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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 17, 1981)
THE BATTALION Page 9 | TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1981 Sports Coach should be given fair chance to see result of work TANK MCNAMARA Rumors are once again spreading of the pos- ile dismissal of head coach Tom Wilson, latsoothing unusual. The thing that is parti- tularly disturbing to me is the fact that some- ttjjig may happen soon. If it’s the wrong move itis indeed unfortunate. Most likely some person(s) with power and no knowledge of the football program will like ly Blake the decision to keep him or run him I m not saying that Wilson will quit, be fired orgivenavote of confidence. That is not up to Ritchie Priddy Several things should be made perfectly dear before any action is taken, though. One, Tom Wilson has the respect and admiration of bis player# and the people who know him. In fact, l would dare say that anyone who has had the opportunity to meet the man would have trouble criticizing him. Sure, he’s had trouble coming up with a winner. That is starting to turn around now. However, everyone, or at least those few bles sed individuals with power, thinks that a coach has to win from day one. People seem to forget it takes time to build a program, especially with a new offensive attack. Throw in a loathing change and it takes even longer. When Emory Bellard Left AficM for greener pastures the players, almost without excep tion, insisted upon Wilson as his replacement. Why? Wilson cared about his players enough to take that extra step it takes to help his play ers perform. Wilson also has a great offensive mind. One only has to look at his record for proof of that. Not his win-loss record, though that is not bad in itself. A winning record takes time to build up. Wilson took over a wishbone team, one that was quite effective. However, it was also one that had its share of critics. People said they loukl write the A&M game plan on a postage stamp (Up the middle in a cloud of dust). Tilings had to change and Wilson was just the man to do it. People seemed to forget that his first play as head coach called for a pass from the 1- formation with a man in motion, something unheard of from A&M. That play, against Rice in 1978, resulted in a long touchdown pass. That should have told everyone things were going to change. Since then he has been through two had seasons (6-5 and 4-7). Lots of excuses can be made for the performances of his teams. It doesn’t seem to matter that A&M’s losses in ’79 were by fewer than 28 points, two of which were by one point. The Aggies traveled to Penn State with an 0-2 record and upset them 27-14 and they closed out the year with a 13-7 win over Texas. Given a few breaks, the Ags could have been 9-2. Although last year’s team was different, finishing 4-7, it showed a lot of character and determination. Not many people picked up the fact that beginning with the second half of the Arkansas game last year A&M was a diffe rent team. One that believed in themselves. Wilson takes the blame for the mistakes and losses endured during his tenure as, I guess, a coach should. At the same time he doesn’t give himself much of the credit for his successes. Though he has had his problems winning all of the games, he has instilled a winning atti tude in his players, and that alone is probably the most important thing a team can have. That is particularly true of this year’s team. Unfortunately, most people can’t see that, or what’s worse, don’t even want to see it. Having been around the team off and on since last April, I have had the opportunity to observe the attitude and “feeling of the team. The general attitude reflects one of confi dence, leadership and desire. The players are confident that they are win ners. They believe they can win. On and off the field they are winners. Something Wilson takes particular pride in is the fact that so many players are doing much better in school as well as in football. Not many coaches can claim that. The leadership that has been absent for so long is finally there. Seniors such as Kent Adams, David Bandy, Keith Baldwin, Mike Little and Mike Whitwell see to that. But it doesn’t stop there. Many of the younger play ers, juniors on down, are becoming leaders, good team leaders. Desire is one of the main ingredients of a winning program. Everyone involved wants to be a winner. Few, however, will pay the price of success. I can’t help but think that one would be hardpressed to find one, just one, player on the 1981 squad that is not willing to pay that price. Youth and talent are also characteristic of this team. There are only five starting seniors on the squad. The team is young but has per formed well this year. Through nine games it ranks among the leaders in total offense. That’s rather remarkable considering the fact that the first team is made up largely of underclassmen. The defense is almost the same way. The Texas Aggies are clearly a team of the future. When you have the talent of Johnny Hector, Earnest Jackson and Thomas Sanders, each gifted in different ways, you’ve got one of the best backfields in the nation. That’s