ALAMO BOWL : Five Field Goals Plus Defense Equal Victory for Texas A

SAN ANTONIO — With star running back Leeland McElroy limping on the sidelines, Texas A&M; took the pressure off its offense by winning with defense.

The No. 19 Aggies got five field goals from Kyle Bryant and relied on its blitz-crazy defense to fend off No. 14 Michigan, 22-20, in the Alamo Bowl on Thursday night.

“Nobody has blitzed me like that this year,” Michigan quarterback Brian Griese said. “I really couldn’t enjoy playing in it. I’ve got a lot of bumps and bruises. That’s one sign you know you’ve played in a game.”

A&M; (9-3) generated enough offense behind a trio of freshmen running backs to set up Bryant and then protected its lead with a defense that frequently stacked nine men at the line to stop the run.

Michigan (9-4) had a three-game winning streak in bowl games snapped, and A&M; Coach R.C. Slocum improved his bowl record to 2-4 and ended a three-game losing skid in the postseason.

“It was a fun day,” Slocum said. “The team never wavered. It kept plugging and finished the season by beating a very good team. I was real pleased with our freshmen running backs who stepped up in the absence of Leeland.”

Bryant’s fifth field goal came from 37 yards out with 23 seconds left to give A&M; a 22-13 lead.

Michigan answered with a desperate 44-yard pass from Griese to Amani Toomer in the end zone with five seconds left, pulling the Wolverines to 22-20. But an on-side kick was recovered by A&M.;

Bryant kicked field goals of 27, 49, 47, 31 and 37 yards. A&M; also scored on a nine-yard run by Eric Bernard in the first quarter.