STEPPING OFF
Texas A&M (1-0 overall, 0-0 vs. Big 12) will continue its season-opening three-game homestand with a 6 p.m. matchup against Louisiana Tech (1-0 overall, 0-0 vs. WAC) on Saturday at Kyle Field … The Aggies are coming off a 48-7 victory over Stephen F. Austin last Saturday at Kyle Field, while Louisiana Tech defeated Grambling State, 20-6, last Saturday in the inaugural Port City Classic in Shreveport, La.

FOLLOWING THE ACTION
• TV — The game will not be televised.
• RADIO — The 50-station Texas A&M Sports Network will broadcast the game live with Dave South (play-by-play), Dave Elmendorf (commentary) and Tom Turbiville (sidelines) calling the action ... pregame show originating from the Aggie FanZone begins at 3 p.m.
• INTERNET — aggieathletics.com will offer live play-by-play and statistics ... fans can listen to the broadcast free of charge on aggieathletics.com ... free video of A&M’s postgame press conference will be available on aggieathletics.com.
• MOBILE PHONE — listen to the game on your iPhone, Blackberry or PDA free of charge ... log on to radioaggieland.com for more information.

Texas A&M and Louisiana Tech has met nine times previously with the Aggies holding 9-0 advantage in the series that dates back to the first meeting in 1981 (the 1996 win was forfeited due to a player eligibility
issue) … eight of the nine previous meetings have been in College Station with the lone contest away from Kyle Field at Shreveport’s Independence Stadium … in the most recent meeting, the Aggies defeated Louisiana Tech, 45-14, after a two-hour delay due to lightning in 2006.

UP NEXT
Texas A&M returns to action at Kyle Field on Sept. 18 when the Aggies host FIU ... FIU opens its season this weekend by hosting Rutgers in Miami, Fla.

A&M-LOUISIANS TECH CONNECTIONS

Aggie offensive line coach Jim Turner coached the OL at Louisiana Tech in 1999 under head coach Jack Bicknell … Two members of the Louisiana Tech coaching staff were assistant coaches under Dennis Franchione at Texas A&M from 2003-2007. Bulldog defensive line coach Stan Eggen also coached the Aggie defensive linemen, while Tech special teams/inside receivers coach Mark Tommerdahl served as tight end coach and special team coordinator for the Aggies. … Tech offensive line coach Pete Perot’s son Joey Perot was a tight end for the Aggies under former A&M head coach R.C. Slocum from 2000-2002 … first-year Bulldog head coach Sonny Dykes is the son of longtime Texas Tech head coach Spike Dykes and coached against
the Aggies as an assistant coach at Texas Tech from 2000-06.

NON-CONFERENCE GRAVEYARD

Kyle Field has been a graveyard for non-conference opponents with the Aggies posting a 64-10 record (86.5 winning percentage) against non-Southwest Conference or Big 12 Conference foes since 1980.

99 OFFENSIVE PLAYS AGAINST SFA

One of the national leaders in offensive plays per game in 2009, the Aggies opened 2010 by running a whopping 99 plays in last Saturday’s win over Stephen F. Austin. It was the most plays run by any team in the nation on the opening week of college football. The 99 plays were the second-most ever run by the Aggies in a game, behind only the 103 plays in A&M’s 74-10 win over TCU in 1986 at Kyle Field. For those interested, the NCAA FBS record for offensive plays in a game is 115 by Northwestern in a 38-35 overtime loss to Auburn in the 2010 Outback Bowl.

Last year, the Aggies were No. 2 nationally in plays per game with an average of 81.0 per game.

TRUE FRESHMAN MAKING AN IMPACT... AGAIN

Nine members of Mike Sherman’s 2010 signing class saw action in the Aggies’ season-opener against Stephen F. Austin, which was the 10th highest number of true freshmen used by any NCAA FBS team on the
opening week of college football. It continues a trend of playing true freshmen by Sherman, who used 28 true freshmen in his first two seasons, including a record 18 in 2009.

EASRLY RISERS
Nate Askew..................................................................... WR
Nehemiah Hicks.............................................................. TE*
Toney Hurd Jr................................................................... DB
Luke Joeckel................................................................... OT*
Shep Klinke.......................................................................OL
Jake Matthews..................................................................OL
Damontre Moore........................................................ Joker
Domonique Patterson...................................................... LB
Ivan Robinson .................................................................DL
* -- Started vs. SFA

FULLER EYES LONG'S 42-YEAR OLD RECEIVING TDS RECORD

Junior wide receiver Jeff Fuller is on the cusp of matching one of the oldest school standards in the A&M record book, Bob Long’s 42-year old career receiving touchdowns record of 19 set from 1966-68. Fuller had a pair of touchdown catches last week to increase his career total to 18 in 21 games.

