FOOTBALL'S WEEK
THE MIDWEST
THE TOP THREE:
1. WISCONSIN (6-1)
2. MISSOURI (7-0-1)
3. NORTHWESTERN (6-1)
A funny thing happened to Northwestern on the way to the Rose Bowl. It got thoroughly whipped by Wisconsin 37-6. The bigger, tougher and bolder Badgers simply overwhelmed the unbeaten Wildcats with their brawny defense and then, surprisingly, beat them at their own passing game. Tom Myers, Northwestern's talented passer, spent a dismal afternoon dodging onrushing Wisconsin linemen, and Paul Flatley, his pet receiver, was so earnestly shadowed by alternating defensemen Jim Nettles and Bill Smith that he caught only two passes. This while Wisconsin's Ron VanderKelen was having the time of his life. When he wasn't sending his backs squiggling through the shaky Northwestern line, he was lofting three touchdown passes to Gary Kroner and Lou Holland. Kroner also kicked a 38-yard field goal and four extra points while Holland ran for two other scores. Northwestern's disappointed Ara Parseghian was crushed but honest: "We were just overpowered."
Suddenly the Big Ten was up to its ears in contenders. Minnesota, playing its stern defensive game for all it was worth, throttled Iowa 14-0 to move into a first-place tie with Wisconsin and Northwestern (all 4-1), while Purdue (now 3-1) was still in the race. Up to their old, almost forgotten tricks, the Spoilermakers upset bumbling Michigan State 17-9.
Indiana's gung-ho gang-tackling Hoosiers, who rarely win but almost always leave battle scars on the opposition, carried Ohio State right down to the wire before the faltering Buckeyes squeaked through 10-7 on
Dick Van Raaphorst's 27-yard field goal with eight seconds left. At Ann Arbor the grim brothers Elliott staged their annual duel and Michigan's Bump beat Illinois' Pete for the third time, 14-10.
While Big Eight leader Missouri romped merrily over Colorado 57-0 and second-place Oklahoma clobbered Iowa State 41-0, Nebraska set aside its fancy stuff and got back to bone-crushing football. Led by third-stringer Willie Ross, who scored three times, the Huskers charged through the Kansas line on trap plays, ran up 32 points in the first 20 minutes and trounced the Jayhawkers 40-16. Kansas Coach Jack Mitchell was beside himself. "They just annihilated us," cried Mitchell. "Our coaching was lousy and so were our players. We should crawl into a hole and never come out."
It took almost three years for Notre Dame's Joe Kuharich to "discover" senior Quarterback Daryle Lamonica, and last Saturday Pitt was sorry that he didn't wait longer. Lamonica threw four touchdown passes, three to End Jim Kelly, as the Irish won 43-22.
Unbeaten Ohio moved to a 6-0 lead over Bowling Green but the Falcons tied the score on Don Lisbon's one-yard plunge, then won the game and the Mid-American title 7-6 on Asa Elsea's placement kick.
THE SOUTH
THE TOP THREE:
1. ALABAMA (8-0)
2. MISSISSIPPI (7-0)
3. LSU (6-1-1)
After weeks of playing patty-cake with weak sisters, Alabama finally got a chance to show its muscles against a worthy opponent. Coach Bear Bryant had some fretful moments when Miami led 3-0 at the half, but then sophomore Quarterback Joe Namath took charge. He ran and passed the Tide into position for two short touchdown plunges by Cotton Clark, threw for a third score, ran over from the one for a fourth and Alabama went on to win 36-3.
While Mississippi rolled over Chattanooga 52-7, the other big wheels in the SEC had their hands full. TCU had the pitching (by Sonny Gibbs) but frugal LSU got the points—a 34-yard field goal by Lynn Amedee and a safety for a 5-0 victory. Florida State keyed its defense on Georgia Tech's Billy Lothridge, and it was rough enough to give Mr. Cool a hot afternoon. Tech survived with a 14-14 tie. Auburn survived, too, needing a hearty goal-line stand in the closing minutes to hold off Mississippi State 9-3. Tennessee beat Tulane 28-16 and Florida outscored Georgia 23-15.
The Atlantic Coast race was all but over. Duke saw to that as it forced Maryland's usually meticulous Dick Shiner to flutter his passes and won 10-7 with Bill Reynolds' 38-yard field goal and Mike Curtis' two-yard plunge. Except for 3-1 Clemson, which thumped Furman 44-3, the rest of the ACC was out of it.
Independent Memphis State, beaten only by Mississippi and yearning desperately for a bowl bid, used its game with The Citadel as a showcase. Fullback Dave Casinelli ran for three touchdowns as the Tigers piled up 529 yards and muzzled the poor Bulldogs 60-13.
THE WEST
THE TOP THREE:
1. USC (7-0)
2. OREGON (6-1-1)
3. WASHINGTON (5-1-2)
While his Stanford team was still aching from a 39-14 pounding by USC, Coach Jack Curtice declared, "USC is the best team in the country, the best I've seen in five years." The Trojans had just caught up-and-down Stanford at the bottom of its yo-yo string and added another knot to their own string—seven straight wins. After softening the big interior Stanford line with a fearful first-half beating, USC unleashed Backs Pete Beathard, Bill Nelsen and Willie Brown and End Hal Bedsole to finish the rout.
