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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.