FOOTBALL'S WEEK

THE EAST

1. PENN STATE (6-2)
2. ARMY (7-1)
3. SYRACUSE (6-2)

While Penn State's sophomores were making their bid for national prestige, Army continued on its way to what may be its best season since 1949—which was the last time the Cadets won nine games. Coach Tom Cahill had worried about Utah, mostly because the Redskins were a good passing team. As it turned out, Army Quarterback Steve Lindell—who often throws a football as if it were a muskmelon—passed better than Utah. While the tough Army defense held down the Utes, Lindell tossed to Tight End Gary Steele and Halfback Van Evans for touchdowns, and Army won its seventh game 22-0.

A strange thing happened to the football in Syracuse last Saturday: the home team threw it—and got some variety into its long-static offense. Quarterback Rick Cassata completed 14 of 25 passes—the Orange threw 42 in all—and ran for two touchdowns in a 41-7 rout, and Fullback Larry Csonka ran through the Holy Cross line for 102 yards to set a new Syracuse record of 2,721, breaking Floyd Little's mark.

Pitt, which had given both Navy and Syracuse a scare, collapsed back to reality against Notre Dame. Even without Split End Jim Seymour, who stayed home to rest an injured foot, the Irish were far too much for the battle-worn Panthers. Quarterback Terry Hanratty ran for two scores, Safety Tom Schoen returned a punt 78 yards for another and Notre Dame won 38-0. "Our quarterbacking was terrible," complained Pitt Coach Dave Hart. The defense was not so grand, either.

Some of the lesser independents also had their troubles. Massachusetts Quarterback Greg Landry moved Rutgers' defense aside for 127 yards and completed eight passes for 99 in a 30-7 win. Boston College, having its worst season under Coach Jim Miller, lost to VMI 26-13. But Villanova, with Quarterback Billy Andrejko throwing six touchdown passes, surprised Buffalo 41-23.

The Ivy League has the best Saturday shocker show going since the movies gave up on Dracula. Princeton, still in the title race, upset favored Harvard not by a respectful 10 points or a gentlemanly 20, but by 45-6. Sophomore Fullback Ellis Moore scored five Princeton touchdowns, four of them on one-yard shots over the middle. There was no accounting for hapless Harvard, except, as its alumni insist, it always loses by 40 points when being televised. It's a tradition.

Yale, the Ivy leader, outscored Penn 44-22, while Dartmouth, tied with Princeton for second place, came from behind to beat stubborn Columbia 13-7. Cornell and Brown played a 14-14 tie.

THE SOUTH

1. TENNESSEE (6-1)
2. ALABAMA (6-1-1)
3. MIAMI (6-2)

LSU Coach Charlie McClendon did not suggest that a fast whistle cost his team the game against Alabama, but he must have thought about it. Four times Crimson backs fumbled and LSU recovered, once in its own end zone just before Alabama scored its only touchdown, but the ruling each time was that the play was dead before the bobble. Then, when the Tigers' Tommy Allen fumbled on the Alabama two-yard line as LSU was driving for the winning touchdown, Alabama recovered. Just to make things more miserable for McClendon, Place-kicker Roy Hurd missed an extra point, as LSU lost 7-6. "Ole Alabama had a silver spoon in its mouth tonight," said McClendon. "LSU showed class," said grateful Bear Bryant.

How did Tulane Coach Jim Pittman feel about his team playing No. 2-ranked Tennessee, the Southeastern Conference leader, on Homecoming Day in Knoxville? "Well," said Pittman, "a little like the Christians must have felt before they let the lions out." The quick Vols, led by Center Bob Johnson, played like hungry lions. Bursting through Tulane's defensive line, Tennessee scored the first four times it had the ball. Halfback Walter Chadwick ran for two touchdowns, Quarterback Dewey Warren sneaked across for one and Bubba Wyche, Warren's substitute, passed to Mike Gooch for the fourth as the Vols coasted home 35-14. "They're good all right," said Pittman. "They even look strong in the huddle."

While Mississippi, Tennessee's next opponent, rested for the ordeal, Auburn remained in the SEC race by shutting out Mississippi State 36-0, as Quarterback Loran Carter threw three touchdown passes to End Freddy Hyatt. Georgia, however, slipped out of the running when Florida Quarterback Larry Rentz and Flanker Dick Trapp humiliated the Bulldog pass defense, which had been the best in the nation. Rentz passed for 235 yards and Trapp caught nine, for 171 and a touchdown. But Florida still trailed until the final 29 seconds, when Wayne Barfield, who earlier had kicked his 47th-straight extra point, booted a 31-yard field goal to give the Gators a 17-16 upset. Kentucky, going nowhere but enjoying the trip more these days, beat Vanderbilt 12-7.

