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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 16, 1996)
Pa) y • September 16, ampu eel comfortable mef religious leaders, aing to be much 11; :e hours,” Crawford s are free to comeim imebody wants to ilk in private, we’ll Peter Tarlow o uindation, said ( s have worked to organize the sei someone wants ;ion with their own ve can facilitate pui touch with the it to see," Tarlow y been good how is clergy members ogether.” its interested in t jyman may call t ispel at 862-4527. merit ys have to considerisi aken care of,” he said stro and Erin Aiello, been deployed bd specially with chili l to prepare Friday, linking about the ear-old and near-2 miss their father.” ing children makes srent. But she said J rally together and families who are •seas deployment, re time calling them ep them busy,” she si rere part of a h ildiers who were briefi e deployment, auditorium on theb; d be to train and be prepared," he sail rs to stay close to eac nfident in their soldiec Sports Page 7 Monday • September 16, 1996 Tim Moog, The Battalion ry’s Student Center discuss the gospes nformation caW Mi’ acrosse Club: There ce session from 4-6: Zachry Fields. Ever)' r, and no experiencf : or information t 764-8561. ight turnovers contribute complete Aggie meltdown AYETTE, La. — Turnovers! overs! Turnovers! Texas A&M Head Coach R.C. um has ever seen the movie Program, chances are you ight see a half dozen football ms around campus with a >kin in their hands today, n what seemed to be a clinic on [to give the ball away, the Texas 1 Football Team turned the ball times during its 29-22 rarrassment to Southwestern siana Saturday. ocum may want to invoke a . lar policy to the one used in Counseling Servit mov j e re q U j r j n g players to Student Group: W 1 i a ball with them at all times, eeting for Hispanicst scuss issues reW eothers attempt to strip it. seven giveaways already arsonal and acadefl :r their belt and still having a a supportive ice to tie the game with less a minute to play, the Aggies’ d environment frt p.m. formation call Dr, Jit >r 5-4427, ext. 134. Hendetsf ditch effort was halted when i Lacrosse: There wl m 4-6:00 p.m. at s. For more informal Stein at 696-6330. dp is a Battalion^ 1 sts non-profit stutf y events and adftj • ••••••••< V V ■ ■ COMING UP quarterback Branndon art threw his fourth intercep- ofthe game. ewart said although the USL ise made some great breaks on f of his passes, he was to blame IveralofA&M’s charitable dona te the Ragin’ Cajuns’ cause, couple of those were bad ions," Stewart said. “Every we got a little momentum, we i turnover.” j should be submiH east-west passing game than three days !( j ineffective as the Cajun’s the desired run ds ^e intercepted two passes i deadlines 3 vn across the field and not events and * ned them for touchdowns, in What’s Up. If! ith less than seven minutes (uestions, please 3 iningin the contest and the om at 845-3313. sup22-21, Stewart attempted it pattern pass to senior wide- Ibert Connell that was broken ind almost intercepted by icornerback Britt Jackson. plays later, the Aggies ipted the same play and this Jackson made them pay, pick- ffthe pass and scampering 30 for the winning touchdown. The Aggies were not any more lucky on the ground, fumbling the ball seven times and losing the ball on four of those occasions. With the scored tied at seven in the first quar ter, A&M drove 62 yards to the USL eight yard line before sophomore tailback Eric Bernard fumbled to give the ball back to the Cajuns. “We just had some bad luck hold ing on to the ball,” Bernard said. “We can correct it. We just have to work on the strip drills and tell the defense to try to take it from us.” Later in the quarter, USL safety Charles Johnson picked up a Sirr Parker fumble and dashed 17 yards for a score, giving the Cajuns a 14-7 lead. On several occasions, the Aggies were lucky to recover several of their own miscues and often had to wait for piles to clear to see if they still had the ball. “We just need to protect the foot ball and [keep doing] what we’re doing to have a chance to win the football game,” Slocum said. — By Brent Montgomery Special to The Battalion USL Gifts 1st Quarter Stewart pass intercepted at A&M 42, returned for TD.. Jr - 8:58 Bernard fumbles at USL 8^<6:44 t s'f' Humbles at A&M 17, picked up 1 d for TD —4:43 rt pass intercepted at A&M ? ^2 nd Quarter ^ fumbles at USL 9 — 5:42 4th Quarter Hardeman fumbles at USL 25 Stewart pass intercepted at A&M 30, returned for TD — 6:30 Stewart pass intercepted at USL 14 — 0:31 Wrong? The Aggies dropped to 0-2 stunning 29-22 upset loss after a to USL By Matt Mitchell The Battalion LALAYETTE, La. — The Texas A&M Football Team came looking