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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 16, 1981)
Page 14 THE BATTALION MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1981 Sports Statistics tell story of Aggies’ costly errors and bad breaks By RICK STOLLE Battalion Stall Many Aggies have to be won dering what is it going to take to win football games this year. It seems like everytime A&VI gets going and gets a little momentum, something happens to snuff it out. Most Aggie scoring threats have been turned away by turnov ers and penalties. As it says in Murphy’s Law, whatever can go wrong will, and that saying has never been more appropriate than it has for the Ags this year. Inopportune fumbles, inter ceptions and penalties have pla gued the Aggies all season. But for you trivia huffs, since the start of conference play for the Aggies, a great discrepancy has arisen in the turnover area. A&M has committed 16 tur novers (eight apiece by fumble and interception) while the oppo sition has committed only 10. And that interesting statistic includes three “perfect games where the opposition did not turn the ball over at all. If one were to exclude the Texas Tech and Rice victories, where ev erything was fairly even, the tur nover discrepancy would he even worse. A&M has 12 turnovers in those four games while the confer ence opposition has only two. Yes, that s right, two. Both were in the Houston game where A&M recovered one fumble and had an interception. Baylor, SMU and Arkansas have all had "per fect games against the Aggies. In the 10-7 loss to Arkansas, A&M turned the ball over only once. But that one time was the fumhle that deflated the Aggies' balloon, while the Hogs did not turn it over at all. 1 hat one fumble was caused by Arkansas defensive end Billy Ray Smith when he sacked Aggie quar terback Gary Kubiak in the final moments of the game. The Aggies were driving for what could have been the game-winning score. It swung the momentum over to the* Hogs, and they were able to hold on to the ball long enough to deny A&M a chance to win the game. But at least the penalty situation went the Aggies' way against Arkansas. The Aggies had only three penalties for 27 yards while the Hogs had five for 46. But with out the 15-yard penalty on Hog coach Lou Holtz late in the game, it would have been virtually even. In the early season games, the turnovers and penalties were fair ly even. Against California, both the Aggies and Golden Bears com mitted two turnovers. California had 72 yards worth of penalites while A&M had only 15. In the next game, A&M committed four and Boston College five, and the penalties were nearly even at 53 and 54 yards respectively. Analysis Louisiana Tech was a good game for the Aggies, in all depart ments. Not only did the Ags win big, they only had one turnover while Tech committed three. But Tech had only 78 yards in penal ties to A&M’s 94. In the first conference game, all three departments were com pletely even. Both Texas Tech and A&M had four turnovers and 107 yards in penalties. Against Hous ton, the turnovers were even, but the Cougars had no penalites to the Aggies seven for 77 yards. Baylor’s perfect game had the Ags turning the ball over four times, and the Bears’ 30 yards in penalties were paltry compared to A&M’s 80. In the next game against Rice, for the first time, everything went the Aggies’ way. Rice committed four turnovers to A&M’s one and had 41 yards in penalties com pared to the Aggies 72. Then came two “perfect games and two devastating losses for the Aggies. In two of the most critical games of the season, the opposi tion did not commit a single tur nover. Against SMU, the four A&M turnovers loomed large, especially considering the fact that the Mustangs were flagged only three times for 23 yards. A&M had 9 penalties for 95 yards. The Arkansas loss crushed Aggie hopes for a Cotton Bowl berth, and the team must rebound against TCU or all hopes for even a bowl game will be snuffed out. Given half a chance or an even break with the breaks, A&M could be at least 7-2. And six points sepa rate the Aggies 5-4 record from a very possible and respectable 8-1. As it stands, with the 5-4 record, the Aggies will have to scramble to get a bowl berth and a winning record. All season long, the Aggies have not had the breaks it takes for a team to win football games. They have the talent to win and win big but without the little things they don t even have a chance. It defies imagination to under stand how all the breaks in the most crucial conference games of the season can continually go to the Aggies’ opposition. Not only do they get all the breaks, they even play fantastic football. Aggie players and coaches have to start wondering what it will take for them to survive all the “per fect” games. They have played their hearts out game after game and have still lost. Throughout all sports, the breaks usually even out. The law of averages states that simply. Af ter 99 flips of the coin that turn up tails, that one hundredth time is nearly a sure bet for heads. If heads don t start turning up soon for the Aggies, A&M won’t have a team or a coach left to put on the field. All of them will be in the hospital with ulcers and nervous breakdowns. D£AR> OLD AO, VJE WERE SO D/E'APPP/A/T&D TO SEE SO MANY 0E YOU EEAV/A/O- GETp/ZE T/YE EA/D OF THE EO0T&ALL GAME O/V SATURDAY. WE A L WAYS THOOEHE THAT ACrS/ESP/R/F LASTED FDAEVER! SURPRISED WE WERE TO FIND /TD/ES SO SOOA/ A f TER DA/E GRADUATES. WE REALIZE YOU CAN OP ANYT////VC YOU WANT, Bor WE NOPE YOU WILL TRY TO RESURRECT YOUR AGSIE SPIRIT. tP YOU HAD STAYED ON SATURDAY YOU WOULD NAVE SEEN AN ACC//E TEAM T//AT DIDN'T QU/T AND AN APD/E STUDENT BODY THAT DIDN'T QUIT/ /WFACT WE STAYED AFTEF THE (TAPE FOR YELL PRACT/^E/ TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR A^C/E RING- NEXT TIME ... AMO REMEMBER ... /0, 20 , MAYBE SO YEARS ACO . , . CAN YOU LEASJE US THEN p WE HOPE A!OF. I oMT FROhA ^ rHE (TTASSBS OF 'QL, 'B3, ep, Bs P.s. rxoM r//e i-EATovs* oMsso^'e/ twc / HE* Ms! Cup tm% MD SEND If I, To SoM£0fj( WWO fj&ps ir!I GIG '£h\j I I THE ART SHOPPE “One Step To A More Beautiful Apartment!” • Wildlife Prints • Posters Perfect For Decorating • The Original “Aggie Armadillo” • Custom Print and Diploma Framing 2200 S. College 10% Student Discount on Art Supplies 822-5130 1 WA.NT >1 tJ! FLIC TFIIE VAcicry \i i M Nov. 16' h -20"' Nov. 30 ,h -Dec. 1 INTERESTED? STOP BY OUR TABLE DISPLAY AT THE MSC 1 1 A.M.