I I-JI \ > I I X WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1976 Aggies lose three Cotton Bowls a I© 8A , By PAUL ARNETT It was a cold, rain-swept day in Dallas back in November of’74. The setting was the Cotton Bowl; the football players were the Texas Ag gies and the SMU Mustangs. ^ The Aggies were ranked fifth in 1 the nation, and a victory over the t wasr Mustangs would all but clinch a nslatiiCotton Bowl berth on New Year’s Brps, sc Day. But the victory was not meant 'hnoloj t 0 be, and the Aggies lost on that ids. I autumn afternoon, 18-14. . . . dney .. .20 days and 20 nights ,irs — later another cold and rainy day Vmane awaited the Aggies in Austin. The 'at Cei Ags needed a victory over the Texas When Longhorns to wrap up the SWC ; Assoi championship and a trip to the Cot- ntenn ton Bowl. ■ gene) But Bellard’s bunch let that loped chance slip through their fingers, ta, in with two fumbles in less than a min- ads a u t e , fumbles that resulted in two ives. Texas touchdowns. The final score: Rodi 32-3, and the green and gold of the S'iah ; Baylor Bears and not the maroon Isign J and white of the Texas Aggies ad- But vanced to the Cotton Bowl that living: January. . . . g 0 °d .. . . 372 days and 372 nights s later the Texas Aggies traveled to rougl Little Rock with a perfect 10-0 rec- hool ’ or< L The Ags were ranked second in nth o t ^ ie nation, and a victory over the car Hogs would have assured them a mific trip to the Cotton Bowl and the findir right to play the Georgia Bulldogs. Three agonizing hours later Tin Coach Emory Bellard walked off ;>m ai War Memorial Field a dejected tl man . With his team’s 31-6 loss went the Cotton Bowl, an outright SWC 11* 6 championship, and a probable na- ev tional championship. Red and white ^ v delighted the Cotton Bowl crowd or P s three weeks later; maroon and e sn white gloomily watched the fes tivities on T.V.. . 286 days and 286 nights later the Ags prepared to meet the Houston Cougars. The Aggies were favored, and the game was billed as both a first conference win for A&M and a first conference loss for the Coogs. By the end of the first half the Ags wondered why they had even bothered to show up. Houston threw two quick touchdown passes and halted the Aggie Express before it ever built up steam. The score: 20-10. . 14 days and 14 nights later A&M was eliminated from the conference race. Texas Tech raced to a quick 21-0 lead and held on to defeat the Aggies 27-16. Since that fateful day in October the Aggies have not lost a game. With David Walker starting as quar terback the Aggie offense looks bet ter than ever before. And confer ence coaches agree that right now A&M has the best team in the con ference. If A&M had won those two cru cial games, the Aggies would prob ably be battling the University of Pittsburgh for the national title. Such a battle would pit two strong teams against one another: a team bent on using a strong rush against a team bent on stopping such a rush. Despite the losses. Coach Emory Bellard has the best record of con ference coaches for the past three years. Bellard has recorded 27 victories and only seven defeats, yet he’s not yet made a trip to the Cot ton Bowl on New Year’s Day. Why? That same outstanding coach has made mistakes that have kept his team away from greatness. A lack of offensive variety allowed a stacked offensive line to shut down the rush repeatedly during 1974 and 1975. But this year Bellard learned from his two-year mistake. He in serted trick plays and passed on first down to open up the offensive at tack. His crucial mistake was start ing David Shipman at quarterback, leaving Walker in the back-up posi tion. Shipman started the first five games A&M played. The Aggies lost two of those contests. Walker got his chance against Baylor and since then the Aggie offense has per formed well. Next year A&M should again prove to be one of the best teams in the conference. If the defense can be shored-up, then the Aggies may realize their elusive Cotton Bowl dream. The Ags have played second fiddle three straight years. It is time for first chair honors come Jan. 1, 1978. W omen slaughter Sam Houston 81 -52 By CAROLYN BLOSSEK Battalion Staff Writer After getting off to a slow and slug gish start, A&M’s women’s basket ball team put its offense into full gear to thoroughly crush Sam Houston State University 81-52 last night in G. Rollie White Coliseum. The Ag gies’ offensive attack was well bal anced as Margaret Byrne, Karen Muskiet, Cindy Gough and Susan Kimbro all scored in the double fig ures. But it wasn’t until near the end of the first half that A&M could gen erate much of anything. The game’s opening minutes, characterized by bad passes, few rebounds, slow motion-like movement and overall sloppy play, was anything but im pressive. A big turnabout, though, occured during the latter part of the first halt as the Aggies started picking up the slow pace with aggressive playing. good hustling and accurate shooting. Susan Kimbro looked especially impressive under the boards. The 5T0” freshman from Kyle gathered in 15 rebounds for A&M to lead the Ags in that department. Freshman Von Bunn also made things difficult for Sam Houston State with her aggressive defensive playing and frequent ball stealing. The Aggies made 42 per cent of their shots from the field, a great improvement over their last outing. Margaret Byrne led the way with 18 points, followed by Karen Muskiet who scored 12. Cindy Gough and Kimbro scored 11 and 10, respec tively. The win over Sam Houston brings A&M’s record up to 5-3. After a rest over the holidays, the Aggies will resume action here on January 15 against San Jacinto Junior College. oints brne Iso c the ig nt Vi A jf Li 3oyi ;hoi Joe >ter F ster low its fast in 1 Pui on] ste “ra ma < ! I 1 OPEN DAILY 9:30 A.M. — 10:00 P.M. CLOSED SUNDAY .. y/ivA +k///4far//#fi f/O/vry^ #Cmart Discount COUPON #£mart ti !C £ OLD SPICE GIFT SET Our Reg. 5.48 3 96 Limit 1 With Coupon 4 oz. deodorant, 4% oz. after shave, 6 oz. shave creme. COUPON VALID Dec. 8-Dec. 11 1 Discount COUPON R0LL-0N ANT-IPERSPIRANT Our. Reg. 97c With Coupon K-Mart brand 2.5 oz. roll-on. COUPON VALID Dec. 8-Dec. 11 * #£mart d Discount COUPON 300-CT. COTTON SWABS Our. Reg. 83c r^rmart Discount COUPON Limit 4 With Coupon Pkg. of 300 safe, flexible swabs. 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