Coaches are a realistic breed of people, and Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman is no exception.
With the hole Texas A&M has dug this season, his honesty helps the team more than it hurts it.
"I told the guys our backs are so far up against the wall that we've got splinters up our butts," said Sherman, whose team plays Texas Tech at 11 a.m. Saturday in College Station. "We need to fight our way out of this thing. That's the only way we can do it."
Several days after Texas A&M defeated Texas to end the regular season in 2007, Sherman was hired to restore prominence to the traditional program. He was the offensive line coach from 1989 to 1993 and in 1995 to 1996 under former Aggie coach R.C. Slocum.
Sherman left College Station in 1996 to become an assistant coach for the NFL's Green Bay Packers, where he eventually was head coach from 2000 to 2005 before taking another assistant coaching position with the Houston Texans.
Sherman said he remembers some moments against Tech during his previous stint in College Station, such as fans throwing tortillas on the field.
"I hate to see that wasted food on the field like that," Sherman said. "Other than that, I remember throwing an interception and (former Tech linebacker) Zach Thomas picking it off for a touchdown, and then having played that same player in the NFL and him doing the same thing."
Texas A&M (2-4, 0-2 in Big 12 Conference play) has lost 10 of the last 13 meetings against No. 7 Tech (6-0, 2-0), but when these two teams meet at Kyle Field the games can go either way. Since 1990, nine of the last 10 meetings have been decided by seven points or less.
The last time Tech visited Kyle Field in 2006, more than 85,000 fans left the game stunned. Tech quarterback Graham Harrell hit receiver Robert Johnson in the corner of the end zone to seal a 31-27 victory with 26 seconds remaining. And in 2007, Tech pounded the Aggies, winning 35-7 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock.
So this year, how does first-year Texas A&M defensive coordinator Joe Kines plan on shutting down an offense that scores 46.3 points per game and averages 556.3 scrimmage yards per game?
"Pray for maybe a torrential downpour," said Kines, who was defensive coordinator for Alabama in Tech's 13-10 loss in the 2006 Cotton Bowl. "If it rained about 14 inches in the first quarter, that'd probably slow it down a little bit."
Defensively, the Aggies are last in scoring defense, rushing defense, turnover margin and opponent third down conversion percentage in the Big 12. However, Texas A&M is first in pass defense, but that's mainly because teams have run so much against them, the unit has only seen 140 pass plays.
Tech coach Mike Leach said he always looks forward to Kyle Field every other year because of the experience and enthusiasm that takes place.
For Tech receiver Eric Morris, it's not that he shows no respect for the tradition of the Texas A&M Aggies, he just doesn't support the ideas as much as some people.
"I've never been a real big fan of it," Morris said. "There's a lot of them when they come marching in before the games, I guess the ROTC. I don't know what it is, really - the fake army, which I don't know if that's a good thing to say."
Leading the Aggies at quarterback this year has been sophomore quarterback Jerrod Johnson, who has taken over for senior quarterback Stephen McGee on several occasions. McGee is struggling to get back on the field after straining his shoulder in the second game of the season.
The Aggies two straight losses to begin conference play is a first for Texas A&M, and Sherman said Aggie fans should see the difference in seasons to come.
"I'm disappointed for the A&M fans that come to Kyle Field and don't go home with a win, driving back to Beaumont or Austin or Corpus Christi and their Aggies haven't won," he said. "I hope when they look at it they'll see guys coaching hard and playing hard and trying to do the right things, even though we've made our share of mistakes for a season already."
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