FOOTBALL'S WEEK
THE WEST
THE TOPTHREE:
1. USC (1-1)
2. AIR FORCE (2-0)
3. OREGON STATE (2-0)
For Big Six teamslast Saturday was the kind of a day nobody should ever have to face again. Athome or abroad they suffered horribly, the biggest blow being OKLAHOMA'Sswacking of USC. Stanford, too, went down, but if its loss was less glorious atleast it was to OREGON, 36-7. Fortunately, some Big Six rooters were spared thesight of watching their heroes crumble. Washington, UCLA and California werebeaten on the road. Only WASHINGTON STATE survived. The Cougars got a tie.
At Stanford thefamiliar oompahs of the student band were missing for the first time in some 50years. The band was on strike to protest the dismissal of its director andbecause the new director wanted to integrate the 110-piece group withnonstudents. With no music to play by, Stanford was as flat against Oregon as abruised C note. Backs fumbled the ball away six times, and the defense, caughtlooking for the celebrated Mel Renfro, was ravaged for 513 yards by otherequally racy Ducks. Quarterback Bob Berry was the big gainer. He passed for 216yards and two touchdowns and ran for a third. Some advice to the band: please,please come back.
Colorado State,after breaking its 26-game losing streak, was suddenly brought back to realityby AIR FORCE. The competent Falcons, led by Quarterback Terry Isaacson, ranthrough, over and around the Rams, trouncing them 69-0. Isaacson darted andwriggled to four touchdowns, two on runs of 47 and 39 yards.
For a whileOREGON STATE, which four days before had had 31 players laid low by a virus,was not sure that it would have enough able bodies to send against Colorado.But Saturday all were back, and when the slow Colorado linemen tried to put arush on Quarterback Gordon Queen, he just threw over them to elusive End VernBurke for three scores and to Len Frketich for a fourth. The Beavers woneasily, 41-6.
Utah State CoachTony Knap thought he knew how to beat WYOMING. "They come across that lineof scrimmage like mad dogs," so, he reasoned, "we'll trap them andshorten up the pass routes." It sounded good, but the Aggie pass defensewas too skimpy. Cowboy Quarterback Jeff Hartman slipped in a touchdown pass,Halfback Rick Desmaris ripped through the line, and Wyoming won 21-14. Utah'sstrategy, didn't work, either, IDAHO'S big line stopped Halfback Ron Coleman'srun for two points with 36 seconds to go. Idaho won 10-9.
After a sad firstweek things were looking brighter for Arizona teams. ARIZONA STATE held off NewMexico State long enough to eke out a 14-13 victory, while ARIZONA found afourth-string quarterback, Gene Dahlquist, who had a hand in three touchdownsand Brigham Young fell 33-7.
THE EAST
THE TOPTHREE:
1. PENN STATE(2-0)
2. NAVY (2-0)
3. PITT (2-0)
Just abouteverything is jazzed up at PITT these days. Coach John Michelosen still roamsthe sidelines, but now passes float through the air like so much tossedconfetti, and last Saturday a huge sign on the wall in Pitt Stadium informedvisiting Washington, "We're ready with Freddy." The Panthers were.Quarterback Fred Mazurek directed Pitt to a 13-6 victory. Skillfully handling afreewheeling attack full of deceptive reverses, options and pass plays, Mazureksneaked over from the one-yard line for Pitt's first touchdown and completed 11out of 16 passes, including a 14-yarder to End Joe Kuzneski for a second one.He also harassed Washington dreadfully on defense. When the Huskies threatenedwith 10 minutes to go, Freddy was ready. He intercepted Bill Douglas' pass onthe 13-yard line and took Pitt on an 86-yard drive that fizzled out on theHusky one. Even Chancellor Edward H. Litchfield, who watched the "new"Panthers through huge field glasses from his command post on the 50-yard line,liked what he saw. "This is the kind of game I've wanted around here for along time," he said.
Despite someflashy passing and catching by Quarterback Pete Liske and Halfback JuniorPowell out of its new swing T, PENN STATE needed a 32-yard field goal by RonCoates to put down stubborn UCLA 17-14. Using Z-Back Don Caum mostly as adecoy, Liske completed 19 out of 27 passes, nine to Powell, who carried one 52yards for a touchdown. But the pesky Bruins found a way to beat the Lions'defense. They sent Quarterback Larry Zeno rolling out away from State's monsterlinebacker, and he passed for two touchdowns.
Navy's RogerStaubach picked at William and Mary with his deft passes (12 out of 17 for 206yards) and scrambling runs (for 91 yards), set a new Navy record for totaloffense as the Indians succumbed 28-0. ARMY got around to unveiling its passinggame, and Quarterback Rollie Stichweh, although no Staubach, was respectableenough. He completed nine out of 14 as the Cadets beat Cincinnati 22-0.
Boston Collegespotted Wichita 10 points and then had to hustle back on Jack Concannon'spassing to beat the Shockers 22-16. WEST VIRGINIA'S Jerry Yost and DickLeftridge were too much for Boston U. and the Terriers lost 34-0. HOLY CROSSand BUFFALO played to a 6-6 tie.
