Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 6, 1997)
The Battalion Jiursday • November 6, 1997 PORTS Back to Business uhman returns to action for the Aggies § By Chris Ferrell Sports editor ■here is one word to describe se- ipor left tackle Chris Kuhnian filer the past four years, it’s , .Ruhman and his teammates 4>?:on to the field to begin the ffisA&M-Kansas State game, he /making his 30th consecutive - and 34th of his career, ffgahman had been a mainstay / 'lie Aggie offense since 1994 , ahemade five starts as a red- jpeshman. aen during A&M’s first series, man went down with an injured :ind ankle, an injury which ap- dto be very bad. ;was devastating," Ruhman ‘Ithought it was over when it happened. (I thought) ‘Oh my Slhave to go to class on Monday asel’m never going to play foot- igain.’ I said, Tve got 17 hours semester to graduate.’ That’s iwas going through my head.” ith Ruhman and sophomore ackDante Hall and junior tackle eron Spikes all injured, the Ag- anfor negative 35 yards in their lilossto the Wildcats, me next week, Ruhman sat on much and listened to the Aggies 16-13 to the Texas Tech Red lets on the radio. And as he sat trying to picture the action on field in his head, he couldn’t .but feel upset. ml Ruhman didn’t let the injury ihim from contributing. With ju- itexTlicker stepping into his spot sake his first career start, Ruhman fid his knowledge with fucker. /ive tried to lead by example," t an said.'Tve tried keeping the ^ jguys on the offensive line in mdshow them what I know. Es- allywith Rex. With him playing I've tried to show him they’re I that or they’re doing this. I (him what 1 know and try to get | experience off to him to help dll m A Senior COURTSEY TEXAS A&M SPORTS INFORMATION left tackle Chris Ruhman should return against Baylor this weekend. him in the game.” But a player like Ruhman, some one who has been so important to the Aggies for so long, cannot just sit and watch. Monday, Ruhman returned to the practice field for the first time since the injury, weeks before team doctors thought he could play. “I’m just happy to be back a few weeks earlier than they thought I would be,” Ruhman said. “I’m about two, three weeks ahead of schedule.” When Ruhman returned, the an kle was a little weak, and he was little timid, but he was back. “It wasn't the prettiest thing in the world. I don't have much confi dence in it right now. It’s not like it hurts, it’s not real strong. My ankle just gives out a little bit when I do certain things. “I just hope by the end of the week I’ll have all the thoughts out of my head about it and just go out there and not think about getting hurt. That’s my biggest goal.” Junior quarterback Branndon Stewart said the team has missed Ruhman the past couple of games. “He’s an experienced guy,” Stewart said. “He knows how to handle dif ferent situations. He can keep a han dle on things out there. He’s level headed, a down to business kind of guy. He’s not going to yell a lot out there or scream. He does what he’s supposed to do.” But focusing on himself is not Ruhman’s style. While he is anxious to get back on the field, he is also excit ed about the opportunities a win this week will bring the Aggies. “If we win this week, we’re eligi ble for a bowl,” he said. “And each week after that we’re just improving our bowl chances. I think it’s great. There’s a new commitment to this team and everyone’s excited about it. We’re going out and showing it on the field.” A&M stays alive in South race with Oklahoma State victory NOTEBOOK L/f Chris Ferrell Sports editor T he Texas A&M Football Team has just com pleted arguably its toughest stretch of the sea son with a 1-2 record against No. 11 Kansas State, Texas Tech and No. 25 Oklahoma State. Now the Aggies set their sights on a three-game stretch which begins with Baylor (2-6), moves on to Oklahoma (3-6) and concludes with Texas (3-5). And people laughed at the preseason schedule. With a win over Baylor this week, the Aggies will become eligible for a bowl. San Antonio or Bust. With A&M’s 28-25 overtime win over OSU, the Aggies were able tjo save their season. After back- to-back conference losses, the team was in danger of dropping out of the race for the Big 12 South crown. However, A&M’s win, coupled with Kansas State’s 13-2 victory over Texas Tech, placed the Ag gies in a three-way tie with Tech and Oklahoma State at the top of the southern division. But for the Aggies to earn a trip to San Antonio, they need some help. A&M must win its remaining three games and