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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 1992)
Sports tober 20,1)1 i Tuesday, October 20,1992 The Battalion Page 7 Sets ;r • race] waled 1.21| ,830,778- y's 1.2 ml esidentiake million isonabl) 'arISm: been hits® xon defeats; Indepenfc 31.2 percent [f heipated. 'oters came: y andPictE registered vit- e traditional; lly. ded >ped thems mportantiie- hter. ecide in a ;her giraja se an imccr- of "beyond a ever mayt* error not re in Idaho case ate court fi ts disputes, ontendsitis topaystadt nets !hitt g as f ,. etaryjiani dnute meet >f the People more thas iciesaredf- et down ti i Jiang as re ieng was ® health, rjsion ne" 1 ! ng steadilj inghandoi ghter, Derf )ok and hi* -med unfo | 61 seats Iministra- "ig advan nts have, count financial bent and f the dos- -on battle Sen. Bok :ratic Ref- gpublicar Commit- pillion' ’ as mud> > n - . j risidered a ce is f Kepuhl'- cter has $3.6 mil- riomine { ,f Texas, al Repuh- aittee, re his re a lot f L in sa ^' -y had a l or eight ,ts away problem J man'’ vay ^ DON NORWOOD Sports Writer A&M-Baylor will bring back running attack S aturday's A&M- Baylor game will pro vide an inter esting insight into the future of Southwest Conference football. And no, it's not be cause the con test will be Grant Teaff's last in Kyle Field as the Bears' head coach. Instead, the Aggies and the Bears, the teams with the two best recruiting classes in the SWC throughout the past three years, will be out to prove that the running game is not dead in college football. At least not yet. Everyone who has even a minus cule amount of knowledge about the college game knows about A&M's ability to run the ball. Greg Hill is the established mega-star of the bunch, but Rodney Thomas could start prac tically anywhere else. Doug Carter can run, catch and block, Clif Groce and Detron Smitfy are Mack trucks in football uniforms, and Leeland McEl- roy is just waiting for someone ahead of him to mess up so he can show off his Marshall Faulk-like speed and agility. A&M's stable of backfield bosses is deep and talented. But what sets it apart from last year's gang is an offen sive line that has put on blocking clin ics in successive games against Texas Tech and Rice. Against Tech on Oct. 3, line coach Mike Sherman's starting five plowed into the Red Raiders' defense with all the subtlety of a rabid wolverine. Thomas and Hill combined for over ^300 yards that day, mainly behind center Chris Dausin and guards John Ellisor and Tyler Harrison. Unsung left tackle” Dexter Wesley has quietly done the^ame, excellent job he did last year. And former tight end Jason Mathews has picked up where the graduated Keith Alex left off, making sure lefty quarterback Jeff Granger remains unmolested from the blind side. Against Rice, "Sherman's Tanks" showed that they could pass block as well, because the Owls actually took the A&M running game away. It's funny how defensive spies on the tail backs will do that, no matter how bad they get burned through the air. One thing we know for sure, few A&M defenders will be resembling extra-crispy toast against Baylor quar terback J.J. Joe, whose feet are not just happy, they are sometimes downright elated. Giddy. Ecstatic. That's why Teaff would be smart to do what he did against Houston last weekend — grind it out on the ground. Baylor's O-line is not quite the brick wall A&M's is, but that leaves out the fact that Teaff has switched to the veer, an offense that is almost as antiquated as the Notre Dame Box, but one that still gives defenses trou ble when it is done right. The veer demands great quickness from offensive linemen, who often | have to block the next defenders down in the direction of the play in stead of the ones directly in front of See Norwood/ Page 8 The Royal Defense Defensive end England works to make quarterbacks miserable By MICHAEL PLUMER Sports Writer of THE BATTALION Texas A&M defensive lineman Eric England was asked to give a definition of the 1992 edition of the "Wrecking Crew" defense. After a thoughtful pause, England di agnosed the A&M defense with a telling description. "We are a unit and not just one indi vidual," England said. "We are men try ing to make a play. We are eleven guys who are not trying to wait for someone to