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COLLEGE STATION, Texas (Ticker) -- After making his reputation as a fiery scrambler, Randy McCown continues to emerge as a dangerous passer in 1999. McCown passed for a career-high 362 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score to lead 11th-ranked Texas A&M to a 34-17 victory over Kansas in a Big 12 Conference game. The fifth-year senior quarterback hit Leroy Hodge with a 15-yard touchdown pass and scored on a 15-yard run following a turnover in a span of 29 seconds late in the first half to give the Aggies a 17-10 halftime lead. It didn't take long for McCown to carry over the momentum as he connected with Chris Taylor on a 78-yard scoring play 52 seconds into the third quarter to increase the lead to 24-10. He completed 21-of-30 passes with an interception. "We have a few things to work on, but we had over 500 yards (522) of total offense," McCown said. "We knew if we could get a feel for the game, our momentum would carry us in the end zone. We wanted to establish the long ball, and that's something we were able to do." Taylor finished with four catches for 143 yards. The junior leads the Aggies with 22 catches for 467 yards and three touchdowns. Texas A&M (5-1, 2-1 Big 12 South) has won its last 17 games at Kyle Field, dating to a 13-10 loss to Texas Tech in 1996. After failing to pass for more than 195 yards in a game last year, McCown has enjoyed four 250-yard-plus passing performances this season. His previous career-best 320-yard effort came in a 62-13 rout of Tulsa on September 18. The 362-yard day is the third-best in school history, behind Branndon Stewart's 385 yards against Colorado in 1996 and Edd Hargett's 376 yards against Southern Methodist in 1968. Kansas (2-5, 0-3 North) suffered its 12th consecutive conference road loss, although the Jayhawks gave Texas A&M a battle for the second straight year. Last season, Kansas suffered a 24-21 loss to the Aggies in Lawrence. A 36-yard field goal by Joe Garcia and a one-yard run by Moran Norris in the first 6:05 of the second quarter staked Kansas to a 10-0 lead. The Jayhawks drove 46 yards in seven plays after defensive tackle Nate Dwyer recovered a fumble by McCown. Texas A&M scored its first points on a 40-yard field goal by Terence Kitchens with 5:04 left in the half and then capitalized on a roughing-the-kicker penalty and a fumble later in the quarter. Facing a 4th-and-13 at its own 17, Texas A&M caught a break when Kansas' Matt Jordan was penalized for roughing Aggies' star punter Shane Lechler. The penalty gave Texas A&M a first down at the 32 and McCown connected with Taylor on a 41-yard pass to the Kansas 27. "He (Jordan) came down and hit my right leg," Lechler said. "It was a huge penalty for us. I would expect to get that call every time if that much contact was made." "What I saw was a shank off the punter's foot, and the player was blocked into the punter, and I called roughing the punter," said referee Terry Turlington. Three plays later, McCown lofted a 15-yard pass in the back of the end zone to Hodge with 52 seconds left in the half. On the ensuing kickoff, Kansas' Mitch Bowles fumbled after he was hit by Michael Jameson and Jason Webster recovered for Texas A&M at the Kansas 37. Three plays later, he scored on a 15-yard run with 23 seconds remaining to give Texas A&M a 17-10 lead. "It was tough when they scored 14 points right before the half," said Kansas linebacker Andrew Leclair. "We tried to keep our heads up. It is tough to beat a team like A&M when we make those kinds of mistakes." On the second play from scrimmage in the second half, McCown connected with Taylor on a 78-yard scoring play, giving the Aggies three touchdowns in 1:50. A 26-yard scoring pass from Dylen Smith to tight end Sean McDermott pulled Kansas within 24-17 with 11:10 left in the third quarter. Smith was 17-of-29 for 141 yards. "They have a sound defense," Smith said. "They blitzed a lot, but I thought we prepared and were able to move the ball on them. They have a lot of speed, make big plays, and don't make mistakes." Kitchens kicked his second field goal of the game, a 35-yarder with 5:24 left in the third quarter, and Ja'Mar Toombs scored on an eight-yard run in the fourth quarter to seal the win. "I'm not satisfied at all," said Toombs, who had 52 yards on 10 carries. "We'll work hard this week and try to get ready for the Oklahoma game." Under the rotating scheduling format of the Big 12, this game is the last between the schools until the series is renewed at Kansas in 2002.
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