FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27 | SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 | © 2017 STUDENT MEDIA Saturday’s matchup against Mississippi State will be the third straight night game at Kyle Field.
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Aggies aim to avenge last year’s derailing loss to Mississippi State By Heath Clary @Heath_Clary It’s been nearly a full calendar year, but the Texas A&M defense still vividly remembers then sophomore quarterback Nick Fitzgerald sprinting 74 yards on Mississippi State’s first offensive play from scrimmage in what began the Bulldogs 35-28 upset victory over the fourth-ranked Aggies. “I’ve watched it a couple of times. It’s still lingering in our minds,” sophomore linebacker Tyrel Dodson said. “We’re all mad
going into this game, and that’s how we’re going to play.” Mississippi State comes to Kyle Field for a Saturday night kickoff to face an A&M team who is coming off a bye week after defeating Florida 19-17 in a physical back-and-forth slugfest on Oct. 14. The Bulldogs (5-2, 2-2 SEC) are led by junior Fitzgerald, who gashed the A&M defense for 182 yards on the ground, 209 yards through the air and four total touchdowns last year. The 6-5, 230-pound dual-threat signal-caller presents a myriad of challenges for an Aggie defense that has been excellent in recent weeks. “We know that we have our hands full with Nick Fitzgerald, so our main focus is
A&M VS MISSISSIPPI STATE OCT. 28 AT 6:15 P.M. | ESPN
to eliminate big plays, maintain gap integrity and play physical football,” Dodson said. “He’s so big, he’s fast and he’s the heart and soul of that entire Mississippi State team. We’ve got to bring it to him.” A&M leads the nation with 28 sacks, while the Bulldogs have yielded the fewest sacks in the SEC to this point. A lot of that is due to Fitzgerald’s strength and mobility, but the Bulldogs also boast a big, physical offensive line that has allowed just three sacks through seven games. Defensively, Mississippi State ranks third in the SEC in total defense. Last year the Bulldogs held Aggie running backs to 3.7 yards per carry and first-year defensive coordinator Todd Grantham will likely try to make A&M
one-dimensional again this season. “We already know that they’re going to try to stop the run game and make the quarterback make quick decisions,” said senior running back Keith Ford. “We’re ready for it, we already know what they’re going to do and we just have to execute our game plan.” If the Aggies (5-2, 3-1 SEC) struggle to get the ground game going, the pressure will be on freshman quarterback Kellen Mond, who is coming off a pedestrian 8-for-24, 180-yard performance against the Gators. He did gain a team-leading 52 rushing yards, though, and he might have to make plays with his legs again, if the Aggies are going to PREVIEW ON PG. 3 Spencer Russo — THE BATTALION
Bringing back the rival game Texas Governor Greg Abbott said at Wednesdy’s A&M-UT charity exhibition basketball game that one of his next goals is to revive the A&M-UT football C. Morgan Engel — THE BATTALION game.
United student movement hopes to restore A&M-Texas football game By Alex Miller @AlexMill20 During the Notre Dame–Texas game in September 2016, then economics freshman Chipper Adams was watching the game and began to wonder – why aren’t Texas A&M and Texas playing each other? A year later, Adams would lead the launch of an independent student campaign “Reinstate the Rivalry” on Sunday aimed at bringing back the Texas A&M–Texas football game, which was last played in 2011. “The idea is that we’re running a campaign, but instead of running a campaign for a candidate, we’re running a campaign for an idea,” Adams said. As co-director of Reinstate the Rivalry, Adams said that although they are not associated with any organizations, students from all over campus are part of the movement. During Texas’s student body voting in September, a referendum was held for students to vote on whether they were in favor of the game returning. Of the 7,761 students that voted, 96.7 percent said yes. “We thought it was an important data point for President [Greg] Fenves and our athletic
director, Mike Perrin,” Texas student body vice president Micky Wolf said. “We’ve been in contact with them throughout the spring and summer and something they were looking to understand was how would students feel about the game coming back.” Wolf and Texas student body president Alejandrina Guzman were elected in March and renewing the annual A&M–UT football game was on both of their agendas. During their campaign, they approached former A&M student body president Hannah Wimberly about having a joint student-led movement. “We had conversations with student leaders at A&M before putting it on our platform that ensured there would be interest from the A&M side and making sure we could get the movement going,” Wolf said. While involved with Fish Aides his freshman year, Adams attended Student Government Association Executive Cabinet meetings as a member of the Legislative Relations Committee. At one meeting last spring, Wimberly explained Guzman and Wolf’s idea to student legislators — Adams decided to speak up. “The goal was to get both student governments to start working on this project together,” Adams said. “I had some insight to offer and said something and at the end of the conversation she said ‘Chipper, do you want to be in charge of this?’ And I was like, A&M-UT ON PG. 3
A FUTURE OF EXCELLENCE President Young looks to coming years in State of University address By Tyler Snell @Tyler_Snell2 In a room full of students and faculty members Wednesday evening at the Annenberg Presidential Center, President Michael Young described the kind of impact Aggies are making and how Texas A&M will be at the forefront of innovation and problem solving in the years to come. In his second State of the University address, Young commended students and faculty on the hard work and selfless service displayed for the university over the past year, while also encouraging the same for the future, with plans for a new School of Innovation and more high impact experiences for students. Young applauded A&M for recently moving into the top 25 of public universities by U.S. News and into the top 20 by the Wall Street Journal, attributing it to the energy and spirit of both students and faculty. “I’m happy to report today that the state of the university is strong,” Young said. “We have a tangible momentum over these past 12 months, one that will send us far into the future.” Aaron Lira, Class of 2017 and graduate student,
said Young’s focus on excellence and the support of students and faculty is already making an impact and will continue to in the years to come. “It seems like he has a really good idea of what we need, what kind of support we need and what kind of support the faculty needs as well to pursue those pillars of excellence,” Lira said. “I definitely think the commitment to excellence and innovation is something that will really impact us moving forward. It is a really powerful statement and something that can transcend the classroom and transcend the research going on here.” Young also took time to highlight the ADDRESS ON PG. 2 President Young gave his second State of the University address Wednesday evening.
Cristian Aguirre — THE BATTALION