Sports
Monday, October 19,1992
The Battalion
Page 5
A&M slow-cooks Rice, 35-9
A&M's big day
shows glimpse
of the future
CHRIS
WHITLEY
Sports Editor
T exas
A&M's
35-9 vic
tory over Rice
Saturday
showed the
masses three
things.
■ Trevor
Cobb actually
can be shut
down.
■ A&M can
win big with
out a tremen
dous rushing
performance.
■ Corey
Pullig might be the quarterback of the
future.
However, it might be a blessing
that AP poll voters didn't see any of
these things since the game was not
televised. Even though the offense
put more points on the board than
they have all season and A&M's mar
gin of victory was the largest that its
been all season, there are still a few
kinks to be worked out.
The Aggies uncharacteristically
were set back 112 yards in penalties
Saturday. Quarterback Jeff Granger,
despite completing his first four pass
es, nearly threw four interceptions.
On the field, it looked like the
game was closer than the score indi
cated. But hey, the Aggies can say
now that they beat the tar out of some
team.
Cobb, who ranks fourth in the
country' in rushing and who broke the
Southwest Conference all-purpose
yardage record Saturday, still only
had 88 yards in the contest. That was
the second-lowest total of the year for
him.
A&M head coach R.C. Slocum
commented before the game that you
don't stop a running back like Trevor
See Whitley/ Page 6
Despite Owls'
surge. Aggies
conquer in end
By J. DOUGLAS FOSTER
Sports Editor of THE BATTALION
Texas A&M running back Greg Hill
said the Rice Owls were a much better
team than the one the Aggies defeated
38-21 last season in Houston.
At the half of A&M's 35-9 win over
the Owls Saturday, most of the 53,387 at
Kyle Field probably agreed with Hill.
After opening the game with two
quick touchdowns and a 14-0 lead over
the Owls, the Aggies watched Rice
change offensive formations and close
the gap to 14-9 by intermission. Not only
had the Owls cut the deficit to five
points, but they actually held a 184-162
advantage over the fifth-ranked Aggies
in total yardage.
Rice threw the A&M defense off bal
ance in the second quarter, moving away
from its previous offensive scheme
which is centered around 1991 Doak
Walker Award winner Trevor Cobb.
The Owls moved Cobb out of the back-
field, and used three and four wide re
ceiver sets to try and offset A&M's blitz.
After the half, the A&M defense made
the necessary adjustments as the Aggies
outgained the Owls 248-89 in the final
two quarters on the way to a 21-0 scoring
run.
A&M defensive coordinator Bob
Davie, who had the unenviable task of
early in the game by
switching up their gameplan.
"We prepared all week for Cobb run
ning the football and for (quarterback
Bert) Emanuel to run the option quite a
bit," Davie said. "They really took us by
surprise with some or the four-wide re
ceiver sets and when they put Cobb in
the slot."
See Aggies/Page 6
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RICHARD S. JAMES/The Battalion
A&M defensive end Sam Adams (95) bats down a pass from Rice quarterback
Bert Emanuel as linebacker Marcus Buckley (9) blitzes around the end during the
Aggies’35-9 win over the Owls Saturday. ? r w ' \.£T > "
l 11 ■■ 1 - :■. —
Linebackers
keep Owls' big
threats in check
By DON NORWOOD
Sports Writer of THE BATTALION
When the Rice offense threw Texas
A&M a curve with its extensive use of
four-receiver sets Saturday afternoon, the
Aggies' "Wrecking Crew" defense nearly
whiffed.
With all the attention directed toward
running back Trevor Cobb, speedy quar
terback Bert Emanuel started scrambling
and passing to his heart's delight, bring
ing the Owls to within five points at half
time.
The challenge for A&M defensive co
ordinator Bob Davie was obvious — ad
just to an offense that was totally the op
posite of what the Aggies had spent two
weeks preparing for.
The Aggies' 14-9 lead forced Davie to
issue a call for someone to step forward
and take control of the game. Leave it to
the A&M linebackers to answer it.
Aside from outside linebacker Marcus
Buckley, A&M's own personal "Termina
tor", the linebackers for the Aggies are a
working-class group of players, enjoying
little fanfare but tons of output. But with
their step to the next level against Rice,
that quintet of athletes proved they were
ready for prime time.
Buckley, Steve Solari, Jason Atkinson,
Larry Jackson and Reggie Graham com
bined to help hold Cobb to only 84 yards
and one touchdown on 18 carries. Maybe
most importantly, Cobb was unable to
reel off any long runs, something that can
break a defense's back.
Emanuel's outburst notwithstanding,
Atkinson said that putting Cobb on the
ground was the number one objective.
"I think the most important thing in
this game was to keep Cobb contained,"
Atkinson said. "For two weeks, we've
been practicing (against the run). We
came in and put softie things in (during
■v s-Ws-fc-v-.v
See Linebackers/ Page.6
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