Southwest Roundup : Thomas Leads Arkansas Over Mississippi, 21-0

Quarterback Greg Thomas, ineffective at the end of the 1985 season, completed his first six passes Saturday night as 18th-ranked Arkansas opened its season with a 21-0 victory over Mississippi at Little Rock, Ark.

Thomas completed only 3 of 14 passes in his last four regular-season games last year, and Coach Ken Hatfield turned to Mark Calcagni in passing situations. But, in the first half against the Rebels, Thomas threw for 88 yards and a touchdown as Arkansas took a 21-0 lead.

Sophomore James Rouse complemented Thomas’ passing, carrying 15 times for 70 first-half yards. Rouse finished with 60 yards in 19 carries, and Thomas threw only twice in the second half.

Mississippi did not make a first down until Arkansas had a 14-0 lead in the second quarter. Arkansas, which did not allow a rushing touchdown in the last nine games of 1985, held the Rebels to 72 yards in the first half.

“In the first half, our offense was as fine as I’ve ever seen in a first game,” Arkansas Coach Ken Hatfield said. “In the second half, we tried some different things that didn’t work.”

Added Hatfield: “I’ve never been prouder of a first-game defensive performance. We had eight new starters since last year and turned the ball over twice on our end of the field. The shutout was one of the greatest I’ve ever been around.”

Southern Methodist 45, Rice 3--Bobby Watters completed 13 consecutive passes, including touchdowns to Ron Morris and Jeffrey Jacobs, and Jeff Atkins scored twice during a 35-point first half as the Mustangs opened with a lopsided Southwest Conference victory over the Owls at Houston.

Watters, making his first collegiate start, missed his first pass of the game and then hit his next 13 in rolling up 236 yards.

Watters’ first pass of the second half was dropped, but he came back with his third touchdown pass, a 14-yarder to Jacobs, to finish with 15 completions in 17 attempts for 266 yards.

Atkins, who rushed for 218 yards against the Owls last season, scored on runs of 2 and 8 yards, and Watters ran 23 yards for another touchdown as SMU scored three times during a 3:09 span of the first half.

Watters then passed for touchdowns of 22 yards to Jacobs and 24 yards to Morris for a 35-0 lead.

Baylor 38, Lousiana Tech 7--Matt Clark, a starting split end who quarterbacks Baylor’s short yardage offense, scored twice and passed for another touchdown to lead the 12th-ranked Bears to a nonconference victory over the Bulldogs at Waco, Tex.

Clark, a junior who was a high school quarterback at Corsicana, Tex., ran twice for touchdowns, each time from one yard out in the first period.

In the second quarter, Clark passed to tight end Scott Huckabay from three yards out for a touchdown. It was the first time Clark had run or passed for touchdowns in college.

The Southwest Conference Bears (2-0) took a 28-0 halftime lead over the Southland Conference Bulldogs when redshirt freshman halfback Jeffrey Murray ran six yards for a score.

The Bears, who play host to USC next Saturday, allowed the Bulldogs (1-1) only three first downs and a minus-3 yards offense in the first half before 31,000 at Baylor Stadium.