Young season, old enemies
Tradition to the contrary, not all fierce and ancient rivalries are confined to the short, chill afternoons of late November. As the huge, intensely partisan crowds that packed into stadiums at Dallas, Pittsburgh and East Lansing, Mich. last weekend attest, the second Saturday in October can be a pretty big day, too, for the mixing of warm emotions and hot blood.
•At Dallas, where the hottest blood boiled, 75,504 were on hand to watch an overanxious Oklahoma team fumble away a possible upset victory over heavily favored Texas. It was the 57th game of a rivalry that started in 1900. The Long-horns won 9-6 in a bruiser that ended in a near-riot with both benches swarming angrily onto the field. "Sure, it's a big one," said one of the two dozen Texans on the Oklahoma team, "but especially for us guys who played high school ball in Texas. It's up to us to show our folks and friends back home that we made the right choice."
A couple of these transplanted Texans seemed to have made the right choice—for Texas. In the second quarter Oklahoma Quarterback Monte Deere, from Amarillo, heaved a wild lateral that was recovered by Texas on the Sooner 27 and set up its first score—a fourth-down field goal by the Longhorns' barefooted Tony Crosby from the 16-yard line. Soon after, Texas scored again, this time when Paul Lea of Oklahoma, a halfback from Terrell, Tex., fumbled a bad pitchout from Deere in the end zone and Texas Center Perry McWilliams jumped on the. ball for the touchdown. Oklahoma scored shortly before half time but never really threatened again as Halfback Ernie Koy, whose father, Ernie Sr., helped Texas beat Oklahoma 30 years ago, kept the Sooners bottled up with superb punting. Texas now leads in the series, 35-20-2, has won in each of the last five years and continues undefeated this year.
•At East Lansing 77,501 gleefully watched home team Michigan State crush neighboring Michigan 28-0 in the 55th game of a heated series that began back in 1898. Michigan fans relish charging up the rivalry to fever pitch with derisive cheers like "Cow College...Mooo," often to the chagrin of the Michigan coaching staff. "I wish," sighed one assistant,"they'd cut out that moo stuff. You can see the hair stand up on the necks of those State kids. They want to kill us."
They sure do. The first Spartan victory of the modern era, a 14-7 win in 1950, triggered wild rioting on the East Lansing campus during which students heaved rocks, tipped over cars and were arrested in wholesale lots. This year the fun was confined to the football field. The Spartans ran a simple offense of dives, traps and a few sweeps, 154-pound Tailback Sherman Lewis scored three times and State rolled up 391 yards on the ground to the Wolverines' 72. Michigan still leads in the series 35-16-4, but for Coach Duffy Daugherty it was the sixth victory (one tie) in seven years over the unfriendly neighbor. "One game doesn't make a season," said Duffy, "but this one has grown so big it pales the Army-Navy game in interest."
•At Pittsburgh several hundred rooters shouted and stomped their feet with joy outside the West Virginia dressing room after the Mountaineers had defeated favored Pitt 15-8 in the 55th game of a rivalry that began in 1895. Over 34,000 saw an underdog win for the eighth time in 11 years. Trailing 8-7 midway through the final quarter and jammed against its own end zone, West Virginia suddenly came to life when Halfback Tom Woodeshick turned the right side of the Pitt line and went 49 yards to the Panther 42 before being bounced out of bounds from behind. From there West Virginia marched steadily to its winning touchdown. Pitt still leads in the long series by a top-heavy 39-15-1, but it was West Virginia's second victory in a row over Pitt and kept the Mountaineers undefeated this year through four games.
THE EAST
THE TOP THREE:
1. ARMY (3-1)
2. PENN STATE (3-1)
3. PITT (2-2)
All week long the tension, subtly nurtured by Army Coach Paul Dietzel, was building at West Point. Last Saturday, while the aroused cadet corps raised an unholy din that may have been heard as far south as Annapolis, the brash Chinese Bandits out-hit and outscrambled bigger and supposedly much better Penn State and stopped every Lion thrust. State's Ron Coates kicked two field goals, from the 22- and 14-yard lines, to one for Army's Dick Heydt—from the 25—and Penn State led 6-3. Then, with 10:12 to go, the fierce Bandits separated State's Junior Powell from the ball on the 18-yard line. Four plays later Halfback Dick Peterson slipped down the middle, grabbed Cammy Lewis' 15-yard pass in the end zone, and Army was an upset winner 9-6.
