Skip to main content

FOOTBALL'S 10TH WEEK

THE EAST

Yale shot Halfback Ken Wolfe through the Harvard right-tackle hole for 41 yards and a touchdown the first time it got the ball, added another score when End John Hutcherson alertly picked off one of Charlie Ravenel's passes and gleefully ran it back 48 yards. There was more—a 33-yard field goal by Gordon Kaake, a short burst by Fullback Bob Blanchard and two deft scoring passes by No. 2 Quarterback Bill Leckonby—before the limping Ravenel gimped over for Harvard's only touchdown to bring the score to 39-6. All the while, the bruising Yale line, led by Tackle Mike Pyle, Guard Ben Balme and Center Howard Will, handled the Crimson with consummate ease. When it was over, the Elis had their first unbeaten team since 1923 and the Ivy League title.

Among the other Ivies, Princeton beat Dartmouth 7-0 for second place when Tailback John Scott flung a 23-yard pass to John MacMurray with 53 seconds to play; Brown rallied to outscore Colgate 21-14; Rutgers ran over Columbia 43-2.

Penn State took on stodgy Pitt, taught the Panthers a lesson in offensive football, beat them 14-3 and earned a bid to the Liberty Bowl. Unable to push through the Pitt middle, State's alternating quarterbacks, Galen Hall and Dick Hoak, swept the flanks to set up touchdown pitches to Jim Kerr and Bob Mitinger. Boston College shocked Clemson with three touchdowns in the first half, upset the Tigers 25-14; Holy Cross' sophomores, especially Tom Hennessey, who ran the second-half kickoff back 93 yards, battered Connecticut 30-6. The top three:

1. NAVY (8-1)
2. ARMY (6-2-1)
3. PENN STATE (6-3) and YALE (9-0)

THE WEST

North and south, Californians whooped it up for their own versions of The Game. At Berkeley, 76,200 shrugged off the fact that California and Stanford between them had won only one game all year, turned out to watch Quarterback Randy Gold pass for one touchdown, score another himself and neatly guide Cal to a 21-10 victory over the winless Indians. At Los Angeles, 66,865 watched in amazement as USC emerged from its lethargy to defeat UCLA 17-6. Trojan Coach Johnny McKay correctly figured that to win he had to find a way to stop UCLA Tailback Bill Kilmer. Explained McKay: "We flopped our line to put End Marlin McKeever on the strong side all the time. We intended to keep Kilmer from ever going outside on us and it was up to McKeever to take the option away from him." And he did. McKeever was rarely more than a tackle length away from the harried Kilmer, who was held to 29 yards rushing, 80 yards passing. Meanwhile McKeever scored on a 21-yard pass from Bill Nelsen, Hal Tobin smashed over from the two and Don Zachik kicked a 20-yard field goal.

Rose Bowl-bound Washington survived another squeaker, barely beat Washington State 8-7 on sub Kermit Jorgensen's one-yard plunge and Bob Hivner's two-point pass to Don McKeta. Oregon State and Oregon put in 60 bruising minutes, came away with a 14-14 tie. The week's most embarrassed player was Jim Davidson of Idaho, who intercepted a pass on his two-yard line with three seconds to go, stepped back into the end zone, where he was tackled for a safety to give San Jose State a 22-20 victory.

Utah Coach Ray Nagel, preparing his team for undefeated Utah State, glibly declared his boys were "boning up on goal-line stands and punt formation." But last Saturday the Utes rarely had their backs to the goal, punted only a normal number of times, upset the Aggies 6-0 on sub Halfback Bud Scalley's 12-yard sprint and forced them into a tie with Wyoming (a 30-6 winner over Brigham Young) for the Skyline title. The top three:

1. WASHINGTON (9-1)
2. OREGON (7-2-1)
3. UCLA (5-2-1)

THE SOUTH

North Carolina Coach Jim Hickey, given a vote of confidence despite a desultory 1-7 record, had another reason to rejoice. His Tar Heels surprised Duke with a stubborn defense, upset the Blue Devils 7-6 on Quarterback Ray Farris' passing and running and Bob Elliott's placement in the closing minutes. But luck was with Duke. South Carolina held North Carolina State to an 8-8 tie, so the Blue Devils backed into the Atlantic Coast title.

Kentucky, charged up by sub Quarterback Jerry Eisaman's passing, lit out after Tennessee's 10-0 half-time lead, tied the Vols 10-10 when Halfback Bill Ransdell bulled over from the two and Clark Mayfield kicked a 26-yard field goal. Auburn's Ed Dyas kicked his 13th field goal of the season (from the 11-yard line), but broke his cheekbone as the Tigers beat Florida State 57-21. Halfback Tommy Mason scored twice, led Tulane past Vanderbilt 20-0.

