The Battalion
SPORTS
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Tuesday, November 14,1989
Sports Editor Tom Kehoe 845-2688
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Richard
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Assistant Sports Editor
A&M: Wherefore
are thou. Cotton
Bowl opponents?
To pick Cotton or not to pick Cotton.
That is the question.
Apparently, this season’s Southwest
Conference championship and Mobil
Cotton Bowl host won’t be decided until
Nov. 24 on Kyle Field.
Arkansas vs. Texas A&M.
The winner of the Thanksgiving
showdown between the No. 14 Aggies
(7-2) and No. 10 Razorbacks (8-1) likely
will be playing Jan. 1 in Dallas.
The road to the Cotton Bowl is a bit
confusing. Sometimes, all the possibili
ties involving the four SWC teams still
involved in the hunt are harder to follow
than a Clay Rasmussen sports column.
Breaking it down, these are the simplest
paths the four contenders can take.
• A&M: Must beat Arkansas and
Texas.
• Arkansas: Must beat A&M and
Southern Methodist.
• Texas Tech: Must beat SMU and
Houston, and both A&M and Arkansas
each gets another loss.
• Texas: Must beat Texas Christian,
Baylor and A&M, and A&M must beat
Arkansas and Tech must lose to either
SMU or Houston.
Whew. So, there it is. The easiest way
for each team to reach the Cotton Bowl.
And my prediction? Here it is. The
Aggies will beat Arkansas 34-24, then on
Dec. 2 will embarrass Texas 38-13. It’ll
be the first SWC championship for Slo
cum, and the fourth Cotton Bowl ap
pearance for the Aggies in Five years.
But their opponent? That’s where the
picture becomes cloudy.
Cotton Bowl bids go out Nov. 25, the
day after A&M-Arkansas. Officials origi
nally wanted No. 6 Nebraska, but now
the Cornhuskers are looking at the
Sunkist Fiesta Bowl.
But what a matchup an A&M-Ne-
braska Cotton Bowl would be. Nebras
ka’s great offense against A&M’s blitzing
defense. Nebraska’s great defense
against A&M’s sometimes great offense.
The Aggies and Cornhuskers last met
in the Kickoff Classic in 1988. A charac
teristically flat A&M team showed up for
its season opener and lost 23-14 on na
tional television. A 1989 Cotton Bowl re
match would be an attractive game for
TV ratings.
But with Nebraska edging toward the
Fiesta, Cotton Bowl officials now are
looking like lost parents, trying to find a
playmate for their child.
See Bowl Hunt/Page 8
Resting Aggies move to No. 14
in AP Poll
Four SWC teams in Top 20;
Irish, Buffaloes stay on top
FROM STAFF & WIRE REPORTS
Texas A&M Coach R.C. Slocum must
wish all weekends could be so easy.
Although his Aggies had the weekend
off, they managed to gain two spots in the
Associated Press poll, rising to their highest
position this season, No. 14.
A&M may be as fortunate next week as
AP Top 25 Poll
Tsam
Last Week
t. Notre Dame
1
2. Colorado
2
3. Michigan
3
4. Alabama
■»
5. Rorida State
5
6. Nebraska
0
7. Miami
7
8. Southern Cal.
9
9 Tennessee
It
10. Arkansas
10
11. Auburn
12
12. Illinois
8
13. Houston
IS
14. Texas A&M
16
15. Clemson
17
16 Virginia
18
17. Penn St.
13
18. West Virginia
19
19. Pittsburgh
14
20. Texas Tech
23
21. Brigham Young
22. Ohio St.
21
23. Fresno St.
24. Hawaii
25. Duke
24
they rest yet another weekend in prepara
tion for their Nov. 24 showdown witn the
University of Arkansas.
The Houston Cougars, who pummeled
Texas Saturday 47-9, rose the same num
ber of spots to No. 13. Arkansas stayed at
No. 10 and Texas Tech edged in at No. 20.
Duke broke into the rankings for the first
time since 1971 and Hawaii for the first
time since 1981 in Monday’s poll. The Blue
Devils, 7-3, gained the final spot in the Top
25 while the Rainbows, 8-2, are No. 24.
“One of our goals was to be in the Top 25
this year,” said Duke coach Steve Spurrier,
whose team beat North Carolina State 35-
26 Saturday.
“It’s an honor for our program and a
credit to our players that we made it. But
what we really want is to be ranked at the
end of the season.”
Hawaii moved into the rankings for only
the second time in school history following
a 34-26 victory over Pacific.