-2 P.M. RUT, SELL, TRADE On RENT THROUGH THE AA ■McDonald's DRIVE-THRU WINDOW MCDONALD’S INTRAMURAL HIGHLIGHTS At University Drive Now on S. Texas Ave. At Manor East Mall McDonalds BREAKFAST EVERY MORNING IM Game Plan WORKOUTS: Wheelchair workouts are scheduled twice this week, Monday and Friday from 3 to 5 p.m. in Room 304 East Kyle. All handicapped and non-handicapped persons are wel come. For more information call the IM-REC Sports Office or stop by 159 East Kyle. BASKETBALL: E ntries for basketball competition next semester begin November 30 and end December 8. Start organizing a team now to compete in one of 10 divisions: Men s and Women s Dorm A & B, Men’s and Women s Independent A & B, Men’s and Women’s C, GoRec A, B, and C, and Men s and Women’s Super League. MEETING: There 1 will be 1 an Extramural Sports Club Monthly meeting Tuesday, November 17 at 6:30 p.m. in Room 162 East Kyle. All sports clubs must have a member present. TURKEY TROT: The 12th Annual Aggie Turkey Trot will he held Thanksgiving Day. There is no better way to warm-up for the Texas game than a brisk run. Acknowledgements McDonald’s® Intramural Highlights is sponsored each Monday in the Battalion by your local McDonald’s® Restaurants at Univer sity Drive, Manor East Mall and Texas Ave. Stories by John Bramblett; photos by David Einsel and Bob Sebree. Winter Pool Hours Effective TODAY, November 16, the pools will be open for recreational swimming during the following hours: Outdoor Pool Monday & Wednesday 12-1:30 p.m. Indoor Pool Monday & Wednesday 6-7 p.m. Tuesday & Thursday 6-10 p.m. Friday 6:30-9:00 p.m. Saturday & Sunday 1:00-5:00 p.m. A valid student ID or recreational ID is still required to enter the pool and DeWarc 1 Fieldhouse. Handball Wrap-Up All-University handball champion Jeff Bron son, right, jokingly throttles his finals opponent, Coke Smith. Aggie Turkey Trot Set For Thanksgiving The Texas game, the Bonfire, and the Turkey Trot. Yes, the annual Aggie Turkey Trot has be come another one of A&M’s Thanksgiving tradi tions. The 12th Annual Turkey Trot will he a 3.2 mile run, jog, or walk (depending upon the individual s condition and personal preference) starting at 8 a.m. Thursday, November 25, “rain or shine”. Starting at G. Rollie White Coliseum, runners will follow a course to Jersey Street, Texas Avenue, East Main Drive, and past Krueger-Dunn Hall hack to the coliseum. In the Aggie spirit, everyone, regardless of age or Alma Mater, is welcome to participate. Families are especially encouraged to come out. Visitors to Bryan-College Station can trot along with the rest of us. There is no entry fee and no need to preregister. This is a non-competitive event designed to pro mote individual and family physical fitness, so all participants will receive certificates. T-shirt trans fers will be on sale for $1.00. The turkey trot is sponsored by the Health and Physical Education Department and Intramural- Recreational Sports. Anyone wishing further infor mation should contact Dr. John Chevrette in the P.E. Department of Barbara Aiken in the IM-REC Sports Office. Don’t miss this chance to head off those Thanks giving dinner calories! Handball Singles action ended this week. In Divisional play, Jeff David son from D-l captured first place in Corps A, and Coke Smith won Men’s Independent Class A. The Class A Faculty-Staff-Crad win ner, Jeff Bronson, defeated Coke Smith in teh All-University Fin als to win a championship T- shirt. In Class B action, Barbara diS- iouidi of Neelev won the Wom en’s All-University Crown after a had fought final match against Terri Miller. Dan Coolidge of Gater-2 won the Corps B Divi sion. Bay Trimmer won the Inde pendent B division, while Bill Moore of Walton Hall won tlic Dorm B finals. Ray and Bill battled for the Class B All- University Championship last Wednesday. After 2 strenuous games, Bill Moore was vic torious. Ask Us! Badminton ace Craig Janek is our McDonald’s® “Be Our Guest” winner this week. Craig can pick up his B.O.G. card, good for a free McDonald’s® meal, in the Intramural Office. What do you want to know about intramurals? How to sign up a team? Where to enter an individual sport? What to do when it rains? How to reserve a handball/rac- quetball court? Where is the pool? When is it open? How to reschedule a racquetball match? What is Class C? These are just a few of the questions people ask all the time. If YOU have a question, please ASK US. Write down your questions, put them in an envelope addressed to: “ASK US ’, Intramural Office, 159 East Kyle, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843 and either mail it, drp it by the IM office, or ask your IM Chairman or Athletic Corporal to drop it off. Questions received by Wed nesday will be answered in the following Monday’s McDonald’s Highlights. Suggestions and constructive criticism are always welcome, so let us know you thoughts and ideas concerning any aspect of the IM-REC Sports Program. Partners Judy Denman and Jimmy Wilson won their table tennis match, shown here, and earned a spot in the table tennis finals.