Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 27, 1998)
3 My ll fmday • July 27,1998 The Battalion PORTS ig 12 Conference Media Day Photos and Stories by Jeff Webb fk « ’ies face tough test in -ranked Florida State ALLAS — The last time the Texas A&M football earn played in a preseason classic, the result was a | our-point loss in the Pigskin Classic to Brigham ^To (oung University two years ago. coach R-C. Slocum said that loss was not re- Risible for the 6-6 season that followed the loss. -^Rl don't think that game had a lot to do with our v ° r ' Y/ "V|ason," he said. "There were a lot of other factors that rlC/5 vere more important that year." J R)nce again, the Aggies find themselves in a similar ShCUQn- litlation, the Kickoff Classic, against a top-ranked v® jRn in Florida State. Rln this particular game, we had an open date the - irst week," he said. "Had we not played in this game, ■would have started practice late and then had an date the next week. (R'l didn't think it was a game we could pass up. There were clearly arguments about not doing it, but els go play. It was hard for me to say we had a prince to go play Florida State in the Kickoff Classic pd I turned it down. I thought it would send bad Signals to our football team." Rn a season that has many questions surrounding defensive line depth, the kicking game and offen sive line experience, the strong schedule that show- ises five bowl participants from a year ago is the one sure thing. The opening game against the high-ranked Semi- noles is a proper beginning for a lineup that has the Aggies traveling to top-25 Southern Mississippi and Oklahoma State, hosting Louisiana Tech (9-2 last sea son) and taking on national champion Nebraska in the confines of the 58,000-capacity Kyle Field. "We won't play any team more talented than the one in our opening ball game," Slocum said. "We'll have a good measure early. This is about as strong a schedule as we've played. We're going back to mur derer's row next year." The Aggie players said they know this schedule will be the toughest that any of them have played, but players, like senior linebacker Dat Nguyen, said they feel it will be good preparation for tough games down the line. "Playing against Florida State will be a great op portunity as far as the Big 12 games," he said. "The speed that Florida State has will be a good prepara tion for the Big 12 schools." For the seniors on the squad, playing in the Kick off Classic means one more game for their careers. "It's going to be good for us and the senior class. We're down to a certain amount of games in our col legiate career, so it's nice to play as many as possible." Texas A&M senior linebacker Dat Nguyen took Media Preseason Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honors. The Aggies are the preseason favorite to win the Big 12 South title and face Nebraska in the conference championship for the second year in a row. A&M punter Shane Lechler also was named to the All-Big 12 preseason team. Aggie ell on Fh'ii papsi ^ ■ ■ th her daii. j 11 ^ NOtCS teller, Mar:® «■ I , said sheer®: nerostonR4 Aggie fullback Marc Broyles anyonewiRl not play this season because of j amyasthenia gravis, an au- MartinezRmmune illness that affects the m throughRelid muscles. His status beyond orn San «ne.\t.season is unknown. ith Dalixw had bec-# 3 ^ The Texas A&rM game dance 1 gainst Southern Mississippi on ^e. Saturday, September 19 has been , is servi fttoved to a 5 p.m. kickoff time iforherr |from the original 2 p.m. sched- nottestif’Rd start. Fox Sport Net will televise the game. JO on Editor o Editor hoto Edtf d Producer ditor News E# | ♦ Senior offensive lineman Brandon Houston will miss the 1998 season because of back injuries. f ♦ Aggie running back Sirr Parker was used as a wide re ceiver in practice a few times during spring drills, according to R.C. Slocum. pDon't be surprised to see Parker line up as a wideout during the football season. ^ ay WHAT? Peter, nes. oer, SteFW uotes fr om g{p 22 Media Day RuenesSffr Certainly there are some teams that every year are good. Then there are other teams sort of like Avis Car Rental — number iavez&c ;t wo an d always trying hard to get there.” 1 — Spike Dykes Texas Tech University lUndnaM*'* cehouisaffS // I The last thing (I learned) Is that if you find Rogaine In any of your players’ lock ers, make sure you check is eligibility.” — Rick Neuheisel University of Colorado 3, j Byers, Elrod, nt Publican®: .3; Fat ondayta# ess verage :es via I did not rebuild Kansas [State.” — Bill Synder Kansas State University I In the 38 years directly before iynder’s arrival at KSU, the school lad exactly four winning seasons. mdaiKl# Since 1989, Synder’s first year, ewstots has six winning seasons in line years and five consecutive nUi e(lD Masons of nine-plus wins. I Define rebuild. University of Texas running back Ricky Williams is the Media Preseason Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year in addition to being a favorite to win the coveted Heisman Trophy. Williams rushed for a school-record 1,893 yards last season and scored 25 touchdowns in Texas’ 1997 campaign. Williams prepared for Longhorn comeback DALLAS — Senior running back Ricky Williams and senior linebacker Dusty Ren fro have come a long way since they both showed up on the University of Texas cam pus four years ago. "When I first saw him, I didn't like him much," Renfro