Sports
Page 9A • Monday, August 31, 1998
Kickoff Classic
Texas A&M vs. Florida State
ggies tested early against ‘Noles
A&M rushing attack
Byldll face Florida State's
ional No. 1 rushing
efense from 1997.
BY AARON COHAN
The Battalion
If was once said, “To be the best, you must
teat the best.” Call it a royal rumble, a battle
I4e titans, or a test like no other. This is the
ear when Texas A&M University football
3pahR.C Slocum will step up to the plate
gwith his multi-talented student athletes
ce the annual football powerhouse, Flori-
tate University.
s the maroon-and-white clad Aggies take
ield against FSU, all eyes will be keenly fo
ci on the game that, with a victory by the
Star visitors to the Big Apple, could break
&M program wide open,
n order to become a well-known football
ram,” Slocum said, “you must prove to
one in the country that you can run with
ig boys.”
Iverything seems to be in order. The fifth-
ingest active Division I coach, the seventh
ingest program in the ‘90s, and seven
appearances in nine years highlight the
e resume for the Kickoff Classic.
It is a chance to get national recognition for
ogram that has always been knocking on
door,” Slocum said.
J 'layers say the chance to see the Big Ap-
ile and play in front of a nationally-televised
whence provide motivation for facing the
-eminoles, but a 13-inch TV/VCR combo
rom Kickoff Classic officials is a nice bonus
Ithe trouble.
Go
ifLSowr
MEW
“New York has always been a place I had
wanted to see,” junior running back Dante Hall
said, “and now I’ve got that chance.”
However, the Aggies are not just there to
catch a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty or Ra
dio City Music Hall. They said they traveled to
the neutral grounds of the Meadowlands to win
a football game.
“It’s a measuring stick,” offensive lineman
Cameron Spikes said, “to show us how good
we really are."
“In order to become a
well-known football
program, you must
prove to everyone else
in the country that
you can run with the
big boys.”
- R.C. SLOCUM
AGGIE FOOTBALL COACH
Spikes, along with many other players, said
he feels that just because A&M is not men
tioned in the same sentence with FSU, Michi
gan, Ohio State and Nebraska, does not mean
that the Aggies do not have the same poten
tial as other teams.
Although the NFL raids the FSU talent pool
every year for top round draft choices, no school
replenishes its talent better that the Seminoles.
The FSU defense lost defensive back Samari
Rolle and defensive lineman Andre Wadsworth,
who was widely considered the top athlete in
the 1998 NFL draft.
A&M will face the nation’s top rushing de
fense from last season, minus those players,
when they take the field against Florida State.
However, rankings and reputation do not faze
senior running back D’Andre Hardeman.
“They have yet to face my boys [Hall, Park
er, and Bernard] and I,” he said.
The offense said they want to make a state
ment to the nation, but the defense speaks
loudly about their own prowess.
The vaunted “Wrecking Crew” defense
built its reputation on stopping players like
Florida State running back Travis Minor, a
product of the same Baton Rouge high
school as former teammate Warrick Dunn.
“I don’t care who it is,” senior linebacker
and Butkus Award candidate Dat Nguyen
said. “We are going to play the best football
we are capable of. ”
With the Aggies giving up a school record-
low three touchdown passes a year ago, play
ers say a highly regarded quarterback like
FSU’s Chris Weinke does not make them
shudder in their boots. Defensive coordinator
Mike Hankwitz told his players to not fear the
Seminoles, but prepare to nail them.
“Coach Hankwitz has molded us into a crew
ready to hit with the hardest,” senior linebacker
Warrick Holdman said.
With the mighty Seminoles a 14.5 point fa
vorite, the ABC announcers figure to have their
work cut out for them keeping viewers in the
second half of a blowout.
However, the small whisper of a few A&M
players could turn into a booming voice if the
team performs the way they say they can.
“Life is about changes and turnover,” offen
sive coordinator Steve Kragthorpe said. “But
you have to make sure the changes you make
are to your advantage. ”
At 7 p.m. tonight, the A&M football team
will put forth their best effort to change one
thing in the young campaign.
They will try to add a win to the 1998 season.
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