Miami and Florida State, making a run for postseason bowl consideration, each won its sixth game in a row. Miami, with Quarterback David Olivo passing for two touchdowns, inflicted Georgia Tech's worst defeat in 19 years, 49-7. Tech Coach Bud Carson was so distraught he even barred his own assistants from the dressing room until after he had talked to his players.

Florida State Coach Bill Peterson had a psychological ploy ready for Virginia Tech. He put his team in garnet jerseys for the first time in years at home, forcing Tech to wear white. He also had a couple of other things ready—Quarterback Kim Hammond's passing and Flanker Ron Sellers' catching. Hammond, who leads the country in total offense, completed 17 of 30 passes for 314 yards and four touchdowns. Sellers caught eight for 229 yards and three scores, and the flashy Seminoles won 38-15.

Clemson, probably looking ahead to Saturday's Atlantic Coast showdown with North Carolina State, was tied 7-7 with Maryland at half time. Some words of wisdom—or at least some words—from Coach Frank Howard stirred the Gamecocks in the second half, and they whipped the poor Terps 28-7. Virginia buried North Carolina 40-7, while Duke, although behind at the half, beat Navy 35-16. West Virginia, the Southern Conference leader, tied William and Mary 16-16 to hold first place.

THE SOUTHWEST

1. TEXAS (6-2)
2. HOUSTON (6-2)
3. TEXAS AT EL PASO (5-1-1)

There was still plenty of that oldtime defensive crunch in Texas' 24-0 win over Baylor, but if there are any defensive secondaries left on the Longhorns' schedule with visions of uncomplicated afternoons, forget it. For the third successive week Longhorn Coach Darrell Royal put some passes into his game plan, and for the third straight week Quarterback Bill Bradley followed that plan—and then some. Bradley reached a new career high by passing for 220 yards on 10 of 21 completions. Still, it took a fumble recovery by Texas at the Baylor nine and a partially blocked punt for the Long-horns to jam 17 points into the second quarter and insure their win.

TCU, winner of a single game, stood eyeball to eyeball across the scrimmage line from Texas Tech and its fearsome rushing attack—the best in the country—and not only did the Frogs beat the Red Raiders 16-0 they knocked Tech out of its share of the Southwestern Conference lead. The unexpected dropout in the SWC race, Arkansas, struggling to get its season record up to acceptable standards, took a constructive step by defeating Rice 23-9.

Houston Fullback Paul Gipson continued his spree in the Astrodome, racing for three touchdowns in the Cougars' 35-18 win over Memphis State. Both Tiger regular tackles were hurt, and that is where Gipson went for his three scoring bursts. "He found our weakness," sighed Memphis State Coach Billy Murphy.

University of Texas at El Paso Coach Bobby Dobbs knew what to expect of Colorado State. "They grind it out," he said, "three yards a crack, and they keep you from scoring." Dobbs was right, partially. CSU's Oscar Reed did grind out 101 yards rushing in the first half alone, which is twice as much as Dobbs feared. But all that dust produced no touchdowns then or in the second half. Meanwhile UTEP Quarterback Billy Stevens hit Halfback Paul White and End Ron Jones in the end zone in the first and final periods for a 17-0 win.

THE MIDWEST

1. PURDUE (7-1)
2. OKLAHOMA (6-1)
3. INDIANA (8-0)

Leroy Keyes was an incubator baby, did not learn to walk until he was 3 and was such a sickly youth that he was nicknamed Nursey. Now Keyes is 6'3", 200 pounds and serves as a halfback, flanker, passer and occasional defensive back for Purdue, but he still shows no particular prowess at walking. He runs. Leroy ran for 90 yards, caught six passes and scored three touchdowns as Purdue gave Minnesota its first Big Ten loss 41-12. "I've got room for improvement," Keyes said after the game. His opponents wonder where the room is. Coach Jack Mollenkopf, aware that the Gopher defensive line averaged 241 pounds, sought to relieve Quarterback Mike Phipps of further pressure by using two flankers as well as two ends, a tactic that forced Minnesota to limit its pass rush and helped Phipps hit 17 of 31 for 235 yards.

But Minnesota still has a chance to go to the Rose Bowl if it can beat out Indiana, which defeated Michigan State 14-13. Although unbeaten, the laugh-a-minute Hoosiers, with their error-prone sophomore backs and Katzenjammer Kids defense, were underdogs against the Spartans, five-time losers. "That," said Coach Johnny Pont, "was an incentive for us. It irritated everybody." With Indiana trailing 13-7 in the closing minutes, sophomore Halfback John Isenbarger took charge, picking up 59 of the 69 yards in a touchdown drive that he climaxed with a seven-yard burst.

