Eagle Columnist
Dennis Franchione peered up at the stands as he left the field Saturday.
How about $2 million for his thoughts?
It had to cross his mind that he may never be back at Farout Field, so why not soak in the atmosphere? Missouri's "Black Out" crowd of 64,945 was still into it well after the final play, enjoying the Tigers' special 40-26 victory.
It was Missouri's ninth victory, becoming only the fourth team in school history to win that many games in a season. It also ended an unbeaten season at home for the Tigers.
Franchione has to be somewhat envious of what's happening in Columbia, Mo., yet appreciative. Because he knows what goes into making those special moments. The kind of success the Tigers are experiencing is what makes college football so great.
Franchione had to take some pride in what Missouri accomplished, because A&M made the Tigers earn it. The Aggies played a solid third quarter to be in position to beat the nation's seventh-ranked team. The game plan Franchione and his coaches devised was right on. And his players made enough plays to scare the Tigers.
It was commendable considering the Aggies' week, which kicked off Monday with rumors Franchione had agreed to a buyout. A&M officials denied it, but published reports Tuesday cited unnamed A&M officials leaking news of the school's decision to end the Franchione era at the conclusion of the season.
Officially, it was a mess, which won't go away until the situation is resolved. At least for 3 hours, 29 minutes on Saturday all the focus was back on what happened on the field, which had to be a refuge for Franchione and his players.
But as soon as the clock struck 0:00, the cloud of controversy returned.
Maybe afterward Franchione was thinking about how satisfying it would have been to be coming off that field a victor, thinking back to the Texas victory last season. Special moments like that never grow old.
He knew the effort against Missouri was solid, but it wasn't a morale victory. There's no such thing when you're in your fifth year.
Franchione might have been thinking about some of the things that have haunted the Aggies - missed field goals, missed tackles and missed assignments. But most of all, missed opportunities.
And just for a brief time Saturday, Franchione had to think he had been watching a repeat of last year's come-from-behind victory over Missouri. The Tigers had no answer for 277-pound Jorvorskie Lane, nor the A&M offense, which moved the ball deep into Missouri territory.
But instead of punching it for the lead, the drive stalled. It got worse as the Aggies missed a field goal. Then less than 3 minutes later, Missouri pushed its lead back to 12.
A&M came right back, but it wasn't enough, which was a microcosm of the season, and really Franchione's tenure.
The Missouri loss assured the Aggies of having a worse record than last year.
Maybe, just maybe, if the Aggies had upset Missouri, beaten Texas for a second straight year, and added a bowl victory, Franchione would have somehow returned, which had to be in the back of his mind.
Instead, A&M has lost four of its last five to torpedo a 5-1 start, shattering high expectations for a veteran team that had designs on solidifying his program, not ending it.
Maybe Franchione was thinking about how special the Aggies season could have been. In his heart he probably still feels the Aggies could have been just as good as Missouri, Kansas or Oklahoma.
Franchione said Tuesday he won't talk about rumors - or his future. But he's got to think about all this at times, doesn't he, especially after games?
Another man with a lot on his mind walking toward the Aggie locker room Saturday was athletic director Bill Byrne, who apparently has decided to make a change. That couldn't have been easy. Byrne has been a staunch supporter of Franchione.
But Byrne has visions of A&M winning late-season games at Kyle that moves them up in the Top 10 of the BCS standings, a la what Missouri and Kansas did at A&M's expense this year.
Byrne's had those visions for some time. Soon he'll have to make a move involving Franchione, who has dreams of his own, which might now be down to beating Texas and winning a bowl game.
• Robert Cessna's e-mail address is robert.cessna@theeagle.com.
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