Sports
The Battalion
Page IB • Thursday, September 16, 2004
SIDE LINES
COMING FRIDAY
Parity now!
Recent upsets in collegiate football have leveled playing field
T
After shutting out Wyo-
ling 31-0, the A&M football
earn prepares to face off
gainst the Clemson Tigers
m Saturday.
The A&M soccer team
;icks off the sports-filled
i/eekend with games against
IC-Irvine and UCLA. Look
or a complete glance at all
hree teams.
BRIEFLY
The No. 12 Texas A&M
omen's golf team finished
he Dick McGuire Invitational
n seventh place. No. 2 Geor-
pa won the tournament title.
The Texas A&M volleyball
earn got off to a good start
a conference play, defeating
owa State 3-1. The Aggies
ilay host to Kansas on Friday
itG. Rollie White Coliseum.
The National Hockey
[.eague is locking out its play-
rs starting today, threaten
ing to keep the sport off the
ke for the entire 2004-05
eason in an effort to gain
assive change in the sport's
iconomic structure.
JON GILBERT
SPORTS WRITER
I he University of Nebras
ka football team had to
endure a humbling
21-17 home loss Saturday to
Southern Mississippi Univer
sity. Nebraska fans probably
never imagined that a day
would come when their j
beloved team would lose
a home opener to South- >
ern Mississippi.
College football has been a sport known
for huge upsets. Yet, they are becoming
so prevalent nowadays that people actually
expect them to happen.
Last week, Notre Dame had to listen to
media and fans berate them after Brigham
Young University beat the Fighting Irish 20-17
to open the season. Yet, the Irish put it behind
them and went on to shock No. 7 University of
Michigan the following weekend. Notre Dame was
ready to play and as a result, taught Michigan a little
lesson in execution.
Even more surprising was Fresno State’s
45-21 pounding of No. 14 Kansas State.
Fresno State demonstrated superior
speed and skill at key positions and
routed a team that some predicted to
win the Big 12 North. After the game,
Fresno State head coach Pat Hill threw
more coal on the fire by saying that his
team’s win should come as no surprise
that his team was better and knew it.
These games highlight a couple of
themes in college football. Under
dogs believe they can win and they
set out to do it. Furthermore, there is
now greater parity in college football.
These upsets prove that.
College football, like any other
sport, requires a certain mentality in
order to succeed.
Southern Mississippi head coach
Jeff Bowers said his players ap
proached their game against Nebraska
believing they could win. That’s
exactly what happened.
Perhaps the biggest shocker of all came Thursday night when No. 17 Missouri
traveled to little-known Troy, Alabama for what was supposed to be an easy
non-conference win. What happened? Troy State beat Missouri 24-14, severely
hurting the Tigers’ hopes for a breakout season.
“We thought we could, we thought we would and then we did,” said Troy
State head coach Larry Blakeney. “A man told me that we didn’t have to
beat them 365 days out of the year, we only had to beat them for 60
minutes tonight.”
Blakeney’s team approached the game with the right mindset
and it got the job done. It once again shows that anything
can happen in college football.
In Notre Dame’s 28-20 upset of Michigan, Wol
verines’ head coach Lloyd Carr admitted
that the only difference was that the
Fighting Irish executed and made
the plays it needed to get the win.
If Carr’s Wolverines had executed,
they would have come out on
top. Thus, despite the fact
that Michigan was No. 7 and
Notre Dame unranked, the
two teams were on
even ground.
The parity between the
University of Arkansas and
the University of Texas was
evident last weekend as the
two long-time rivals battled
to a close finish in Fayette
ville. Either team could have
won the game. Yet Texas
played virtually mistake-free
and won. Throw out the rank
ings - both teams are very
close in ability.
College football is always
changing. Trends come and
go, as do success and ap
proaches to success. What is
consistent right now is that
when two teams meet, the
favored team better come
ready to play. Because more
often than not, the underdog
Wiu Lloyd • THE BATTALION believes it will win.
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