excluding perhaps the best quarterback in the confer ence. Next year look for some all-Americans back there. Defensively it’s more of the same. Still, people consider only the won-loss re cord of a coach, especially here at A&M. I would hate to think of a university, of any size, where the pressure applied to the head coach is worse than that of Texas A&M. Other than the possilde exception of Texas one doesn’t exist. I can’t figure out why this is so. Maybe people have things in proper perspective; maybe they don’t here. Whatever the reason, the pressure that Wil son has endured his entire reign is tremendous and he is paying a price for that. The continuous threat of one’s job being taken away is enough to bring down even the strongest individual. Sooner or later it comes time to draw the line. One side has got to give or stand up for what he believes in. Wilson believes in his team and I think that he will do what is best for his team, even if that means stepping down. I am nothing more than a believer in this 1981 football team and in the man that has taken them from the depths of frustration to the edge of something great. How anyone can destroy something like that is beyond me. NO, NOT OM TflE FORMER^ LEVEL OF COMPETITION), BUT YOU (AM FIAT YOUR. ORGANIZEP 9FDRT ALTER jOOR COLLE&E by Jeff Millar & Bill Hinds ,1/ VERY Pitt, Clemson strengthen positions as top two teams Aggies defeat Rice for second place With the hosting Texas A&M University soccer team winning 2- 0 over Rice University midway through the first half. Owl coach Mike Henshaw turned to one of his players on the bench. Texas tickets to be distributed differently “We can get this game back easily,’ he said. 'All we need is one goal. ” One minute later, the Aggies scored again to take a 3-0 lead, and the Rice sideline became quiet. Although they played aggressively the entire game, the Owls weren’t able to catch the Aggies, who won Saturday’s match 5-1 with two more second-half goals. With the win, the Aggies finished the season with a second- place 4-0-3 record in the South west Conference Soccer League, while the team’s overall record was 7-4-3. Carlos Gutierrez scored the Aggies’ first goal off’ an assist by Neto Walsh 15 minutes into the first half, while Walsh came hack to add a goal one minute later. Walsh scored his second goal of the match 10 minutes later as the Aggies took a 3-0 lead at halftime. Texas A&M’s Gutierrez and Carlos Cline scored in the second half for the Aggies’ last two goals. United Press International NEW YORK — Georgia, the defending national champion, in ched its way to the No. 3 ranking today while Pittsburgh and Clem son strengthened their positions as the top two teams in college football in balloting by UPI’s Board of Coaches. The top-rated Panthers, 9-0 fol lowing a 48-0 triumph over Army, became just the second team to hold down the No. 1 position for three straight weeks. Pittsburgh, riding the nation’s longest win ning streak among major colleges at 16 games, received 40 of the 42 first-place votes from UPI’s coaching board and accumulated 628 points. Clemson, 10-0, champion of the Atlantic Coast Conference and on the verge of its first perf ect sea son in 33 years, received the re maining two first-place votes and totaled 584 points. With Washington’s 13-3 upset of Southern California — rated third last week — the oncebeaten Bulldogs rose to their highest rat ing this season. Georgia received 515 points from the board — com posed of six coaches from each of seven geographical sections of the country. Alabama, 8-1-1 following a sur prisingly easy 31-16 victory over Penn State, jumped two spots to the No. 4 position, receiving 505 points. The victory gave Bear Bryant his 314th coaching victory, tying him with Amos Alonzo Stagg for the most wins ever by a coach. Rounding out the Top 10 are Student ticket distribution has been changed for the Texas A&M- Texas game, according to ticket manager Jim Kotch. Beginning Thursday at 7 a. m. seniors and graduate students may pick up their tickets. Friday juniors may pick up their tickets, Monday sophomores and Tuesday freshmen. Any remain ing tickets will go on sale Wednesday. Also, students are urged to keep their coupon books if they wish to purchase howl tickets should the Aggies receive a hid. Your Danskin Headquarters Manor East Mall 779-6718 * * ¥ * * * * CHARLES E. 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Southern Cal, the only other of the six teams rated No. 1 this year to hold that position for three weeks, tumbled six positions this week while Penn State, losing for the second time in three weeks, dropped nine spots. Nebraska, 8-2, advanced two places as did Michigan, Texas, 7- 1-1, and undefeated and once-tied Southern Mississippi. Arkansas, with a 13-10 victory over Texas A&M, moved up three spots to reach the Top 10 for the first time this season. Oklahoma, rated 11th last- week, lost to Missouri 19-14 and dropped from the rankings for the! first time this season. ; | Also dropping out of the Top 20 are Hawaii, which lost its first- game of the season last week to? Brigham Young (13-3), Florida State and Minnesota. 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