for redemption, but all it found was more heartache. In what was per haps one of their ugliest performances, the Aggies committed eight turnovers, including four interceptions, as the Southwestern Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns handed them their second straight defeat and one of the most stunning in A&M history, 29-22. The Aggies’ 0-2 start is their worst since 1988 when they began 0-3 in former coach Jackie Sherrill’s last season at the Aggie helm. USL cornerback Britt Jackson’s intercep tion of a Branndon Stewart pass, and subse quent 30-yard stroll to a touchdown, put the Cajuns up for good with 6:30 remaining. Despite rushing for 218 yards and rolling up '399 yards of total offense as compared to 248 for USL, the Aggies were able to muster just 22 points and largely beat themselves with untimely mistakes, penalties and turnovers. A&M lost four fumbles, including three inside the USL 25-yard line that killed potential scoring drives. The Aggies’ luck was no different through the air either, as junior quarterback Branndon Stewart threw four interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns. “It seemed like every time we got a little momentum, we had a turnover,” Stewart said. A&M Head Coach R.C. Slocum put the game into perspective. ‘It’s a very disappointing loss,” Slocum said. "You can’t win football games when you turn the ball over. With as many turnovers as we had tonight, I doubt there’s any college team around we could beat.” Starting with the first play from scrim mage, it became apparent that turnovers would be a key theme of the contest. On first down from his own 27-yard line, USL quarter back Jake Delhomme sent a pass toward the right sideline which A&M senior cornerback Donovan Greer stepped in front of and returned 27 yards to the 12. From there, it took the Aggies just four plays to punch it in, scoring on a one-yard touchdown run by tail back D’Andre Hardeman with just under two minutes gone in the game. After forcing the Cajuns to punt on their next series, the Aggies looked ready to drive for another touchdown. But USL cor nerback Damon Mason intercepted an errant pass from a heavily pressured Stewart in the flat and returned it 42 yards for a tying touchdown. However, the Aggies came back on their ensuing possession by marching to the USL 27-yard line. But when sophomore tailback Eric Bernard fumbled at the five-yard line on what seemed to be a sure touchdown run, the Cajuns recovered in the end zone for a touchback. Proving more adept at scoring than its offense, the opportunistic USL defense forced A&M tailback Sirr Parker to fumble on the Aggies’ next possession deep in their own territory and returned it for the score, giving the Cajuns a 14-7 lead. The second quarter fea- • tured the longest sustained scoring drive for USL in the game. Combining accurate passes with well-executed running plays, the Cajuns stormed 92 yards down the field in 17 plays to take a 21-7 lead with 9:58 left in the half. A&M was able to answer with time run ning out in the half, driving down field 58 yards and hitting paydirt as Hardeman scampered through a big hole toward the end zone. USL safety Damon Mason forced Hardeman to fumble at the two, but the sophomore recovered in the end zone for the score. A&M kicker Kyle Bryant missed the extra point, however, leaving the Aggies down 21-13. With 2:40 left in the quarter, the stage was set for a bizarre finish to the half. USL moved downfield and gained a first down at the A&M 18-yard line when receiver Brandon Stokley caught a Delhomme pass for 14 yards with a few seconds remaining. Stokley appeared to run out of bounds, but the clock kept running and the Cajuns could not get another play off “With as many turnovers as we had tonight, I doubt there’s any college team around we could beat.” R.C. Slocum A&M Head Football Coach before time ran out. Coming out of the locker room at halftime, the Aggies looked fired up. After receiving the kickoff, A&M marched 65 yards in five plays for a touchdown to pull within two. The high light of the drive was a 46-yard Stewart option keeper that put the Aggies in the end zone. Displaying athleticism reminiscent of for mer Aggie quarterback Bucky Richardson, Stewart darted through the Cajun defense, avoiding would-be tacklers and all but car ried one USL defender into the end zone with him for the score. With the Wrecking Crew shutting down the USL offense, the Aggies took what was to be their only lead on a booming 48-yard Bryant field goal with 7:58 left in the third quarter. The score would remain the same until Jackson’s inter ception and return for the touchdown put the Cajuns up by seven. A final desperation A&M drive ended at the Cajun 26 as Mason