Aggies hold off late Wildcat rally to win Car Care Bowl

HOUSTON -- Texas A&M's 33-22 victory Saturday over the Northwestern Wildcats in the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas was most satisfying in the way it was accomplished and who it benefited.

A&M, which had blown five double-digit leads during the regular season, was on the verge of a possible granddaddy of collapses when Northwestern scored 15 unanswered points to pull within 30-22.

Reeling A&M, facing third-and-13 from its own 28 with just under four minutes left, got a clutch 21-yard reception by Uzoma Nwachukwu. Three plays later, the Aggies (7-6) converted another big third down when senior wide receiver Jeff Fuller made a leaping, twisting 29-yard catch.

That set up a game-clinching 31-yard field goal by Randy Bullock with only 30 seconds left, putting a happy ending on one of the most disappointing football seasons in school history.

"I'm glad we were put in that situation," senior quarterback Ryan Tannehill said. "That was something that had haunted us all year."

The last of those spiraling losses, 27-25 to Texas in the regular season finale, got head coach Mike Sherman fired. That set off a turbulent few weeks.

Defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter was named interim head coach, then was hired as Fresno State's head coach. He opted to remain through the bowl game though A&M soon hired Kevin Sumlin as Sherman's replacement. Awkward turned to tragic when A&M senior offensive guard Joe Villavisencio died in an car accident heading home for Christmas.

To top it off, A&M reported to Houston for bowl preparations without junior starting offensive guard Brian Thomas, who DeRuyter suspended for an undisclosed violation of team rules.

A&M responded to all the distractions by ending a five-game losing streak in bowl games. The Aggies hadn't won in the postseason since a 28-9 victory over Texas Christian in the galleryfurniture.com Bowl in the Astrodome a decade ago.

"I didn't know if our guys would be able to handle [the distractions]," DeRuyter said.

They handled it superbly through three quarters, even battling through more adversity. Senior running back Cyrus Gray, who missed the Texas game with a shoulder injury, was expected to play, but the two-time 1,000-yard rusher couldn't go. And senior cornerback Coryell Judie, who was healthy after missing six games while recovering from shoulder surgeries along with hamstring problems, broke his wrist in the first quarter.

It didn't seem to matter as the Aggies played with plenty of passion, much to the delight of the partisan Aggie crowd of 68,395 at Reliant Stadium.

A&M sacked Northwestern quarterback Dan Persa seven times through three quarters, not allowing any time for the NCAA's all-time leader in passing percentage to work his magic.

While Northwestern punted on eight of its first nine possession, the Aggies scored on six of seven drives.

A&M sophomore running back Ben Malena ran for 77 yards on 23 carries, scoring on runs of 1 and 19 yards. Tannehill showed why he's projected to be a first-round draft choice by passing for 329 yards on 27 of 40 passing to earn game Most Valuable Player honors.

Tannehill, who played wide receiver for two seasons before playing quarterback, got the ball on the perimeter to Ryan Swope, Nwachukwu and Fuller, who combined to catch 20 passes for 291 yards.

Fuller also saved his best for last. A&M fans were ecstatic last January when Fuller opted to return for his senior season, but it didn't turn out the way it did for Von Miller, who earned All-America honors last season while helping A&M go 9-4. Fuller was hampered by injuries and was even replaced in the starting lineup for A&M's 61-7 victory over Kansas. He bounced back for seven catches for 107 yards and a score against Texas, and seven catches for 119 yards and a 26-yard touchdown catch against Northwestern.

"He really prepared hard the last few weeks for this bowl," DeRuyter said. "I think he finally got to the point where he was feeling good about himself."

Fuller jumped up after making his clutch third-down catch on A&M's final drive, raising his arms in celebration. A few minutes later all Aggies were celebrating as DeRuyter got his first Gatorade bath as a head coach.

"I just can't describe the emotion and how happy and how proud I am of these guys," DeRuyter said. "They will always be in my heart, and hopefully we were able to give some comfort to Joey V's family."

A&M added to the bowl misery for Northwestern (6-7), which lost its ninth straight bowl game, tying the all-time record for consecutive bowl losses set by Notre Dame (1994-2006). Northwestern's only bowl victory came in the 1949 Rose Bowl.

"[The bowl losses] all stink," Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald said. "The monkey is still on our back."

Fitzgerald had talked all week about the need to get the monkey off their back, even having the players take turns wearing a toy stuffed monkey in a No. 63 jersey to symbolize how many seasons it has been since the Wildcats' last bowl victory.

Northwestern, making its fourth straight bowl trip, took a 7-3 lead with a 13-play, 77-yard drive capped by Venric Mark's 2-yard run with 10:12 left in the second quarter.

But the rest of the second quarter belonged to the Aggies, who scored 17 unanswered points. Northwestern defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz, who was A&M's defensive coordinator in that galleryfurniture.com Bowl victory, had success early blitzing, but his unit couldn't contain Tannehill, who was 9 of 10 passing in the second quarter for 107 yards.

"It came down to self-inflicted wounds on our part, especially there in the second quarter," Fitzgerald said.

Northwestern finally found a spark with option quarterback Kain Colter in the fourth quarter. Colter and Persa split time as Northwestern had a nine-play, 40-yard scoring drive after All-Big Ten safety Brian Peters intercepted a Tannehill pass. Colter scored from the 1, then All-Big Ten receiver Jeremy Ebert threw a reverse pass to Demetrius Fields for the two-point conversion.

A&M ran three plays and punted, and Northwestern responded with a 10-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that made it a one-possession game.

A&M's offense made sure Northwestern didn't get a chance to tie.

"They made the plays that winners make," Fitzgerald said. "We ran out of time there at the end."

It was A&M's last game as a member of the Big 12. The Aggies are headed to the Southeastern Conference's West Division.

The Aggies had an SEC effort by holding Northwestern to a season-low 278 yards, including 52 rushing yards. A&M had a bowl-record eight sacks, two of them by senior cornerback Terrence Frederick, who had plenty of friends and family watching from his hometown of nearby Katy.