Texas A&M
impress TCU coach Wacker
Battalion Sports
Tuesday, November 15,1983/The Battalion/Page 11
give teams like Texas and SMU all
they can handle, Jackie Sherrill said.
by John P. Lopez
Battalion Staff
Surprise, surprise, surprise.
Texas A&M’s resurgance on
the football field this year has
turned a few heads in the South
west Conference.
In College Station, the
Aggies’ impressive play has
made the Jackie Sherrill invest
ment of two years ago apparent
ly start to yield dividends. And
it’s made players confident, bowl
representatives interested and
Texas A&M fans happy.
But the person that has the
Aggies on his mind more than
just about anybody these days is
TCU coach Jim Wacker. He’d
just as soon play the old Aggies
Saturday in Fort Worth.
You know, the team that ev
ery opponent in the SWC used
to laugh at prior to kickoff and
laugh at even more after the fin
al gun. The team whose offense
was miserable and whose de
fense was a cross between pathe
tic and ridiculous. The team that
didn’t have players like Kevin
Murray on offense and Ray
Childress on defense.
“For Pete’s sake,” Wacker
said in a press conference Mon
day. “Don’t let Childress play.
He could hurt somebody. And I
just wish Kevin Murray was still
playing baseball. He’s a great
quarterback — a threat every-
time he touches the ball.”
ay
Childress aren’t the only players
he was impressed with on the
Aggie squad.
“We’re going to find out if we
can line up with them,” he said.
“They’re a much bigger and
stronger team than us so it’s
going to take an unbelievable
effort on our part. We’re going
to have to play over our heads.”
Perhaps, but Texas A&M
head coach Jackie Sherrill said
the Horned Frogs are a talented
team that is capable of giving
opponents fits. Just ask the
Texas Longhorns — the No. 2
team in the nation that had to
come from behind last week to
defeat TCU 20-14.
I
“TCU has been in every game
they’ve played this year,” Sher
rill said. “And they always have
played Texas A&M well.
“They have some talented
players that have experience on
defense — their secondary is
good. And their outside line
backers (Gary) Spann and (Kyle)
Clifton can run. Their defense,
has been able to chase the ball
well.”
Offensively, Sherrill said the
biggest problem the Aggies will
have is coping with the veer
offense. He said that besides
having two talented runnin
backs in Kenneth Davis an
Egypt Allen, the Horned Frogs
also have a good passing game.
“It can be hard to prepare for
because they’re an option foot
ball team that runs play-action
passes,” Sherrill said. “They
never run straight drop-back
passes.”
AGGIE NOTES: Texas
A&M head coach Sherrill said in
his press conference Monday
that the only bowl the Aggies
could receive a bid to is the Inde
pendence Bowl. “It seems like
we may be in the picture for the
Independence Bowl. All the
other bowl games are just about
settled,” he said...Sherrill also
said he is still impressed with
Kevin Murray’s consistent play.
“I’ll take Kevin Murray’s mis
takes anytime, for what he does
for us. He makes fewer mistakes
than a lot of seniors. He can
completely control the other
team,” Sherrill said...Freshman
running back Keith Woodside
will start his second game at half
back for Texas A&M Satur
day...Aggie offensive guard
Randy Wylie, who sat out the
Arkansas game, will start against
the Horned Frogs.
owl games
1 SMU is upset, may only get bid for Sun Bowl; not Fiesta or Sugar Bowl
United Press International
l)though bids cannot official-
extended until Saturday,
college football post-season
' picture already has begun
develop and SMU athletic
t0 a [ icials think the entire thing is
kju ihipletely out of focus.
r( j a |’ jSMU’s athletic director, Bob
0 jch, and Football Coach Bob-
jA, Collins are terribly upset ab-
i a “gentleman’s agreement”
j , (ween officials of the Big Ten
Jpj nference, the Fiesta Bowl and
p Sugar Bowl that has appa-
itly left the Mustangs, the
i an( j am with the best recorcT in the
lion over the past three sea-
L • ts, out of the Jan. 2 major
, , ‘ ivl alignment.
