself. Stokley was Delhomme’s main target, finishing the game as the Cajuns leading receiver with five catches for 54 yards. “You look at that Louisiana-Lafayette team with Brandon Stokley at receiver, Jake Delhomme was the quarterback, I mean they had some talent,” Brent Zwerneman, Texas A&M beat writer for the Houston Chronicle, who was covering the game for The Eagle at the time, said. “Oh it’s just the son of the coach, these guys are just overachievers. Well, they weren’t overachievers, they were really, really talented and that played a role in it even though we didn’t know it at the time.” The Aggies had one final chance in the waning seconds of the game, but A&M quarterback Brandon Stewart threw his fourth interception of the night with 31 seconds left at the Lafayette 14-yard line – the fifth turnover inside the Cajuns’ 25-yard line.
BitGrange started as a 3 Day Startup product and is now a reality for electrical engineering Ph.D. candidate Alfredo Costilla as he uses his technology to engage elementary students with the world of agriculture. Costilla’s vision is to provide an educational tool for teachers and parents worldwide, and to help educate kids. By growing up in a family of farmers and volunteering with elementary school students, Costilla’s experiences helped craft his idea and drive behind BitGrange. Elementary school children represent a new generation of farmers and entrepreneurs, according to Costilla. “We are a new generation of food consumers that can also be food producers,” Costillas said. BitGrange uses hydroponics, a process that involves growing plants without soil which is
1996 LOSS ON PG. 3
COSTILLA ON PG. 2
Student develops educational tool to teach kids about agriculture By Katherine Garcia @katiegarcia2018
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