Dartmouth andHarvard, the Ivy League favorites, had their troubles. Dartmouth barely beatBucknell 20-18. HARVARD battled MASSACHUSETTS to a 0-0 tie. Meanwhile COLUMBIA,PRINCETON and PENN looked like challengers. Archie Roberts threw for threetouchdowns and ran for two as Columbia thumped Brown 41-14; Fullback CosmoIacavazzi, bombing away for 102 yards, led Princeton to a 24-0 win overRutgers. Penn trounced Lafayette 47-0. YALE squeezed past Connecticut 3-0, butCornell lost to COLGATE 21-17.
THE MIDWEST
THE TOPTHREE:
1. OKLAHOMA(2-0)
2. NORTHWESTERN (2-0)
3. WISCONSIN (2-0)
Through years ofspectacular but futile pursuit of the Big Ten championship, NORTH-WESTERN'Sbrilliance has been exceeded only by its erraticism. The Wildcats' 34-21 defeatof Indiana was no exception. A title favorite, Northwestern handed the ball toIndiana on fumbles and interceptions in their own territory four times in thefirst 40 or so minutes, and the Hoosiers led 21-14 in the third quarter. Then,along came Halfback Willie Stinson, with a 91-yard kickoff return to tie thescore; Tom Myers (who had never run or rolled out in high school, let alonecollege) rolled and ran; Pete Stamison kicked a 34-yard field goal from a badangle; a fumble set up another touchdown; and the line forced a safety."Man," said Coach Ara Parseghian, "in one game I age 600years."
Wisconsin, theBig Ten's other practitioner of heart-stopping football, waited until the last67 seconds to overhaul better-than-expected Notre Dame 14-9. The Irish led fromthe moment they got the ball, and Wingback Jack Snow flashed 24 yards to cap aneight-play, 86-yard drive. Very late in the first half Wisconsin came alive asHal Brandt connected twice with Jim Jones to score, finally won the game onRalph Kurek's last-minute plunge.
NebraskaQuarterback Dennis Claridge beat Minnesota 14-7 with a 65-yard pass to End TonyJeter. For the Gophers the defeat was especially bitter because Claridge, fromsurburban Minneapolis, had once attended Minnesota.
ImprovedCalifornia met vastly improved ILLINOIS at Champaign. It also met sophomoreHalfback Sam Price (200 pounds, 9.5 in the 100) and defeat, 10-0. Draggingdefenders along, Price crunched 10 yards on a cutback off left tackle to scorethe only touchdown. Also introduced was second-string sophomore QuarterbackFred Custardo, who carried 41 yards and completed seven of nine passes.
Ohio State'sWoody Hayes, shifting from his fullback habits, presented the ball to hishalfbacks for a change. They carried on 38 of 58 rushes, gained 183 of OSU's220 yards as State beat Texas A&M 17-0. Paul Warfield and Tyrone Barnettalone out-gained the entire A&M offense.
Another surpriseballcarrier softened up SMU for a 27-16 loss to MICHIGAN. Wolverine Guard JoeO'Donnell faked a punt and swept left end for a 50-yard touchdown. "I'vebeen wanting to do that for a long time," he said. MICHIGAN STATE had onlyone surprise for North Carolina: soccer-style-kicker Lou Bobich, who sideswipedone field goal from the 25, barely missed another from the 43. The Spartans won31-0.
To listen toCoach Ben Schwartzwalder and Jack Mitchell, even showing up at theSyracuse-KANSAS game was a mistake. After his Orange got squeezed 10-0 by GaleSayers and Co., Schwartzwalder knew it was. Mitchell was a happy, if bad,guesser.
Less happy wasWASHINGTON STATE, which tied 14-14 with IOWA. With fourth down and a 35-yardCougar field-goal try coming up, confused officials deprived State of the downand the chance for an upset victory.
THE SOUTHWEST
THE TOPTHREE:
1. TEXAS (2-0)
2. TCU (2-0)
3. ARKANSAS (1-1) and RICE (1-0)
PremedQuarterback Walter McReynolds sliced up LSU's Chinese Bandits with 11 of 21completed passes, two for touchdowns, as RICE won 27-12. McReynolds' autopsyconfirmed the preliminary diagnosis: the Bandits are dead. Rice led 21-0 beforeLSU even scored.
Big End GeorgeSeals contributed as crucial a defensive play as ever was to MISSOURI'S 7-6upset of Arkansas. Moving at a five-yard average on Billy Gray's sprint-outs,Arkansas had scored the first time it got the ball and was threatening again atthe Missouri 27, third and five. Seals then crashed Gray down for a 14-yardloss, and the Hogs never recovered their poise. Mizzou won when Gus Ottocrashed over from the two and Bill Leistritz kicked the extra point.
Texas scored 49points, most ever for Darrell Royal's Longhorns and 42 more than poor TexasTech could muster. For laughs, Texas threw 16 passes, one going for a 36-yardtouchdown, and sophomore Phil Harris returned a kickoff 83 yards. But it wasthe solid smashing of Tommy Ford and Ernie Koy that won the game.
