FOOTBALL'S WEEK
THE EAST
THE TOP THREE:
1. PENN STATE (3-0)
2. NAVY (3-0)
3. PITT (3-0)
Penn State's Rip Engle set his defenses to stop Rice's expected wide running game, and at the same time to protect against the Owls' good passing. He also brightened up his new swing T, adding an I formation and a reverse to Z Back Don Caum. He needn't have bothered. Discouraged early by the rousing Penn State line, led by monster Linebacker Ed Stuckrath and Tackle Hatch Rosdahl, Rice gained only 30 yards on the ground as it rarely went wide, and ran the ball only three times in the second half. Instead the Rice quarterbacks (mostly substitute Benny Hollingsworth) scattered the Nittany Lions with their fine throwing, completing 18 out of 36 for 240 yards. But the alert Penn State defense picked off three passes (two by Caum), recovered two Rice fumbles and State won 28-7 as Fullbacks Tom Urbanik and Stuckrath and Halfbacks Gary Klingensmith and Don Kunit rushed over and through the blinking Owls.
Pitt, enjoying its new togetherness, was still treating West Coast teams like unloved extras. Stunned briefly by California Halfback Jim Blakeney's 85-yard opening kick-off return, the Panthers recovered quickly. Tackles Ernie Borghetti and John Maczuzak led a mighty charge on Cal's harried Craig Morton, and Pitt Quarterbacks Fred Mazurek and Ken Lucas, Halfbacks Eric Crabtree and Paul Martha and Fullback Rick Leeson frolicked merrily among the disconsolate Bears, whipping them soundly 35-15.
Syracuse, too, had a pleasant afternoon at the expense of overmatched Holy Cross. Quarterback Walley Mahle, who isn't supposed to be much of a passer, threw to Nat Duckett for 48 yards for a touchdown and the rout was on. Final score: 48-0.
Villanova, sitting precariously on a 7-6 lead, lost it and the ball game, 14-7, when BUFFALO'S John Stofa threw a 36-yard pass to Tom Butler in the closing minutes, BOSTON U. tied COLGATE 6-6.
In the Ivy League it was a great day for the soccer-style-kicking Gogolaks. PRINCETON'S Charlie booted one off the side of his foot for the point that beat Columbia 7-6, while brother Pete, who has been at it longer, kicked a 50-yard field goal and three extra points (for 31 in a row) as Quarterback Gary Wood led CORNELL past Lehigh 24-0. DARTMOUTH, with new Quarterback Dana Kelly passing frugally but effectively (for two scores), overwhelmed Penn 28-0. HARVARD beat Rutgers 28-0 on the running and pass catching of sophomores Wally Grant and Dave Poe. At Yale, all was truly blue as sophomore Quarterback Bob Hall and BROWN thumped the Elis, 12-7.
THE SOUTH
THE TOP THREE:
1. ALABAMA (3-0)
2. MISSISSIPPI (2-0-1)
3. DUKE (3-0)
It was Georgia Tech's Billy Lothridge against LSU'S good sophomores down in Baton Rouge Saturday night. The sophomores, surprisingly, won 7-6. The very first time LSU got the ball, Quarterback Pat Screen marched the Tigers 45 yards for a score, sweeping right end for the last seven yards himself. Doug Moreau, another soph, kicked the extra point. After that, the Tigers settled down to stopping Lothridge, storming after him every time he thought of passing and tackling fiercely to shut off Tech's running game. Twice Lothridge kicked field goals—from 26 and 21 yards out—and that was all the Jackets got.
Alabama, looking for an easy day against Vanderbilt, perhaps was too casual. It relied on Benny Nelson's long runs (50 and 97 yards) to win 21-6. AUBURN, off to a 14-0 lead over Kentucky, barely outlasted the Wildcats 14-13 when Quarterback Rick Norton passed for two touchdowns and then just missed on a two-point play. In other games, MISSISSIPPI STATE edged Tennessee 7-0; GEORGIA ran over South Carolina 27-7; FLORIDA outscored Richmond 35-28.
Maryland's Tom Nugent, who yields to no man in his zest for gimmicks, frankly admitted that "we'll need all the tricks we can cook up." So DUKE wasn't too surprised when the Terps ran out of a spread, shotgun and straight T, along with the shifty I. What did shock the Blue Devils was that they were behind 12-10 with only 9:20 to go. Then Duke got tricky. With the ball on his 40, Quarterback Scotty Glacken handed off to a halfback, who reversed to the other halfback, who gave the ball back to Glacken. By this time, Split End Stan Crisson was clear on the Maryland 20. He took Glacken's pass and ran for a touchdown. Duke quickly scored twice more to win 30-12. It was a welcome relief for Coach Bill Murray, who said, "I'm just glad to get out of here alive."
