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Sports
The Battalion
Page 7 • Friday, October 10, 2003
Baylor 32, A&M 28 - This is
Baylor’s chance to end the streak
while the Aggies are down. If it
doesn’t happen this year, it’s gonna
be a while.
-Jeff Allen (1-1)
A&M 24, Baylor 23 - The Aggies
aren’t that great but Baylor is
worse, It will be a close game, but
fils is as good a game as any for
A&M to finally come together.
-True Brown (0-2)
A&M 20, Baylor 14 - The Aggie
defense decides to actually show
up on Saturday and not be
resigned to a humiliating defeat at
the hands of a team A&M has not
lost to in more than 20 years.
- Pete Burks (1-1)
A&M 27, Baylor 13 - Baylor gave
up 52 points to UNT in its only road
game this year, and most of the
Baylor players were teething last
lime they won at Kyle Field.
- Michael Crow (1-1)
A&M 21, Baylor 17 - History is
on the Aggies' side but they will
have difficulty stopping Baylor’s
rushing attack before escaping with
the win.
- Kyle Davoust (1-1)
Baylor 28, A&M 14 - Aggie
defense still too banged up even for
le likes of Baylor.
- Blake Kimzey (2-0)
A&M 31, Baylor 17 - Nothing like
Baylor for the Aggies to get back on
Ifsck
- Troy Miller (0-2)
A&M 27, Baylor 13 - The Bears’
dense, while impressive last
week, looks like Pop Warner com-
pared to Texas Tech’s aerial
lack.
- Rob Phillips (1-1)
Baylor 31, A&M 24 - Aggie
defense continues sluggish play
and the Bears are riding high. The
18-year streak ends Saturday.
-Dallas Shipp (1-1)
BU bringing hot streak to Kyle
Photo Courtesy of Baylor Media Relations
Baylor quarterback Aaron Karas drops back to pass during last season's A&M-Baylor game. Baylor
shocked Colorado last week and is bringing a three-game winning streak to Kyle Field on Saturday.
By Michael Crow
THE BATTALION
Following a blowout loss in Lubbock
last week, the Texas A&M football team
is preparing to meet yet another Big 12
rival garnering its share of headlines.
This week’s opponent defeated reign
ing Big 12 North champion Colorado last
week, currently boasts a three-game win
ning streak and features the conference’s
leading rusher.
No, it’s not Texas. It’s not Oklahoma
either. Saturday, the Aggies host none
other than the Baylor Bears.
Baylor is entering College Station
fresh off an improbable 42-30 home win
over the aforementioned Colorado
Buffaloes. The win gave the Bears a 3-2
overall record and a l-0 mark in confer
ence play. It also catapulted them into the
national spotlight, earning National Team
of the Week honors from the Football
Writer’s Association of America.
“That was a very impressive win,” said
A&M coach Dennis Franchione. “They
played very well on offense. I thought
their defense played solid football. They
just keep playing and keep doing things
and don’t make too many mistakes.”
Baylor quarterback Aaron Karas
said while others might have been sur
prised by the win, he and his teammates
were not.
“We definitely knew it was a possibil
ity,” he said. “I think we should probably
be 5-0 right now. I think in our first two
games, we pretty much beat ourselves;
we didn’t get beat by our opponent. So,
we knew we could compete.”
The Bears’ three wins already match
their season total from a year ago, when
they finished 3-9 overall and I-7 in con
ference. Since then, Baylor has replaced
coach Kevin Steele with former Kentucky
skipper Guy Morriss, and apparently, a
shift in attitude was also a part of the
team’s recent makeover.
“(Morris) brings a swagger to us, and l
think it rubbed off on everybody,” Karas
said. “Everybody’s just a lot more confi
dent going into the games.”
Karas and running back Rashad
Armstrong have been the catalysts for
Baylor’s recent offensive success. The
duo accounted for five combined touch
downs against Colorado, doing most of
its damage in the second half.
Armstrong’s 37 carries were the second
most in Baylor history, and his 166 rush
ing yards added to the senior’s confer
ence-leading average per game (117.8).
“(Armstrong) is so consistent,” Karas
said. “He does everything we ask him to.
He runs, he blocks. He fights for those
extra yards, so he helps us a lot.”
The Baylor defense appears to be find
ing its rhythm as well. Since surrender
ing 52 points to North Texas in early
September, the Bears have held
opponents to an average of 12.3 points
per game.
The defensive unit proved its worth
against Colorado on several crucial occa
sions, creating four turnovers, mounting a
late goal-line stand and scoring a defen
sive touchdown.
Saturday’s game marks the 100th
meeting in the Battle of the Brazos series.
The Aggies lead the series 61-29-9 and
have not fallen to Baylor since 1985.
Still, if their recent play is any indication,
Karas and his teammates are not all that
concerned with history.
“It’s a different team and a different
group of guys,” Karas said. “(History)
really has nothing to do with anything.
That’s pretty much the way 1 look at it.”