Coach Ben Schwartzwalder, appalled by Syracuse's inability to score, reasoned, "You can't do things fancy until you can do them simple." So he shifted Bill Schoonover back to his old fullback spot, moved sophomore Jim Nance to left half, installed sophomore Walley Mahle at quarterback and turned them loose against Boston College. The changes worked. Mahle ran for 101 yards and two scores, and the Orangemen won 12-0. Rutgers, too, broke its losing streak, beating Colgate 27-15. But Boston U. lost its fourth straight, to George Washington 14-6.
Princeton and Dartmouth were still winning in the Ivy League. The Tigers beat Penn 21-8 while Dartmouth, the nation's defense leader, held Brown to 14 yards rushing and whipped the Bruins 41-0. Columbia beat Yale 14-10, but it was a sad day for those Ivy Leaguers who ventured out of the club. Navy whomped Cornell 41-0 and Holy Cross outscored Harvard 34-20.
THE SOUTH
THE TOP THREE:
1. ALABAMA (4-0)
2. LSU (3-0-1)
3. GEORGIA TECH (3-1)
Houston committed the unpardonable error of kicking a field goal against Alabama in the very first period and the Cougars paid dearly for their intrusion. The tough Alabama line threw the Houston backs for 49 yards in losses, Center Lee Roy Jordan broke through to fall on a fumble in the end zone, Cotton Clark slithered over from the three and the Crimson Tide won 14-3.
At Atlanta Georgia Tech's Mr. Cool had another hot day. Quarterback Billy Lothridge ran for 79 yards and one touchdown, passed for 56 more and another score (to Billy Martin, the Jolly Giant), kicked a 26-yard field goal and Tech beat Tennessee 17-0. LSU let Miami's George Mira complete his showy passes in midfield but tightened its defenses whenever the Hurricanes got close enough to be dangerous. Meanwhile, Jerry Stovall smashed off tackle for 26 yards, sophomore Larry Leblanc ran 10 yards and the Tigers earned a 17-3 victory.
Florida, treating Texas A&M's Hank Foldberg more like a hated enemy than a former Gator assistant coach, poured it on, even went for two points after blocking a kick for a touchdown in the final seconds to complete a 42-6 shellacking. Auburn overwhelmed Chattanooga 54-6 while Mississippi State romped over Tulane 35-6 and Georgia upset Clemson 24-16.
After years of failure against West Coast teams, Duke got even for some of them by beating California 21-7. The Blue Devils gave Cal the pass but concentrated on stopping their sweeps, then sent swift Mark Leggett and sophomore Mike Curtis storming through the skimpy Bear line. Maryland's Dick Shiner completed 14 of 18 passes, mostly to Halfbacks Tom Brown and Ernie Arizzi, for 175 yards and two touchdowns, scored a third himself and the Terps beat North Carolina 31-13. South Carolina trimmed Wake Forest 27-6.
THE MIDWEST
THE TOP THREE:
1. OHIO STATE (2-1)
2. NORTHWESTERN (3-0)
3. NEBRASKA (4-0)
Rarely has the Big Ten experienced such a disenchanting season. First their best teams were beaten by West Coast schools and last week came the unkindest cut of all. Miami of Ohio caught Purdue with its defenses lagging and upset the Boilermakers 10-7. An 88-yard pass play, from left-handed Quarterback Ernie Kellerman to End Bob Jencks, who had earlier kicked a 31-yard field goal, won for the happy Redskins.
The condition of Illinois football was reflected in a one-word message on badges worn by many fans for the homecoming game against Ohio State: "Mercy." But OSU showed none. Woody Hayes's quality boys crunched to 517 yards on the ground, seven players raced over for touchdowns and the inept Illini were humiliated 51-15. But Northwestern, with the hottest passer in the conference, will be tougher for the Buckeyes this Saturday. Tom Myers threw four touchdown passes as the Wildcats beat Minnesota 34-22. "We've finally got a complete team," enthused Coach Ara Parseghian. "We're in the Big Ten race." How far in, only time—and Ohio State, Wisconsin and Michigan State—will tell.
Wisconsin, too, was shaping up as a formidable contender. With senior Quarterback Ron Vander Kelen pitching like a major leaguer, the Badgers brought down Notre Dame 17-8. But Iowa, still having troubles, barely made it past Indiana 14-10.
