Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 28, 1994 TAG: 9412280069
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SHREVEPORT, LA. LENGTH: Medium
Texas Christian just wants to show it deserves some recognition.
``I was surprised to see we were a 10-point underdog,'' said Royal West, a TCU defensive tackle. ``It shows the kind of rap the Southwest Conference is getting.''
In recent years, Texas A&M and the Southwest Conference have been synonymous, but with the Aggies on NCAA probation and ineligible for the championship, the conference race never has been closer.
Five teams finished at 4-3 in SWC play, with Texas Tech receiving a berth in the Cotton Bowl based on the conference's Last Appearance Formula.
It didn't matter that TCU won 24-17 at Texas Tech in the final regular-season game for both teams. Texas Tech hadn't played in the Cotton Bowl since 1939, a drought that dwarfed TCU's 35 years without an appearance.
``We knew all that before the final game; we knew we had to beat Texas Tech just to go anywhere,'' West said. ``So, we're happy just to be here, with a chance to finish in the Top 25.''
Those prospects would have seemed remote when the Horned Frogs failed to score a touchdown in their final two games last year, or when they lost three of their first five games this season.
``We were still light years ahead of where we had been,'' said Pat Sullivan, TCU's coach. ``We knew going into the year that we would be the underdog in our first five games. We broke our season into two seasons - the first five games and the last six.''
The Horned Frogs had gone 2-8-1 and 4-7 in their first two seasons under Sullivan, a former All-America quarterback at Auburn who won the Heisman Trophy in 1971.
``We've had the talent, but when we switched coaches [from Jim Wacker to Sullivan], there was a transition period,'' said All-SWC center Barret Robbins. ``We began to see signs of hope last year.''
The Horned Frogs, seventh in the eight-team SWC in total offense last year, jumped to first this year behind junior quarterback Max Knake and junior tailback Andre Davis.
Davis, named the SWC player of the year by three publications, rushed for 1,498 yards to lead the conference by more than 600 yards. Knake led the conference in passing yardage (2,624) and touchdown passes (24).
More importantly, Knake threw only seven interceptions and the Horned Frogs had 17 turnovers all season - down from 29 in 1993. That compares with 25 for UVa, 10 in the Cavaliers' three losses.
``I thought we got better at taking care of the football,'' Sullivan said. ``We had turnovers in all those [early] games that were critical. That's the name of the game.''
Knake faces a UVa defense that has been ravaged by injuries to the players - Ronde Barber, Joe Crocker and James Farrior - who ranked 1-2-3 in the ACC in interceptions.
George Welsh, the Cavaliers' coach, has been pleased by the rehabilitation of Crocker and Farrior, who did not begin full-scale workouts until UVa reached the bowl site, but Barber's availability is more iffy.
Barber, who aggravated a sore foot Saturday in practice, is the fastest player in a UVa secondary that must contend with the likes of Jimmy Oliver, a three-time track All-American with 4.26-second speed for 40 yards.
The Horned Frogs' only injury of any consequence is a sprained ankle that could reduce the effectiveness of All-SWC tight end Brian Collins, whose 32 receptions are second on the team to Davis' 47.
``He's [Collins] a big part of what we do offensively,'' Sullivan said. ``I don't know if he will be able to play at all. I'd say if he's in for 10 or 15 plays, that's all we can hope for.''
The Horned Frogs (7-4) gave up 27 points or more in five of their first six games, but stiffened during the second half of the season. West ranked among the SWC leaders in tackles for a loss with 17.
TCU was off from Wednesday until Sunday, when the players gathered in Shreveport for a Christmas Day workout. Virginia (8-3) has been at the bowl site since Friday.
``I think our practices have been good enough for us to win,'' Welsh said. ``We've lost our concentration at some of the other bowls, but I don't think that's happened this time.''
The Cavaliers, making their sixth postseason appearance in the past eight years, have lost their past four bowl games and haven't come particularly close in three of them.
``It makes January a lot better when you win,'' Welsh said. ``We keep going to bowl games and it's been since 1987 now that we've won. It would be a big relief for me.''
Independence Bowl
Virginia (8-3) vs. Texas Christian (7-4), 8 p.m., today. ESPN (cable).
Keywords:
FOOTBALL
by CNB