Monday, November 2,1992
Sports
The Battalion
Page 5
Stomping SMU
sets up Aggies
for title chase
D allas
- Texas
A&M
got what tney
oh, so desper
ately needed
Saturday: A
dominating vic
tory.
Two-thirds
of the way
through this
agonizingly
long season,
the Aggies
came into Cot
ton Bowl I
looking desper
ately for a jump-start to get them
through the rest of the season. They
got it.
Their 41-7 win was a complete de
molition of an obviously weaker
Southern Methodist team. In every
facet of the game, A&M came away
victorious. The quarterbacks were bet
ter. The lines were better. The sec
ondary was better. The backs and re
ceivers were better.
It was good for A&M to prove that
it was the fifth-ranked team in the
country over someone else. Some
times beating the tar out of someone
feels better than a last-second field
goal, and this was an example.
Granted, it was SMU, the team that
is perennially placed at the Southwest
Conference's basement. But the Mus
tangs have shown marked improve
ment this year and have already won
more games than they have in any sea
son since coming back to life in 1989.
And even if the Mustangs aren't
that great.. .so? A&M needed to
steamroll someone, and SMU fulfilled
that wish.
Now, the Aggies are ready for the
home stretch. A&M's eight wins in its
previous eight games is a tremendous
accomplishment, but one loss
See Whitley/ Page 8
CHRIS
WHITLEY
Sports Editor
Aggies harness Mustangs, 41-7
Third-quarter surge helps
A&M cruise past SMU
By K. LEE DAVIS
Sports Writer of THE BATTALION
DALLAS - When Texas A&M
came to the Cotton Bowl looking
for a blowout win. Southern
Methodist was more than happy
to provide them with one.
Despite having its best season
since its return from the NCAA
grave, the Mustangs were no
match for the fifth-ranked Ag
gies, who took a 41-7 victory on
Saturday in front of 41,417.
The win kept A&M's perfect sea
son intact (8-0, 4-0 in Southwest
Conference play) and gave the
Aggies their largest margin of
victory this season.
The Aggie defense looked like
a beast on this Halloween after
noon, devouring all of SMU's of
fensive threats by posting four
sacks and three interceptions,
two by defensive linemen.
The Mustangs (3-5, 1-4) con
tinued their four-game losing
streak and gained only 179 total
yards in the process, including
25 yards on the ground. They
could have come seven points
closer, but a goalline stand by
A&M in the final minute kept
SMU in single digits.
The Aggies took the opening
kickoff of the game and marched
80 yards in 16 plays, culminated
by a six-yard touchdown pass
from Jeff Granger to Ryan Math
ews.
But Greg Hill was the prima
ry threat in the drive, carrying
the ball eight times for 37 of his
138 total rushing yards.
"I got so many carries there at
the beginning that I was starting
to get tired," Hill said. "I was
glad I had Rodney (Thomas)
there to split time with."
Hill and Thomas finished the
afternoon with a combined 216
yards rushing and five touch
downs.
SMU exercised its one big
play of the afternoon on the en
suing kickoff. Mustang kick re
turner Jason Wolf fielded the
kick, broke through a huge hole
at the SMU 25-yard line and
scampered 51 yards to give the
Mustaugs the ball at the A&M
36.
An 11-yard pass from Dan
Freiburger to John DeVoss tied
the score at seven with 4:35 left
in the first quarter. SMU didn't
run the ball once in its six-play
scoring drive.
"Our offensive scheme today
was to throw short, quick pass
es," SMU head coach Tom Ross-
ley said. "I thought Dan
Freiburger did a good job with
that early on, but then A&M
dropped back into some zone
coverage and challenged us to
run the ball.
"It was a good job of coaching
on their part."
After the opening drive, the
Aggie defense would allow only
143 yards for the rest of the
game, holding in check an SMU
offense that was averaging 338.3
yards per game.
After the Mustang touch
down, the Aggies took 6:01 off
the clock on another 80-yard dri
ve that put A&M on top for
good.
"The first two drives were
very long, and I think they set
the tempo for the day," Hill said.
Rossley, who has lost both of
his meetings with the Aggies,
characterized A&M as the most
dominant team he has seen this
season.
