Sports
Friday, October 16,1992
The Battalion
Page 5
TEXAS A&M VS. RICE
Aggies back in action against Owls
Battalion file photo
Rice quarterback Josh LaRocca avoids an ankle tackle from A&M's Marcus Buckley in last year's 38-21 win for the Aggies
in Houston. LaRocca went down with a broken collarbone early in the season and has been replaced with Bert Emanuel.
Aggies-Owls
might be good
game after all
S aturday's
game
against
Rice may be
one of those
games which
causes not-so-
devoted A&M
football fans to
say, "Well, I
don't think I'm
going to the
game this
weekend."
Don't leave
town. If it isn't
enough to say
you can watch
the fifth-ranked team in the nation,
you may not realize that there might
be a good game in store tomorrow.
This is not just A&M vs. Rice. It's
the Wrecking Crew against Heisman
Trophy candidate running back
Trevor Cobb.
It's like Ali vs. Frazier, the Men of
Troy vs. the Spartans, Andre the Giant
vs. Hulk Hogan.
Because of that, tomorrow, the Rice
Owls will come out to Kyle Field fired
up. Real fired up.
Although the Aggies own an un
blemished record, you can get the
feeling that they're a bomb getting
ready to explode in someone's face.
It doesn't take a genius to tell that
these Aggies are darned talented.
They beat a very good Stanford team
who, if you haven't checked the polls
lately, is sitting at No. 8.
But the Aggies may be a victim of
their own capabilities. On paper, they
can match up with, if not overwhelm,
ANY team in this country, and they
are expected to blow the ever-living
doors off of everybody they face.
They haven't.
They have outscored everybody,
though, and they are still in con
tention for the national championship.
All the more reason to make it to the
ballgame tomorrow.
The Aggie football team is in one of
those situations where the better you
are, the more people expect of you. It
may not be fair, but it's reality.
Especially since Rice is not that bad
of a football team. Yes, their 2-3 record
isn't going to scare anybody, but they
did play those T-sips to a 23-21 game.
And folks, them 'Sips aren't as bad as
we'd like to think. Did you watch
them drill Oklahoma, the team that
See Medrano/ Page 8
Pullig to see
playing time
By CHRIS WHITLEY
Sports Editor of THE BATTALION
After its second hiatus in three weeks,
Texas A&M starts the long haul of its sea
son tomorrow.
The fifth-ranked Aggies (5-0, 1-0 in the
Southwest Conference) meet up at 2:00
p.m. with Rice University (2-3, 1-1 in
SWC) at Kyle Field, starting a stretch for
A&M that continues every weekend until
the season ends Thanksgiving night
against the University of Texas.
Time: 2:00 p.m., Saturday
Place: Kyle Field
TV/Radio: None, KTAM 1240-
AM
Records: A&M (5-0, 1-0), Rice
(2-3, 1-1)
Line: A&M by 18
To prepare for this stretch, A&M head
coach R.C. Slocum said that he will take
out starting quarterback Jeff Granger dur
ing the game and give freshman Corey
Pullig some game experience.
"I'll very likely, this week at some
point in the game, regardless of the situa
tion, whether we're behind or ahead or
even, it's my plan going in the game to
try to get Pullig into the ballgame,"
Slocum said.
Slocum reasoned that if Granger, who
has played the last four games from start
to finish, were to suffer a year-ending in
jury down the road, there would be no
quarterback with game experience to
come in and take Granger's place.
It is a problem that has plagued
Slocum over recent weeks, and that's why
he decided to make the move now.
"I think that we're getting to the point,
and maybe this week, that I go ahead and
just play someone else," Slocum said.
"And right now I'd say Pullig would be
the guy to do that.
"It's not going to be a negative thing
for Jeff. I think it's going to be a positive
thing for the team."
Granger and Pullig will be matched by
Owl quarterback Bert Emanuel, who is
notorious for throwing on the run. In
fact, the junior transfer from UCLA ranks
second on the team in rushing behind
All-American running back Trevor Cobb.
Rice coach Fred Goldsmith said he
hopes to utilize Emanuel's running game
to avoid the Aggies' tenacious blitzing
defense Saturday.
"It's a good idea to have a real fast
quarterback when you play the Aggies
because they like to go after your quarter
back," Goldsmith said. "I'm going to tell
him, 'Get your head on a swivel, look
both ways and take off.'"
Slocum, who had to deal with a similar
type of quarterback in Robert Hall against
Texas Tech University on Oct. 3, said that
he knows the threat that a leader like
Emanuel can provide.
"Bert presents a problem," Slocum
said. "It's a unique problem because you
seldom ever face a team that has a quar
terback with the capabilities of Emanuel.
"I was always concerned when you
ran across a guy who had the capability
to hurt you running and who had the de
sire to hurt you running. And it looks
like Bert Emanuel likes to run it."
Against Southern Methodist Universi
ty last week, Emanuel rushed for Rice's
first two touchdowns. He gained 109
yards on the ground while completing
five of 12 for 123 yards passing, leading
the Owls to a 28-13 victory.
And, of course, there's Cobb. Last
year's Doak Walker Award recipient
ranks fourth in the country in rushing
with an average of 133.2 yards a game
this season. Again, he is listed as a candi
date for this year's Heisman Trophy.
"Trevor Cobb — I don't see people
stop him," Slocum said. "I see him get
ting slowed down in a game or two, but
that doesn't happen very often. No one
just goes into a game to stop Trevor. He's
going to get his yards."
Cobb, who already has chapters of the
SWC record book dedicated to him, will
shoot for yet another one on Saturday.
He stands 79 yards behind former Uni
versity of Houston running back Chuck
Weatherspoon in career all-purpose
yardage, who had 5,715 yards.
RULY
MEDRANO
Sports Writer
(/) UL
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