The Texas A&M Aggies have appeared in 26 bowl games, including 13 since 1986. The Aggies have a 12-14 record, but have dropped their last four in a row, including last year's thrilling 43-41 OT loss in the snow in the Independence Bowl.
Memorable Games
1922 Dixie Classic
It was the game that gave birth to the 12th man legend as coach Dana X. Bible's Aggies upset the previously unbeaten Centre College 22-14. The Aggies scored 22 points against a defense that allowed just six all season.
1940 Sugar Bowl
Texas A&M trailed 13-7 in the fourth quarter, but marched 69-yards capped by John Kimbrough's 24 yard run to tie the game. Jim Thomason's PAT gave the Aggies a 14-13 lead they would not relinquish as the defense held on to give Texas A&M an 11-0 record and the national championship.
1942 Cotton Bowl
From the "Tell your statistics to shut up" dept.: Alabama had just one first down (A&M had 13), gained just 59 yards rushing (A&M had 115), threw for 16 yards (A&M had 194) and punted 16 times. Yet, it was the Crimson Tide that walked away with a 29-212 victory over the Aggies. How did that happen? Texas A&M turned the ball over 12 times -- seven interceptions and five fumbles -- allowed No. 20 Alabama to score the upset over No. 9 Texas A&M.
1968 Cotton Bowl
Student faced teacher when Gene Stallings led surprising Texas A&M against former Aggie coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and Alabama and the student won this time. Stallings, guiding the Aggies to their first Cotton Bowl in 25 years and first postseason bowl in a decade, led Texas A&M to its seventh straight with a 20-16 decision over the 8th-ranked Crimson Tide. But Bryant, well known for his hatred of losing, didn't seem crushed by the loss. Instead, Bryant gave Stallings, one of the famed "Junction Boys" from Bryant's days at A&M, a ride on his shoulders after the game.
1986 Cotton Bowl
Texas A&M stopped Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson on four tries at the Aggie end zone in the fourth quarter to end Auburn's last chance at victory before pulling away late to notch a 36-16 victory in its first Cotton Bowl in 18 years. The victory capped a 10-2 season for Jackie Sherrill's first Southwest Conference championship teams.
2000 Independence Bowl
Louisiana is supposed to be known for gumbo, Mardi Gras and heat. Instead, snow blanketed Shreveport on New Year's Eve and made for one of the best games of the bowl season and one of the most memorable in A&M history. Barely able to make out the yard line as snow rained down, the Aggies and Mississippi State somehow got in a shootout despite hardly throwing the ball. Leading 35-21, Texas A&M surrendered two late TD's to MSU to force overtime. Ja'Mar Toombs scored for the Aggies in OT, but the PAT was blocked and returned for two-points by Julius Griffith. Mississippi State's Wayne Madkin scored on the next possession to give the Bulldogs the win. It was an A&M record for combined points in a bowl game and the first overtime bowl game in school history.
Memorable Performances
RB John Kimbrough
Kimbrough rushed for 159 yards on 25 carries and scored two TDs in the 1940 Sugar Bowl win over No. 4 Tulane to cap a perfect 11-0 season and give the Aggies the national championship.
RB Bob Smith
Smith had one of the greatest postseason all-around performances in the Aggies' 40-20 win in the 1950 Presidential Cup over Georgia. Smith opened the game with a 100-yard kickoff returns and added an 81-yard TD run in the first half. He finished with 160 yards rushing on 20 carries, 121 yards in returns, 22 yards receiving and even five passing to finish with 301 total yards for the day.
K Tony Franklin
It's not often kickers make lists like this, but Franklin was impressive in the Aggies' 37-14 win over Florida in the 1977 Sun Bowl. Franklin nailed three field goals, including a then-NCAA record 62-yarder.
RB Curtis Dickey
Dickey rushed for 276 yards on 34 carries and a TD to lead the Aggies to a 28-12 win over Iowa State in the 1978 Hall of Fame Bowl. Dickey's 276 yards was the second highest rushing mark in Aggie history.
QB Bucky Richardson
After missing the 1989 season with a knee injury, Richardson accounted fro 344 yards total offense (203 passing, 119 rushing, 22 receiving) and had four TD -- two rushing, one passing and one receiving -- in the Aggies' 65-14 rout of No. 9 BYU in the 1990 Holiday Bowl.
LB Dat Nguyen
Nguyen, the leader of A&M's Wrecking Crew defense, earned MVP honors as he notched 20 tackles -- including 15 solo -- in the losing effort to No. 5 UCLA in the 1998 Cotton Bowl.
RB Ja'Mar Toombs
Toombs carried the ball 35 times (a school bowl record) for 193 yards and three TDs (another school bowl record) in one of the wildest games in the Texas A&M history, the 43-41 OT loss to Mississippi State in the 2000 Independence Bowl.