A&M defense must improve in order for Ags to win
After enduring a thorough drubbing
from the Texas Tech equivalent of an aeri
al blitzkrieg, the Aggies are in desperate
need of a good showing at Kyle Field
Saturday against
Baylor. The Aggie
defense is desirous
of a good perform
ance against a seem
ingly overwhelmed
Baylor team after
giving up more than
30 points in three
consecutive games, all losses. If anything,
the former Wrecking Crew has played with
the intensity of a Lionel Richie love song
instead of the hardcore, kill-anything-that-
moves mentality of Old Army lore.
The loss at Tech only emphasized some
of the glaring weaknesses of the Aggie
defense, namely pass defense. Currently,
the Aggies (2-3, 0-1 Big 12) stand at a pal
try 91st in passing defense, giving up an
average of 251 yards per game. Although
Baylor (3-2, 1-0 Big 12) is not known for
its passing, quarterback Aaron Karas threw
for three touchdowns against what was
supposed to be a tough
Colorado defense during last
week’s win.
Running away
A&M’s rushing defense
has fared no better, ranking
87th nationally while giving
up an average of 170 yards
per game. Though the Aggies held Tech to
a respectable 64 rushing yards on 22
attempts, all is not what it seems. Tech’s
offense is predicated on passing, so run
ning the ball is not what it does best.
Baylor, on the other hand, got a career day.
from tailback Rashad Armstrong who ran
for 167 yards and two touchdowns to help
the Bears pull the upset.
Overall in games this year against
Virginia Tech, Utah and Pittsburgh, which
all feature a strong running game, the
Aggies have gone 1-2, which includes a
goal-line stand against Utah. Lastly, hav
ing a member of the secondary as the lead
ing tackier on defense will always spell
trouble.
Although sophomore safety Jaxson
Appel is having a monster season averag
ing 12.6 tackles a game, his numbers do
not bode well for the front seven. In other
words, opposing backs and receivers are
getting past the front seven and into the
secondary too often, where Appel has
helped to corral them. However, Appel
can’t do it all, and if the Aggies want to
improve, they will have to shore up a
porous defensive front seven even if it
means doing it without starting senior mid
dle linebacker Jared Morris.
Running resurgence
In the midst of all the negative things
that have happened in the past three games,
the Aggie running game has been resurrect
ed, led by redshirt freshman tailback
Courtney Lewis. Against the Red Raiders,
Lewis ran for a tough 91 yards and scored
two touchdowns. Even though his total did
not break the 100-yard mark, it is still an
impressive number, considering he aver
aged 5.7 yards per carry.
If this is a sign of things to come, the
Aggies’ performance and record would
stand to improve drastically. The Aggie
formula for success has traditionally
included establishing the running game
which would give quarterback Reggie
McNeal and company time to wear down
the opposing defense, something that is
crucial against defensive-minded power
houses like Nebraska and Oklahoma.
A dominating ground game will also
give A&M’s defense time to rest and be
fresh instead of having to stay on the field
for more than 80 plays a game.
Aggie
Football
NOTEBOOK
Blake Kimzey
Volleyball
team looks
to continue
win streak
By Jeff Allen
THE BATTALION
The one word surrounding
the Texas A&M volleyball team
this season has been consisten
cy. The whispers have persisted
throughout the ranks as the
Aggies have struggled so far this
season to string together com
plete matches, a trend that
becomes most evident when the
women face tough, nationally
ranked competition, much like
the teams they will find clumped
at the top of the Big 12.
“Our mistakes ended in
demise at (Kansas State),” said
A&M coach Laurie Corbelli
said. “We’ve already seen it
destroy a part of our motivation
and drive. It sets us back and
makes us question. We are all
working hard and identifying
the positive.”
Wednesday night the No. 24
Aggies (11-5,3-3) found a shade
of what they were looking for
when they swept Texas Tech in
three, games. However, the
Aggies were still a bit error
prone, committing several serv
ice errors and nearly letting the
Red Raiders hang around longer
than they should have.
Tech had troubles of its own,
which helped make up for many
Aggie mistakes, but when A&M
faces off against the top team in
the conference again, those
errors could prove far more
costly.
“I think we made too many
unforced errors (against Tech)
with serving and attacking,”
Corbelli said. “But I think those
are a sign of youth, sometimes a
lack of being able to concen
trate on what you need to be
working on that moment, but
it’s coming.”
The Aggies are looking to
extend their consistency to all
areas of the game when they
head to Hilton Coliseum at Iowa
State University to face the
reenergized Cyclones (9-8, 2-5).
For the first time since the
inaugural year of the confer
ence, the Cyclones have won
multiple Big 12 matches against
Oklahoma and Texas Tech.
The Cyclones were able to
dominate the Sooners
Wednesday night on their home
court in Norman. After control
ling the first game, the Sooners
were only able to put up 62
points total in the final three en
route to the loss. The Cyclones
held the Sooners to .062 and .024
hitting percentages in games two
and three respectively.
“I think we’ve been a young
team and rebuilding,” said Iowa
State coach Linda Crum. “Now
they are feeling more confident
in the Big 12.”
The Cyclones were led in the
match, as they have been much
See Volleyball on page 10