Texas A&M
The Battalion Sports
December 6, 1982 Page 13A
I'AU
BERNtgil
1 RtEL til
rHING
: ELT
onies, Horns, Hogs SWC winners in ’82
Season of promise over for the rest
■cora
is a mallei
t me diffna
.fry Kubiak’s injuries
pt him out of two games
a late start,'
111^ IU UU "Mil I t I..tfWvi;v.ViI.■...ga■ .aw
people wtpbe Rivera led Texas Tech
Btoear upset of Washington
he back o —
)hnson,al
il enginea
louston,
e accept k
:ame to let
1’t know n
1 all thisak
gie, but tits
pted me 4
1 as an Ag
pe of ■
gsm
Ray Smith and Hogs
ebonnet Bowl-bound
by John Wagner
Sports Editor
The 1981 Southwest Confer
ence football season ended with
four member schools in bowl
games, a super-group of incom
ing freshmen recruits and a slew
of talented returning starters
who would be back again to
make things exciting in ’82.
Everyone was talking
promise.
The experts explained that
SMU, the ’81 champion, wasn’t
even eligible for post-season
play because of an NCAA-
imposed probation. The Mus
tangs would be out of trouble
ancl ready to go in 1982, their
entire all-SWC starting back-
field intact, another year older
and wiser.
The fans hoped new coaches
like the Mustangs’ Bobby Collins
and Texas A&M’s Jackie Sherrill
would bring about a new era in
SWC football.
The networks drooled over
the choice of match-ups the sea
son would provide. Who to tele
vise when? The possibilities
were endless.
And so, the favorite word
around SWC training camps
and sports desks was “promise”.
Never before had the SWC con
tained so much potential, so
much excitement, so many con
tenders.
That was in the summer.
Now, in December, the Mus
tangs have fulfilled the prophe
sies of many and clinched their
second straight SWC champion
ship. The Arkansas Razorbacks
and Texas Longhorns are
headed for the Bluebonnet
Bowl and Sun Bowl, respective
ly. And everybody else is headed
back to the drawing boards.
The season that began with
such fanfare ended quite pre
dictably, and those that wanted a
Kiki DeAyala anchors
tough Longhorn defense
nine-team race for the cham
pionship may have been dis
appointed. Still, there were
more than enough highlights
for some schools. Below is a
team-by-team breakdown of the
1982 season.
SMU Mustangs: The Mus
tangs, 10-1 in 1981, had one goal
this season. They wanted to
make it to the Cotton Bowl.
They did. The Ponies finished
the regular season at 10-0-1,
with their only blemish a 17-17
tie with Arkansas. SMU peaked
as high as No. 2 in the national
polls before the tie with the
Razorbacks. And although the
tie didn’t hurt the Mustangs’
SWC championship hopes, it all
but ended their shot at the na
tional championship.
Currently ranked No. 4 in the
nation, SMU is scheduled to
meet the Pitt Panthers in the
Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1. And to
the victors go the spoils. The
Mustangs placed nine players on
the UPI all-SWC first team, in
cluding quarterback Lance
Mcllhenny and running backs
Quarterback Robert Brewer
leads ’Horns to Sun Bowl
Eric Dickerson and Craig James,
the second straight year the trio
was named first team all-SWC.
Texas Longhorns: Texas
started this so-called “rebuild
ing” year with so many new faces
even Coach Fred Akers had
trouble recognizing them. After
looking at a starting line-up that
contained names like Mossy, Jit
ter, and Curry, Akers probably
wondered if he had a football
team or a vaudeville act. It didn’t
take him long to find out. Nor
did it take Longhorn opponents
long.
After losing two straight in
the middle of their schedule,
one to Oklahoma and one to
SMU, Texas went on a tear.
Since then they’ve won six
straight, including a 50-0 defeat
of Houston, a 53-16 defeat of
Texas A&M and a 33-7 defeat of
Arkansas. The Longhorns, led
offensively by quarterback
Robert Brewer and defensively
by end Kiki DeAyala, are claim
ing now they’re the best team in
the SWOToo bad. The closest
the ’Horns are going to get to a
rematch with SMU is El Paso,
where they play North Carolina
in the Sun Bowl.
Arkansas Razorbacks: Many
people thought 1982 would be
Arkansas’ coach Lou Holtz’s
year. It could have been, but the
Razorbacks’ failure to stop SMU
in the fourth quarter and their
inability to win in Austin dam
pened Hogs’ hopes everywhere.
Another problem surfaced in
Waco, where the Bears upset
Arkansas and saved an other
wise dismal season. No problem,
though. The Razorbacks, led de
fensively by Lombardi Award
finalist Billy Ray Smith, are
headed to Houston to play the
Florida Gators in the Bluebon
net Bowl. Smith and his defen
sive cohorts were holding SWC
opponents to right around 10
points a game until they met the
Longhorns in Memorial Sta
dium. Holtz, despite his line re
cord at Arkansas, has never
beaten Texas in Austin. That’s
no easy task anyway, but the
Razorbacks might never pick
Cotton until they do.
Houston Cougars: The
Cougars began the SWC season
with a tie in Waco with Baylor.
They ended the SWC season
needing to beat winless Rice to
finish fourth in the conference.
They did, which wasn’t hard to
do, and leap-frogged over early
foe Baylor into fourth. The
Cougars finished the season 5-5-
1, but were outscored 215-252 in
11 games.
Baylor Bears: Baylor’s lone
highlight may have been its de
feat of Arkansas, and it couldn’t
have come at a better time. The
Bears had many of the high
school players they hope to sign
visiting the campus and attend
ing the game that day, and the
show they provided might have
turned the early recruiting tide
in their favor. Might is the key
word in that sentence, however.
