And we all scoffed at Army coach Stan Brock for being concerned about Jorvorskie Lane.

"All you have to do is watch film on him and watch him run. I think it will be pretty self-explanatory when they get out there," Brock said when asked early in the week about attempting to bring down the self-proclaimed 280-pound Lane.

Most wondered what game film Brock was watching, because it wasn't this season's. Lane entered Saturday's game with seven carries in three contests.

Was Brock watching last year's film? Or was he watching video from Texas A&M's 2006 victory over Army, when Lane had 24 carries for 101 yards and three touchdowns at the Alamodome in San Antonio?

Whatever he was watching, it was the right channel. Lane got his most action of the season, closing the deal on a 21-17 A&M victory by running out the clock with six straight carries for 34 yards. Army couldn't stop him from picking up first downs, despite knowing he was coming.

It was one of few bright spots for the Aggies, who again had to stop Army on a fourth down late in the game to salvage a victory over the Black Knights. Two years ago in San Antonio it was much more dramatic. The Aggies needed a goal-line stop with time expiring to save a 28-24 victory.

That tussle with Army propelled the Aggies to a 9-4 record and a Holiday Bowl appearance.

With the Big 12 schedule up next, which includes three games against top 10 teams, there were no signs Saturday at Kyle Field of good things to come. Not for 2008, anyway.

Yeah, it was a win and coaches were happy to be sending fans home with that in hand. The freshmen were glad to be walking off Kyle Field smiling for the first time.

But this was Army, 0-3 Army, a team that hadn't scored a touchdown in seven quarters entering the game.

Army, which lost to 1-3 Temple 35-7 at home.

Army, which had scored 20 points in three games, one of which was against a Football Championship Subdivision team.

Despite looking explosive at times on offense with passes to Jeff Fuller and Ryan Tannehill and a run by Cyrus Gray, A&M didn't get a first down until its fourth possession. On defense, A&M gave up 21 first downs and had trouble getting the ball back, allowing Army to hold it for 36 minutes, 46 seconds.

A&M coach Mike Sherman said he was disappointed in the fact that the Aggies didn't sustain any drives in the loss to Miami. He won't be any happier after Saturday. The Aggies couldn't begin a drive, let alone sustain one. They had nine possessions, and five times they were punting within four plays.

Army's parachute team that entertained the 84,090 on hand before kickoff crossed midfield more often than the Aggies.

In all of the frustration, there were two telling moments that must really trouble the A&M staff.

The first came in the second quarter when the Aggies allowed a team that had two touchdowns all year drive 84 yards to tie the game at 7.

The Black Knights obviously hadn't had many sustained drives themselves this season, and instead of making them earn every yard, the Aggies had three personal foul penalties, giving Army 39 free yards. Just to top it off, A&M added a fourth personal foul on the extra point, allowing Army to kick off from its 45-yard line.

Then, with an opportunity to put the game away late in the third quarter, the Aggies cratered. Tannehill made a great individual effort to pull down a Jerrod Johnson pass for 26 yards at the Army 26. The Aggies went backward on three straight plays, and instead of being in field goal range at the 26 or driving for a touchdown, the Aggies lost 10 yards and sent Justin Brantly out to punt.

If that wasn't bad enough, the always dependable Brantly shanked the punt and Army started on the 26.

The Aggies can play this off -- and for the most part did after the game -- as a win that will build confidence going into the Big 12 schedule.

That's a hard sell if you break down what should have happened Saturday in comparison to what did happen.

Even with the injuries at quarterback, A&M should have dominated. Instead, Army played the Aggies straight up in every phase of the game. And for the third time in four games, the Aggies were outplayed in the second half by what was thought to be an inferior team.

One could argue the difference on Saturday was one play: Freeney's fumble recovery and 58-yard touchdown return.

Army had no gamebreakers. A&M can at least claim a couple, witnessed by the four big plays that accounted for more than half of the Aggies' 290 total yards of offense.

That advantage ends next week with the start of Big 12 play.

Richard Croome's e-mail address is richard.croome@theeagle.com