FOOTBALL'S WEEK
THE EAST
THE TOP THREE:
1. NAVY (8-1)
2. PITT (8-1)
3. SYRACUSE (8-2)
There was a time when Notre Dame's annual visit to New York to play Army excited wild passions and emotion among the faithful Subway Alumni in Manhattan. But last week, when ND came back to the big city—for the first time in 14 years—to meet the Orangemen of SYRACUSE, the Irish rooters among the 56,972 at Yankee Stadium were more subdued. One reason, perhaps, was that lately Notre Dame has been only an unreasonable facsimile of the old Fighting Irish. Despite a dreadful thrashing from the stronger and more adept Orange line, Notre Dame held a slender 7-6 lead going into the last quarter. Then Quarterback Rich King, blithely ignoring two Irish attackers who were clinging to him, threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Mike Koski, and Syracuse squeezed out a 14-7 victory.
The Ivy League championship, a semiprecious bauble that enlivens interest among the low-pressure eastern schools, was kicked around like a dime-store ruby last Saturday. All Princeton had to do, after building up a 21-7 lead over DARTMOUTH in the first three quarters, was sit on the ball and accept the title. But the Indians went after the Tigers with Dana Kelly's passes and Tom Spangenberg's runs and cut the margin to 21-15. Then, with 5:35 left, Princeton's Cosmo Iacavazzi fumbled on the Tiger two. Dartmouth's John McLean ran over for the tying touchdown, Gary Wilson kicked the extra point, and the Indians won 22-21 to tie Princeton for the championship.
Meanwhile Harvard, which had beaten both Dartmouth and Princeton and could have won the Ivy title by merely vanquishing underdog YALE, instead got drubbed 20-6 by the Elis. Earlier CORNELL overpowered Penn 17-8 as Gary Wood scored twice and Pete Gogolak kicked his 44th straight extra point (a major college record). COLUMBIA, thanks to ubiquitous Archie Roberts, managed to hold off Rutgers 35-28.
Holy Cross, beaten six times, smothered Boston College's Jack Concannon, the AFL's No. 1 draft choice, and upset the Eagles 9-0.
THE SOUTH
THE TOP THREE:
1. AUBURN (9-1)
2. MEMPHIS STATE (9-0-1)
3. MISSISSIPPI (7-0-2)
It was another one of those games for Miami's George Mira. He got the yards (309 on 25 passes) and the raves but, as usual, the other Hurricanes were less helpful. PITT'S Fred Mazurek passed for 149 yards (10 for 18), ran for 146, and the Panthers won 31-20. But Pitt Linebacker Marty Schottenheimer was enchanted by Mira. "He fooled me just by pumping his arm," he said. "After a while I just got worn out chasing empty space."
While Auburn, Alabama and Mississippi were plucking the bowl plums, GEORGIA TECH tried its darndest to fumble away its game to Georgia. Billy Lothridge, however, would not permit such levity. He scored eight points, and Tech pulled through, 14-3. TENNESSEE Coach Jim McDonald watched his team beat Vanderbilt 14-0 and then learned he had lost his job. FLORIDA edged Florida State 7-0.
It was Big Thursday all over again for CLEMSON and South Carolina in their postponed game. The Tigers celebrated with a 24-20 victory. MARYLAND, too, finished on a happy note, putting down Virginia 21-6. VIRGINIA TECH ran only 39 plays to VMI's 81 and was outgained, 417 yards to 176, but Quarterback Bob Schweickert made the big plays, and Tech took its first Southern Conference title, 35-20. Quarterback Billy Fletcher and Fullback Dave Casinelli scored all but one of MEMPHIS STATE'S points as the unbeaten Tigers romped past Houston 29-6.
THE MIDWEST
THE TOP THREE:
1. ILLINOIS (7-1-1)
2. NEBRASKA (9-1)
3. OKLAHOMA (8-2)
Minnesota Tackle Carl Eller was married Wednesday night in a wedding arranged before the Wisconsin game was postponed until Thursday. As usual the Gophers spent the night at the St. Paul Hotel. As usual, so did Eller. Thursday morning, he arrived at the locker rooms still clad in full dress. Eller then, as usual, spent the afternoon throwing enemy backs around, contributing to Minnesota's 14-0 upset win.
