Tuesday • October 11, 1994
SPORTS
The Battalion • Page 9
SWC teams’
play improves
in last seasons
TOM
DAY
Sportswriter
In less than two years, the
NCAA and the Southwest Confer
ence schools will stick a fork
into a once prestigious league
of football teams. The SWC
is done, and it’s time for Texas
A&M to start eating at a bigger
dinner table.
With A&M, Texas, Baylor and
Texas Tech defecting to the Big 12
in 1996, most people thought the
quality of play that earned the
conference its death sentence
would never change. But that’s
not the case this season, as the
dying conference has made a na
tional statement by landing three
teams in the top 25.
The Aggies, in the midst of a
rebuilding year, haven’t missed a
beat in jumping out to a 5-0 start
and a No. 7 Associated Press
ranking. The three-time defend
ing SWC champions have thrown
early doubts aside over whether
or not they could win with young,
unproven players. A&M’s raw
talent is maturing quickly as
the Wrecking Crew is once
again rattling opponents and
giving Aggieland more to
whoop about.
The Texas Longhorns have
been making some noise of their
own in Austin lately. After a
thrilling victory over Red River ri
val Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl
Saturday, the Longhorns find
themselves 4-1 and ranked No. 9
in the coaches’ poll. If not for Col
orado’s game-winning, last-second
field goal against the Horns a
week earlier, Texas might be in an
even better position.
Big 12-bound Baylor is also a
team to be reckoned with. The
Bear’s five wins have come by an
average margin of 27 points and
their dominating play has not gone
unnoticed. Baylor is ranked No. 19
in the coaches’ poll coming into
their game against the Aggies
this Saturday.
Not only do we see SWC teams
popping up in the polls, but the
league’s perennial punching bags
have actually been playing some
competitive ball as well.
Although their records don’t in
dicate it, Southern Methodist and
Texas Christian have scared the
pants off several of their oppo
nents. The Ponies pushed North
Carolina and UCLA to the limit
before bowing out and the Frogs
have impressive victories over
New Mexico and Kansas. Also,
just when it looked like Rice was
going to follow in the losing foot
steps of the other fine football uni
versity in Houston, the Owls have
reeled off impressive back-to-back
victories over Iowa St. and Tech.
As the SWC members have
shown this year (excluding
Cougar High), the conference may
be dying, but its teams are not
going to roll over. For Aggie fans,
the improved level of play of
conference foes makes the time
until the merger a little more
entertaining. Conference detrac
tors might say the league’s resur
gence is too little too late for
the SWC, but actually it’s just
better late than never.
No. 7 ranking shows A&M s character
By David Winder
The Battalion
A lot of college football teams would be ecstat
ic to be ranked No. 7 in the nation like Texas
A&M. A top ten ranking would mean considera
tion for a top bowl game and a shot at the nation
al championship.
Because of probation though, the Aggies are
using their high ranking for inspiration and
pride.
“Being ranked No.7 helps in a motivational
factor,” running back Rodney Thomas said. “As
far as something solid it doesn’t mean anything.
What matters is you go out and win every game.”
Linebacker Antonio Armstrong thinks the No.
7 ranking shows what the Aggies are all about.
“It shows that we have a lot of character on
this team,” Armstrong said. “We never stop no
matter what adversity comes against us.
Everybody was picking us to go down hill but
we’re showing them that we’re going to continue
to fight.”
Even though the rankings mean very little in
a national scope the Aggies still watch to see how
the higher ranked teams are doing.
“When I see all those other teams on TV it has
an effect on me,” center Calvin Collins said. “I
think we’re as good as those teams or better. It
just makes you work harder.”
Thomas watches the polls every week but does
not put too much stock in them.
“You can’t help but see the polls,” Thomas
said. “But as far as personally watching them
every week to see what happens, I don’t care
about that. Once you start doing that I think you
get too optimistic about things.”
Collins said that if the Aggies go undefeated
they should be able to make a claim to the na
tional championship.
“The question of being the best team we won’t
ever be able to find out,” Collins said. “If no
body’s beaten you how can they go against you.
There’s no justification in saying that you’re not
the national champions.”
Stew Milne/THE Battalion
Sophomore linebacker Keith Mitchell sacks the quarterback in the Aggies 23-17 victory over Texas Tech.
