ALL OVER THE AGGIES OU defense smothers A&M, 31-10 By Rusty Burson

NORMAN, Okla. – Oklahoma co-defensive coordinator Brent Venables looked like a man on a mission as he made a beeline through the mass of players gathered at midfield to find Texas A&M tailback Derek Farmer.

Venables, the dynamic young assistant who had spent much of the prior week studying films of Farmer, put his arm around the true freshman as he limped gingerly off the field following the Sooners’ 31-10 win.

"You’re a heckuva player, son," Venables told Farmer. "Keep your head up. That was just tough luck today with that injury."

Tough day, indeed. And an even tougher year for the Aggies in the injury department.

The Aggies held the Sooners in check in the first half, giving up just 10 points.

Farmer’s hyperextended knee forced him out of the game midway through the first quarter, which was about the same time defensive lineman Ty Warren left the game for good with a shoulder injury.

That left the Aggies without their most dangerous offensive weapon and probably their top defender for the final three quarters. And it was just the latest additions to the laundry list of injuries that have plagued the Aggies (7-3 overall, 4-3 Big 12) this season.

Perhaps Warren and Farmer couldn’t have prevented the Aggies’ long afternoon before 75,525 at Memorial Stadium. But without them, A&M didn’t have chance.

The Aggies’ hobbled Wrecking Crew held up well for a half. But the A&M offense – missing so many of the weapons it began the season with – was downright dismal.

Thanks to some outstanding field position and a defensive touchdown by Brian Gamble, the Aggies took a 10-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. And A&M moved the ball fairly well early on, generating 71 yards of total offense and three first downs in the opening 15 minutes.

But over the next three quarters, A&M managed a measly 61 yards of total offense and just two first downs. That’s an average of about 1.8 yards per snap in the final 45 minutes.

The OU defense is good enough to make even healthy teams look bad. But throw in the injures, and the Aggies simply looked anemic.

"If I had been told in August that we were going to lose both of our tight ends for the season, lose our best receiver for the season and some of the other things that have happened, I would have probably said we are going to have problems moving (the ball) all year," A&M head coach R.C. Slocum said. "Without question, (the injuries) have affected what we’re doing and our capabilities.

"It didn’t help things any that Derek Farmer was hurt all week and didn’t practice all week except for a little on Thursday. We tried to play him early in the game, and he got hit again and couldn’t play. So, losing your starting tailback early in the game didn’t help any."

Brian Gamble returns a fumble after an interception for a touchdown.

Neither did A&M’s failures on third down. The Aggies were just 2-of-14 on third-down conversions, forcing the defense to again spend most of the afternoon on the field. Oklahoma ran 81 plays – 31 more than the Aggies – marking the fifth straight game an A&M opponent has run at least 80 plays.

Combined with the dismal offensive display a week earlier at Texas Tech, the Aggies have converted just 5 of their last 32 attempts on third and fourth downs.

But at least A&M moved the ball at times against the Red Raiders. Nothing seemed to work against the Sooners. A&M managed just 132 yards of total offense, the lowest output since the 118 yards the Aggies mustered in a 37-0 loss to Nebraska in 1999.

A&M also managed just 58 passing yards on 23 attempts, as Mark Farris (10-of-20 for 59 yards) had his least productive day as an A&M starter. A&M’s longest play of the day was a 19-yard lateral from Vance Smith to Oschlor Flemming late in the fourth quarter.

And the bottom line is that for the second consecutive week, A&M failed to score an offensive touchdown. The last offensive TD for the Aggies was Farmers’ 65-yard run in the fourth quarter against Iowa State… back in October.

"I’m very frustrated to not be able to move the ball like we should," A&M senior center Seth McKinney said. "We got three points off that good field position we had (in the first quarter), and other than that, we weren’t productive. No excuses about it. We didn’t get it done on offense.

"I’m mad about it. I’m mad about the lack of offensive production, but it’s nobody’s fault but ours. After the 10-0 lead, we had to do something on offense. We had to sustain a drive. We had to score points."

Instead, the Sooners methodically put the game away, scoring 31 unanswered points, as more than half of A&M’s possessions (8 of 14) ended in three plays or less.

Oklahoma (9-1, 5-1) tied the game with 10 second-quarter points and took the lead for good on a fake field goal early in the third quarter. OU holder Matt McCoy received the snap and then lateraled the ball to kicker Tim Duncan, whose knee appeared to hit the ground at about the 3-yard-line. But Duncan stretched the ball toward the goal line, and the officials gave him the benefit of the doubt.

"I felt lucky after that one," Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops said. "That play was my deal, and to be honest, we were fortunate to score that touchdown. I felt at that point of the game, the team needed a spark."

Mission accomplished. And with the A&M offense going nowhere, the 17-10 lead would prove to be more than enough to keep the Sooners in the driver’s seat in the hunt for a Big 12 South title.

The Aggies, meanwhile, officially bowed out of the Big 12 title hunt. And if the offense doesn’t figure out something in a hurry, A&M is in danger of ending the season with a three-game losing streak.

Texas Tech was good, Oklahoma was better, but Texas may be playing the best ball in the Big 12 right now. The Horns arrive in College Station on Nov. 23, and the Aggies will need more than just Kyle Field magic to keep things interesting.

Perhaps the extra week off will help the Aggies get healthier. But will it help the A&M offense find an identity?

Only time will tell.

"I’m sure the (offense’s) confidence can’t be too high right now, going two weeks and scoring a total of three points in two ballgames," Slocum said. "They’ve got to be struggling in terms of the identity they have. But OU’s defense was not a good team to make a comeback against."

Unfortunately for A&M, neither is Texas, which seems to be hitting its stride just in time for the Aggies. More tough luck in a season full of it.