have Texas Tech lose one of its last three games at Texas, at Oklahoma State, or against Oklahoma. The Aggies own the tie-breaker over OSU by virtue of Saturday’sjwin. Tech has the tie-breaker edge over A&M because of its 16-13 victory in Lub bock two weeks ago. All of this could become null and void if Tech disqualifies themselves from bowl participation this year. On Monday, the NCAA delivered an official letter of inquiry involving alleged rule violations by the Tech Athletic Department. Earlier in the week, Red Raider officials said they would con sider removing therhselves from the bowl pic ture as punishment] The Big 12 said Tuesday that Tech would be in eligible for the Big 12 Championship Game if they declare themselves bowl ineligible. If Tech is out of the picture, the Aggies control their own destiny. Stewart Gaining Respect. Going back to the second half of the Texas Tech game, junior quarterback Branndon Stew art has shown signs of being the player that caused fans and alumni to salivate when he transferred from Tennessee. After leading the Aggies back from a 22-7 deficit in the fourth quarter of Saturday night’s game, he was named the Big 12 offensive player of the week and was presented the game ball by coach R.C. Slocum. It was the first time in Slocum’s coaching career he had done that to a player. Slocum said he has been very proud of the way Stewart has handled the pressure of being the most celebrated transfer in A&M history. He said the pressures of being the starting quar terback are often similar to those expectations put on a head coach. Slocum continued by saying those expectations levied against Stewart are unfair. “When I called him up there to receive the game ball, I talked about all the flak he had put up with, and that goes along with being in a leadership position,” Slocum said. “He didn’t ask for that. He didn’t ask for all the fanfare when he transferred here. He didn’t ask for all the expec tations. He never came out and said, T’m going to this or that.’ He didn’t do that. Other people did that to him. They put expectations on him.” Bear-ly Made It. When Baylor travels down Highway 6 from Waco to College Station, its journey will be noth ing compared to the one endured by BU defensive end Troy Hamilton. In August, Hamilton, a Baylor recruit, had to make the trip from his home in Sacramento, Calif, to Waco. His dad was supposed to give him a car for the trip, but that fell through. So instead, Hamilton set off for Waco with $20 in his pocket and a sign which read, “I’m going to Baylor University in Waco, Texas.” He lived off of 99-cent hamburgers and water for six days while he hitchhiked across the Southwest. Hamilton was picked up by a truck driver who said he was going to “Mo-Javey.” Thinking this was a town in Arizona, Hamilton got in. Howev er, it turned out that the driver was headed to the Mojave Desert. Please see Ferrell on Page 10. jVe’ve Got Your Bevo Here |o y either Kroger location and register at the Pepsi/Frito Lay t ^ T ^ e ^ raw ' n 9 will be Thursday, November 20 th at Bonfire [side oTbeT Ce ' VeS ^° Ur t ' c ^ ets A&M/Texas game, -ms Geezer! YOUR B RYAN & COLLEGE STATION KROGER STORES (UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED) ( \ J PEPSI W diet rapsi XX pVi. XX OX. cans S X.9» met Pepsi, CAtteine Tree Pepsi, Mountain Devr, *oot Beet, Sitce, Dr. Siice, Hawaiian PuticH Additional quantities t ^ vritii additional Sto purchase AS LONG AS THE AGGIES ARE WINNING you con buy a 24oz. super size bag of Doritos, Fritos or Cheetos and get a 12 pack or Pepsi or Diet Pepsi FREE. WHOLE BONELf* BEEF TOP SIHl 0 ** to 99C LB. With $io additional purchase. Limit- Additional quantities $i.Z9 lb. ] *x> - Genuine Dra£t ^ * * na * < l Uari tities $13.99. Limit 1 per customer. e * S Horley Brown ^ r Honey Brown light $^^8X9 6pK l* ox. cans Budweiser Beer, Bud Light Bud Ice Regular or Light IZpfc. 12oz. Btls. Plfc.. r jHmn ■eS*®* 5 ' . i I m ne .UP 9b" while supplies last while supple W while supplies last ! Kegs at College Station store only. II offer you your choice of a comparable item, A 'TEM POLICY: Each of these advertised items is required to be readily "' e rt ;°; d 5U pr '; c , ; , 30^7 5nly one vendor coupon will be accepted per item. RIGHT TO LIMIT RESERVED. COPYRIGHT, 1997. THE KROGER CO. the same savings or a rain check which will entitle youto P urch ,, -i LI Ur cnle in each Kroaer store, except as specifically noted in this ad. If we do run out an advertised item, ired to be readily available ror su a .... . ,