**10:55 p.m.** Well, the players had some entertaining things to say afterwards, especially regarding the run defense. My favorite quote came from linebacker James Holt talking about the big fourth-and-one stop at the KU nine-yard line late in the first half of Jorvorskie Lane – a.k.a. the J-Train – who was doing his little locomotive celebration a little early on the sideline before the play.”We saw him over on the sideline doing his little train thing, so he’s like well here it comes,” Holt said smiling. “So we’re just oging to dig in and go after him.”What’s more is that KU proved again it can do it all on the offensive side of the football. All the Jayhawks needed Todd Reesing to do tonight was be efficient, and that’s just what he was, completing 21 of his 33 pass attempts on the night for 180 yards. He didn’t turn the ball over, but rather was consistent in making key throws when he had to and getting the ball to his workhorses in the backfield.Brandon McAnderson had 183 yards on the ground and two scores. Most weeks, that would net him Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honors, but Texas’ Jamaal Charles may sneak it away thanks to his 290 rushing yards and three scores against Nebraska earlier.Oh well. This team’s not in it for the individual stuff, and they repeatedly make that clear.It was fun tonight in a unique college football atmosphere. Make sure to check out the Spodcasters Postgame Edition later. We’ll delve into it deeper. Talk to you then.**9:07 p.m.** The key to this one, which we knew it would be, has been the running game. With 5:37 left to play, Texas A&M – statistically the Big 12’s best ground team – has just 59 yards the old-fashioned way.Paced by 155 yards from Brandon McAnderson, KU has 193.KU is going through the motions to run out the clock. I’ll be back in a bit with postgame nuggets. See you then.**8:44 p.m.** I’ll eat the crow with the A&M pick I made. It’s not that this is necessarily a sub-par Aggies squad, but rather that KU is _that_ good.Here’s a question…When was the last time KU led this comfortably on the road in a Big 12 game? The answer is just a year ago, when KU clubbed Iowa State 41-10 in Ames. But against a decent opponent, it hasn’t come this casually in awhile.Brandon McAnderson pushed his team-high rushing touchdown total to nine with his second score of the game. He’s truly been the offensive difference-maker tonight. He has three runs of 20-or-more yards, and is currently over the 150-yard mark with just more than 10 minutes to play.**8:32 p.m.** The wide receiver tandem of Dezmon Briscoe and Marcus Henry deserves some credit in this one, given their individual problems with dropped passes this year.Not only has neither of them let one go, but Briscoe has six grabs for 49 yards, Henry has three catches for 33 yards and Dexton Fields has chipped in three catches of his own, going for 37 yards.KU’s passing game hasn’t set the field on fire tonight, but it’s been good enough. Especially on third downs. KU is only 4-for-12, but its much better than A&M’s 1-for-10 efficiency.**8:17 p.m.** OK, it’s only 10-0, there’s 5:04 left in the third quarter, and KU blew an 11-point fourth quarter lead to A&M a year ago at home.I just don’t see that happening this year, though. The feel of this game tells me that this one is firmly in KU’s grasp. The defense is playing so stingy up front, A&M keeps killing itself with mistakes (namely a pair of silly personal foul penalties) and the Aggies can’t establish any kind of offensive flow.**8:09 p.m.** Things have certainly tilted in KU’s favor here early in the second half. After forcing a key three-and-out on A&M to start the third quarter, the Jayhawks finally got the game’s first points on the board with their third field goal attempt of the game.What may have been overlooked so far is how key the KU defensive line’s play has been. Not only have they been in Stephen McGee’s face every time he’s thrown the ball, but htey haven’t let the Aggies set up their option offense comfortably one time this evening. A squibbed punt taken by KU at its own 46 could turn out to be a costly mistake for A&M.**7:43 p.m.** The theme of the first half was missed opportunities. Both teams had chances inside the opposition’s 20 to get ahead on the scoreboard, but no such luck. The big winner in the first half would be KU’s defense. A&M’s defense bent more without breaking, but KU’s stop of Jorvorskie Lane on fourth-and-one at the nine-yard line was without question the biggest play yet in this contest.Two things…**-I’d say the key for KU** is to try and rekindle whatever magic it had in the first quarter with Brandon McAnderson, when the senior ran for 94 yards on seven carries. He had just two totes for six yards in the second quarter.