College Station, Tex. ? Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman was so unhappy with his team’s 30-9 loss to Missouri last season that he set fire to the game plan, play book and tape the Monday after the game.
He wanted his team to forget about the loss and figured burning the remnants would be the best way to do it. The Aggies salvaged the season by winning the next six games.
No. 16 Texas A&M (5-2, 3-1 Big 12) is preparing again to host Missouri (3-4, 1-3) today, and most of the Aggies said they don’t really think about that game. But Sherman hasn’t let it go.
“I think we learned from the mistakes of the Missouri game and got better after that,” he said. “It definitely was a low point, but you can learn a lot about yourself and what you need to do from those low points if you look at yourself objectively. … does it linger? It does for me, because we should have played better.”
He hopes Texas A&M can extend its winning streak to four games against a team that many believe will soon be following the Aggies to the Southeastern Conference.
After that Missouri game a year ago, Sherman split quarterback duties between Jerrod Johnson and Ryan Tannehill and then wound up benching Johnson for the rest of the season. Playing receiver against Missouri last season gives Tannehill a pretty good idea of what to expect today.
“Last year we didn’t play well and they put it on us pretty good,” he said. “They are a good football team, an aggressive defense that will throw a lot of things at you. They’re not afraid to bring a lot of pressure.”
The Tigers know that this team lead by Tannehill and entering the game is different than the one they faced last season. The senior has thrown for 15 touchdowns and 2,005 yards this season.