"I think Texas A&M is at a
See Aggies/ Page 8
RICHARD S. JAMES/The Battalion
Freshman quarterback Corey Pullig tries to avoid a Southern
Methodist defender during the Aggies’ 41-7 win over the
Mustangs Saturday. Pullig replaced an injured Jeff Granger
and went 7-for-15 for 114 yards with one interception.
Defensive line
shines in rout
By iC LEE DAVIS
\ Sports Writer of THE BATTALION
DALLAS - On a day that
Texas A&M dominated
every facet of the football
game against Southern
Methodist, the defensive line
was the most dominant unit
of ail.
Sam Adams, Lance Te-
ichelman, Eric England and
Kef a Chatham combined for
, seven tackles, two passes
broken up, three quarterback
sacks and two interceptions.
The two interceptions, by
Adams and England, are the
: most by A&M defensive
linemen in a game since
1981.
In fact, the two intercep
tions marked the first time
during that span that two
A&M defensive linemen
have intercepted a pass in
the same season.
"We've been working all
week on receiving drills with
our defensive linemen, and it
looks like those drills have
paid off," A&M head coach
R.C. Slocum joked.
With 7:58 remaining in
the second quarter, England
came up with A&M's first
turnover of the afternoon, in
tercepting a Dan Freiburger
pass that was tipped by in
side linebacker Larry Jack-
son.
England said that he was
as surprised as anyone that
.. he came up with the ball,
and felt that his four-yard in
terception return was fairly
impressive, given the traffic
in which he caught the ball.
See Defense/Page8
TUDENT
ENMENT GO
UNIVERSITY TEX
TUDENT
ENMENT GO
UNIVERSITY TEX
TUDENT
ENMENT GO
UNIVERSITY TEX
TUDENT
ENMENT GO
UNIVERSITY
TEX
TUDENT
ENMENT GO
UNIVERSITY JEX
TUDENT
ENMENT
UNIVERSITY
WANTED
r:j
f/l , , X?
(1
o W 1
•> 3 ,
Parents of the Year
Applications:
Available November 30, 1992
Due February 12, 1993
Make your hotel reservations
NOW for
Parents' Weekend
April 16-18, 1993
COSGA ’93
CONFERENCE ON STUDENT GOIVERNMENT ASSOCIATIONS
HOSTS/HOSTESSES ARE NEEDED FOR THE FOUR DAY CONFERENCE IN FEBRUARY.
APPLICATIONS WILL BE AVAILABLE IN THE STUDENT GOVERNMENT OFFICE
NOVEMBER 9, 1992 and are DUE NOVEMBER 13, 1992.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
CLASS OF '96 OFFICERS:
TINA HORNBERGER - TREASURER
MEREDITH ESTERLINE - HISTORIAN
TUDENT
IRNMENT GO
UNIVERSITY TEX
RULES AND HECULa
ACADEMIC AFFAIRS CMA
EXTERNAL AFFAIRS CMA
pi”™" '
Senator flmareness Week
mondag, Hov. 2
to
Friday, Ilov. 6
iS-
Senators can be found 10 a.m.-2p.m
at tables to ansmeryour questions
at the folloming locations: mSC
Commons
Blocker
GOVERNMENT Kleberg
UNIVERSITY
/STUDENT
./p
DIVERSITY FORUM
A MEETING OF THE MINDS
A Meetiny (H The Hinds
Tuesday, Nov. 17
11:00-12:00
For more information call 845-3051
TUDENT
IRNMENT GQ
UNIVERSITY TEX
TUDENT
IRNMENT GO
UNIVERSITY TEX
TUDENT
IRNMENT
U N I V E R S
WED, NOV 4 thru SAT, NOV 7
SHOW YOUR AGGIE
SPIRIT THIS WEEK BY MAKING
YELL ALCOHOL FREE
GO
TEX
TUDENT
NMENT
S AI.M UNIVERSITY
SPONSORED BY
Choose the Dookatore
Where Purehaaea Benefit
Aggie Scholatahlpal
845-8681
AGGIE MICKS ACCKm .l)
Visa • Musiirranl • Atwrinin Kxproaa • Oist-nvcr
vik .siiin n t: >ii>s .sun's unit: txt:nv i.'witiNirrKw
T Y
TUDENT
IRNMENT G
UNIVERSITY TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
'STUDENT
E IRNMENT