Texas

‘We Weren’t Loud Enough!’ Texas A&M Proves That ‘Talking Down’ Kyle Field is Personal

Published

1 year ago

October 6, 2024

‘We Weren’t Loud Enough!’ Texas A&M Proves That ‘Talking Down’ Kyle Field is Personal

COLLEGE STATION, Tx. — Standing along the back end zone as the Missouri Tigers attempted offense at Kyle Field, Texas A&M Aggies yell leader Kyler Fife kept it simple.

“Oh hell yeah,” he said when asked if the crowd at Texas A&M took Missouri’s challenge personally. “Oh hell yeah. I thought we weren’t loud enough!”

His arms outstretched for the latter statement, it was clear that Fife was among the crowd who did take it personally. And the aforementioned challenge?

Kyle Field was not as loud as the Tigers’ practice sessions.

“At some point it can only get so loud,” Missouri quarterback Brady Cook said during the week. “In my opinion, the noise at practice is actually louder. They put these big speakers pretty much two feet right behind me. You can’t hear anything.”

Evidently, The 12th Man made sure such was the case for Cook and company throughout the contest. By the end of the game, the Tigers were forced into a delay of game penalty, two false starts — back to back, no less — and a snap that came too early on a fourth-and-long they certainly needed.

Interestingly enough, the fans didn’t need much help getting pumped up, but they got some anyway. On a critical possession that would have given Missouri some momentum to chip away at the early 17-point lead the Aggies crafted, all it took for the student section to make a difference was a Sheck Wes song.

“Mo Bamba” rang through the speakers three times in a row on three straight plays. And the result was exactly what Texas A&M hoped for. Another failed offensive possession.

“It was kind of like playing the NCAA game,” Aggies edge rusher Nic Scourton said. “Going out there, having fun. Kyle Field’s rocking. We got them backed up. It’s something you dream of as a kid. Like, it’s crazy. It’s just this place is so special to play.”

With how special it’s seen, it made sense that the Maroon & White didn’t take kindly to any outsiders talking down on it, as Scourton explained. Especially not the noise factor.

“It has been interesting that we’ve had people call out Kyle Field a little bit,” Aggies coach Mike Elko said on The Aggie Football Hour. “I heard their quarterback say today that it’s louder in practice than it is at Kyle Field. To me, that’s a challenge to the 12th Man.”

“They kind of lit a fire on us,” Aggies edge rusher Nic Scourton added. “Coming into our place … talking down on Kyle Field. I think guys were really motivated to go out there and be dominant.”

That’s what happened. Texas A&M out-gained Missouri through the air, on the ground, in time of possession and everything else in-between. In the books, the win goes down as a complete domination. To the fans, it was a lesson taught to the Tigers.

And to the players? It was a personal statement.

One they felt good about making.

“What I took personally (was) them saying that their practice would be louder than our stadium,” Aggies leading rusher Le’Veon Moss said. “I took that personal because our 12th Man supports us to the end, no matter what happens.”

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Texas

Texas hands No. 10 Vanderbilt its first loss of the season with a dominant win

Published

11 hours ago

January 15, 2026

Press Room

Texas hands No. 10 Vanderbilt its first loss of the season with a dominant win

AUSTIN — Matas Vokietaitis scored 22 points, Tramon Mark added 21, and Texas handed No. 10 Vanderbilt its first loss the season, 80-64 on Wednesday night.

Dailyn Swain had 14 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Longhorns (11-6, 2-2 Southeastern Conference), who have consecutive victories over AP Top 25 teams, having beaten then-No. 13 Alabama on Saturday.

Mark scored 16 points in the second half including consecutive 3-poiners that pushed Texas ahead by nine midway through the half.

Chendall Weaver made a fast-break layup and two free throws to give Texas a 12-point lead with 6:27 left. Then Mark made two free throws to extend the lead to 14 with 5:37 left.

Mark is averaging 19.8 points in SEC games, hitting 11 of 23 3-point shots. He was 4 for 7 against Vanderbilt.

Duke Miles led Vanderbilit (16-1, 3-1) with 21 points and Tyler Tanner had 17. But Vanderbilt shot just 26.7% from the field in the second half, finishing the game at 36.7%.

Vanderbilt, a good 3-point shooting team, missed nine of 10 in the second half after making 8 of 15 in the first half.

Texas shot 53%, including 7 for 17 on 3-pointers.

