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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 31, 1986)
Friday, October 31,1986/The Battalion/Page 11 acks ray sen 'aJ 5 er |asai;; 'nipoifi ltu ni[oi f A&M’s high-powered offense ready to explode d stroiij ' e rnme ra ii lse Of.\|tc Mustangs will try to put dent in Aggies' 4-0 SWC record mmi Ueeo!)H ^PoktidkH Brhe Aggie yell “Military" pretty much sums up the Texas A&M of- By Homer Jacobs Assistant Sports Editor Any i fense so far in 1986. Soiiiktjt^iyood.side Left! Vick Right! Mur ray to Walker, we’re all right! Load, , Ready, Aim, Fire, BOOM! . . . Re- vr :. , load A&M .. . Give us room!” vnadesputm ike the xtU -, haVfV A&M’s offense Viewpoint lthc ^« has the fire- - 11 power of a World War I cannon. And like a World War I cannon, the ; Aggie offense has been somewhat inconsistent and imprecise at times. (AP)-lk upasoMf Thundav forlowei nes av imbed hingi to 46 ;e re* these f But having the Firepower and ability to reload with a Rod Bei nstine or a Rod Harris makes the offense a squad to be reckoned with. Bjfou better give the A&:M offense Jroom or it could blow up in your , face mask. Just ask Baylor. KjAlthough the Bears lead the Southwest Conference in total of fense with 454.6 yards per game, the Aggies aren’t far behind with 423. However, unlike last year, the Ag gies have failed to average over 200 yards in both the rushing and pass ing categories. PPV&M’s ground attack is fourth in the conference at 187.3 yards per game, while it’s averaging 235.7 through the air, good enough for second place in the SWC. ^■'he main difference in the 1985 offense and this year’s squad seems toiie the relationship between the pass and the run. Klast year, the Aggies had two hangers at fullback in Anthony To ney and Roger Vick, who would wear down defenses by pounding the ball up the middle. The run would set up the pass. |J In 1986, it’s the opposite. Its pass first and run second, thanks to a balanced set of wide re ceivers and the emergence of tight end Bernstine. Bernstine sneaking across the middle has been an opposing line backer’s nightmare and quarterback Kevin Murray’s dream. With receivers Shea Walker, Har ris, Tony Thompson, Bernstine and running back Keith Woodside as tar gets, Murray has been able to estab lish himself as the premier passer in the conference. The passing attack’s capabilities were evident in the Baylor game when Murray and his receivers shredded a Baylor defensive second ary that is considered one of the top groups in the nation. Murray also has been breaking passing records left and right. If it weren’t for some dropped passes by his receivers and his interceptions earlier in the season, Murray could well have been in the Heisman Tro phy hunt. If there has been a real weakness in the A&M offense, it might be in the young offensive line. But injuries have plagued the group from Day One. If the line can ever get healthy, it should be a good one. The line is giving Murray ample pass protection, but the holes tnat Toney and Vick used to run through last year are not quite as gaping for Woodside and Vick this yea^. But like the Monkees’ song, that was then and this is now. The Aggies are not the same team as last year’s, but that’s okay. Last year’s squad may have had a slightly more potent offense, but A&M was 5-2 at this time, not 6-1. Winning is the bottom line, and the Aggies have been potent at that. Overall, barring injuries, the of fense should improve the next four weeks until that game when . . . BOOM! — as the offense explodes like a World War I cannon. A&M .. . Give us room! Texas A&M fullback Roger Vick plows through Rice’s de fensive line to score A&M’s first touchdown in last Satur- Photo by Dean Saito day’s victory over the Owls. Vick and the rest of the Aggie of fense hope to be at full force against SMU in Irving Saturday. bersofi der in em's k tnguisf julatioi figured 3,000 c during!!*- so said tegoricaM I to worb' lavs or tilt ■■ borfW ice chests ■day &Rod There Are Some Things You Should Ask Bill Clements And His Campaign Workers Before You Go To The Polls Tomorrow Why did he say that “If I had to name one state agency that was a greater waste than any other, it would have to be our institutions of higher education in this state?” (Austin American Statement, Oct. 20, 1986) Why did he veto agricultural reserach at the Agricultural Experement Station, Texas Tech, and West Texas State? Why did he say that the state should raise tuition, becasue it would only cost students “half a coke a day”? Budget Board estimated that, without a tax increase, the Texas A&M budget would have to be cut by more than a third. GOVERNOR MARK WHITE had the courage to fight for a tax increase to keep our colleges and universities open VOTE TO PROTECT OUR FUTURE VOTE FOR MARK WHITE ON NOV. 4TH pol. advertising paid for by the Aggie Democrats * * * } * * * 5 * * * * * *1 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *