SOUTH BEND — In some ways, Reggie Brooks still can’t believe what happened in the 1993 Cotton Bowl against unbeaten and fourth-ranked Texas A&M.
His disbelief stems not from the fact that No. 5 Notre Dame football rolled to a 28-3 win, its first of three in a limited all-time series against the Aggies. Notre Dame opens the 2024 season at the Aggies’ Kyle Field on Aug. 31.
Nor was Brooks, playing in the final game of a decorated college career, shocked to finish with a game-high 115 rushing yards on 22 carries as the Irish closed out a 10-1-1 season.
Jerome Bettis, “Thunder” to Brooks’ “Lightning” that season, grabbed the headlines with three scores (one receiving) and just 75 ground yards, but Brooks finished fifth in that year’s Heisman Trophy voting.
Instead, what still makes the 53-year-old Brooks chuckle is how his two lost fumbles, including one at the Aggies’ 4-yard-line, didn’t leave his ears burning with a sideline lecture from coach Lou Holtz.
“I really thought Coach was going to rip my head off, but he didn’t,” Brooks said this summer during a charity golf outing at the Golic SubPar Classic. “He actually gave me the ball back and said, ‘You haven’t done this all year.’ Maybe that was part of the reason: I hadn’t fumbled all year, and then it was like, ‘Oh, that was an anomaly.’“
Championship countdown?: Marcus Freeman enters Year 3 with high hopes for Notre Dame football
Reggie Brooks’ fumbling ‘anomaly’ vs. Texas A&M
A converted defensive back who went 45th overall to Washington in the 1993 NFL Draft, Brooks averaged a whopping 8.0 yards per carry while rushing for 1,353 yards and 13 touchdowns in his breakout year.
The Irish sideline was stunned when Brooks fumbled a pitch from quarterback Rick Mirer on the game’s opening series.
The Aggies failed to capitalize on…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/wrecking-crew-got-wrecked-reggie-230801228.html
Author : South Bend Tribune
Publish date : 2024-08-22 23:08:01
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