The scoreboardbroke down as BAYLOR routed Houston 27-0, but it was a 53-yard touchdown run bysophomore Henry Pickett and Don Trull's passing that broke Houston.
THE SOUTH
THE TOPTHREE:
1. ALABAMA(2-0)
2. GEORGIA TECH (2-0)
3. MISSISSIPPI (1-0-1)
Georgia Tech'sBobby Dodd had some simple strategy for his game with Clemson: "We'll justlet Billy (Lothridge) kick the football and then take advantage of the breaksas they come along." And that is, a most, the way it went in the mud atAtlanta's Grant Field. Lothridge kicked field goals from 40 and 36 yards out.But he also passed the wet ball—to Ends Gary Williams, Ted Davis and BillyMartin—for three touchdowns and kicked all the extra points. Final score:Lothridge 27, Clemson 0. Brooded Clemson's Frank Howard: "We didn't block.We didn't charge. We didn't do nothin' right."
Down inTallahassee it was a night for ducks—and frogs. The field was slimy after twodays of rain—more to the liking of TCU'S patient Horned Frogs, apparently, thanto Florida State. FSU's Steve Tensi came out throwing but his second toss waspicked off by TCU's Jim Fauver, who ran it back 46 yards for a touchdown. Inthe third quarter a Tensi fumble led to a 24-yard field goal by Jimmy McAteer.Later McAteer kicked another, and TCU won 13-0.
Miami's defense,so disenchanting a week earlier, suddenly turned tiger for Purdue. Chargingmerrily over the Boilermakers, it blunted their ground game and smothered theirpassing attack. However, Miami, and George Mira in particular, still hadworries. Mira hit 13 of his 19 throws, but it took a 24-yard field goal by DonCifra to win 3-0.
Tulane was easyfor ALABAMA. Quarterback Joe Namath and Halfbacks Benny Nelson, Billy Piper andHudson Harris got the Crimson Tide off to a 28-0 lead before Coach Bear Bryantmercifully called them off the Greenies. MISSISSIPPI, too, had little troubleas it leveled Kentucky 31-7. Quarterbacks Perry Lee Dunn and Jim Weatherlysoftened the Wildcats' midsection with strong running and then routed Kentuckywith precision passing.
The last twoyears AUBURN came from behind to beat Tennessee. This year new Vol Coach JimMcDonald added some snappy variations to the old Neyland single wing, gotbright new uniforms and announced that team morale had never been better. SoTennessee took a 12-0 lead, and then Auburn's Jimmy Sidle wrecked the Vols withtwo touchdown passes and a sneak, and the Tigers won 23-19. MISSISSIPPI STATEexploited FLORIDA'S weaknesses with a wide game and tied the Gators 9-9, whileGEORGIA bombed Vanderbilt 20-0.
So far, DUKE hasrun into few problems in defending its ACC championship. The Blue Devils had aneasy time beating Virginia 30-8. And Maryland, Duke's next opponent, lostagain. Dick Shiner neither passed nor ran effectively in the rain, but SOUTHCAROLINA'S Jim Rogers did. The Gamecocks won 21-13. NORTH CAROLINA STATE islooking better and better. State's Jim Rossi flipped two scoring passes as theWolfpack defeated Southern Mississippi, 14-0.
THE BEST
LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Huge (215 pounds, 6 feet 5) UCLAEnd Mel Profit caught four passes, blocked a Penn State pass and spilledrunners all over the field before he was injured and left game to a standingovation.
BACK OF THE WEEK: Apparently unbothered by hard rainand deep mud, Georgia Tech Quarterback Billy Lothridge once again accounted forall of his team's points as he led the Yellow Jackets to a 27-0 win overClemson.
SATURDAY'S TOUGH ONES
Penn State over Rice. Rip Engle's Swing T and Liske'spassing will baffle the Owls.
Georgia Tech over LSU. The defenses will be up butBilly Lothridge will be up, too.
Clemson over North Carolina State. But the Tigers willhave some fretful moments.
Duke over Maryland. The Blue Devils have more fire.Maryland has only Dick Shiner.
Northwestern over Illinois. Improved, the Mini will beovermatched against Myers.
Navy over Michigan. Stailbach's Navy is quicker,firmer on defense and plain better.
Minnesota over Army. The young, green Gophers have toomuch fast sell for Army.
Notre Dame over Purdue. The Irish have moved the ball.So far, Purdue has not.
Arkansas over TCU. This year's Hogs, hard to hold,will outslick plodding TCU.
USC over Michigan State. MSU has no passer. TheTrojans have plenty of everything.
OTHER GAMES
AIR FORCE OVER SMU
AUBURN OVER KENTUCKY
KANSAS OVER WYOMING
OHIO STATE OVER INDIANA
OREGON OVER WEST VIRGINIA
OREGON STATE OVER BAYLOR
UCLA OVER STANFORD
TEXAS TECH OVER TEXAS A&M
UTAH OVER NEW MEXICO
WASHINGTON OVER IOWA
LAST WEEK'S PREDICTIONS
10 RIGHT, 8 WRONG, 2 TIES
SEASON'S RECORD: 22-15-3