Rangy NORTH CAROLINA STATE End Ray Barlow, loping downfield as a decoy on a routine roll-out play, suddenly found himself all alone on Clemson's 40-yard line. Quarterback Jim Rossi, back on the NC State 23, found him, too, with a good pass that went for the touchdown that beat Clem-son 7-3. "I don't know where Barlow came from," said happy Coach Earle Edwards, "but I was sure glad to see him."
Miami, still stumbling, managed to get by Tulane 10-0 on Don Cifra's 33-yard field goal and Tackle Roger Brown's six-yard sprint with an intercepted pass. West Virginia set out to stop OREGON'S Mel Renfro and found itself overwhelmed by Webfoot Quarterback Bob Berry. Berry completed 8 of 11 passes for 227 yards and one touchdown, ran for another as Oregon won easily, 35-0.
THE MIDWEST
THE TOP THREE:
1. OKLAHOMA (2-0)
2. WISCONSIN (2-0)
3. ILLINOIS (2-0)
It started out like any other Northwestern game. Tom Myers threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Tom O'Grady, but this time Center Joe Cerne's high snap ruined the attempted conversion. It was an ill omen for the Wildcats. ILLINOIS wrapped Myers in a stern defense, giving him all the daylight he wanted in midfield, but pinching him off whenever Northwestern got close. Coach Pete Elliott dragged out his flipper dipper play, a wide lateral from Quarterback Fred Custardo to Wingback Ron Fearn, who then fired a 32-yard pass to Jim Warren in the end zone, to get the Illini even. They won 10-9 when Jim Plankenhorn kicked the extra point and later a 21-yard field goal.
Ohio State had it easy against Indiana. Coach Woody Hayes decided to let his quarterback, Don Unverferth, throw the ball and he gratefully obliged with touchdown passes to Greg Lashutka and Paul Warfield. Dick Van Raaphorst kicked two field goals, one for 48 yards, the longest ever in the Big Ten, and the Buckeyes won 21-0.
Purdue, still searching for a scoring punch, trailed Notre Dame 6-0 going into the last quarter. Then Quarterback Ron DiGravio shot a seven-yard pass to sophomore End Bob Hadrick and Gary Hogan kicked the placement to give the Boilermakers a 7-6 victory.
There just were not enough adjectives to describe NAVY'S Roger Staubach after he routed Michigan 26-13. Scrambling back and forth behind the Middie line like a Baird puppet on a string, he passed the Wolverines dizzy and ran them bowlegged. Michigan's Bump Elliott quickly joined the crowd of Staubach believers. "The greatest quarterback I've ever seen," he said.
Army's excursion into the Big Ten was much less rewarding. MINNESOTA'S young but eager Gophers forced the Cadets into grievous errors (seven fumbles and three interceptions) and trounced them 24-8.
While Oklahoma rested for Texas, its Big Eight neighbors went about their head-knocking with hopeful vigor. NEBRASKA walloped Iowa State 21-7; MISSOURI'S flashy sophomores routed Idaho 24-0; COLORADO'S Bill Harris bludgeoned his way to three scores as the Buffaloes beat Kansas State 21-7.
Tulsa thought it had MEMPHIS STATE on the run when it cracked the Tigers' defense for a 9-7 half-time lead. State, however, snapped back to win 28-15. BOSTON COLLEGE'S Jack Concannon failed to complete a touchdown pass for almost the first time within memory, but he ran for two as the Eagles beat Detroit 20-12.
THE SOUTHWEST
THE TOP THREE:
1. TEXAS (3-0)
2. ARKANSAS (2-1)
3. TCU (2-1)
Air Force, which might better have stayed home in its hollowed-out mountain headquarters, lost 10-0 at SMU. Worse than falling out of the ranks of the unbeaten against a loser of seven straight games were the number of balls that fell out of Air Force hands. A punt blocked by the hard-pressing SMU line set up Mustang John Richey's 26-yard field goal, and a fumble recovery led to Methodist's touchdown drive. Appropriately, the game ball was presented to Glenn Gossett—the defensive coach.
Hungry-eyed Bud Wilkinson, whose Oklahoma Sooners meet TEXAS this week, was a customer at the Oklahoma State game. He was served a large dish of plain vanilla as Texas blandly hammered out a 34-7 win. But not all was sweetness. Punter Ernie Koy was injured and is out for the season.
There was nothing plain about ARKANSAS'S 18-3 defeat of TCU. It took End Jerry Lamb's spectacular 56-yard scoring reception of a Fred Marshall pass to keep the Razorbacks narrowly ahead for most of the game, TEXAS TECH'S 10-0 victory over Texas A&M was a little special too. It was the first Southwest Conference win in two years for Tech. H.L. Daniels kicked a 37-yard field goal to tie the conference career record of 10, and End David Parks made a diving end-zone catch of a Ben Elledge pass.