Syracuse loosed energetic Halfback Ernie Davis against Miami's dispirited defenders in an 80-yard fourth-quarter touchdown drive, defeated the Hurricanes 21-14. The top three:

1. MISSISSIPPI (8-0-1)
2. AUBURN (8-1)
3. DUKE (7-2)

THE SOUTHWEST

It isn't often that Texans will admit-even grudgingly—the superiority of a foreign power. But last Saturday they tipped their 10-gallon hats to Arkansas after the Razorbacks beat Texas Tech 34-6 to earn at least a share of the often elusive Southwest Conference title and a sure spot in the Cotton Bowl. Plodding Tech was no match for the runs of Lance Alworth and Billy Moore, who probed and parted the Raider line whenever Quarterback George McKinney, who passed for three touchdowns, wasn't throwing over it.

Now only Rice, which meets Baylor Saturday, can catch Arkansas. The Owls remained alive by plucking off six TCU passes and beating the Frogs 23-0. Baylor found SMU more stubborn, but Halfback Ronnie Bull ran for one touchdown, took a 17-yard pass from Bobby Ply for another, and the Bears won 20-7, then accepted a bid to the Gator Bowl.

Unbeaten New Mexico State, nearing outright possession of the Border Conference championship, clobbered Hardin-Simmons 40-3 as nation's leading scorer, Halfback Bob Gaiters, scored three times, now has 133 points. The top three:

1. ARKANSAS (8-2)
2. RICE (7-2)
3. TEXAS (6-3)

THE MIDWEST

Minnesota, last in the Big Ten only a year ago, bumbled along for three quarters, eventually wore down Wisconsin to win 26-7 and tie Iowa for the conference title. Would Minnesota go to the Rose Bowl if invited? "We've made ourselves eligible," crowed Coach Murray Warmath. But Iowa, too, was hoping to hear from Pasadena, as was Navy. The Hawk-eyes massacred Notre Dame 28-0 (for the Irish's eighth straight loss) and Coach Forest Evashevski was eager for one more game before turning his job over to Back-field Assistant Jerry Burns. Elsewhere, Quarterback Dick Thornton lifted Northwestern past Illinois 14-7; Ohio State huffed and puffed, finally edged Michigan 7-0; Purdue beat Indiana 35-6; Michigan State whomped Detroit 43-15.

The Big Eight belonged to Kansas after its upset of Missouri, but Nebraska and Colorado were also pleased with themselves. The Cornhuskers overtook Oklahoma 17-14 on Bill Thornton's 68-yard touchdown run and Ron Meade's 28-yard field goal in the last quarter. Colorado beat Oklahoma State 13-6 for third place behind Missouri.

Wichita ran over North Texas State 34-6 to give Coach Hank Foldberg the Missouri Valley title in his first year. The top three:

1. MINNESOTA (8-1)
2. IOWA (8-1)
3. MISSOURI (9-1)

SATURDAY'S TOUGH ONES

Navy over Army. Both are well rested and eager to do battle. Army can match Navy in the line and has better passing with Tom Blanda, but the Middies' Joe Bellino will make the difference.

Boston College over Holy Cross. The Eagles will have to catch those fleet Holy Cross sophomore backs, but better defense will win for Boston College.

Auburn over Alabama. The Tigers, who are tough any time, can't go to a bowl and they would love to spoil Alabama's chances. Even without Ed Dyas, they should succeed.

Georgia Tech over Georgia. Coach Bobby Dodd will find a way to stop Francis Tarkenton's passes. The husky Tech line will do the rest.

Mississippi over Mississippi State. Ole Miss wants the SEC championship too badly to let down against old rival State. Jake Gibbs will get the job done.

Florida over Miami. The Hurricanes blow hot and cold. Florida has its eye on the Gator Bowl, and would like to go in with an 8-2 record.

LSU over Tulane. LSU doesn't score much, but neither does the opposition. The trick this week will be to stop Tulane's brilliant halfback, Tommy Mason.

USC over Notre Dame. Suddenly the Trojans have come to life and they seem energetic enough to send the Irish to their ninth straight defeat.

UCLA over Utah. The Utes will have trouble hand-fighting the bruising UCLA line. And Bill Kilmer will give the Bruins enough offense for a victory.

Baylor over Rice. Can a Bear outsmart an Owl? This one will have a Bull (Ronnie, that is) to help keep Rice from a piece of the Southwest Conference title.

Other games

CLEMSON OVER FURMAN
TENNESSEE OVER VANDERBILT
SOUTH CAROLINA OVER WAKE FOREST
NORTH CAROLINA OVER VIRGINIA
COLORADO OVER AIR FORCE
OKLAHOMA OVER OKLAHOMA STATE
NEW MEXICO ST. OVER TEXAS WESTERN
ARIZONA STATE OVER ARIZONA
HOUSTON OVER TULSA
TCU OVER SMU

LAST WEEK'S PREDICTIONS: 12 RIGHT, 5 WRONG, 3 TIES

SEASON'S RECORD: 122-67-11

PHOTO

BACK OF THE WEEK: Minnesota's burly Sandy Stephens scored twice, gained 57 yards, intercepted three passes in 26-7 win over Wisconsin.

PHOTO

LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: USC End Marlin McKeever rode herd on UCLA Tailback Bill Kilmer, caught touchdown pass to help upset the Bruins.