-j, students andi -inority - surveyed. “iuin goal is|j =>k at sports ■ 3A ■ THE BATTALION Friday, August 31, 2001 recruit!!;; increase f” id. “ ■ rom generi -stions, the: “Cstions foi - stuclent or anyet-J as scholawj - iiiversity. hope to set season tone against McNeese &M welcomes Cowboys for opener By True Brown THE BATTALION ^hen Texas A&M football focus er 'P 6 ^ 8 it8 se ' ds °n against ■said the , " dcNeese State on Saturday, it vill be a night of firsts, several lei,® will be the f irst time the le * actors [t. wo teams have locked horns, ~le not to lie first time A&M head coach l.C. Slocum has competed *-10 percent against his alma mater and, to attend rnore importantly to Aggie fans, attended t hepirst time A&M will take the ig, and onh ' ,e T without the offensive fire- t attend^have something to prove when of a lack of My take the field, even if it is against a Division l-AA school, survey also ■ ‘AVe finished on a down note -jty of stude;h sl year,” Slocum said. “This is attend A4.r UI ^ irst c * ian ee to play another ■mic scQKtff Same, so it is important for . as to come out, regardless of ° Lt l: who we are playing, and have a i moM i: | ot o ^- i ntens j ( y anc j se t the tone found inf.ftJ the rest of the season.” that am;*McNeese probably will pro- ents who vide a decent test for the Aggies, nd chose(e.IWe Cowboys finished the 2000 school,tksseason with an 8-4 record, good ler academ enough to secure a top-20 rank- those all; ing in the l-AA polls. McNeese ■e said, figures to have another strong he results this season, beginning the c until the at No. 9 in two l-AA pre- :a rly OctoK Season P olls - II in the pi • l out esu/ts,”Ml : have puli , we’ll pL utive com® the next s The fact that McNeese is a Division l-AA school is some thing the Aggies cannot overlook. “A lot of people don’t realize that a bunch of l -AA teams have more talent than some of the smaller I-A teams,” said A&M quarterback Mark Farris. “They have a lot of good players and if we come out and aren’t focused, they can beat us.” Farris, back for his second season at the helm of the Aggie offense, is the school’s first It is important for us to come out, regardless of who we are playing, and have a lot of intensity and set the tone for the rest of the season.. — R.C. Slocum A&M head coach returning 2,500-yard passer in school history. Farris’ counter, McNeese quarterback Slade Nagle, will start for the Cowboys. Nagle led the Southland Conference in total passing yards in 2000 and ranks fifth all-time on the McNeese career passing list. Nagle’s favorite target, wide receiver Jermaine Martin, aver ages 17.0 yards per reception during his three year career. This year will mark the sec ond year the Cowboys have opened their season against a major Division 1-A school. Last season, McNeese started against the University of Miami, a team that finished the year ranked No. 2 in the nation. The Cowboys put up a stronger performance than many people expected, falling 61-14. However, McNeese did pile up more than 440 yards of offense. The Cowboys used the open er to set the tone for the rest of their season, capturing wins in seven of their next eight games. A&M would like to follow the example of McNeese and use the opener as a springboard for the rest of the season. “They have guys who can make plays,” said junior Brian Gamble, the only returning starting linebacker the Aggies have this season. “The point of this game is for us to go out and set a tempo for the season. It doesn’t matter if we are playing McNeese or Notre Dame or Oklahoma. We are going to go out and play against McNeese the same way we would play against anyone.” This weekend will be dou bly important to the Aggies, who will play again Thursday night against Wyoming. “The key is going to be get ting out of this game with a ‘W,’ ” Farris said. “At the same time, we can’t get any one hurt because we basically r [0| for n Editor it :s Editor :er jo Producer jditor its Editor Editor aster h Friday* tiie su[M e, aid address Station, W texas A& ■3313; Fa* : .corn i(seioentt)!l i.?696.Fo [ Mail sod- 50 for* American FILE PHOTO • THE BATTALION Texas A&M quarterback Mark Farris and the Aggies will open the 2001 season Saturday night at 6 p.m. against McNeese State. A&M is looking to rebound after dropping three straight games to close out last season. just have three days to rest in between games.” With most experts predicting A&M to finish third in the Big 12 South, the Aggies are chomping at the bit to begin the 2001 season. “We want to go out and show our stuff,” said senior A&M free safety Jay Brooks. “People are already counting us out and we are ready to go out there and prove that Texas A&M is something to be reck oned with.” If YOU are Parked in a Parking Area Designated I for the 12th Man on HOME Football Game Days, PLEASE Move Your Vehicle BEFORE 6:30 p.m. the lEvening BEFORE the Game. For More Information, Call 862-PARK or Visit Our Web Site at www.ptts.tamu.edu. RED AND BLUE HANG TAGS WILL BE ENFORCED ^MONDAY. SEPTEMBER 3!... PARKING FOR FOOTBALL GAMES! $10 ALL DAY PARKING! College Main Parking Oarage 309 College Main or Promenade Parking Lot on Church Street Fee for either location in Northgate 0:00 ci.m - 2:00 a.m. Walk to tli«2d For more information call 704^3505,