Monday, August 16, 1999
The University Daily Kansan
Section B·Page 15
Big 12 Football
Texas A&M sets sights on bowl game, big win
AGGIES QUICK FACTS
The Aggies are the coaches' pick to win the Big 12 South. Last season in the team's Big 12 opener, Texas A&M defeated Kansas 24-1 in College Station, Texas. Texas' file photo
Key Losses: LB Dot Nguyen, QB Brandon Stewart, TE Dan Campbell, SS Rich Coady
1998 Record: 11-3
Coach: R.C. Slocum
(10th season)
■ Key Returnes: RB Dante Hall, QB Randy McCown, WR Chris Cole, C Seth McKinney, LB Cornelius Anthony, LB Roylin Bradley, LB Brandon Jennings
Outlook: A&M returns most of its Big 12 Championship team from a year ago. Though they lost Nguyen on defense, the remaining linebackers are equally talented. Offense will feature a two-back system that should blow by mast of the Big 12 South.
By Mike Miller
sportswriter@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
But Slocum couldn't care less.
Texas A&M coach R.C. Slocum needs six wins to reach 100 career victories. If he gets them in the first six games, only two coaches in history will have reached that milestone faster.
So what does he care about?
But Slocum couldn't care less. "Those kinds of awards and things you worry about when you're 75," he said.
"I'd like to get to the point where we could win a national championship every
onship every year" he said
year, he said.
The Aggies won the Big 12 Conference Championship last year, up setting
Kansas State. The only tough spot on their schedule this year is a trip to Lincoln to play the Cornhuskers. With eight starters returning on offense and defense, they were picked to win the Big 12's South Division.
But a national championship?
"Once you start to play in some of
those big games, you realize it's not that big of a deal," Slocum said. "The more you do it, the more you get used to it. We think those big games might become routine for us."
To be a routine player in big games, A&M must replace the heart of their defense — graduated middle linebacker Dat Nguyen. Beyond that, the Aggies have eight returning starters on both offense and defense, including quarterback Randy McCown, and running backs Dane Hall and Ja 'Mar Toombs.
The defense will rely on linebackers Cornellius Anthony and Roylin Bradley. They are part of a group that Slocum thinks can be even better than last year.
Anthony agreed.
"You can expect more of a solid cohesive unit," he said. "We're very confident in our unit because we feel we are solid in every position."
The offense is equally solid. Although McCown won the job midway through last season, he was out for the biggest game of the season—the Big 12 Championship against Kansas State — because of a broken collarbone. Comfortable in his role, McCown dismissed any notions that he or the team might not be
ready for big games.
"The thing that matters is if you produce," he said "If we do that, then of course the national championship is our goal. It should be every teams' goal."
Toombs and Hall provide McCown with plenty of depth at running back. Slocum, known as a coach who almost exclusively favors the
run, might start to feature more passing in his offense for the sake of balance.
"In our key games last year, we threw the ball extremely well," he said. "I was encouraged by that. I think that we can make some more great strides this year."
As the favorite to win the Big 12 South, Slocum's team also must
shed its image as a perennial bowl loser to become one of the college powerhouses.
In the last 10 years, the Aggies have been to eight bowl games but only have won two. Though five have been by less than 10 points, Slocum has been branded with a loser tag.
That's hard to explain to a coach whose success during his first 10 years ranks among the most successful coaches of all time.
"I've been given that tag before," he said. "When we were in the Southwest Conference, we were seen as good team from a weak conference. Now, we're fighting for respect up here."
But the time his team has spent in the Big 12 may contribute to Texas A&M's success.
"There's not a team in the Big 12 South that's not capable of beating any other team in the conference," Slocum said. "Top to bottom, it's a very balanced year. This is going to be one of the premier conferences in college football."
If A&M does come out on top of the Big 12 this year, the coach and his team might earn some respect. And put him on his way to 150 wins.
—Edited by Sarah Hale
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