In the Big Eight Kansas ground out its yardage the hard way, overpowered Iowa State 29-8, while Missouri, using the pass judiciously and perfectly (six for six), beat Arkansas State 32-0, and Oklahoma State whipped Colorado 36-16. However, Nebraska barely pulled out ahead of North Carolina State 19-14 on Halfback Dennis Stuewe's 13-yard run in the final minute.
THE SOUTHWEST
THE TOP THREE:
1. ARKANSAS (4-0)
2. TEXAS (4-0)
3. NEW MEXICO (4-1)
Quarterback Billy Moore got Arkansas off to a 28-0 lead against Baylor, but then the Porkers turned fat and lazy. Baylor's Don Trull passed them dizzy, Ronnie Goodwin snared passes and ran like a berserk jackrabbit, and Arkansas barely won 28-21.
TCU's Sonny Gibbs finally had one of his really good games as the Frogs rode his two touchdown passes and two scoring plunges to a 35-13 win over Texas Tech. But Rice had a dismal night. Oregon hit the Owls with a claque of eye-blinking backs and all but ran them out of Rice Stadium while winning 31-12. The best, of course, was Mel Renfro, who ripped the Rice linemen for 141 yards, scored one touchdown and generally made a nuisance of himself. Observed Rice's empty-handed Jerry Candler: "You reach out for him, right in front of you, and suddenly he's five yards gone."
No one but the determined Lobos would have given a dead wolf for New Mexico's chances after Utah State powered to a 13-0 lead. They came back smartly, tied the Aggies on Bobby Santiago's 22-yard pass to Larry Jasper with 1:50 to play, then won 14-13 on Ed Meadows' placement kick.
THE WEST
THE TOP THREE:
1. WASHINGTON (3-0-1)
2. USC (3-0)
3. UCLA (2-0)
Just hours after the Oregon National Guard had been called out to prevent looting in wreckage-littered Portland, Washington stole off with a 14-13 victory over Oregon State in plain view of 30,000 storm survivors. Leading 13-7 on Terry Baker's passes, State fumbled on the Husky 40 midway in the final period. Many minutes later Charlie Mitchell barely touched the end zone and Jim Norton kicked the winning point.
Overconfident after last week's upset of Ohio State and scornful of Colorado State's 19 straight losses, UCLA was outgained and nearly outscored in the first half. Superior depth finally overwhelmed the underdog Coloradoans 35-7. A blocked kick, Kenny Graham's 92-yard kickoff return and Clete Baltes' three interceptions upended Stanford 21-6 for Washington State.
Brigham Young's Eldon Fortie scored a touchdown and increased his total yardage to 992 for the season, but Utah won 35-20.
PHOTO
BACK OF THE WEEK: Northwestern Quarterback Tom Myers (left) completed 16 of 25 passes for 26 points against Minnesota.
PHOTO
LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: End Bob Jencks scored all 10 Miami of Ohio points on a field goal, pass and PAT in 10-7 upset of Purdue.
SATURDAY'S TOUGH ONES
Ohio State over Northwestern. Not even Tom Myers can pull this one through.
Michigan State over Notre Dame. The Spartans are faster and tougher.
Wisconsin over Iowa. Wisconsin attacks too ferociously for the troubled Hawkeyes.
Kansas over Oklahoma. The diligent Jayhawkers peck away until they win.
Miami over Maryland.* Miami's Mira over Maryland's Shiner in an air battle.
Penn State over Syracuse. After the Army defeat, the Lions are hungry.
UCLA over Pitt. UCLA will make the most of Pitt's defensive shortcomings.
Arkansas over Texas. Quick and slick Arkansas has Billy Moore quarterbacking.
New Mexico over Utah. The precious Lobos will outrun the bigger Redskins.
Washington over Stanford. The Huskies have better balance, especially on offense.
*Friday night game
OTHER GAMES
CORNELL OVER YALE
DUKE OVER CLEMSON
GEORGIA TECH OVER AUBURN
HARVARD OVER COLUMBIA
MIAMI (OHIO) OVER OHIO
RICE OVER SMU
S. CAROLINA OVER N. CAROLINA
TCU OVER TEXAS A&M
USC OVER CALIFORNIA
VILLANOVA OVER DELAWARE
LAST WEEK'S PREDICTIONS
13 RIGHT, 7 WRONG
SEASON'S RECORD: 51-25-4