The battle within the battle

Sporting News, The, Dec 18, 1995 by Kirk Bohls

The Copper Bowl will feature the classic matchup: the steady, heady quarterback against the relentless, big-play linebacker.

Air Force is touting junior quarterback Beau Morgan for next year's Heisman Trophy. As crazy as that sounds, Morgan does have the stats, if not the status, to get some attention. He has rushed for 1,285 yards and passed for 1,165 this season.

Geared to stopping Morgan will be Zach Thomas, Texas Tech's two-time All-America linebacker who was the 1994 Southwest Conference's Defensive Player of the Year. With that on his resume, the 6-foot, 236-pound senior middle linebacker went out and topped it with more tackles (121), more tackles behind the line (14), more passes broken up (7), more fumbles caused (4) and more fumbles recovered (4) than he did last season.

Under Morgan, who became only the eighth player in NCAA history to rush and pass for more than 1,000 yards in a season, the Falcons have the nation's third-most proficient rushing attack.

"Beau Morgan has improved each and every game he has played here," Air Force Coach Fisher DeBerry says. "He is without question one of the finest option quarterbacks I've ever seen."

Thomas has been every bit as dominant. His touchdown on an interception return with 30 seconds remaining allowed Tech to defeat Texas A&M for the first time since 1989.

KEY MATCHUP

Since moving two years ago to a double-wing formation that features two half-backs lined up outside the offensive tackles, Air Force goes as its fullbacks go.

When the Falcons' fullbacks top 90 yards rushing in a game, Air Force has a 9-2 record. When that total falls below 90, team is 7-6. And when it falls below 65 yards, the team is a distressing 3-5.

Charged with slowing the fullbacks will be Texas Tech's interior line of sophomore tackles Cody McGuire and Corey Chandler as well as middle linebacker Zach Thomas.

STRANGE BUT TRUE

If you watch Air Force during pregame warmups, you might notice the players wearing something other than towels tucked inside their belts. Starting with their freshman seasons, Air Force players are unofficially adopted by flying squadrons throughout the world.

The squadrons send the players silk flight scarves of various colors that contain the squadrons' names and insignias. The players wear them in pregame warmups throughout their careers.

SKULL SESSION

Air Force must stop Byron Hanspard or at least slow him appreciably. Texas Tech's sophomore tailback, who happens to be an ordained Pentecostal minister, has developed into one of the nation's top running backs and is especially important to the Red Raiders because quarterback Zebbie Lethridge has been inconsistent. Hanspard ran for 1,374 yards and had the second-best year by a sophomore in Southwest Conference history, topped only by Texas A&M's Darren Lewis.

Like much of the Falcons' defense, inside linebacker Lee Guthrie is undersized. Guthrie became a starter when Chris Gizzi suffered a knee injury in the third game and became the leading tackler with 100. Texas Tech is eager to pound the ball at Air Force's small defensive front