The Longhorns led 42-37 after a fast-paced first half for both teams. Miles made three 3-point baskets and had 14 in the half. Tanner added 10.

The Longhorns shot 55% in the half, scoring 18 points in the paint, thanks to Vokietaitis and Swain, who combined for seven baskets inside. Vokietaitis also made all four of his free throws, finishing with 12 points in the half. Jordan Pope also scored 12.

Up next

Vanderbilt: Hosts No. 19 Florida on Saturday.

Texas: Hosts Texas A&M on Saturday.

Find more college sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

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Texas

Texas Tech softball coach rejects ‘rat poison’ preseason No. 1 ranking

Published

24 hours ago

January 14, 2026

Press Room

Texas Tech softball coach rejects ‘rat poison’ preseason No. 1 ranking

Texas Tech softball coach Gerry Glasco doesn’t seem to care for the Red Raiders’ No.1 preseason ranking in the Softball America poll.

“It’s nice to get the attention and nice to get the respect, but it’s rat poison as [Nick] Saban says,” Glasco said. “I’ve never had a team ranked No. 1 in college, so it’s a new thing for me. But it really [means] absolute nothing to me. I just want to work every day, get our team ready.

“It does mean this time is precious. We’ve got a rare opportunity this year. We’ve got a very unique team with a lot of talent. So it does mean the team’s precious, and we want to really value every opportunity to get better.”

Texas Tech will seek to avenge its 2025 Women’s College World Series loss to the Texas Longhorns. During its first WCWS appearance, the Red Raiders fell 10-4 in Game 3 of the championship series. Their remarkable march to the title series included a 54-14 regular-season record, Big 12 Coach of the Year honors for Glasco and conference regular-season and tournament titles.

The program’s historic run was also led by National Pitcher of the Year NiJaree Canady. The Stanford transfer played in 61 games for the Red Raiders, starting 56 matchups. She finished her junior season with a 34-7 record, 319 strikeouts, and a 1.11 ERA. As a hitter, she had a .278 batting average, 34 RBI, 30 hits and 11 home runs.

Looking ahead to the Red Raiders’ 2026 schedule, Glasco seems excited for the opportunities his roster has to compete and potentially make a run back to the WCWS.

“The schedule gives up everything we need,” Galsco said. “We’ve got really challenging games with Texas A&M, Florida State, Nebraska ― and then our conference is going to be tough. It’s going to be a great year.”

The Red Raiders open the 2026 NCAA softball season on Feb. 6 against McNeese State.

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North Texas prepares for major World Cup operations

Published

1 day ago

January 14, 2026

Press Room

North Texas prepares for major World Cup operations

North Texas FIFA World Cup organizers say this week will bring the first visible signs of activity.

“Tomorrow is a very big day for us,” organizer Monica Paul said. “The move-in for the International Broadcast Center for the World Cup begins. So, they will start moving in a lot of trucks, a lot of building out will take place.”

“I feel like we’re ready for this,” organizer Dan Hunt said. “I mean, this city has been built for this.”

Thousands of media arriving soon

Organizers say that by mid-May, 3,500 broadcasters, media, and staff are expected to arrive at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center.

Transportation planning will involve coordination across multiple cities and agencies, as millions of fans are expected to move across the region once the tournament begins.

“A large stakeholder group has been taking shape to put this transportation plan together,” Paul said. “Our last mobility plan is due to FIFA at the end of March.”

Security effort spans all levels

Safety and security will involve local, state, and federal partners.

“We are working with the White House Task Force for the World Cup,” Paul said. “It was set up specifically to be our federal government liaison with the host cities to address any concerns.”

Organizers say they want to ensure international visitors feel welcome.

Fan festival to anchor celebrations

For fans without tickets, Fair Park will host the FIFA Fan Festival, a large-scale viewing and entertainment experience during the tournament. The full schedule is expected to be released next month.

“With the good fortune we have here, Dallas Stadium will have nine matches which is over 700,000 tickets,” Hunt said. “Fan fest down in Fair Park should do double that. Almost 1.5 million visitors.”

“What I’m excited about is our Fan Fest is estimated to be free to the public and that excites me because everyone who does not have a ticket can also benefit from the energy of celebrating the World Cup,” organizer Nina Vaca said.

Long‑term goals beyond the tournament

With a projected $2.1 billion economic impact, organizers say the broader goal is to grow the game of soccer in North Texas long after the final match.

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