If Mississippi was thankful to escape Houston with a 20-6 win, Quarterback Jim Weatherly was happy to escape his own coach. Nursing a 7-6 lead, Ole Miss had fourth and four on Houston's 42. Coach Johnny Vaught hinted by sending in a punter, but Weatherly grandly waved him off and essayed a pass—incomplete. Houston was stopped on the Miss 28 but Weatherly played the rest of the game on defense as Mike Dennis scored 23-and 30-yard Reb touchdowns on passes from Perry Lee Dunn
THE WEST
THE TOP THREE:
1. USC (2-1)
2. OREGON STATE (3-0)
3. OREGON (2-1)
USC appeared headed for its second straight defeat as it trailed 10-0 against a young Michigan State team. Spartan Halfback Sherm Lewis' 88-yard sprint with a screen pass from sophomore Quarterback Steve Juday had added seven points to Lou Bobich's 38-yard field goal. Then, to begin the last period, USC Halfback Mike Garrett broke 52 yards through guard on a trap. Minutes later, on fourth and eight, Hal Bedsole shoestringed a Pete Beathard pass in the end zone, and USC won 13-10.
Washington fared not so well against its Big Ten opponent, IOWA. For the third straight week the Huskies, who pride themselves on conditioning, appeared drawn and fourth-quartered as they lost 17-7. Neither thunder, lightning, a Northwest deluge nor fading Washington defenses could stop a 93-yard drive powered by Bobby Grier's runs (one for 43 yards) and ending in Quarterback Fred Riddle's one-yard plunge that put the Hawkeyes ahead.
Oregon State is still unbeaten, thanks to a 22-15 win over Baylor that ended like a commercial for tranquilizers. With 27 seconds left, OSU Quarterback Gordon Queen hit Danny Espalin on the Baylor five. Espalin went to the two, was hit, fumbled into the end zone, then recovered for a touchdown. Queen had completed seven of 12 passes on the 66-yard desperation drive and 11 of 22 for the day. Better yet was Baylor's Don Trull, who completed 16 of 28 for 246 yards.
UCLA Quarterback Larry Zeno, who had set up Stanford's touchdown by fumbling a bad pass, and Halfback John White, whose back-pedaling caused the safety that put Stanford ahead 9-3, redeemed themselves as UCLA beat the Indians 10-9. White scored the tying touchdown and Zeno coolly converted the winning point. Similarly, Halfback Clarence Williams did all the scoring as WASHINGTON STATE beat Arizona 7-2. After a reverse 10-yard run for a safety, he dashed 75 yards for the only touchdown.
A more frustrated hero was Wyoming's Tom Wilkinson, who completed 15 of 26 passes for 202 yards and had the Cowboys leading KANSAS 21-7 until big Jay-hawker Guard Greg Roth tore the ball out of his hands and ran 20 yards for a score. Underdog Wyoming was then powerless to prevent a 64-yard Kansas march that* won 25-21.
In the WAC, UTAH Quarterbacks Ernest Allen and Gary Hertzfeldt riddled New Mexico 19-6. ARIZONA STATE demolished Colorado State 50-7 and BRIGHAM YOUNG beat Montana 27-0.
PHOTO
THE BEST: Back of the Week Roger Staubach, here cutting to touchdown, ran and passed for 307 yards in Navy's rout of Michigan. Lineman of Week was North Carolina State End Ray Barlow. He scored the only touchdown, recovered a fumble, stopped Clemson cold in final minutes.
SATURDAY'S TOUGH ONES
Texas over Oklahoma. The Longhorns can score and are positively bullish on defense.
Northwestern over Minnesota. The Wild-Cats' mistakes will not equal the Gophers'.
Wisconsin over Purdue. Never fancy, the Badgers have power the Boilermakers lack.
Illinois over Ohio state. The Illini are strong, State is swift—but not swift enough.
USC over Notre Dame. But not without a struggle. Beathard will have to be good.
Nebraska over Air Force. The Huskers, with Claridge running things, are too tough.
Penn State over Army. Army's line is long, gray and thin, and State wants revenge.
Syracuse over UCLA.* The Orangemen, bigger by a bit, may have found the pass.
LSU over Miami.* Hurting for runners, Miami cannot rely on Mira's passing alone.
Alabama over Florida. Namath and that Alabama line will not be had this week.
OTHER GAMES
ARKANSAS OVER BAYLOR
DUKE OVER CALIFORNIA
GEORGIA TECH OVER TENNESSEE
HARVARD OVER CORNELL
IOWA OVER INDIANA
MICHIGAN STATE OVER MICHIGAN
NAVY OVER SMU*
N.C. STATE OVER SOUTH CAROLINA
OREGON STATE OVER WASHINGTON
RICE OVER STANFORD
*Friday night game
LAST WEEK'S PREDICTIONS
14 RIGHT, 6 WRONG
SEASONS RECORD: 36-21-3