make a play. "We all want to do it." England, a junior from Sugar Land's Willowridge High School, exemplifies this attitude. Before the Texas Tech game, A&M defensive coaches asked England and Lance Teichelman to change posi tions. Teichelman switched to nose guard, and England slid out to his customary po sition of defensive end. "I played at end all through high school so I was comfortable there," Eng land said. "The quickness I have helps me at end so I didn't argue about the change." Defensive line coach Bill Johnson said the move was made for a simple reason. "The biggest factor is production- wise," Johnson said. "We were getting more production when Teichelman was at nose, and Eric was there at end. It was more of a chemistry type of thing." Johnson also said the change was not made because a lack of production on the part of either, saying either could play ei ther position, but that the new setup was the best possible situation for the Aggie defense. "It was not a situation where we could not put Lance back at end and Eric back at nose," Johnson said. "It just made us better. "The fit was better." England said that he was almost re lieved with the switch. "I think the change is better," England said. "Both Lance and myself feel more comfortable, and I think I can do more things. "I thought I was still a little small to play nose guard, and the coaches said we would feel more at home." On Saturday, the Rice Owls, presented an interesting dilemma for the A&M de fense. The Owls featured quarterback Bert Emanuel and last year's Doak Walk er Award-winner, running back Trevor Cobb. With Emanuel behind center, who has been clocked in the 40 at 4.3 seconds, the Owls possessed the legitimate speed-op tion threat which was something the A&M defense had not encountered this season. But the Aggies effectively neutralized Emanuel and Cobb. The Owls' star run ning back had 88 yards on 18 attempts while Emanuel could muster only 91 yards on 23 rushes. Although the junior signal-caller's numbers were down, England said he was impressed with Emanuel's natural athletic abilities abilities. "I have yet to see a quarterback who can bring the option as fast as he can," England said. "I have heard a lot about him, and I looked forward to trying to stop him. "We had to contain him, but if he did break containment, we had to come back and play better the next time. Johnson said he had faith that England could defense the option without any problems. "His speed helped, but if Lance had been out there he could have done a good job," Johnson said. "It is a situation where we really had two ends and one just fit the position of nose better. Eric is a type of guy that plays a little bit more with his speed and quickness. "The option should not be a problem for him." When Emanuel decided to forsake the run and attempt to pass, he was constant ly pressured by A&M's front seven, made up of the three down linemen and four linebackers. A&M racked up six sacks with England adding one. He also con tributed an interception on a two-point conversion attempt to go along with sev en tackles. Johnson said putting pressure on the quarterback is England's strongest at tribute. "He is a great pass rusher," Johnson said. "He likes to play the game, and he has a natural ability to come off the foot ball and rush the passer. "That is something you can not coach, that is a God-given talent. A&M defensive end Eric England celebrates a sack against Southwestern Louisiana during 1991. England switched from nose guard to end this season, and said he feels the change will be better for the team. Pittsburgh runs past Cincinnati, 20-0 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PITTSBURGH — Cincinnati's David Shula is the NFL's youngest head coach. He probably feels a lot older after this one. Dwight Stone dropped three passes, then set up the first of his two scoring catches with a 30-yard run on a reverse in the second quarter as the Pittsburgh Steelers beat Shula's offense-less Bengals 20-0 Monday night. Pittsburgh (4-2), with Barry Foster nearly outgaining the Bengals by himself, ended a two-game losing streak to gain a first-place tie with Houston in the AFC Central. The Bengals (2-4), who lost their fourth in a row, were shut out for the first time since a 34-0 