HOLIDAY BOWL : Texas A&M; Won’t Change Tactics for BYU

Texas A&M; isn’t going to change its defense when it faces No. 13 Brigham Young and Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer in Saturday’s Holiday Bowl.

The Aggies still plan to blitz extensively, even though Detmer has usually picked apart defenses which rely on an all-out rush and man-to-man coverage.

“That’s been our style for a long time. They know good and well what’s going to happen,” Texas A&M; Coach R. C. Slocum said. “It’s like having lighted sticks of dynamite. You pass them back and forth and hope they go off in your favor.”

Detmer, though, has had a dynamite season in leading the Cougars to a 10-2 record and becoming the first Western Athletic Conference player to win the Heisman. He passed for an NCAA-record 5,188 yards and 41 touchdowns while completing 64.2% of his passes.

Yet Detmer is wary of an Aggies defense which allowed a Southwest Conference low of 5.9 yards per pass attempt and recorded 35 sacks. Opposing quarterbacks completed just 51.4% of their passes for seven touchdowns against Texas A&M; (8-3-1), which also had 12 interceptions.

“This will be tougher for us than a lot of people might think,” Detmer said. “They like to blitz. If we’re able to pick up the blitz, we’ll be successful.”

The Aggies are led by two All-Southwest Conference players, cornerback Kevin Smith and linebacker William Thomas. Smith, a junior, already is tied for the conference record with 18 interceptions. Thomas has 13 sacks.

“If we’re going to win, we’re going to have to get after Detmer,” Thomas said. “The way to stop him is to not let him have a lot of time to pick you apart. We’re going to try not to give him as much time as we’ve seen him get on film.”

Texas A&M; will attempt to keep Detmer off the field by using a ball-control offense. The Aggies rushed for a conference-record 3,829 yards, led by Darren Lewis with 1,691 yards and 18 touchdowns.