Although Iowa State lost to Texas A&M by a score of 24-21, Aggie coach R.C. Slocum and many A&M players payed their respects to the Cyclones in the post game press conference.

Slocum, who saw his offense get shut down for the second, third and most of the fourth quarter, was pleased to get out of Ames with the win.

“It felt good to go on the road and get a win. I’m not going to apologize for any win on the road against any Big 12 team. I am disappointed somewhat in our offense, specifically the dropped passes. You have to give Iowa State credit. They did a good job against us today,” Slocum said. “They crowded us up front on offense and made it tough for us to run, but it also left potential for big plays.”

Junior A&M quarterback Branndon Stewart was quick to give praise for the Cyclone defense.

“They played us very tough. They bunched us and made it difficult to move the ball at times. But I look at it as though we didn’t do things that we could have to move the ball. We didn’t execute,” Stewart said. “But they had a great plan. They were the best defense we’ve faced this year. It’s just good to see that we pulled together to make the plays we needed to win.”

It was big plays that hurt ISU the most. In the first quarter Aggie Dante Hall returned a punt for 69 yards for a score while A & M running back D’Andre Hardeman scampered 74 yards to set up his own one-yard touchdown. But the biggest play came from senior A & M Big 12 receiving leader Albert Connell. In the fourth quarter Connell scored on a 70 hitch pass that gave the Aggies a 24-14 lead with 7:52 left in regulation.

“He does it so much that I just come to expect those type of plays. He can turn any short pass play into a touchdown. I always expect something like that from Albert,” Stewart said.

Connell finished the game with four receptions for 91 yards and one touchdown. Currently, Connell has 41 catches for 589 yards to lead the Big 12.

“Albert is a big play receiver and he had a huge play today. We always are looking for him to break one,” Slocum said.

Iowa State big play running back Troy Davis was slowed up by the A&M defense, but still managed to rush for 130 yards. Davis’ 130-yard effort marked the first time this season that the Aggies have allowed an opponent to rush for over the century mark.

Davis also made national history again by becoming the first running back to rush for 1000 yards in five games in consecutive seasons.

“I though we came out and played tough. We knew Troy Davis was good and that it would be hard to contain him. We just wanted to keep him in front of us and play as hard as we could. I think we did a good job of containing him and making him work for his yards,” said Aggies’ senior defensive end Brandon Stewart.

Despite the close victory, Slocum and company were pleased with the outcome. The victory marked the first time that A&M won a Big 12 Conference game.

“We’re very pleased. We pulled together to get the win and collected out first conference win. We thought that it might be a close game. For so many of us, this is foreign country. We got off the plane and many had not even seen this area. But it has been very enjoyable. This is a great atmosphere for football and there are a lot of positive things going on here. This is great place and opportunity for us to play here and we look forward to many more matchups in the future,” Slocum said.