Reggie Arnold rushed for 145 yards and Arkansas State ruined Sherman’s debut as A&M’s coach with a stunning 18-14 win over the Aggies on Saturday night at Kyle Field.
The Red Wolves won for the first time in 15 games against Big 12 Conference opponents and snapped A&M’s 20-game winning streak in home openers. The Aggies hadn’t dropped a home opener since a 17-3 loss to Louisiana State in 1987, and this one will go down as one of the most embarrassing losses in school history.
“I’m very disappointed,” Sherman said. “Am I discouraged? No, I’m not discouraged. But I am disappointed. I expected to win at home.”
A&M hired Sherman last November, less than a week after Dennis Franchione resigned following a win over rival Texas to end the regular season. Exactly five years ago Saturday, Franchione defeated Arkansas State 26-11 in his A&M debut.
This time, the Aggies built a 14-3 lead, then self-destructed in the second half with four turnovers, a missed field goal and several blown defensive plays.
The Aggies play next week at New Mexico - suddenly a must-win game with the difficult Big 12 looming ahead. Sherman coached the Green Bay Packers from 2000-05 and spoke from experience when he tried to settle his team after the game.
“I’ve been in situations like this before,” he said. “I told the guys you can learn more about yourself from adversity than you even can from winning a game. I just think we have to get back to work and keep working and be better next week than we were this week.”
Arkansas State quarterback Corey Leonard threw for 160 yards and a touchdown as the Red Wolves - previously the Indians - earned their biggest victory since they moved to Division I-A in 1992.
The Red Wolves tied for fifth place in the Sun Belt last season. Coach Steve Roberts, in his seventh season, said the most significant victory for his program will come when Arkansas States clinches a conference championship.
This will suffice for now.
“Obviously, this is huge,” Roberts said. “As I told our team, I don’t want to diminish the way they feel about this at all. But I want them to use it to build to even higher goals.”
Josh Arauco kicked four field goals, including a 37-yarder with 1:12 left, forcing the Aggies to go for a winning touchdown.
A&M drove inside Arkansas State’s 35-yard line in the final minute, but linebacker Ben Owens intercepted a tipped pass by Stephen McGee with seven seconds remaining and the Wolves ran out the clock.
Mike Goodson rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns, but he lost a costly fumble in the fourth. He had 89 yards in the first half, including three runs of at least 12 yards. He had no explanation for why the Aggies played so poorly after taking a 14-3 halftime lead.
“I guess if I knew, I would fix it,” he said.
Early in the third, safety M.D. Jennings intercepted a McGee pass at the Wolves 41. Arauco kicked a field goal with 5:28 left in the third to cut the lead to 14-6.
Three minutes later, A&M receiver Howard Morrow caught a pass and fumbled at the Aggies’ 47. Leonard scrambled up the middle for 32 yards on the next play, but the Red Wolves had to settle for another field goal from Arauco to cut A&M’s lead to 14-9.
The Aggies got the ball near midfield after a punt early in the fourth. McGee threw a 36-yard pass to Jerrod Johnson, but Richie Bean missed a 25-yard field goal with 9:30 left.
Bean beat out freshman Randy Bullock for the kicking job in preseason workouts and Sherman stood by that choice.
Arnold broke a 32-yard run to the Aggies’ 33 early in the Red Wolves’ next possession. On fourth-and-4, Arkansas State was called for an illegal block after Leonard scrambled for 6 yards. Leonard then hit Jahbari McLennan for 15 yards to keep the possession alive.
Two plays later, Leonard found Kevin Jones wide open in the end zone with 4:39 left, silencing the maroon-clad crowd of 78,691 fans, the second-largest for an A&M home opener.
Leonard threw incomplete on a two-point conversion try and the Wolves led 15-14.
Goodson ran for 10 yards on A&M’s next play but fumbled a third-down carry at the Aggies 41 with 2:47 remaining. Referees reviewed the play and upheld the call.
After Arauco tacked on his second 37-yarder, Jennings tipped McGee’s pass that Owens caught to seal the upset.