Ohio Stadium has been nothing but bad luck for Wisconsin since it was built in 1922. In 15 games there against Ohio State the Badgers have never won, and they did not mar their record Saturday. OSU Quarterback Billy Long, who set numerous Buckeye passing records a year ago, turned runner this time and scored two touchdowns, the first on a broken play with four seconds left in the half, as Ohio State won 17-15.

Northwestern scored four times in the second period—twice after recovering on-side kickoffs—to beat Iowa 39-24, and Michigan fought back from a 14-0 half-time deficit to defeat Illinois 21-14.

Two touchdown plunges by Wilmer Cooks, a third-period goal-line stand and—of all things—an injury enabled Colorado to give Kansas its first Big Eight loss 12-8. A hurt knee suffered by Colorado Tailback William Harris forced him out of the game but, said Center Bruce Heath, "it pumped us up. We refused to lose."

Oklahoma scored five of the first six times it had the ball to beat Iowa State 52-14 and take over the Big Eight lead, while Nebraska moved past Oklahoma State 9-0. Missouri's strong rush stopped Kansas State's passing, and the Tigers scored 21 points in the final period to win 28-6.

Ohio U. earned a share of the Mid-American title with Toledo in a 31-7 triumph over Bowling Green. Toledo, meanwhile, defeated Northern Illinois 35-0 for its seventh straight win, the Rockets' longest victory streak in 20 years. Wake Forest rose with a good game against Tulsa and won 31-24, thanks mainly to Digit Laughridge, who ran 59 yards with an interception for a touchdown and then tackled a Tulsa receiver on the one-yard line as the game ended.

THE WEST

1. UCLA (7-0-1)
2. USC (8-1)
3. WYOMING (9-0)

USC Coach John McKay had fair warning. Early in the week Dee Andros, the roly-poly Oregon State coach who is known as The Great Pumpkin, told everybody, "USC is going to have its hands full. Maybe we'll open a few eyes." Andros' busy Beavers had already beaten Purdue and tied UCLA when each was ranked No. 2, and they were cocky enough to think they could defeat the nation's No. 1 team, too, even with O.J. Simpson back and running at them. Despite a drizzle and a soggy field, Simpson ripped the OSU defenses for 188 yards on 33 carries, a good day's work. But the Beavers held when it mattered, and the Trojans were unable to score. In fact, the Trojans were unable to move. With rain stopping their passing game and the Beavers stopping everything else, USC never got past the 50-yard line after the first quarter. When OSU's Mike Haggard kicked a 30-yard field goal in the second period The Great Pumpkin had his upset 3-0.

For all its upsetting ways, Oregon State, which was beaten by Washington, is out of the race for the Pacific Eight title and the Rose Howl. USC and UCLA will settle that when they meet Saturday (page 32), and perhaps McKay will find as much good in the loss to OSU as UCLA's Tommy Prothro did in his team's tie. "It relieved the pressure," said Prothro, "and turned us loose." Loose was hardly the word for it as the Bruins tore through Washington, which had allowed only 9.1 points a game, for a startling 48-0 win. Quarterback Gary Beban shook up the Huskies with a 67-yard pass to End Ron Copeland on UCLA's first play, and they never recovered. That alone was enough to have the Bruin fans cheering, but they really erupted when word of USC's defeat reached the Coliseum. Chancellor Franklin D. Murphy, on the UCLA bench, whirled toward the student body, index finger extended, and then came the inevitable shout: "We're No. 1."

Meanwhile, on a lower excitement level, Stanford beat Oregon 17-14, California defeated San Jose State 30-6 and Washington State trounced Idaho 52-14.

Wyoming, one of the nation's remaining unbeaten teams, whipped New Mexico 42-6 to win the Western AC championship, as Quarterback Paul Toscano passed for two scores and ran for another and Jerry DePoyster kicked four field goals. DePoyster also added four conversions for a career total of 175 points, breaking Charlie Gogolak's NCAA kick-scoring record of 170. Brigham Young moved into second place by edging Arizona 17-14.

Utah State, finishing fast, outscored Montana 20-14 for its fifth straight, while New Mexico State, with Quarterback Sol Olivas throwing six touchdown passes, beat Northern Arizona 90-0. Yes, 90-0.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

THE BACK: UCLA Quarterback Gary Beban, who has had so many good days, was at his very best against Washington. He completed 14 of 22 passes for 289 yards and three touchdowns, ran for 44 more and scored on a 24-yard run.

THE LINEMAN: Penn State Linebacker Dennis Onkotz made the big plays that beat North Carolina State. His 67-yard interception gave the Lions a 13-0 lead, and in the final minute he stopped N.C. State on the one-yard line.