Despite an ugly first half in which both teams combined for 10 fumbles, the Texas A&M Aggies came out strong to start the second and handled the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, 48-16. Jerrod Johnson continued his Heisman Trophy bid, Jeff Fuller tied a 42-year-old school receiving record and Tim DeRuyter’s newly implemented 3-4 defense continued to wreak havoc in the Aggies’ second win of the season.
Johnson threw for 349 yards with four touchdowns and zero interceptions, and rushed for another 50 yards. Through two games, the Aggies’ signal caller is leading the Big 12 in passing yards per game as well as in total offense.
Many of Johnson’s throws were directed at the 6-foot 4-inch Jeff Fuller, who pulled in 10 receptions for 160 yards and a touchdown. The score, which was the 19th of his career, tied the career receiving touchdown record held by Bob Long, whose 19 scores have been the school’s benchmark of success for more than forty years.
“It means a lot to be the first guy to break the record,” Fuller said. “But really I feel like other people in my situation, playing my position and repping as many times as I do, I feel like they would be able to do the same things. It’s just really a product of the offense.”
Head Coach Mike Sherman said Fuller was raw when he joined the team, but has worked hard and poses a legitimate concern for opposing Big 12 defenses.
“He’s blessed with some talent, but he’s worked really hard to get where he is right now,” Sherman said.
Although his success on the football field is undeniable, Fuller maintained a humble perspective about his performance against Louisiana Tech.
“It was a decent game,” Fuller said. “I feel like I could’ve blocked a little better.
“I definitely had a lot of yards and made a few plays, but at the same time just watching film there’s still a lot of things I could improve on.”
Junior safety Trent Hunter showed up to the press conference with a hoarse voice, saying that he lost it while trying to make defensive calls over the noise of Kyle Field. The Aggies continued bringing the pressure this week; the added heat resulted in three sacks, seven forced fumbles and two interceptions.
“We’re still blitzing every down,” Hunter said. “Usually about four guys — someone off the edge, or an inside linebacker or something.”
DeRuyter’s defense gave up 269 yards of offense and held the Bulldogs to 5.1 yards per reception.
The game featured an impressive performance by freshman “joker” Damontre Moore. Moore forced three fumbles and sacked the quarterback twice, making three tackles for loss.
“He’s really impressed me with how well he’s learned things,” Sherman said. “I can’t honestly say I thought he’d play this well this early because he was very raw coming out, but he’s very coachable and has really worked hard.”
Special teams were the big problem for the Aggies. Junior cornerback Terrence Frederick muffed a punt on the 1-yard line that turned into a Bulldog touchdown and sophomore receiver Ryan Swope fumbled the ensuing kickoff. The defense stepped up three plays later when they retook possession after Bulldogs’ running back Lennon Creer turned the ball over on the A&M 23.
“The defense went out and really didn’t bat an eyelash,” Sherman said. “There was no lack of confidence. It was, ‘OK, what are we going to do to fix this? Let’s get the ball back and let’s go back to business.’”