Texas A&M Carer Receiving TDs List
Player, Year................................................................. TD
Bob Long, 1966-68........................................................... 19
Jeff Fuller, 2008-...........................................................18
Tony Harrison, 1990-93.................................................... 14
Albert Connell, 1995-96................................................... 13
Chad Schroeder, 2003-06................................................. 12

SWOPE EMERGES AS MAJOR WEAPON FOR AGGIE OFFENSE

Sophomore Ryan Swope showed signs of being a major contributor in the second half of 2009 season, but the versatile former high school running back stepped into the spotlight with a huge performance last
week against SFA. Lining up all over the field, Swope pulled in 13 catches for 106 yards to help boost the Aggie passing attack to 347 passing yards. It was the first 100-yard receiving game of Swope’s career, and the 13 catches tied for the second-most ever by an Aggie in a single game. Swope’s 13 grabs were the most by an Aggie receiver since Albert Connell set the school record with 18 catches against Colorado in 1996.

Texas A&M Single Game Catches List
Players Catches Opponent
Albert Connell 18 vs. Colorado, 1996
Ryan Swope 13 vs. Stephen F. Austin, 2010
Ken “Dude” McLean 13 vs. Texas, 1965
Barney Harris 13 at SMU, 1968
Ryan Tannehill 12 vs. Kansas State, 2008
Keith Woodside 12 at Arkansas, 1986

DERUYTER ERA OPENS WITH SOLID DEFENSIVE EFFORT

The Aggies were solid in the debut game of first-year defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter, who brought the 3-4 defense back to Aggieland this year. The Aggies limited SFA, one of the most potent offenses in the Football Championship Subdivision, to just seven points and 266 total yards, including just 31 rushing yards.

The Aggies forced a pair of turnovers, and scored the first defensive points in 21 games when cornerback Dustin Harris scored on a 38-yard “pick-six” interception return.

HUGE AGGIE CROWD GREETS 2010 AGGIES

At last Monday’s football press conference, first-year Aggie defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter was openly excited about seeing the home crowd in person for the first time and the 12th Man didn’t disappoint.
Last Saturday’s crowd of 81,287 was just shy of capacity and ranked as the largest season-opening crowd in Kyle Field history. It nearly doubled the largest crowd that Stephen F. Austin had ever played in front of (47,402 at Arizona in 2006).

Largest Seas on-Opening Crowds at Kyle
1. 81,287 Stephen F. Austin, Sept. 4, 2010
2. 79,438 Montana State, Sept. 1, 2007
3. 78,691 Arkansas State, Aug. 30, 2008
4. 75,804 Arkansas State, Aug. 30, 2003
5. 75,087 La.-Lafayette, Aug. 31, 2002

NO TURNOVERS EQUALS VICTORY FOR AGGIES
The Aggies played turnover-free football for the third time since Mike Sherman’s arrival in Aggieland, and A&M is 3-0 in those games. Turnover margin is a solid indicator of success for the Aggies in recent years with the Aggies having compiled a 24-5 record in games with a plus turnover margin since 2005. In games with an even or minus turnover margin, the Aggies are 7-25.

RUGGED SCHEDULE ON TAP FOR 2010 AGGIES

The Texas A&M football team will face a rugged 2010 schedule that features four opponents ranked in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll, which ties for the most for any Big 12 Conference team.
The Aggies will host No. 7 Oklahoma and No. 8 Nebraska, face No. 17 Arkansas in Arlington at the Southwest Classic and travel to Austin for the annual Thanksgiving Day slugfest with the No. 5 Texas Longhorns.
As usual, the Aggies’ November schedule will rank among the nation’s toughest closing stretches with games against top 10 teams Oklahoma, Nebraska and Texas.

A&M, which is receiving votes in the poll, faces a total of seven teams that are receiving votes in the preseason AP poll, which also ties for a Big 12 high. The other Aggie opponents receiving AP poll mention
are Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Missouri.

Texas A&M and Iowa State are the only teams in the Big 12 with four preseason Top 25-ranked opponents on their 2010 schedules, and A&M, ISU, Texas Tech and Oklahoma are the only teams facing seven
teams receiving votes in the preseason AP poll.

JOHNSON,MILLER TAKE PRESEASON POY HONORS

For the first time since the formation of the Big 12 Conference, Texas A&M has both preseason Big 12 Players of the Year in senior quarterback Jerrod Johnson and senior joker Von Miller. A second-team All-Big 12 pick last year, Johnson led the Big 12 in total offense (314.23 yards/G), points responsible for (232 total points) and passing touchdowns (30). Miller became A&M’s first first-team All-American in a decade by leading the nation in quarterback sacks with 17 sacks and generally being the Big 12’s most disruptive player.