Texas A&M: The Aggies will
remember 1982 as the year of
Jackie, injuries, and more in
juries. Texas A&M’s entire start
ing backfield missed at least two
games because of injuries
throughout the course of the
year, and tight end Mark Lewis
missed the entire season after
suffering a leg injury in the sea
son-opening contest against
Boston College.
For Aggie fans, however, the
most vivid memory of 1982
might be the sight of quarter
back Gary Kubiak sprawled out
in pain on the turf in Irving’s
Texas Stadium, during the
Aggies-Mustangs game in Octo
ber. Kubiak, second team all-
SWC this season, suf fered ankle
and hip injuries after being sack
ed early in the first quarter. He
missed two games. Another
bright spot for the Aggies was
kicker David Hardy. He wasn’t
injured at all, and was named
first team all-SWC, the only
Aggie to be named on the first
team.
Texas Tech Red Raiders:
Texas Tech was the suprise
team in the SWC this season,
finishing tied for sixth in the
conference with Texas A&M.
The Red Raiders, led by defen
sive end Gabe Rivera, defeated
the Aggies, Rice and TCU to
end the year 3-5 in SWC play. In
October, the Red Raiders
traveled to Seattle to play the
then-No.l ranked Washington
Huskies. Texas Tech took the
lead, then held on to the Huskies
until late in the fourth quarter,
when Washington scored 10
points to win the game, 10-3.
Still, Washington coach Don
Nelson said Rivera played the
best game he’d ever seen any de-
See SWC, page 15
Eric Dickerson named
all-SWC running back
‘Pony Express’ tailback
Craig James all-SWC also
Lance Mcllhenny takes
Ponies to Cotton Bowl
escribel
lanyfol
lectionl
fat free
, Sbisal
i PM
16"
i pizza,
r pizza,
ivery.
12"
pizza'
pizza.
/ery.
m
ilk
SUNDAY
❖
MONDAY
Watch for
I
TUESDAY
^ .W* *
Archte's Bell Ringer Christmas!
Archie plans to bring a white Christmas to some lucky Taco Bell
friend. Registration and details at both Archie's Taco Bells.
Prohibition Repeal
Amendment ratified,
1933.
MSC Christmas
Program,
call 845-1515.
MSC Town Hall
"Annie"
8 p.m., Dec. 6-8
7 T-Shirt Day is every
Tuesday at both
Archie's Taco Bells.
Nationa
Ding-a-Ling
Day (Really)!
13
Aggie finals start
December 13 - 17.
Red Cross Blood Drive,
December 13 and 14.
Call 822-2157 for info.
a. Q
Wear your Taco Bell T-
Shirt into either store and
get $1.00 off your pur
chase! (Not good with any
other offer.)
19
First Christmas
Greetings from
space, 1958 (via
satellite Atlas).
20
*
Drawing for Archie's
Bell Ringer Christmas,
in Bryan store at 1 p.m.
First day of winter.
It could get down
to 25° or up to 80°. W
Only in Texas!
26
Tired of
Turkey?
Come get
Tacos!
27
"Father of
Modern Astronomy",
Johannes Kepler, born
1571.
BEIili
WEDNESDAY
I Late Night T-Shirt
night every Wednes
day at Archie's Taco
Bell in Bryan. Wear your
Taco Bell T-Shirt into the
Bryan store between
11 p.m. and closing and
receive $1.00 off your pur
chase. (Not good with any
other offer.
Texas A&M Men's
Basketball at LSU
THURSDAY
Register now for Archie's
Bell Ringer Christmas!
(Look what's coming
December 20th and 22nd!)
Tanzania's
Independence (1961)
and
Republic (1962) Day
THIS COUPON GOOD FOR I
ree Burrito Supreme^ I
WITH PURCHASE OF ONE AT REGULAR PRICE
Soft flour tortilla. Fresh ground beef. Pinto beans. Sour cream. Lettuce and
tomatoes. Onions. Real cheddar cheese. Mild red or spicy green sauce.
Not good LIMIT: ONE COUPON PER PERSON PER VISIT offer good
with ,
other offer.
mco^Biiiii
GOOD ONLY AT ARCHIE'S TACO BELLS
Snow falls on
Archie's Taco
Bell in Bryan at
2 p.m.! Snowman
Contest for first
50 chidren.
Santa visits, too!
Texas became the
28th state, 1845.
Feast of
Radishes
in Oaxaca,
Mexico.
3901 S. Texas Ave. Bryan
310 N. Harvey Rd.
College Station
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
Illinois became the
21st state, 1818.
Texas A&M
Men's
Basketball at
Marquette
University
OPEN TIL 3:30 A.M.
OPEN 'TIL 3:30 A.M.
Texas A&M
Commencement
Texas A&M
Commencement
United Nations Human
Rights Day.
OPEN 'TIL 3:30 A.M.
Texas A&M Men's
Basketball:
Marshall Invitational
OPEN TIL 3:30 A.M.
7 days 'til Christmas!
Give burritos
and tacos!
OPEN TIL 3:30 A.M.
OPEN 'TIL 3:30 A.M.
Christmas Eve, Santa
comes tonight!
i j jiiiii
OPEN 'TIL 10:00 P.mIB
—————
Merry iwA
Christmas! .;}4yV:AV:
Closed MERtiti
^y. iMmm.
New Year's
Eve
OPEN VERY, VERY LATE
To list a public service an
nouncement on Archie's
Calendar of Events for
January, please call Ellen at
846-7753 by Dec. 15.