f
PORTS
Page 7 • Wednesday, October 6, 1999
Ags look to solve problems
mery Com
not reto
ssociated
k Mathei
)ntgomen'
)r said. He a
te tests lot
e said th:
GUY ROGERS/Tm; Batialion
as A&M wide receiver Chris Taylor tries to elude Texas Tech’s Jonathan Hawkins during
night’s game in Lubbock.
The Texas A&M Football Team (3-1,
0-1 Big 12) will return to action Satur
day at Kyle Field against Baylor Univer
sity (1-4, 0-2 Big 12). The game is set
for 1 p.m. and will not be televised.
Since a 20-20 tie with BU at Kyle
Field in 1990, A&M has won eight
straight games against the Bears. The
Aggies have not lost to them since 1985,
when Baylor won, 20-15, in Waco.
Gulf Coast Offense Loses Steam
The Aggie offense’s woes continued
Saturday against against Texas Tech. For
the second straight game it scored no
touchdowns, instead relying on four
field goals and a defensive touchdown
against the Red Raiders.
“It’s a little disappointing, to be
honest,” A&M offensive coordinator
and wide receivers coach Steve Kragth-
orpe said. “One of the big reasons is
we haven’t had all 11 guys executing.”
Despite its poor performance in the
last two games, A&M’s offense is aver
aging 425.25 yards a game, good for
No. 24 in the nation. The Aggies’ run
ning game, though, is an uncharacter
istically low No. 48, averaging just
163.3 yards per game.
When asked to explain A&M’s run
ning difficulty, running back Dante
Hall did not waste any time coming up
with a reply.
“If I knew,” he said, “I would tell every
one, and we wouldn’t have a problem.”
Lechler Heats Up
Preseason All-America punter Shane
Lechler had a huge game Saturday in
the Aggies’ 21-19 loss to Tech. Lechler
punted five times for a 57.2 yard aver
age, breaking his previous school record
of 54.7 against Iowa State in 1997.
Lechler’s eigth 50-yard plus game of
his career moved his season average up
to 47.5, good for second in the nation.
McCown Mclnconsistency
Although he has appeared shaky at
times, quarterback Randy McCown
continues to put up solid numbers this
season. He may be overthrowing or un
derthrowing receivers — or not throw
ing to them when they are wide open
— but the fact remains he is averaging
244. 8 yards passing per game, almost
two-and-a-half times his 1998 average.
“In practice, he’s a guy that hits re
ceivers on the mark every time,” offen
sive lineman Chris Valletta said. “He’s
going to be fine.”
see Aggies on Page 8.
Jig 12 set to kick off full slate of conference games this weekend
NOTEBOOK
5 seen in
L now a
rtly alter
Iking lo i
of room,
ees and a
checking r
in, but win
ned to the
nutes
iams mate!
^^"^heBig 12 kicks off its first full week-
, e ., - ’J of conference play Saturday as all 12
]7t- inM 15 play conference games. Three
mesare being televised this week —
~iith the Missouri-Colorado game at
i230p.inand the Texas-Oklahoma game
-iOp.ni. regionally televised while
fewa State-Nebraska game at 6:30
nr will be carried nationally.
Sooner Passing Fancy
Most of the memories conjured up
when thinking of the University of Okla
homa are of the wishbone offense and a
punishing running attack.
This year is the complete opposite,
however, as the arrival of quarterback
Josh Heupel has created a new Sooner
philosophy: Pass early and often.
It is a strategy that has worked won
ders for the Sooners this year. Through
four games, Heupel has already broken
the OU season record for touchdowns
with 16, two more than the old record
set by Cale Gundy in 1993.
In fact, Heupel is close to rewriting
the entire Sooner record book as far as
passing goes.
Heupel needs only 738 more yards,
30 more completions and 108 more at
tempts the rest of the season to set Okla
homa records in those categories, and if
Heupel keeps up his current completion
percentage, 67.6, he will set the mark by
three percentage points.
Special Teams Conference
The Big 12 conference is a haven for
special teams standouts, and last Satur
day showed why.
Kansas State punt re
turner David Allen re
turned a punt 74 yards
against the University of
Texas for a touchdown.
It was the seventh
punt return for a touch
down of Allen’s career,
tying him for the most
in NCAA history with
former University of Nebraska standout
and Heisman trophy winner Johnny
Rodgers and Oklahoma’s Jack Mitchell.
The Sooners’ Brandon Daniels, a quar-
ALLEN
terback-tumed-wide receiver/kick return
er, almost single-handedly defeated the
Notre Dame Fighting Irish on kick returns.
Daniels had 229 kickoff-return yards
on five kickoffs, an OU record and the
second highest total in NCAA history.
Aggie place kicker Terence Kitchens
helped keep A&M in the game for the
second week in a row.
Kitchens accounted for all of the Ag
gies’ points on offense, going 4-for-5 on
field goals, including a 52-yarder, his
fourth 50-yard plus field goal of the year.
Kitchens leads the nation in field
goals, averaging three per game, and is
fourth in scoring, averaging 12.75 points
per game.
Odds and Ends
Missouri has gone undefeated in non
conference play for the first time since
1981, and the Tigers have now beaten
14 straight unranked opponents. The
crowd of 83,082 to watch Kansas State
Saturday was the largest to ever see the
Wildcats play. The previous record was
76,268 at Nebraska in 1982.
Despite attracting its 230th straight
sellout at Memorial Stadium last Satur
day Nebraska players have said the
crowd has been losing intensity lately.
“You could really hear the crowd ear
ly, and that was great to hear,” defensive
end Aaron Wills said. “We had been so
concerned about the crowd that we [the
team’s Unit Council] had a meeting
about it. They just haven’t been in the
games. We really need them. We need
them to be like at Texas A&M, where the
crowd is there three hours before the
game practicing yells.”
Doug Shilling is a junior
agricultural journalism major
/ou read]!
week
■sign 1
ss it-seeII
irintin^j
Looking to Begin Your
Future Today?
jute ruuua
REWARDS
DYNAMIC
DYNAMIC
VELOCITY
! i l
LASER-LIKE
m
INGENUITY
f a
POWERFUL
Today’s employers are looking for applicants with
bramtl r ea b wor ld work experience. Don’t get left behind!
RE!
BRING IT ON
ASER-UKE
jate!
.com
UCS currently has many part-time opportunities for
ege 5iJ i! i
individuals with all types of majors and backgrounds
that can offer you the experience you need to succeed
in the real world!
I
:nt.
Part-Time Opportunities:
♦ Customer Service
♦ Clerical/Office Support
♦ Hardware Repair and Support
♦ PC Support/LAN Administration
♦ Inventory Control
Get your career started now with a proven leader!
To apply, give us a call at 595-2609. EOE.
UCS...A Tradition in Quality,
A Commitment to Aggieland!
www.universalcomputersys.com
DELL IS COMING TO CAMPUS, and we’re interested in meeting the
people who are ready to take their talents to the next level. And then some.
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY MBA PRESENTATION
DATE: Tuesday, October 12, 1999
TIME: 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
PLACE: Wehner Building
SPEAKER: Rod MacDonald, VP, Public Group Finance
Interested: For more information on how you can interview with Dell, please visit
your career services office.
Check out our web site: www.dell.com
Workforce diversity is an essential part of Dell's
commitment to the quality and to the future. We
encourage you to apply, whatever your race, gender,
color, religion, national origin, age, disability, marital
status, sexual orientation, or veteran status.
If you need accommodations to participate in the
recruitment process, please let us know.
Dell, the Dell logo. Be Direct are registered trademarks
of Dell Computer Corporation.
BE DIRECT™
www.dell.com