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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 13, 1991)
Sports Friday, December 13, 1991 The Battalion Page 5 mm PflDt.l DOCI 1 Chris Whitley Sportswiiter 1} biXE. :laim ae akec ,P) - The i letter tk:! now says ut the edit Houston id Thursdi' e newest da ter, the an; 1 he n refused tore and drinb it is not sc ased and: rned wife d. ked an irnri| campus M ec. 4, and;: lemonstratil inday to pi ssed in tnei :steI A&M, Magic, UT and the kitchen sink A s the last Battalion of 1991 hits the stands, it is time to reflect on a semester that sportswise has seen the complete spectrum of emotions from exultation to mourn ing. So, in a style resembling that of the great sports philosopher, Blackie Sherrod, here are some personal vi gnettes: Who'd have thought at the kickoff of the Texas A&M-Louisiana State game that, by the end of the year, fans would have their watches set on Greg Hill Time? One word of warning: For some strange reason, the air in Dallas gets considerably colder on New Year's Day than any other day. If the Washington Redskins are not destined to be victorious in Super Bowl XXVI, then the Houston Oilers are. Who the hell was that posing as Bucky Richardson on the college foot ball awards show last Saturday? Magic Johnson shocked the world with his announcement in November that he contracted the AIDS virus. Maybe he'll use his remaining days trying to change the world. If Texas Christian receiver Kyle McPherson were walking through a dark alley, it's safe to say that Quentin Coryatt would be the last guy he'd want to meet. It feels good to beat Texas. As long as there are people like Tim McCarver around, there will be a See Whitley/ Page 6 Bowden vs. Slocum Defenses, QB's highlight bowl for coaches By Steve O'Brien The Battalion . Texas A&M head football coach R.C. Slocum and Florida State University coach Bobby Bowden said Thursday they expect the New Year's Day Cotton Bowl to be close because of the teams' dominat ing defenses. The Aggies (10-1) have the No. 1 rated defense in the country and FSU (9-2) is No. 5 in total defense. "The defenses look like they're too good for a high scoring game," Bowden said. "The only way we're going to have a high scoring game is for one of us to make a million mistakes. That's the way you get you high scoring games." Slocum agreed with Bowden. "When you have two good defenses like the ones we have, they tend to take over a Dig ball game like this," Slocum Florida State coach Bobby Bowden and Texas A&M coach R. C. Slocum are ready to bring their teams to Dallas for the 1992 Mobil Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1,1992. Florida State (9-2) is ranked No. 5 in the nation, while the Aggies (10-1) are ranked No. 9. said. The Aggies are going into the Cotton Bowl ranked No. 9, and the Seminoles are No. 5. FSU started the season as the top- ranked team in the country and held onto the position until consecutive losses to in state rivals Florida and Miami left the Seminoles with two losses at the end of the season. Since 1986, the Seminoles have fin ished no lower than fourth in the last four Associated Press Top 25 polls. Slocum said the Seminoles deserve all the credit they get. "Florida State, with the recognition they've gotten and ranked where they were most of the season, they've certainly earned it," Slocum said. "There one of the most consistent programs in the coun try. I think it's perfectly reasonable to look at a team like Florida State and rank them up there at the top because they've done it for a long time, and they've done it this year too. "We don't have the national reputa tion that Florida State has. There's no doubt about it. Those things are earned over a long period of time. We've got some doing to do before we can line up and say we have that kind of reputation." Bowden said the Aggies are probably better than people rate them. He said he doesn't expect his Seminoles to look past A&M. "I think a lot of that (rankings) is sec tionalism," Bowden said. "We've been an independent all this time, and people from all over the country have gotten to see us play. People in Chicago, people in Syracuse, people in Michigan and people all over have watched us play football. "Texas A&M hasn't gotten the nation- See Coaches/ Page 6 i CE Der 13 Mackovic takes job of bringing national championship to Texas AUSTIN (AP) — John Mackovic was hired from Illi nois on Thursday to coach football at Texas, and talk turned immediately to winning the national champi onship, something that has eluded the Longhorns since 1969. Mackovic, 48, said winning a national title was an important reason for his accepting the job at Texas, which was vacated when David McWilliams was forced to resign Dec. 2 after three losing seasons in five years. "Yes, I do think you can win a national champi onship at Texas," Mackovic said. "The history and tra dition is such that as you win, you are naturally going to be ranked and you're going to be ranked higher in the polls — whether that's fair or unfair I'm not here to be able to determine. "But the truth is if you're at Texas and you're 10-1 or 11-0 or 9-2, you're going to be ranked higher than a number of other programs because of the background and tradition and all that has gone before," he said. "The rriost important thing is for us to do a solid job in the state of Texas," Mackovic said. "If you^re going to win a national championship ... if you're a state uni versity, you will have the best chance of ever winning a national championship and being the best you can be when your team is dotted primarily with home state players." Mackovic declined to say who he would try to hire as assistants, including whether popular Texas defen sive coordinator Leon Fuller would be retained. Mackovic said his meetings with Texas athletic di rector DeLoss Dodds and UT-Austin president William Cunningham went very well, and he cited those two men and the school's academic reputation as the three main reasons for giving up his dual role as football coach and athletic director at Illinois. "I could see myself being excited about being in an arena that cares about being excellent in every endeav or," Mackovic said. He told his staff and players at Illinois in the morn ing, then flew to Austin to meet with the players before addressing the news conference. Dodds said Mackovic's five-year contract is Worth more than $400,000 annually. That includes radio and television benefits plus possibly donated money. "I'm excited about our new coach," Dodds said. "This has been an exciting couple of weeks to be in the football coaching business and all the coaches who had interest in the University of Texas. "We were fortunate to find a man early and we found a man who wants to be at the University of Texas in coach Mackovic." Mackovic, the only candidate offered the job, be comes Texas’ 27th coach. At Illinois, Mackovic had a 30-16-1 record and coached the Fighting Mini to four bowls in as many sea sons. His college career record, including three seasons at Wake Forest, is 44-36-1. Mackovic recommended defensive coordinator Lou Tepper as his replacement. Tepper will be coach when Illinois (6-5) plays UCLA in the John Hancock Bowl in El Paso, Texas, on Dec. 31. McWilliams had a 5-year record of 31-26, and be came the first coach in Texas history to suffer three los ing seasons. He followed Fred Aker's, who was dis missed in 1986 after a 5-6 record, his only losing seasorl in 10 years. /f STOREWIDE 'A ULCERATIVE COLITIS If you've been diagnosed with proctitis, colitis, or left sided inflammatory bowel disease, VIP Research is seeking partici pants for a one month research study. 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University Bookstores Three Off-Campus Locations Northgate • Culpepper Plaza • Village PERFORMING FRIDAY DEC. 13 The Daquiri Factory tmiMul 8-10 pm 25 c Draft Beer $1.25 Daquiris CA$H for BOOKS University Bookstores Northgate • Plaza • Village GRADUATES Buy Your Cap & Gown at University Bookstores Northgate • Culpepper • Village INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS AND FAMILIES are invited to an International Christmas Dinner Wednesday, December 18, at 5:30 p.m. (followed by song service at 7:30) Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church 1007 Krenek Tap, College Station Call 693-4514 for information or ride Cineplex Odeon Theatres 52.95 BARGAIN MATINEES DAILY ALL SHOWS BEFORE 6:00 P.M. 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