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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 29, 1989)
the Battalion [ Wednesday, November 29,1989 is jni- PORTS J Clay Rasmussen Sports Writer Could the SWC be too tough to produce a champ? You don’t hear any more jokes about | the Southwest Conference. Remember when people referred to | the SWC as the South worst Confernece? But, then again I guess you could say I those people were justified in pointing to the SWC as one of the weakest confer- ' ences around the country. You have to go way back to 1969 be fore you’ll find a SWC team finishes first in the Associated Press’ top ten football j polls. And when was the last time there were multiple SWC teams in the AP top | ten? That would be almost seven years ago jin 1982 when both Southern Methodist and Arkansas occupied top spots. It seemed as though the whole SWC I spent the 1980s under NCAA investiga tions and probations. SMU was the first team in the country to suffer the NCAA’s Death Penalty, banning football from SMU for two years. Houston, Texas A&M, Texas and Texas Christian all suffered some type |of sanctions in this decade. Things looked dismal for the confer- lence heading into the 1989 season. But as the first SWC showdown took [place in Dallas between reborn SMU and Rice (who hadn’t won a game in two bears), things started to change. Rice broke its conference record los ing streak and other SWC teams started beating up nationally ranked opponents like Louisiana State, Arizona State, New [Mexico and Arizona. Suddenly the SWC was a powerhouse [conference. Teams not only won, but they looked impressive doing it. Texas went into Dallas as heavy un- See Rasmussen/Page 9 Slocum seeks new rule for SWC officials Close calls concern coach By Richard Tijerina Of The Battalion Staff Four days after Texas A&M’s painful 23- 22 loss to Arkansas, Coach R.C. Slocum still is answering questions — not about the Ag gies’ upcoming game with Texas, but about The Call. Line judge Ron Underwoods’ controver sial pass interference call on A&M safety Larry Horton in the fourth quarter of Fri day’s game has sparked another debate about Southwest Conference officiating. Slocum said Tuesday that he would go through the proper channels after the sea son was over to look into the possibility of altering the SWC officiating system. “You should just have a fiat rule that a guy can’t call a game involving his alma mater — that we’re just not going to put ourselves in that position,” Slocum said. Underwood, a former football player at Arkansas, called Horton for bumping into tight end Billy Winston before knocking the ball down on a crucial fourth-and-three play at the A&M 19-yard line. Five plays later, the Razorbacks scored a touchdown that put them up for good, 23- 20. It was the second time this season A&M has been on the losing end of a controver sial call by an official late in the game. In A&M’s 27-24 loss to Texas Tech ear lier in the season, head referee Loyd Dale, a Tech graduate, signalled play to start on a third-and-28 situation before the Aggies were all on the field following a time out. Seeing the Aggies out of position, the Red Raiders scored on a long pass play with 52 seconds remaining in the game to win. Two plays earlier, Dale and his officiat ing crew ruled Tech quarterback Jamie Gill down after A&M linebacker William Thomas caused an apparent fumble that was recovered by the Aggies. Television replays showed that Gill did indeed fumble tne ball well before his knee touched the ground. But Slocum said the real problem with the two calls wasn’t so much the calls them selves, but the fact that the referees who made them were officiating their alma m Photo by Jay Janner A&M safety Larry Horton and Arkansas tight end Billy Winston fail to the ground in the controversial pass interference play in Friday’s game. mater’s teams. “The thing in Lubbock would not have been nearly as big a story, and the call the other day wouldn’t have been big if they hadn’t been a Tech graduate and an Arkan sas graduate,” he said. “We shouldn’t put those men in that pos ition.” Slocum said he didn’t talk to either offi cial after the Tech and Arkansas games, but he did call their supervisor early this week. Slocum told him he wouldn’t question Fri day’s call because it was a judgement call made by the referee. “It’s really a question of whether there was contact made,” Slocum said. “The ball was overthrown. It’s strictly a judgement call. All Larry’s concentration was up there going for the football. The receiver was in cidental to the play as far as he was concer ned.” “Incidental” is the key word in Slocum’s argument. A former defensive coach, Slo cum said he believes both the defensive and offensive player have the same right to the football. “I’ve never felt that a defensive guy ought to stand there and have to let a re ceiver catch the ball, then you can try to tackle him and hope he drops the ball,” he said. “I’ve never thought they should get that much protection. The ball is thrown, both teams should have equal access to it.” One of the worst things about the whole situation, Slocum said, is that because the controversy surrounds ethical problems with the officials, it tarnishes the SW.C’s in tegrity. “I don’t think it’s fair to question (Under wood’s) officiating under any circumstanc es,” Slocum said. “I’ve been questioned all week long (from people) who see that play as us being screwed by an Arkansas guy. “I don’t think it’s fair to the integrity to the game.” The same officiating crew that called the Tech game will call Saturday’s game with Texas. Ironically, one of the referees, John Bible, is a grandson of former A&M and Texas Coach Dana X. Bible and a relative of former Texas halfback William Dana Bi ble. But Slocum’s biggest problem will be try ing to repair the confidence lost in the final minutes of Friday’s game. When asked if Horton might now be gunshy at free safety, Slocum said all the junior could do was pick up and start over. “Here’s a kid who thinks he cost the team the game,” Slocum said. “Lance (Pavlas) thought he cost the team the game. Darren (Lewis) thought he cost the team the game. You just can’t work with those emotions. “It’s just unfair to do that to yourself. I thought Larry made a great play and he did all he could do in that situation to try to break that play up. You have to write that one off and keep playing. I don’t know ' liffe what I’d tell Larry to do differently.” ,der( rati ntd 1 I10» lyssa'i ditiot )VS H LIGHT IIP THE NIGHT R fTETH NFIRE vv \ , • AND MICHEL v* LIGHT ® BEAT THE HELL OUTTA t.u MKHHjOB, I MKp^B Budweiser & IMPORTED elephant: MAITUQUOR J« k ■ Hilliard DISTRIBUTING COMPANY MKHEL0& K2XH. Anheuser Busch Campaign to Promote Responsible Drinking 308 Dodge St. P.O. Box 3417 Bryan, Texas 77805 Telephone 409/775-9047 i Aggie Democrats present Ron De Lord (candidate State Senate) Jim James (candidate State Representatiue) & Ron Gay (chairman Brazos County Democratic Party) Wednesday November 29,1989 8:30 p.m. 504 Rudder Tower JOIN KKYS 105 FM AT Mickey D’s Arcade „ Video Games - Pool Table - Jukebox - Pinball Thursday, Nov. 30th 6-8 p.m- for Video Game Competition & Prizes FREE TOKEN with purchase of any advertised “Combo” ALL DAY University Dr. location *In-Store Offer Only* The Advantage is yours with a Battalion Classified. Call 845-0569 McDonald's . ■ M.