Sports
Friday, September 13,1991
The Battalion
Page 7
Steve O'Brien
Asst. Sports Editor
One step
forward, two
steps back
for SWC
W hat was to be a good season
for the Southwest Confer
ence has turned into a bad
joke.The conference was going to be
come a national power, but all it's be
come is a nightmare.
The Longhorns can't beat a hap
less group of Bulldogs from Missis
sippi State. Texas went from being
No. 13 to a nobody.
And last night, Houston showed
us something about the run and shoot
in their 40-10 loss to the Miami Hurri
canes. The offense of the '90's is no
more effective against good talent
than the wishbone was in the '70's.
All this comes when, for the first
time in seven years, every team in the
league has a chance of winning the
conference championship and gaining
a birth in the Cotton Bowl.
Now it looks like every team in
the conference has shot at going to
Dallas for a Texas-sized whoopin' at
the hands of real football team.
The Hurricanes have won the
last two games they've played against
the SWC by 73 points.
Miami 86, SWC 13.
Is it necessary for Texas and
Houston to play their worst games
when it matters the most?
Houston head coach John Jenkins
and Texas coach David McWilliams
have great talent. They manage to
make their players believe they don't
have a chance at winning.
Texas got to the Cotton Bowl last
.season, but as soonas^the Longhorns
walked on the fielc^thgy .were
doomed.
The Miami players taunted the
'Horns as they walked on the field,
and the Texas players actually looked
scared. And the hit delivered to the
Longhorn kick returner on the open
ing play of the game shook viewer's
televisions.
And Houston has managed over
the last two seasons to lose only the
games that really matter.
The Cougars couldn't beat Texas
last season to keep their unbeaten
streak going and in 1989 Andre Ware
and company where politely ushered
out of Kyle Field carrying a humiliat
ing loss.
But there's hope on the horizon.
Baylor and A&M have big games this
weekend. A little pride and respect
can be brought back to the conference
with a couple of victories.
The Bears and Aggies will play
something that's been missing in the
first couple of conference humilia
tions. They'll play straight ahead,
hard nosed football - minus the skirts.
No gimmicks, no tricks.
The Bears square-off against na
tional champion Colorado and the
Aggies face LSU.
Is coaching the problem in the
Southwest Conference?
Jenkins has helped give credit to
a few of football's old theories. First,
you win games with defense. No
matter how much you plan on scor
ing, if you're going to win the game
the other team has to score fewer
points.
Second, the best way to defend
against a good passing attack is to put
pressure on quarterback. Miami
quarterback Gino Torretta completed
16 of 35 passes for 365 yards and four
touchdowns. Anybody could proba
bly complete a couple of passes if you
gave them five minutes on every play.
And finally, if you don't give
your quarterback time to throw, he
might as well be blind. That's about
how effective he'll be. Houston's
Heisman candidate David Klingler is
good, but he's not that good.
If Texas really wants to leave the
conference, let 'em. Maybe Houston
will go to.
A&M is the only conference team
over the past six years to consistenly
win big games. Baylor also has been
consistent during the last decade.
I can't remember last time the
Aggies beat up on the Bears. I can't
• remember the last time anyone beat
up on the Bears.
Maybe McWilliams and Jenkins
should take some hints from A&M
head coach R.C. Slocum and Baylor
coach Grant Teaff.
Winning doesn't come quickly
and it doesn't come easily.
The bayou comes to town
Aggies hope
to cage LSU
Tigers at
Kyle Field
By Steve O'Brien
The Battalion
Last October the Aggies strolled
into Death Valley the eleventh ranked
team in the country. Hours later, they
limped home to College Station with a
17-8 defeat at the hands of Louisiana
State University.
The loss, played at LSU's Tiger Sta
dium, is almost a year old, but head
coach R.C. Slocum remembers it well.
"Last year's game was pretty much
an even ball game," Slocum said. "With
11 minutes to go it was 3-0, and we were
playing without Darren (Lewis)."
