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The Battalion
SPORTS
9
Friday, October 27,1989
Sports Editor Tom Kehoe 845-2688
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Alan
Lehmann
Sports Writer
The Rice Owls will upset the Aggies this
weekend.
Just kidding. I wanted to get your
attention. A&M will win, but it’ll be closer
than the 17 points the boys in Vegas are
giving the Owls.
What? A struggle from the mighty Owls?
The same Owls who are 1-5-1 on the season
after losing to powerhouses like Tulane and
Southwestern Louisiana? The same team
who couldn’t do better than tie Wake
Forest}
Yes, I know it’s hard to believe. In fact,
my neighbor and I were arguing about it
last night during Letterman.
“Hey, ‘Mr. Sports Authority’, who’ll win
the game Saturday?” he asked between
belches.
I put my Schaefer Lite on the coffee table
before replying. I timed it perfectly, waiting
for him to take a sip of his before saying,
“Rice is gonna blow us away.”
It was fun to watch the beer shoot out of
his nose as he stood up to yell at me.
“No, just kidding,” I said as he scurried
to clean up the mess.
After he calmed down, I told him that
A&M will win, but it wouldn’t be a blowout.
True, Rice hasn’t looked sharp this year,
but the Southwest Louisiana game didn’t
count. Donald Hollas, the Owls’
quarterback and all-around Mr. Offense,
got knocked out of the game early.
Rice has played some good football this
year,” I said. “They were beating Texas, in
Austin, until that freshman teasip
quarterback scored a touchdown late in the
game. Even with the replay. I’m not sure
that he got in the endzone.”
“Well, A&M is still a better team,” he
said.
Of course, there was no reason to argue
See Lehmann/Page 11
Rice hoping for a flat A&M team
No. 21 Ags want
to catch right bus
By Clay Rasmussen
Of The Battalion Staff
Texas A&M is 5-2 in 1989. Rice is 1-5-1.
Winning Saturday’s game should be about
as easy for the Aggies as showing up for the
bus ride to Houston.
At least, that’s what Rice Coach Fred
Goldsmith says.
“Tell A&M to be on time to catch that
bus,” Goldsmith said in a telephone inter
view Thursday. “If they can get Aaron Wal
lace, Darren Lewis, Robert Wilson and a
few others on that bus, then everything
should be all right for them.”
Although Rice hasn’t had a strong show
ing this year (1-3 in SWC play), the Owls
have improved their performance dramati-
Texas A&M at Rice
• Site: Rice Stadium (70,000 cap.)
• Kickoff: 2 p.m.
• Ranking: A&M (21st), Rice (—)
• Records: A&M (5-2), Rice (1-5-1)
• TV/Radio: The game will not be
televised live; KTAM (AM 1240)
cally. In fact, they’ve improved well enough
to contend with Wake Forest, Texas Chris
tian and Texas.
And coming off two physically and emo
tionally exhausting victories against Hous
ton and Baylor, A&M Coach R.C. Slocum
can’t afford to take Rice lightly.
“Rice is a much better team than it has
been in a while,” Slocum said. “I’m more
concerned about them than I have been for
a long, long time.
“They went into Austin and led the
Longhorns all day, hut weren’t lucky
enough to win that game. They’re not get
ting blown away anymore.”
No, the Owls are competitive once more,
providing all kinds of scares for Southwest
Conference teams.
Rice opened the season by ending their
18-game losing streak, blowing by SMU 35-
6.
But, to have a chance to contend with
A&M, Rice first must hope that the Aggies
Photo by Jay Janner
Linebacker Aaron Wallace puts the wraps on Rice quarterback Quentls
Roper in last year’s 24-10 Aggie win at Kyle Field. The Aggies travel to
Rice this Saturday, and Wallace will be looking to break A&M’s all-time
sack record by wrapping up new Owl quarterback Donald Hollas.
come into Houston flat.
An offense similar to the one that pro
duced 44 points against TCU and 31 from
Southern Mississippi would devestate the
Owls’ defense.
And going into a game flat is not that
unique for the Aggies, especially away from
home, A&M has lost all its games on the
road after big victories.
The Aggies silenced LSU only to have
Washington throw water on A&M’s fire.
Texas Tech did the same three weeks later.
Still, Goldsmith said the Aggies won’t be
flat enough to make a difference.
“I’m sure coming off (the punishing
games with Houston and Baylor) is not
going to help them, but the Aggies are
going to have a lot drained out of them be
fore it would help us,” Goldsmith said
Rice’s defense also will have to contain
A&M quarterback Lance Pavlas to win,
something Baylor was unable to do last
week.
“It all comes down to stopping Pavlas and
his passing ability,” Goldsmith said. “He
terrorized Baylor last week.”
Still, Goldsmith sounds like a coach who
has a monumental task ahead of him.
“I think the Aggies pose one heck of a
problem,” Goldsmith said. “We’ve got to
play much more physical than ever before
to match the Aggies’ intensity.”
The Owls have found an offensive
scheme that takes advantage of their lack of
size and tries to neutralize aggressive, at
tacking defenses.
“They’re doing things that keep defenses
from ganging up and overpowering them,”
Slocum said.“They pass the ball, spread you
out and keep you off balance.”
Goldsmith feels the Aggies must shut
down his passing offense to win.
“The big thing for A&M to do to win is to
stop my passing game,” Goldsmith said.
“They’re going to have to get to Hollas and
play a mistake-free game.
But, the Aggies have just what it takes to
stop anyone’s passing game. With lineback
ers Aaron Wallace, William Thomas, Jeroy
Robinson and Trent Lewis, A&M has be
come infamous for its blitzing.
“We’ve got to protect Hollas,” Goldsmith
stressed. “The Aggies have shown week af
ter week that they’re the best blitzing team
around.”
If the Aggies are to stay in contention
with Texas and Arkansas in the conference
race, it’s crucial that they take seriously not
only the game with Rice, but also SMU.
Although Slocum and his coaches realize
what can happen to a team that doesn’t take
an opponent that’s 1-5 seriously, he worries
about whether his players know.
“Being favored or being an underdog
never affects coaching,” Slocum said. “If
you spend any time observing things that
are happening around the country, you re
alize that it doesn’t really matter.
“If we could ever educate our players to
that, I think you’d see much more consis
tency on the team.”
And consistency is just what the Aggies
need if they are to win their remaining four
games.
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