ardino
Sports
Tuesday, November 30,1993
The Battalion
Page 5
y Critt
MATTHEW J.
RUSH
Sportswriter
College bowl
system needs
to be redone
I t's that spe
cial time
again when
there is a lull
between the
Army-Navy
game and New
Year's Eve.
More specifical
ly, it's time for
college bowl
games and that
selection
process needs
to be discussed.
The current
system is based
on poll rank
ings, but these
rankings are not necessarily accurate.
I'm not whining about Texas
A&M's ranking or griping that West
Virginia should be ranked number
two in the nation. Simply, there is a
need for a college football playoff sys
tem.
My main motivation for this pro
posed playoff system is to figure out
how Nebraska and West Virginia are
not playing for the national champi
onship. A year ago, Texas A&M was
a perfect 12-0, but finished the regu
lar season ranked only fourth in the
country. The Aggies then faced fifth
ranked Notre Dame (9-1-1 at the
time) in the Cotton Bowl, and lost, 28-
3. But the point is the same.
Undefeated teams should at least
have a chance to win a national title,
regardless of a "weak schedule."
A playoff system, however,
would certainly weed out any fluke
teams, and it would be so simple.
There wo,uld be only 10 regular
season games and no 'Kickoff Classic'
type games, unless they counted as
one of the 10 (those teams usually
play 12 games instead of 11).
See Rush/Page 6
Texas A&M's 1993 season: One for the history books
By Michael Plumer
The Battalion
All hail Dennis Allen.
Allen's fourth quarter interception of Texas
quarterback Shea Morenz's pass at the Texas
A&M three yard line sealed a trip to Dallas for
New Year's Day and capped off the Aggies'
Thanksgiving night. In a season that was
filled with more ups than downs, Allen's
pickoff had to be the highest of the highs.
The robbing of Shea allowed A&M to post
Analysis
a 18-9 victory, a 10-1 record and more impor
tantly, a 7-0 record in the Southwest Confer
ence.
As he skidded out of bounds along with a
third straight SWC championship and a 22nd
consecutive SWC win, he seemed to be a per
fect metaphor for the Aggies' season.
Constantly, A&M had its back to the wall,
but in some form managed to pull out a play
that salvage the victory. The Rice game was
a perfect example.
The Owls statistically dominated the first
half but still trailed, 21-10, thanks to the jet
feet of Leeland McElroy who returned not
one, but two, kickoffs for touchdowns.
Sure, A&M stubbed its toe against Okla
homa, 44-14, but privately, players said the re
sult might have been the best thing to happen
to the team. Their reasoning was the blowout
opened their eyes that they could be beat.
Maybe that lesson will be recalled in the
Cotton Bowl. Besides the Texas game, the Ag
gies were never seriously challenged in victo
ry. Most teams did not put up much opposi
tion.
Need a reference? See Missouri (73-0).
Louisville came strolling into Kyle Field
ranked at 20th in the nation and were prompt
ly handed a 35-point loss, 42-7.
In a year in which the team excelled, it
makes sense that a few individuals had career
seasons. The brightest star had to be corner-
back Aaron Glenn.
His interceptions were down (three) but his
punt returns for touchdowns were up (two).
For good measure, he led the nation in punt
returns, racing for almost 20 yards a pop. No
body threw to his side, causing Glenn to suf
fer from "Kevin Smith Syndrome." But on the
other side, the pickins were not easy, thanks
to (Ray) Mickens.
Glenn probably wrapped up the Thorpe
Award against Texas and Lovell Pinkney.
Pinkney beat him a couple of times but Glenn
seemed to arrive at the same time as the ball
See Football/Page 6
Kyle Bumett/THE Battalion
A&M junior outside linebacker Antonio Shorter (56) prepares to col
lapse the pocket against Houston quarterback Jimmy Klingler (15)
the Aggies ' 34-10 victory at Kyle Field on Oct. 9.
in
Lady Aggie basketball hits home opener with TSU
By Jose de Jesus Ortiz
The Battalion
The Texas A&M Lady Aggie Basket
ball team will try to improve its record to
2-0 as they battle the Texas Southern
Lady Tigers at 7 p.m. in G. Rollie White
Coliseum.
A&M head coach Lynn Hickey said
that the Lady Aggies will need to execute
on offense better than they did in the first
half of their 73-68 road victory against
Arizona State Saturday.
"Arizona State took us out of our game
early," Hickey said. "They pressed us,
and they set the tempo because we didn't
handle their defensive pressure. We need
to try to establish our tempo of play
(against Texas Southern)."
Because TSU's center, sophomore Ar-
tan Austin, is 5-foot-ll inches and the
Lady Tigers do not have a starter taller
than 6-foot, the Lady Aggies will be test
ed by their opposition's lack of size.
That message was not lost on A&M
sophomore point guard Lisa Branch. She
said that she will try to avoid a repeat of
her four turnover performance she had
against Arizona State.
"As the point guard, I think it is my re
sponsibility for setting up our offense,"
Branch said. "And, I want to keep my
turnovers to one or two a game."
Hickey said that although Branch is an
integral part of the team, the whole game
does not rest on her shoulders. Hickey
said the post players need to step up and
take some of the pressure away from the
guards.
" (Arizona State) would triple team our
centers, and we had trouble handling it,"
Hickey said. "We need them to handle
the pressure better."
Sophomore center Kelly Cerny said
that in order for the offense to be more ef-
fective,the post players need to take ad
vantage of their height.
"We need to keep the ball up higher,"
the 6-foot-5 inch Cerny said. "We have to
be bigger targets."
By sending the shooting guard in the
See Hoops/Page 6
Volleyball playoff
tickets at G. Rollie
Tickets for Wednesday's NCAA
first round volleyball match between
George Mason and Texas A&M at G.
Rollie White Colesuim are now on
sale. All-Sports passes will not be
honored.
Ticket prices are:
Reserve seats - $7.00
General Admission
Adults - $5.00
Children under 12 - $2.00
Senior citizens - $3.00
A&M students - $3.00
-From Staff and Wire Reports
iWMMr, i- tiootn
&E.WARI FlU.t> msu ItXAi AM mVMTY
vith ref re ;.
n Rudder-:.
lichelleat-
fOK A TICJClT,’ STOf &V THE- TASlX IK/ THE- STWlK/T (Lk/TEA,
Ml/E-M&EA 2^30 OK &EXE-M&EA I AWt> FILL OUT AK/ ArfUCATlOK/. IF XOU AIAE-At>Y
HAkE- A t>IS(OkEA®CAM>, (OHl BY THE- TA&IX AND SHOW 05 YOCA (AIU> AK/1>
VM\\> smiHT l.t>. AVt> OH DEXE-M&EA t, XOU (0OLt> BE- SHAKIK/’ X0UK SE-LLY TOO.
m Y00> PE-TTEA HWAY, FRi-E- TICKE-TS* ARi- LIMITUL
For further ticket information phone the MSC Box Office at 845-1234.
IF XOU J>0K/’T 00T ll 0E-T If
Persons with disabilities please call 845-1515 to inform us of your special needs. We request
notification three (3) working days prior to the event to assist you to the best of our ability.
© M) MLNWOO* TtW (OHfAVr, FH( *FRfX TKKlTS OVLr AV'AlLASLt FOR. MrHOMORlS, pVIORS 5LWI0M AVt> G*A1> STWEJ/TS.
Qfl'ati QQoa