Texas Tech counting on A&M win for Big 12 championship berth

By MARK BABINECK / Associated Press

LUBBOCK - Welcome to Aggieland on the plains. And that's no joke.

The Aggies, the eternal targets of collegiate humor, have become everyone's second-favorite football team around here this week.

Why? If Texas A&M upsets Texas on Friday, Texas Tech will represent the Big 12 South in the Dec. 7 conference championship game in St. Louis.

"I grew up an Aggie fan, watching (former coach) Jackie Sherrill and his squad," said Tech cornerback Duane Price, a graduate of A&M Consolidated High School and a friend of A&M kicker Kyle Bryant. "This is a different perspective this week, because I'll be pulling for them for a different reason."

The scenario is this: If A&M wins, each of the three teams will be 1-1 against the other two, and Tech wins the tiebreaker. If the Longhorns win, they rule the South outright.

Tech coach Spike Dykes doesn't like relying on others to do his bidding, though he admits he won't exactly be crying in his pineapple juice if Texas leaves the Aggies marooned at 6-6, sending Tech to the Aloha Bowl.

"I told somebody the other day the consolation prize isn't so bad," Dykes said. "I'll take Christmas in Hawaii."

Should Tech make it to St. Louis, they're probably headed to Arizona for a bowl game. A Red Raiders victory over either Colorado or Nebraska means an Alliance bid, likely to the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe.

A loss sends them to the Copper Bowl in Tucson, a long way from Hawaii but worth the trade for a chance at the inaugural Big 12 championship.

"All we can do on our end is relax this week and watch," quarterback Zebbie Lethridge said.

Fortunately for Tech, A&M has many reasons to leave the Longhorns marooned. An Aloha Bowl bid hangs in the balance for the Aggies, as does its ancient rivalry with archenemy Texas.

"It's not like A&M's saying, 'Let's win this one for ol' Tech,' " Dykes said.