“We’re certainly happy to get national
recognition — it’s something we’ve been
striving for,” Hawaii coach Bob Wagner
said. “If we can continue to play good foot
ball, hopefully we’ll get even more atten
tion.”
While there were changes at the bottom
of the rankings, the top seven remained un
changed — Notre Dame, Colorado, Michi
gan, Alabama, Florida State, Nebraska and
Miami.
Notre Dame, which clobbered Southern
Methodist 59-6, received 57 first-place
votes and 1,497 of a possible 1,500 points
from a nationwide panel of sports writers
and broadcasters.
Colorado, which beat Oklahoma State
41-17, received the other three first-place
votes and 1,439 points.
Michigan defeated Illinois 24-10, Ala
bama downed Louisiana State 32-16, Ne
braska routed Kansas 51-14 and Miami beat
Pittsburgh 24-3. Florida State did not play.
Rounding out the Top 10 are Southern
Cal, Tennessee and Arkansas. Southern Cal
moved up one spot after beating Arizona
24-3, Tennessee went from No. 11 to No. 9
after crushing Akron 52-9 and Arkansas re
mained No. 10 following a 19-10 win over
Baylor.
Auburn is No. 11, followed by Illinois,
Houston, Texas A&M, Clemson, Virginia,
Penn State, West Virginia, Pittsburgh,
Texas Tech, Brigham Young, Ohio State
Photo by Phelan M. Ebenhack
Linebacker John Cooper causes a fumble in A&M’s 63-14 romp over
SMU. No. 14 A&M is preparing for a Nov. 24 showdown with Arkansas.
and Fresno State. Ohio State moved into
the Top 25 after blanking Iowa 28-0, while
Florida, N.C. State and Arizona dropped
out following losses.
Of the teams still ranked, Illinois, Pitt
and Penn State fell the farthest. Illinois
dropped from No. 8 to No. 12 after losing
to Michigan, Pitt plunged from No. 14 to
No. 19 after losing to Miami and Penn State
went from No. 13 to No. 17 after tying
Maryland 13-13.
KO’d Aikman KO’s rookie record at same time
IRVING (AP) — Troy Aikman held the
NFL record for most passing yards by a
rookie on Monday while he cleared out the
cobwebs from a highlight-film hit by Phoe
nix linebacker Anthony Bell.
Aikman was knocked cold for almost five
minutes Sunday after releasing a 75-yard
touchdown pass to James Dixon in a 24-20
loss to the Cardinals.
The rookie quarterback, making his first
start since he suffered a broken index fin
ger on his non-passing hand on Oct. 1, had
to be told his pass went for a touchdown.
Coach Jimmy Johnson broke the news after
Aikman regained consciousness.
Aikman’s 379 yards passing against
Phoenix surpassed by 10 yards the record
previously held by Tampa Bay’s Vinny Tes-
taverde in a Dec. 6, 1987 game at New Or
leans. It was the fifth-best total in Cowboys
history.
“I was knocked out and didn’t know what
happened on the pass,” said Aikman, who
caught Bell’s helmet on his chin. Doctors
said Aikman suffered a slight concussion.
The record was set on the pass to Dixon,
which came with less than two minutes re
maining and gave Dallas a 20-17 lead.
Phoenix rallied in the last minute to give
the Cowboys’ their ninth loss against only
one victory.
Dixon set a club rookie record with 203
receiving yards.
Aikman had a sore jaw and a headache
on Monday after Bell’s'Ringing' hit, but
Johnson said he believed the quarterback
would be ready for Sunday’s game against
Miami.
Aikman said the last thing he remem
bered seeing was Dixon breaking across the
middle.
“I didn’t see anybody coming at me,”
Aikman said. “Coach Johnson told me we
scored.”
Trainers said the first thing Aikman
asked was whether the pass went for a
touchdown.
Don Meredith, who has the top three
passing days in Cowboys’ history, set the re
cord of 460 yards in a 1963 game against
San Francisco. Gary Hogebdom had the
fourth best.
Neither Roger Staubach nor Danny
White ever had such a prolific passing day
as Aikman, who was 2Tof-40 and victim
ized by at least eight drops and a senseless
penalty that wiped out most of a 51-yard
pass to Paul Palmer in the fourth quarter.
“Troy was just tremendous,” said John
son. “It was a bitter defeat. We had them
beat.”
Tom Tupa’s 72-yard scoring pass to Er
nie Jones with 58 seconds sank the Cow
boys. The Cardinals recovered Dixon’s
fumble on the ensuing kickoff and ran out
the clock.
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Zips 90
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