said. "I didn't like his dread locks. Now, I'd die for this man any day of the week." Williams said he had a similar opinion about his defensive counterpart. "I thought he looked a little bit too mean and ugly," Williams said. "I thought these Texas corn-fed boys are kind of big." Now, Renfro and every member of the Longhorn football team have come to ap preciate what Ricky Williams brings to the field. Texas Coach Mack Brown said he is glad Williams, who considered declaring for the NFL draft, decided to return for one final year. "A lot of people said I did a great job of talking Ricky into staying," Brown said. "1 should have begged him. I didn't really know how good he was." Williams' play has fans buzzing about the Heisman Trophy for the running back, but Brown and Williams said they know personal achievement alone will not be good enough to win the award. "You never see a player win the trophy on a team who doesn't perform on the highest level," Brown said. "If we're not moving the ball and scoring, it will not be an issue. "Each year, the best player doesn't win the Heisman, it's the best player on the best team." When asked about the possibility of tak ing home the trophy, Williams deflects the attention to the team. "It's all about ballgames," Williams said. "If we can go out there and play well in the games, the individual stuff will come to me later." At 235 pounds, Williams stayed in Austin for the summer instead of playing minor league basebal I to work on getting in shape for football. see WillifiMs on Page 4. NCAA questions plague Tech football program DALLAS — It was not the num ber of losses that mattered for the Texas Tech football team last season. It was the opponents. A loss to Ten nessee was expected, especially with Tech's top corner- back Tony Darden suspended for the showdown with the Peyton Manning-led Volunteers. But a loss to North Texas and a season-ending 11-point defeat to the struggling Oklahoma Sooners ended regular- season Big 12 South title hopes for coach Spike Dykes and his squad. Even though the Red Raiders suf fered through what players and coaches called a disappointing cam paign, Dykes said most fans were too busy keeping up with the daily soap opera of the NCAA investiga tions to notice. "Last year we had a little bit of a roller coaster season," Dykes said. "We won a few games that we felt like we played well in, but we went the whole year with turmoil. Nobody ever asked about our players. Nobody ever asked about winning or losing. They all asked about the NCAA." see Texas Tech on Page 4. Nebraska faces changes DALLAS — Although the Corn- huskers have enjoyed unparalleled success in the 1990s with three national titles in the last four years, this season could be different. For the first time in 25 years, someone be sides Tom Os borne will pa trol the sideline for the Buskers. Frank Solich takes over the reigns of the most-feared offense in the nation minus quarterback Scott Frost, running back Ahman Green and offensive lineman Aaron Taylor. Solich coached the Nebraska freshman team from 1979-82 before being promoted to running backs as sistant coach in 1983. "I have had many more inter views, and the media attention is much greater on me than in previous years," Solich said. "With Tom (Os borne) stepping down and getting a new coach attributed to that, but I had amazing support from the peo ple of Lincoln." see Hcjskers on Page 4. ‘Cats playing for title chance DALLAS — If Kansas State wants its shot at a national title, the Wildcats do not buy into the philosophy of teams that say you have to have a tough non-conference schedule to do it. Division I-AA Indiana State (3-8), Division 1-A Northern Illinois (0-11) and Northeast Louisiana (5-7) serve as the sacrificial sched ule for the Wildcats this season. Wildcats coach Bill Synder said the weak non-con ference schedule is a product of the small stadium in which Kansas State plays. "We want to play at home as much as pos sible," Synder said. "We want a level playing field, and we have the smallest stadium in the Big 12. We can't get people to Manhat tan because of the small stadium." Non-conference scheduling prob lems aside, Kansas State went 11-1 last year with the traditional record blemish of a Nebraska loss to show. Wildcats players and coaches know that a run at the national title only can be achieved by beating their dominant northern rivals. "It's nice to see the respect," senior line backer Travis Ochs said. "It's something we've been fighting for. We'll find out on November 14 (if we can beat Nebraska). If we have one loss when we get there, it won't be very big. But we've always got a chance against everybody." Even if the Wildcats run the table, their non-conference schedule that has a com bined 1997 record of 8-26 might hurt a chance at an Alliance bowl berth. "I'm a traditionalist," Synder said. "Tradition al bowl systems is something everybody looked forward to. I don't have the answers, so I'm not against anything because I don't have a better way. "I don't think we are there today, but I don't know if 'good' is enough to win one (a national title). It takes far more than talent. It just takes a lot of things, and good luck is part of it." Senior lineman Ryan Young said he is not think ing about Nebraska, or any team in particular. "If a national championship goes with going undefeated and winning a conference title," he said, "so be it."