turned them away again by intercepting Stewart, the Aggie quarterback’s fourth pick of the game. The Cajuns then ran out the final 31 seconds and the Aggies were left to shake their heads at anoth er bewildering defeat. “We were in our one minute-offense and just trying to make things happen,” Stewart said of his final pass. “I rolled out and saw a guy [open]. I’m not sure how it was intercept ed, but I heard it may have been tipped.” One of the few bright spots of the evening for the Aggies was the resurgence of the Wrecking Crew. The defense limited the Cajuns offense to just 120 yards rushing on 38 carries, a 3.1 yard average. In addition, the Wrecking crew limited USL quarterback Jake Delhomme to 128 yards passing and one touchdown. “I thought our defense played better today,” Slocum said. “Our secondary was bet ter. I was pleased overall (with the defense).” ? • Igi Dave House, The Baitalion After the Ragin' Cajuns defeated the Aggies 29-22, USL fans rushed the field, tore down the goalpost and carried it out of the stadium. g/'es have many questions to answer in wake of USL debacle T ie Aggies’ “I 6-20 a.m.-5:00 P- 11 ' NATIONS ER 1 ggest concern >ming into the une was its experienced condary and eling defense, ow, the entire am seems to i a mystery. here’s not much to say. This was a game a lot of people originally thought had no busi ness being on the Aggies’ schedule. Beating up on a hapless Southwestern Louisiana squad wasn’t going to make A&M look any more glamorous to the national pollsters. But following their season-opening loss at BYU, this game marked a chance for the Aggies to get back on track and erase the doubts sur rounding them follow ing their worst defensive performance ever three weeks earlier in Provo. Well, they won’t have to worry about voters or Sports Editor polls for a while. The Ragin’ Cajuns’ stunning 29-22 victory leaves the Aggies 0-2 and out of the polls for the first time since October 1989. It’s going to be difficult to complain about A&M’s strength of schedule now. In fact, when they open Big 12 play in a couple of weeks, Saturday’s game might seem like a pleasant memory if A&M doesn’t turn things around in a hurry. The Aggies, 19-point favorites entering the USL contest, did every thing in their power to give the game away. And the Cajuns wasted no time tearing the wrapping paper off of sev- Tom Day Senior journalism major eral A&M gifts, using three of A&M’s eight turnovers to score instant touchdowns — two on interception returns following a pair of errant Branndon Stewart passes, and one following a Sirr Parker fumble. The Aggies’ biggest concern coming into the game was its inexperienced secondary and reeling defense. Now, the entire team seems to be a mystery. After an impressive debut at BYU, Stewart showed he is quite human Saturday, throwing four interceptions, fumbling two snaps and connecting on less than 50 percent of his passes. But what was even more alarming was the offensive unit’s four fumbles and inability to move the ball and get the job done when it had to against one of the least-regarded teams on A&M’s schedule. For three long weeks, the Aggies were licking their chops in anticipation of a coming out party at USL’s expense. But in its excitement, it seems the team has forgotten simple fundamen tals of the game — like tucking the ball away to avoid fumbles, wrapping up on tackles, and making sound deci sions under the gun. The Aggies would have had trouble beating anyone Saturday, which leaves the burning question — what happens when Colorado comes calling at Kyle Field in two weeks fresh off their upset defeat at home to Michigan? If there were any doubts in the Aggies’ minds after the BYU game, they have to be wondering now when they’re even going to win a game. The schedule doesn’t get any easier. But in the Aggies’ defense, they probably just took USL a little too lightly and the Cajuns capitalized on that. That is not an excuse, but most likely the reason for A&M’s defeat at the hands of a team that is far inferior on paper. Other questions will be flying this week. Did the Aggies have any busi ness losing to a team like USL, or did they just play down to their level? Were the Aggies overranked? But the more pressing questions fans might be asking could be a lit tle more pointed. Are the Aggies overhyped from a talent standpoint or does its recent shortcomings on the gridiron have something to do with coaching, or lack thereof? No one, not even the Aggies, may be able to answer these questions. But as they learned against USL, one thing does remain clear — their opponents aren’t going to lie down while A&M tries to figure out how to solve its problems — no matter what their ranking is. There’s just not much to say.