Lewis, an all-American tailback, was
ejected from the game for throwing an el
bow to the head of an LSU player.
"The series he got kicked out we had
driven down and had second and five on
the 25 yard line," Slocum said. "He was
ejected from the game, and it put us back
on the 40. Then it was second and 20. We
threw an interception on the next play."
When the Aggies and Tigers face off
Saturday, there will be some major dif
ferences from last year's game.
The game will be played at Kyle
Field, where the Aggies have lost only
three games in five seasons. And this
time the Aggies' know who their leader
is and have built the offense around him.
Last year, A&M quarterback Bucky
Richardson was coming off a year of
knee rehabilitation, so the Aggies were
forced to play Lance Pavlas, limiting
their ability to run the option. It came at
a time when the Aggies possessed one of
best backfield tandems inthe country.
After faltering against LSU and then
Texas Tech and Baylor, Pavlas was re
placed by Richardson. The junior quar
terback would go on to start the next sev
en games for A&M, loosing only one
game..
Richardson was the starting quar
terback in A&M's 65-14 Holiday Bowl
victory over Brigham Young.
Now, Pavlas is gone to graduation
and Richardson is a year older.
"It's quite a bit different," Slocum
said. "I wished we would have changed
earlier last year too. We were caught in
a situation where we had Lance, and he
had won eight games with him.
"We were coming back and had a
young man Bucky who had been out for
a year and you didn't know how his knee
would hold up. He couldn't go through
contact in the spring."
At the time, the quarterback to use
was Pavlas. Now it's time for Richard
son.
"Looking back last year I was kind
of sitting back in the wings waiting to get
a chance," Richardson, said. "It's a
whole different concept when you know
you're going in and they're counting on
you to do the job.
"I'm ready. I've been waiting for a
long time."
Another difference from last is the
experience factor.
Last season it was A&M who had all
the seniors and returning starters. On
Saturday, the Aggies will field two re
turning offensive starters, including
Richardson, and five on defense. The
Tigers return 20 starters, including nine
on offense and their entire defensive
unit.
Slocum said the younger players
need to go out and have fun and not
worry about making mistakes.
"You would like for them to come
off the field and things go good and start
getting a little confidence going on the
field," Slocum said. "We've spent some
time talking to the younger guys about
just going out and playing and not
putting a big burden on themselves to try
and make it all happen at one time."
Freshman Greg Hill will be the Ag
gies' starting tailback and freshmen wide
receivers Wilbert Biggens and Ryan
Mathews should see extensive playing
time.
But Slocum said he's not going to be
conservative because of his young team.
"We're going to do some things for
down the road and we're going to start
building a team, " he said. "We're going
to play young guys and after they play
they'll be better after this week. They'll
be more experienced and better next
week.
Young players need a chance to get
their feet wet to build their confidence,
he said. Saturday they get their chance.
Atkinson ready to step into
A&M linebacking tradition
By Chris Whitley
The Battalion
Jason Atkinson has been ready to
play Texas A&M's season opener against
Louisiana State since last season ended.
He had a taste of the starting lineup
last year when all-Southwest Conference
linebacker Anthony Williams was lost to
injuries. After two solid performances
against Texas and
Brigham Young,
Atkinson is eager to
start the season at in
side linebacker.
"I'm ready to play
LSU tonight," Atkin
son said Tuesday after
noon. "Ever since we
walked off the field af
ter the Holiday Bowl,
I've been thinking of
nothing but LSU."
Atkinson, a sopho
'
Atkinson
more, will join a linebacking crew that
might be the strongest in the conference.
He will line up next to senior Quentin
Coryatt, a member of the preseason all-
SWC team. "Quentin's an incredible ath
lete," he said. "We're working together
real well, which is kind of exciting for me
to be working on the same team with a
guy that's number one in the nation at
what he does."
Coryatt and Atkinson have been
working together since last December's
game against Texas. In his first full
game, Atkinson fared well, recording 10
tackles. Yet he still feels he could have
done better.