**-KU needs to stop A&M on the** opening drive to keep its defense established. If the Aggies drive down on the Jayhawks’ defense to start the second half and score, this will be a much tougher environment for KU to answer right back in than, say, at Colorado or K-State. It’s not because of the atmosphere necessarily, but more the general feeling of the game.**7:13 p.m** It’s been a tough night for Scott Webb, whose first field goal attempt of the game was blocked by Chris Harrington and then saw his second one sky to the top of the left upright and clank off of its outer portion.The game has been back-and-forth so far, and in a game of that fashion, leaving six points on the table could come back to bite later on.But KU gave A&M a dose of the drive-killing medicine when James Holt and Russell Brorsen stuffed Jorvorskie Lane on fourth-and-one at the KU nine-yard line. The first big play in this game could be the deciding factor…it’s been that strange.Also, a Mark Turgeon video just showed on the jumbotron, including a flashback shot of him in a KU uniform in the mid-80s. That can’t be good karma for the Aggies, even if it is basketball.**6:41 p.m.** The last thing I’ll say about the atmosphere here is that the fans here have more chants than a high school softball team. God bless ’em, but man, this has to be a confusing gameday if you’re a freshman first-timer at Kyle Field. I can only imagine.As for the game, after one quarter, it’s hard to get a grasp on who, if anyone, has the momentum. I wouldn’t say it’s in the hands of either team, but rather one player – Brandon McAnderson.He has completely exposed the middle of A&M’s run defense, picking up 94 yards on seven carries. Being a stats-dork, that means he’s on pace for 376 yards on 28 carries. Of course, that will probably be way off, but the funny thing is that it would still be 20 yards off Tony Sands’ school record of 396, set in 1991 against Mizzou. Crazy.**6:13 p.m.** KU caught an early break with the personal foul call on Henry Smith in its own end zone, but A&M has consistently put pressure on Reesing early, which they’ll have to maintain to come close to rattling him.It’s worth mentioning that the pregame atmosphere here in Kyle Field is incredible, with a Navy helicopter flyover, and the entire stadium swaying from side to side. It’s something else.**4:58 p.m.** Well, we’re definitely high up atop Kyle Field. No doubting that. This is by far the tallest college football stadium I’ve ever been to, though some of the other media pointed out that Memorial Stadium in Norman contends with it. I have no basis for comparison. Anyways, here’s some pregame nuggets for your personal delight…**-We made our way over to Kyle Field last night** for the Midnight Yell, which is tradition here at Texas A&M (there’s about 412,074 others, too) every Friday night before home games. Our guesstimations told us that there were about 15,000 Aggie fans present. It was definitely something worth seeing once…kinda like Late Night.My one lasting story will be when I took a saunter to the closest men’s room during the middle of Midnight Yell, and when I came back, while making my way up the stairs to our seats, a young female college student yelled to get my attention, and with a bratty sneer said ‘You weren’t watching!’ Really. Can’t make that up.**-While some horses were paraded around the rubber track** surrounding the Kyle Field surface, they were followed by cadets pushing three wheelbarrows to clean up the droppings. Two of the wheelbarrows are painted burnt orange with the letters ‘TU’ scribed in white. The third is painted blue. Wonder why.**-If KU is to have a tough time getting going on offense today**, I’m predicting it won’t be at the fault of Todd Reesing being nervous. The sophomore quarterback has been to several games here before, as he pointed out earlier this week at the KU football press conference. Aside from that, he’s been here as a Texas fan, which I can only assume meant he wore burnt orange, _which I can only assume meant_ he had some vile things yelled at him.**-Speaking of predictions**, I guess I should clarify again in print as to why I chose A&M to come out victorious today. Of course, logic doesn’t say it’s smart to go against the hotter team, but I for one have a feeling that these slow offensive starts for KU will come back to bite them. Against an A&M team which leads the Big 12 in rushing offense, if the Jayhawks have too many empty possessions early, the Aggies can control the clock and, in the words of one of everyone’s favorite MTV personalities, ‘do work.’**-Just to point out**, former President George Bush and current Secretary of Defense Robert Gates are in the house.Talk to you after kickoff.
