COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) - Ryan Tannehill had a school-record 449
yards passing and four touchdowns in his first career start and Cyrus
Gray ran for two more scores as Texas A&M beat mistake-prone Texas
Tech 45-27 on Saturday.
Aggies coach Mike Sherman wouldn't reveal whether Tannehill, the
former backup, or senior Jerrod Johnson would start leading up to the
game after using both quarterbacks in last week's win over Kansas.
Tannehill played the entire game while Johnson, who holds the school
record for career yards passing, watched from the sideline.
The Aggies (5-3, 2-2 Big 12) trailed 7-0 early, but Tannehill threw
three touchdown passes in the first half to give Texas A&M a 24-14
halftime lead. Gray had touchdown runs of 54 and 2 yards in the third
quarter to stretch the lead to 38-14.
Taylor Potts threw for 227 yards and a touchdown for the Red Raiders
(4-4, 2-4). But Texas Tech fumbled twice near the goal line and Potts
was replaced by Steven Sheffield in the fourth quarter. Sheffield had
129 yards passing and two touchdowns.
Jeff Fuller caught two of Tannehill's touchdown passes and finished
with 11 receptions for 171 yards to become the second player in Texas
A&M history to reach 2000 career yards receiving.
The Red Raiders opened the second half with a drive that included a
54-yard reception by Detron Lewis. It was halted when Lewis caught an
11-yard pass on the next play and fumbled the ball, which was recovered
in the end zone by the Aggies. It was the second time Texas A&M
recovered a fumble in their own end zone.
Texas A&M's offense got going in the second quarter with
Tannehill finding Michael Lamothe on a 3-yard touchdown pass for a 10-7
lead. Lamothe added a touchdown on a 1-yard reception that made it 45-20
in the fourth quarter.
Fuller's first touchdown was on a 6-yard reception that pushed A&M's lead to 17-7.
Tech cut the lead to 17-14 when Lyle Leong caught a short pass from
Potts and dashed untouched into the end zone about three minutes later.
Adam James made his first catch of the season on a 12-yard reception on
that drive. He took a hard hit on the play that drew a flag on Texas
A&M's Von Miller. Former Tech coach Mike Leach was fired in December
amid allegations that he mistreated James after he suffered a
concussion.
Fuller gave the Aggies a 24-14 lead after a 2-yard touchdown catch
with 9 seconds left in the first half. That drive was helped by two
personal fouls on Tech for targeting defenseless receivers.
Texas Tech jumped out to an early 7-0 lead when Eric Stephens scored
on a 1-yard run midway through the first quarter. The Red Raiders took
possession after Texas A&M's pass on fourth-and-1 from the Tech 48
was batted down.
Texas Tech forced a fumble by the Aggies on its next possession and
was about to stretch the lead to two touchdowns, but Stephens fumbled
near the goal line and Texas A&M recovered. The Aggies capitalized
on that error with a 28-yard field goal by Randy Bullock that cut the
lead to 7-3.
Texas A&M running back Christine Michael suffered a broken right tibia on a carry in the third quarter.