Significantly, Curtice hedged when asked to compare USC with Oregon, which trimmed a good Washington State team 28-10. The Ducks' defense held WSU to 43 yards rushing, and a well-balanced attack, featuring Bob Berry and Mel Renfro, overcame a 10-7 half-time deficit.
Holding Washington scoreless in the first half took too much out of California's line. Ultimately the Huskies gained 355 yards overland, held Cal to 49 and won 27-0. They intercepted six passes, and hard-rushing sophomore Fullback Junior Lee (Instant) Coffey scored three Husky touchdowns. Oregon State victimized Idaho 32-0, as scheduled, but UCLA got gored 17-11 by an intended sacrificial ram, Air Force. Utah State outgained Wyoming 237 yards to 62 on the ground and beat the melancholy Cowboys 20-6.
THE EAST
THE TOP THREE:
1. PENN STATE (7-1)
2. DARTMOUTH (7-0)
3. ARMY (6-2)
All week long Army's Paul Dietzel insisted that Oklahoma State, despite its lowly standing in the Big Eight, was rough, tough and hard to beat. Last Saturday the Cowboys let Army's Ken Waldrop get away for a 40-yard run in the first quarter and that was all the Cadets got. Mike Miller jabbed them off balance with his slick passes; swift, hard-hitting Wardell Holiis, Tommy Jackson, Don Karns and Mutual Bryant put the Chinese Bandits to rout, and Army surrendered, 12-7.
Life was just as dismal for Navy. Syracuse's Ben Schwartzwalder had a new secret weapon ready for the Middies, and it caught them with their defenses dragging. End John Mackey, back at right half where he played as a sophomore, scored twice, on a 51-yard pass from Walley Mahle and on a 36-yard run, and Syracuse won 34-6. Penn State's display of sheer power in beating West Virginia, also 34-6, was so awesome that a Pitt scout was heard to murmur, "Just say a prayer for us." Pete Liske completed 15 of 21 passes for three touchdowns while all the young Lions together rolled up 535 yards and 38 first downs.
Dartmouth was just about ready to pocket the Ivy League title after Billy King ran and passed rings around Columbia's Archie Roberts, 42-0. But Harvard was beginning to look like the second best team in the league. Princeton's highly touted backs scurried for cover, and the well-balanced Harvard attack upset the Tigers 20-0. Penn came from behind to beat Yale 15-12 while Cornell barely outscored Brown 28-26.
Boston College kept its bowl hopes alive by beating Texas Tech 42-13, but Holy Cross had to scramble before it turned back VMI 20-14. Except for Boston U., which put down Connecticut 13-7, the other Eastern independents fared miserably. Massachusetts surprised Villanova 19-18, Delaware beat Rutgers 23-6 and Bucknell trounced Colgate 32-14.
THE SOUTHWEST
THE TOP THREE:
1. TEXAS (7-0-1)
2. ARKANSAS (7-1)
3. TCU (4-3)
Texas' offense, labeled "every bit as exciting as a paid political announcement" before the Baylor game, was good enough to make the Longhorns the leading Cotton Bowl candidate. Just for excitement, though, Coach Darrell Royal put Tommy Wade, a third-stringer, at quarterback. For a Personnel-Business Administration major, Wade didn't delegate many duties. He passed for 195 yards and two touchdowns and plunged for a third score himself as Texas won 27-12.
In Fayetteville, Arkansas amassed a 28-14 plurality over Rice. As usual, most of the partying was done by Quarterback Billy Moore. He threw two scoring passes to Jerry Lamb, scored on a plunge and topped it off by tackling a Rice back for a safety.
Kansas State was hardly fit company after it missed a two-point conversion to lose its 16th straight 14-13, to Arizona. Neither was Utah, swamped 35-7 by Arizona State's flashy backs.
PHOTO
BACK OF THE WEEK: Dartmouth Quarterback Billy King passed for 324 yards, threw TD passes of 31, 51, 36 and 48 yards, ran for a fifth.
PHOTO
LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Intimidating Northwestern's Tom Myers early, Wisconsin Tackle Roger Pillath led a smothering rush.
SATURDAY'S TOUGH ONES
Alabama over Georgia Tech. Alabama's sturdy defense will check Tech's Lothridge.
Florida State over Florida. State yields points reluctantly. Florida is more liberal.
Northwestern over Michigan State. The Wildcats will do it with Myers' passing.
Minnesota over Purdue. Purdue Will find that tough Gopher defense too hard to beat.
Missouri over Oklahoma. Oklahoma, on the way up, can't match Mizzou's power.
Oregon over Ohio State. A tall order, but Oregon's swifties will outrun the Buckeyes.
Washington over UCLA. But the Huskies can't afford to make too many mistakes.
Pitt over Army. Up-and-down Pitt will have one of its good days against Army.
Princeton over Yale. The tormented Tigers are hungry. So beware, sons of Eli!
Amherst over Williams. It takes a lot to score on Williams. Amherst has enough.
OTHER GAMES
IOWA OVER MICHIGAN
KANSAS OVER CALIFORNIA
MARYLAND OVER CLEMSON
NOTRE DAME OVER NORTH CAROLINA
PENN STATE OVER HOLY CROSS
RICE OVER TEXAS A&M
TEXAS OVER TCU
USC OVER NAVY
UTAH STATE OVER UTAH
VILLANOVA OVER RUTGERS
LAST WEEK'S PREDICTIONS
11 RIGHT, 8 WRONG, 1 TIE
SEASON'S RECORD: 98-53-9