Moon leads Vikings in 27-10
pounding of New York Giants
Audit shows
Cotton Bowl
fund misuse
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Anthony Parker
and Warren Moon showed New York Giants’ prize prospect
Dave Brown that he still has a lot to learn about life in
the NFL.
Parker picked off a pass by Brown and returned it
44 yards for a touchdown on the fourth play of the
third quarter Monday night to break a tie and lead
the Minnesota Vikings to 27-10
win over the Giants.
Moon, with 154 NFL
starts to Brown’s five, was
23-of-34 for 299 yards
and touchdown pass and
demonstrated the ry-
thym that Brown has
yet to learn.
Parker’s interception
came after Brown, who
also threw an intercep
tion that led to Minneso
ta’s first touchdown, had
tied it with a 3-yard run.
The quarterback draw
came at the end of a re
markable 94-yard touch
down drive that began on
the Giants’ 6-yard-line
with 1:27 left in the first
half.
It alone demonstrated
why the Giants decided
to give him their starting
job and release veteran
Phil Simms. Brown
was 6-of-8 for 91 yards in
the drive.
But on New York’s first series of the second half, he
demonstrated his inexperience, raising up and passing into
the flat and hitting Parker perfectly in stride. The Min
nesota cornerback took it untouched down the left sideline
for the score, the second straight game that Brown has had
an interception returned for a score.
Moon hit Cris Carter with a 20-yard TD pass late in the
period to make it 24-10 and putting Brown, who finished
l8-for-36 for 226 yards and three interceptions, into a hur-
ryup mode. Fuad Reveiz, who opened the scoring with a 44-
yard field goal in the first quarter, tacked on a 24-yarder
that made it 27-10.
Minnesota improved to 4-2, tied for first in the NFC
Central with Chicago. The Giants’ loss, on the night
Lawrence Taylor’s “56” jersey
was retired by the team, was
their second straight after
they opened the season
with three straight
wins.
It was also the first
Minnesota win over
New York since 1976.
The Giants had won
four straight during
that period, one of
them a playoff game
last January.
It was largely the
product of a defense that
has now scored 13 defen
sive touchdowns in its
last 18 games.
Rodney Hampton, who
returned to the Giants
after missing two games
with a back injury,
was limited to 27 yards
in 13 carries after
rushing for 161 yards
in the Giants’ playoff
win over Minnesota
last season..
Terry Allen, who went in from a yard out for Minneso
ta’s first TD, carried 21 times for 75 yards.
After Minnesota fumbled the ball away at the Giants’
1-yard line on its first possession, Reveiz and New York’s
David Treadwell traded field goals to make it 3-3.
Vencie Glenn’s interception at his own 47 on a ball
tipped by Jack Del Rio set up Allen’s TD.
• Brown: throws 2
interceptions
• Hampton: carries 13 times
for 27 yards
•Lawrence Taylor's jersey
retired
•Moon: 23-of-34 passes for
299 yards
• Parker: runs interception
back for a touchdown
• Allen: carries 21 times for
75 yards
DALLAS (AP) — A city audit has
found abuse of policy and possible ille
gal activity among companies involved
in the Cotton Bowl renovation, dis
crepancies it says deprived minority
businesses of some $1.2 million.
City Auditor Daniel Paul said larg
er nonminority companies used small
er minority-owned businesses “as a
subterfuge” by reporting that they
performed work or provided supplies
and services when they did not.
“These companies were not doing
anything other than handling pa
per,” he said.
The audit was delivered to city
council members over the weekend,
more than 18 months after reports of
the possible use of minority fronts sur
faced. A front is a company purported
ly owned by a minority but actually
run and financially controlled by
someone else.
However, Assistant City Manager
Ted Benavides said city officials
don’t necessarily agree with the
audit’s findings.
“We’re going to need to give these
companies a chance to tell their side
of the story,” he said.
The $8.4 million Cotton Bowl pro
ject was criticized by black leaders,
who tried to halt the renovation. The
work was completed before the World
Cup games this summer.
At the time, contractors reported
that $2.7 million went to minorities,
while the audit says the figure is clos
er to $1.5 million.
The audit lists four companies that
received $877,830, but performed “no
See Cotton Bowl/Page 10
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by phone at 845-1234
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