Woody Hayes's manner of dress showed almost as much determination. Freezing temperatures and snow flurries greeted the OHIO STATE-Michigan game, but television cameras picked up Coach Hayes wearing a short-sleeved white shirt. With this example of resolution and fortitude, Ohio State quickly proceeded to fall behind 10-0 by fumbling at its own 27 on the game's second play and by allowing a 63-yard Michigan drive. Seconds before the end of the half, OSU got back into the game as Don Unverferth completed two long passes to Paul Warfield, the second for a touchdown. Unverferth rolled out for another score in the final quarter to give the Bucks a 14-10 win.
There was still no score when Kansas Fullback Ken Coleman headed toward the goal from the MISSOURI two. Then the ball squirted out of his hands into those of Mizzou's Vince Turner, minding his own business in the end zone. "When I first got the ball," Turner said later, "I didn't know what to do with it." He made a quick guess and ran 102 yards for a touchdown. Missouri won 9-7 on that and Bill Leistritz' field goal.
Purdue held off Indiana 21-15, and OKLAHOMA beat Oklahoma State 34-10. More exciting was NORTHERN ILLINOIS' 21-14 Mineral Water Bowl win over Southwest Missouri, in which Passer George Bork threw for all three scores and completed 27 of 41.
THE SOUTHWEST
THE TOP THREE:
1. TEXAS (10-0)
2. BAYLOR (6-3)
3. RICE (5-4)
Before TCU, TEXAS players had to take sleeping pills. Before Texas A&M, Coach Darrell Royal had to, because his players didn't. "Nobody was worried except me," he said. Taking a 3-0 lead in the quagmire at A&M, Texas held the Aggies to 23 yards rushing in the first half—and 54 yards passing, all of it in one fateful throw from Jim Keller to Halfback Travis Reagan. In the third quarter Keller lofted another scoring pass 29 yards to George Hargett. With 5:22 left, A&M was ahead 13-9 and in field goal position. The Aggies missed, Tommy Wade led Texas to the A&M five, and Duke Carlisle scored the touchdown that won 15-13.
Baylor used Don Trull's passing, which set records for completions (160) and yards gained (2,047), to beat Rice 21-12, and a still-somber Fort Worth gathering saw TCU defeat SMU 22-15.
THE WEST
THE TOP THREE:
1. WASHINGTON (6-4)
2. USC (7-3)
3. OREGON (7-3)
All week long West Coast bettors interested in wagering a bob or two on the STANFORD-California game watched for the medical reports on Stanford Halfback Steve Thurlow, ailing with a deep charley horse. The odds went from pick-'em to three points as Thurlow's ailment improved. On Saturday it was easy to see why. Thurlow rolled up 126 yards and scored twice. Braden Beck added three field goals (from 36, 48 and 46 yards out) and Stanford won 28-17.
USC, out of the Rose Bowl but still anxious to save a piece of glory from the 1963 season, clobbered UCLA 26-6. With Pete Beathard back, the Trojans ran and passed for 530 yards. Beathard threw for one touchdown and ran for another. Mike Garrett slipped through the harried Bruins for 119 yards, and Ron Heller picked up 79 more. "I think we are as good as any team out here," insisted USC's Johnny McKay.
Oregon Coach Len Casanova's pregame oratory was so eloquent that one assistant coach said he had to leave the locker room to keep from breaking down. Quarterback Bob Berry was stirred, too. He completed 18 passes for 249 yards and two scores, and the Ducks routed Oregon State 31-14. ARIZONA STATE did not need any such urging for Arizona. Merely recalling three straight losses to the Wildcats was enough. Indeed, Fullback Tony Lorick was inclined to make it a personal vendetta. He scored three times, and the Sun Devils won easily, 35-6. Now Arizona must beat NEW MEXICO, which trounced Brigham Young 26-0, to win the Western AC title.
THE BEST
BACK OF THE WEEK: Columbia's one-man team, Archie Roberts, completed 10 of 15 passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns, carried 20 times for 125 yards and two scores, intercepted a pass as the Lions beat Rutgers 35-28.
LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: End Howard Simpson first separated Alabama's Joe Namath from the ball and recovered on his own 15, then caused and recovered another fumble on the 'Bama seven to set up Auburn's 10-8 win.