Issue date: 9/13/04 Section: News

Aggie freshman Kerry Franks beats junior Wyoming cornerback Brandon Bell on a long pass late in the fourth quarter to move the Aggies ahead 31-0. (EVAN O´CONNELL / THE BATTALION )

You only needed to look to the skies on Saturday to notice it was going to be a dismal day for somebody. Just before kickoff, dark clouds loomed over Kyle Field in an ominous fashion, and for the Wyoming Cowboys (1-1), those clouds never lifted.

The Texas A&M Aggies (1-1) blanked the Cowboys 31-0 in a game that saw the re-emergence of the Aggie defense, which scored 10 points off turnovers, grabbed three interceptions and had a blitzing scheme that destroyed a potent Cowboy offense that put up 53 points last week.

Maybe it was the return to Kyle Field, maybe it was the new pre-game entrance that included a solemn "battle-cry" drum cadence from the Aggie Band, or perhaps it was the inspiration from the Junction Boys who made a halftime appearance that sparked a victory. Whatever it was, the Aggies should find more of it.

A&M looked like a completely different team than the one that suffered an embarrassing 41-21 loss to No. 14 Utah just 11 days ago.

"This came at the right time," said A&M head coach Dennis Franchione. "It's very tough to get a shutout in college football."

A&M held the Cowboys to only 181 yards of total offense on 62 plays, including -3 yards rushing, a historical number that conjures up images of Wrecking Crew defenses past. In total, the Aggies held the Cowboys to 2.9 yards per play, and -0.1 yards per rush.

"Give (A&M) a lot of credit. They were tough," said Wyoming head coach Joe Glenn. "We didn't execute mentally or physically. We felt going into the game that we had some stuff that would work. But we had a couple of penalties that took away momentum. We just have to execute better, throw the ball sharper and stay longer on our blocks. They have big, strong guys up front, and we were just overwhelmed."

Continued...

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