defeat to Cleveland in a 1987 strike game. The last Bengals' shutout in a non strike game had been a 14-0 loss to Buffa lo in 1980. Monday's shutout ended Ben gals kicker Jim Breech's NFL-record streak of scoring in consecutive games at 186. "It's great to get a shutout," the Steel ers' Rod Woodson said. "When you get a shutout, you know the worst thing that can happen to your team is a tie." The Steelers were held without a touchdown in consecutive losses to Green Bay (17-3) and Cleveland (17-9), and they managed only two against a Bengals' de fense that was shredded the week before for five touchdown passes by Houston's Warren Moon in a 48-24 rout. And the Bengals set up one of Pittsburgh's touch downs with a fumble. Regardless, Stone's two touchdowns and Gary Anderson's two field goals were enough production against a Ben gals' offense that managed only 118 net yards. Foster, the AFC's leading rusher, carried 24 times for 108 yards, his fourth 100-yard game of the season. "I don't know if a lot of people know who I am, but I'm just happy to be up there with some great backs," Foster said. "Maybe some more people will know me after this." Bengals quarterback Boomer Esiason didn't have much problem characterizing his offense. "We were inept," he said. "I don't think I've ever played in a game where we gained so few yards. The whole team believes it needs to improve." "It's disappointing to come here ... and get nothing going offensively," Shula said. "Offensively, we didn't do it. Defen sively, we let them out of the hole a num ber of times and that was disappointing." In a matchup of the NFL's two youngest head coaches, Shula (33) and Pittsburgh's Bill Cowher (35), the Steelers trotted out a typical Pittsburgh football night; cold and blustery. The weather — temperatures dropped into the 20s by late in the game — and the icy-slick playing field apparently chilled out the Cincinnati offense. Esiason, questionable until just before the game with a bruised throwing arm, played but was ineffective against the NFL's 22nd-rated pass defense. The only time the Bengals seriously threatened, wide receiver Carl Pickens fumbled after an 18-yard gain to the Steelers' 21, with Pittsburgh's Sammy Walker recovering with just over a minute left in the first half. "We just got nothing going," Shula said. The series before. Stone had ended Pittsburgh's nine-quarter streak without a touchdown, hooking up with O'Donnell on a 24-yard scoring pass play at 2:13 of the second period — the Steelers' first touchdown since O'Donnell's 1-yard quarterback sneak in San Diego on Sept. 20. MSC L.T. Jordan Institute for International Awareness Presents *4.7. jkvidtuc 'PneoeHta&om Chi 9-(uanci ie,a 0* /big ex,pef'iet(ceg wit/b a 6f/rited/Vatio/fg Peace /Ceepity Force in ^upogtfatH'a. Wes ‘TauCor, CD.l/.fM., viMpregent C/e V'eterinaref medicine ftindinfig ofit/be regearc/b /be conductedin France. Wednesday, October 21, 1992 8:30 p.m. in Rudder 507 If you have any questions, please contact the L.T. Jordan Institute office at 845-8770. A M U N exas &M odel nited ations Topics include: Environment, Non-Proliferation Treaty, Population Control, Eastern Europe, Somolian Crisis, A.I.D.S., Cultural Subversion, and the Security Council. INTRODUCTORY MEETING October 22 8:30 P.M. Rudder 601 Applications for delegate positions will be available in: 1. MSC 223F (Jordan Institute Office) 2. International Students Association Office 3. Student Government Office-Student Services Building Delegate applications for pre-registration are due October 15 in the Jordan Institute Office Undergraduate and Graduate Students may participate. Questions may be directed to Sean O'Donnell at 696-3338 MUN is sponsored by the MSC Jordan Institute for International Awareness, Student Government Association, and the International Students Association TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY THE UNIVERSITY CHAMBER SERIES PRESENTS CO o cs ‘Western Wts ‘Trio <M CS O* Henry Rubin, violin David Tomatz, cello Werner Rose, piano In a program of works by Haydn, Copland and Brahms. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20 RUDDER THEATRE, 8:00 PM Tickets available at the MSC Box Office and Foley's. Adults - S8.00 Students & Seniors - S5.00 For information call 845-1234 or 845-3355.