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Jerrod Johnson was supposed to be the quarterback to lead Texas A&M back into contention this season after years of mediocrity and worse.
Instead, the senior who holds most of A&M's passing records has struggled and the Aggies dropped three games in a row.
Then Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman decided to take a gamble. He split the snaps between Johnson and Ryan Tannehill in one game, even though the backup had thrown just 13 career passes, and then benched Johnson two weeks ago.
So far, the move has paid off with Tannehill 2-0 as a starter and the Aggies (6-3, 3-2 Big 12) back in the hunt for the Big 12 South entering Saturday's game at Baylor (7-3, 4-2).
Tannehill threw for 155 yards and three touchdowns in the win over Kansas where he shared time with Johnson. Then the junior, who had spent most of his time at receiver, threw for a school-record 449 yards with four touchdowns in his first career start, a 45-27 win over Texas Tech.
Last week, he had 225 yards passing and two touchdowns to help Texas A&M knock off Oklahoma 33-19 and enter the Top 25 for the first time since 2007 at No. 23.
Tannehill doesn't believe the turnaround is because of him and credits his team for staying positive.
''We had a three-game losing streak, and that's hard on everyone,'' he said. ''But no one ever gave up. You'd look in everyone's eyes and see that no one is giving up.''
Tannehill is happy to have a couple of games of experience and believes bouncing back after throwing a pair of interceptions against the Sooners will help his development.
''I think I learned more in this game than in any other game,'' he said. ''They are probably the best defense we've played so far. I didn't play real well and I realize that. I have to learn to take care of the ball and throw the ball away in certain situations.''
Sherman loves how Tannehill has helped the offense become a more up-tempo group and the players enjoy playing at a quicker pace.
''It's a lot of fun when we get the tempo going and we are executing and making big plays, and the defense gets tired,'' receiver Ryan Swope said. ''It just opens up the whole field.''
Baylor coach Art Briles is more familiar with Tannehill than most after meeting him when the quarterback was starring in high school in Big Spring.
''I guess the change kind of provided a little spark and it has certainly done it,'' he said. ''(Ryan is) very competitive, very intelligent and a guy that just has the ability to make plays. He's a multi-sport athlete coming out of high school and is a (player) that guys will rally around a little bit.''
Briles hopes Tannehill, whose two starts have come at home, will be a bit less comfortable playing in a hostile road environment.
''It is imperative that we get him out of a comfort zone,'' Briles said. ''I think a lot of that can be done by our crowd in the stadium. When you can't hear or talk to the guy next to you, it's different and it makes a big difference in the football game.''
The Bears are looking to bounce back after a tough 55-28 loss to Oklahoma State last week that ended a three-game winning streak. Robert Griffin threw for 267 yards, but had an interception with no touchdowns.
He isn't worried about the bad feelings from the game bleeding into this week.
''I took a lot of blame for the game,'' he said. ''That is what I am supposed to do because I'm a leader. We didn't play well and things didn't go our way. It doesn't matter who made the mistakes, we lost the game and that is that. I will take that on my shoulders and I will make sure that everyone is ready to play this weekend.''
The Aggies hope to do a better job in containing Griffin than they did in his last meeting with Texas A&M. Griffin threw for 241 yards and a pair of scores and added 56 yards rushing to lead Baylor to a 41-21 win in 2008.
''They can be a hot offense,'' Sherman said. ''The quarterback can take off and run and take it the distance anytime he wants to. He's a phenomenal player and seems like a great kid as well, and he's definitely deserving of Heisman Trophy consideration.''