T : ; SMU (8-1), No. 7 in the UPI
, dies ratings, seems certain to
' ■ iish second to second-ranked
:xas in the Southwest Confer-
r ,. :e, thereby losing out on an
1 , ;; lortunity to host the Cotton
d ' ' iwl game. Since the Orange
lC ' iwl has already decided on
A uni (Fla.) (10-1) to meet Big
r 5, ;ht champion Nebraska (11-
and the Rose Bowl is set with
ois, the Big Ten champion,
edng the Pacific 10 cham-
m, probably Washington, the
slangs seemed to be a logical
ice for an at-large bid to
either the Sugar or Fiesta Bowls.
That is until television execu
tives entered the picture.
It seems officials of the Sugar
Bowl would prefer either Michi
gan (8-2) or Ohio State (8-2) to
face Auburn (9-1), the South
eastern Conference representa
tive, rather than SMU because
they are concerned about SMU’s
ability to attract a national televi
sion audience as well as attract
fans to the game at New Orleans.
Meantime, the Fiesta Bowl,
which is aired at the same time as
the Cotton Bowl, does not want
to have to share the Southwest
Conference viewers with the
Cotton Bowl. So, Fiesta Bowl
officials will not take SMU, even
though the Mustangs have com-
E iled a 29-2-1 record over the
ist three seasons. Instead, Pitt
sburgh (8-2) will be named to
face the loser of the Ohio State-
Michigan game.
That leaves the Mustangs
most likely headed for the Sun
Bowl at El Paso to meet Alaba
ma. Alabama athletic director
and head coach Ray Perkins has
already agreed to a Sun Bowl
bid, according to published re
ports.
“I’ve been to the Liberty, Sun,
Peach, Independence, Cotton,
Gator and Tangerine Bowls,”
said Collins, the SMU coach.
“I’ve never been to a bowl I
didn’t enjoy.
“But if we beat Arkansas (next
week) and don’t get a major bowl
bid, I will use whatever pull I
have to fight for a playoff sys
tem. If the television networks
get to dictate who goes where,
then I think it is time for the
playoffs.”
Iowa, Florida, West Virginia,
Boston College, Notre Dame
and Missouri also appear to have
wrapped up bowl bids.
Iowa athletic director Bump
Elliot said Sunday night the
chances of the No. 9 Hawkeyes
playing in the Gator Bowl at
Jacksonville, Fla., on Dec. 30
were “very, very good.”
He emphasized the NCAA
has strict regulations prohibit
ing bowl committees from ex
tending official invitations be
fore 5 p.m. on Saturday.
“But . it is a reasonable
assumption that we will be in this
bowl,” Elliot said.
No. 13 Florida also is ex
pected to receive a Gator Bowl
bid.
West Virginia appears
headed for the Hall of Fame
Classic Dec. 22 at Legion Field in
Birmingham, Ala. The Moun
taineers (8-2) are expected to
draw the winner of Saturday’s
Tennessee-Kentucky game as
their opponent.
Boston College (7-2) is ex
pecting to get a bid to play Notre
Dame in the 25th Liberty Bowl
in Memphis, Tenn., on Dec. 29.
“The Liberty Bowl is in
terested in us and hopefully will
extend a bid next Saturday,”
said BC athletic director Bill
Flynn. “I think it’s the best
matchup of all.”
Padre Cafe
really fine eats
Dominik Drive
College Station-BY-THE-SEA
UDENT ENGINEER'S
COUNCIL AND
STUDENT GOVERNM
PRESENT
CAct/rua^ optlcL
thj*" "
DEAN'S FORUM
T.00 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 16
ROOM 102 ZAC HRY
DEANS AND DEPARTMENT HEADS WILL
BE PRESENT TO ANSWER
QUESTIONS CONCERNING THEIR
DEPARTMENTS AND CURRICULUM.
ALL ENGINEERING STUDENTS ARE INVITED.
The Association of
Former
Students
Due to an overwhelming response to our
Fall Senior
Induction Banquet
has scheduled a second
banquet to be held on
i
Monday, November 21,1983
6:30 p.m.
i MSC, Rooms 224
All December graduates that did not attend the Movember 16
banquet are invited to attend. A limited number of com
plimentary tickets will be available Movember 16 &17 in the
lobby of the Forsyth Alumni Center.
TICKETS QIVEM OK FIRST COME — FIRST SERVED BASIS