"I had been playing the fourth quar
ter the entire season. I wasn't really
physically prepared to play sixty snaps.
If I had been prepared, I would have
played a lot better," he said.
To insure his preparation for this sea
son, Atkinson undertook a rigorous off
season conditioning program. Staying in
College Station over the summer, he
worked out five to six hours a day.
As a result, he has come back
stronger and quicker.
"I'm definitely in shape to play sixty
snaps now," he said.
Atkinson has come a long way from
his grade school ball days in Houston.
He's been playing football since the age
of six.
He started playing in Sharpstown,
the area in south Houston where he grew
up. He admits it was a rough part of
town, but he played there out of necessi
ty-
"It was the only place I could play
tackle football in the area," he said.
"There was a lot of flag football, but my
dad wanted me to play tackle football."
Fie learned his football instincts there,
which he said helped him as he went into
middle school and high school football.
At Westfield High School in Hous
ton, he made all-Southwest, all-state, all-
Greater Houston, all-area, and all-district
teams. He led the state with 181 tackles
his senior year.
Although he was recruited by many
colleges throughout the country, choos
ing A&M was not that big a decision.
His father. Class of '66, and grandfather.
Class of '36, both graduated from A&M.
"I've been an Aggie all my life," he
See Atkinson/ Page 8
Kinchen returns to sink Aggies
LSU split end knows revenge is on A&M's mind
By Douglas Pils
77te Battalion
Todd Kinchen picked a good game
to make his career.
Last year Texas A&M pranced into
Death Valley for a matchup with
Louisiana State equipped with a No-. 11
ranking, a 3-0 record, a high-powered of
fense and visions of an undefeated sea
son. Somebody forgot to tell Kinchen.
Kinchen perma
nently cast his name in
stone as one of LSU's
all-time greats on an
innocent looking 2-
yard swing pass.
He took the third
and 9 pass from quar
terback Chad Loup and
weaved his way in and
out of Texas A&M's
vaunted defense, in
cluding a brilliant
move on All-SWC cor-
nerback Kevin Smith,
for a 79-yard touchdown.
The play gave LSU a 10-0 lead early
in the fourth quarter. However, on a
A&M punt after its next possession, the
6-0, 192-pounder highlighted his history
making play with an encore. He returned
the punt 60 yards to set up the Tigers'
next touchdown for a 17-0 lead with 7:20
remaining. By game's end, Kinchen ac
counted for 218 of LSU's 419 total yards.
"Definitely the A&M game was the
biggest game I've played in at LSU,"
Kinchen said. "Having a long weaving
touchdown like that is something that a
player always dreams about. And to
come back and make another big play is
a big dream for a collegiate athlete."
Circumstances for the Aggies are
different this time. While they are ranked
No. 20 in the nation, there are many
question marks as A&M begins its sea
son playing as many as eight true fresh
men. The Tigers on the other
hand are coming off a 31-10 season open
ing loss to Southeastern Conference rival
Georgia, in which LSU's offense never
got on track.
As a result, Kinchen said he felt like
he had to do something extra to jump
start the team. He ended up fumbling
twice despite five catches for 83 yards
and a touchdown to go with 71 yards on
four punt returns.
"I felt a little bit of pressure to make
the big play but I always put that kind of
pressure on myself in a game no matter
what the score is," Kinchen said. I felt
that the offense was sputtering. You al
ways want that big play that encourages
your team."
LSU head coach Curly Hallman said
he understands KInchen's competitive
nature and said in no way does he want
to impede upon that competitiveness.
However, he would like Kinchen to hang
on to the ball.
"I don't want Todd to slow it
down," Hallman said. "He's got a lot of
imagination. He's got a lot of energy and
he gives an outstanding effort. The only
thing he needs to do is keep that hano
around the point of the ball and bring L
into his rib cage."
Coming off the loss, Kinchen said
there were some doubts about the talent
of this year's Tigers.
"In the beginning of the week, there
were a lot of questions raised about how
See Kinchen/ Page 8
Kinchen