By ROBERT CESSNAReading the responses of Texas Tech head football coach Mike Leach from his Monday weekly press conference, you'd think Kansas State was lucky to beat Texas A&M by 48 points.
"There's nobody that isn't good enough to beat you and A&M is a team that is loaded with NFL players," Leach said. "They have incredible tradition, they have a great coaching staff and you have to be ready every week. I suspect they'll come out swinging."
He doesn't even think A&M playing 17 true freshmen is a drawback.
"I haven't tallied up ours, but I know that over the years we've certainly done all of that," Leach said. "I think rather than to worry about that, they need to look at all the guys they put in the NFL on a yearly basis and just sort of focus on what they do have."
And even though A&M hasn't beaten Tech in Lubbock since 1993, the Red Raiders' coach kinda played the underdog card.
"They're a lot like Nebraska in that they're just an incredible tradition and incredible program," Leach said. "They're one that people have heard about, before Bear Bryant and will for years after. It's an honor for us and our team to have the opportunity to play a team and a tradition that has such a storied tradition and all the NFL players that we have."
Leach's three NFL references had a purpose.
It goes back to the NFL draft when his quarterback, record-setting Graham Harrell, wasn't taken. And A&M's Stephen McGee, who started only three games because of injuries, was drafted in the fourth round by the Dallas Cowboys.
Leach said at the time he was glad for McGee that Dallas would like him more than the A&M coaches, which set off exchanged comments between A&M head coach Mike Sherman and Leach through the media.
Leach laughed it off at the Big 12 Media Days, adding that he has the utmost respect for Sherman and A&M, though he didn't take back a thing.
Sherman was asked at his Monday press conference if there was anything personal in this game because of the draft stuff.
"I don't recall that," Sherman said. "That's like 10 years ago to me."
Leach will probably smile when that quote is relayed to him.
Of course this is personal. It's Tech and A&M.
Sherman was A&M's offensive line coach when it last won in Lubbock, and he was there in 1995 when Tech started its home winning streak against the Aggies.
The '95 game was tied with less than a minute left when linebacker Zach Thomas returned an interception 23 yards for a 14-7 Red Raiders victory.
Thomas credited that play with helping him get drafted by the Miami Dolphins en route to an All-Pro NFL career.
"Yeah, I remember throwing a pick to Zach Thomas," Sherman said. "I threw the same pick [at Green Bay] when he in the NFL when we played against him at Miami. He's kind of been a nemesis for me over the years, and just someone I really respected, starting back with his days at Tech."
The rivalry has intensified since Thomas made that play. Sherman got an updated taste of it last year at Kyle Field, and now he returns to the South Plains.
This is the biennial trip that Aggies dread, if they're honest like senior offensive lineman Michael Shumard.
"I hate going to Lubbock," Shumard said. "I absolutely hate going to Lubbock. Their fans do just a great job of making it the worst place in the whole wide world to go to. I remember feeling that after the last time we were there.
"The away-game locker room is something else. [But] it has a very minute effect on the outcome of the game. They can get loud and they make it a little harder for communication, but it's really not really going to effect the outcome of the game. It's an uncomfortable environment, but at the same time, it's just another field, we'll be all right."
Leach probably would be shocked that a future NFL player like Shumard would be concerned about 50,000 fans who have been known to do some crazy things.
There's nothing quite like an A&M-Texas Tech week, is there?
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Fuller could be back: Sophomore wide receiver Jeff Fuller (broken right fibula) could return for Texas Tech after missing four games.
"He would have to duplicate the progress he made from the beginning of the week to the end of the week," Sherman said.
Fuller was the team's leading receiver with 12 catches before he was hurt. He's currently sixth.
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More time for Eike, etc.: Sherman said sophomore offensive guard Evan Eike will see more action this week after doing a good job replacing freshman Patrick Lewis against Kansas State. ... Sherman said he didn't pull quarterback Jerrod Johnson against Kansas State because A&M needed something positive from its offense and Sherman didn't think there was a high risk factor of injury to Johnson.
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More true freshmen? Sherman might change punters. Transfer Ken Wood, the only punter the team has used, is averaging 38.8 yards on 30 attempts. A&M is netting 35.5 yards per kick, which is 70th in the country. Ryan Epperson, another true freshman, is the No. 2 punter.
Another youngster, freshman offensive tackle Rhontae Scales, is getting closer to playing, Sherman said.
"He's somebody that I've definitely told [line] coach [Jim] Turner that I'm pushing the envelope on," Sherman said. "I want to see this kid get out there and mature as a player. I'm anxious for him to play, and he needs to embrace that and go with it. It needs to happen soon."
Sherman said he won't redshirt Scales if the 318-pounder can help the Aggies win a game. Last year, A&M didn't use true freshman offensive lineman Joe Villavisencio until the eighth game, which was against Iowa State.
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Big 12 honors: Kansas State's Brandon Banks was named the Big 12's special teams player of the week for his efforts against the Aggies. Banks' 97-yard kickoff return to start the second half was his third kickoff return for a touchdown this season, which is a league record. It was the fourth kickoff return of his career, which is a school record and tied a Big 12 record.
A&M will be facing the Big 12's defensive player of the week in Texas Tech senior defensive end Brandon Sharpe, who had a career-high four sacks and seven tackles in Texas Tech's 31-10 victory at then 17th-ranked Nebraska. Sharpe has eight sacks, seven of which came in the last three games. He's second in the Big 12 behind national leader Von Miller, who has 10.
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No TV for A&M-ISU: The A&M-Iowa State game on Halloween at Kyle Field was the only Big 12 game not selected for television.
Kansas at Texas Tech at 2:30 p.m. will be shown on ABC. The other TV games are Nebraska at Baylor, 11:30 a.m. (Versus); Missouri at Colorado, 12:30 p.m. (FSN); Kansas State at Oklahoma, 6 p.m. (FSN); and Texas at Oklahoma State, 7 p.m. (ABC or ESPN2).
Robert Cessna's e-mail address is robert.cessna@theeagle.com.
Tech QB Sheffield will miss game
Texas Tech has lost quarterback Steven Sheffield to a foot injury, according to media outlets in Lubbock.
Sheffield, who started the last two games, had a medical procedure performed on the injured foot Sunday and will be out at least 2-3 weeks, reported the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal on Monday afternoon on its Web site.
Sheffield was hurt in Tech's 31-10 victory at Nebraska.
"Tech has no comment," Tech spokesman Chris Cook told the paper.
Tech's policy is to not talk about injuries. Tech head coach Mike Leach said earlier Monday that his starting quarterback "would be a game-time decision."
Fellow junior Taylor Potts is expected to return to the starting lineup. Potts suffered a concussion against New Mexico on Oct. 3 that put Sheffield in the lineup.
Sheffield is 76-of-102 passing (74.5 percent) for 1,014 yards and 12 touchdowns with two interceptions. Potts is 159 of 235 (67.7) for 13 TDs and six interceptions.
Seth Doege, a redshirt freshman, is Tech's third-string quarterback.
-- Eagle staff report
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