THE WEEK

WEST

1. ARIZONA STATE (1-0)
2. WASHINGTON (2-0)
3. STANFORD (2-0)

Just about everybody who lives within sight of Mount Rainier is depressed about Seattle's economy, yet more season tickets for University of Washington football games have been sold than ever before. The reason is the remarkable Cherokee quarterback with the rapid release, Sonny Sixkiller, who led the nation in passing in 1970. Last Saturday he was in rare form. In a table-tennis match with Purdue, the Huskies trailed 14-7, 21-17, 28-24 and 35-31, but Sixkiller kept bringing them back, the last time with less than four minutes left on a five-play, 71-yard drive that finally beat the Boilermakers 38-35. Somebody will have to write a new stanza for that Seattle disc jockey hit, Ballad of Sonny Sixkiller.

In all, Sixkiller hit 24 of 48 throws for 387 yards, 27 more than the school record he set last season against Oregon State. The Huskies' aerial attack is considerably improved because not only do they have Jim Krieg catching passes, but they have added a talented split end, Tom Scott, from a California junior college. Scott nabbed six for 160 yards and two touchdowns and ran 60 yards for another score on an end-around. When Purdue had the ball Otis Armstrong and Gary Danielson were seemingly running and passing at will. "It was a great game for the fans," said Purdue's Bob DeMoss, "but not so good for coaching."

Another quarterback was having fun in Los Angeles, this time on the ground. Eddie Phillips of Texas, ignoring a pulled hamstring that had bothered him for two weeks, was masterful in running the Wish-bone-T as he led the Longhorns to a 28-10 win over UCLA. In the fourth quarter Texas kept the ball more than six minutes on an 87-yard, 15-play drive—the longest march since Mao's. UCLA Coach Pepper Rodgers put a "supergreat" label on Phillips. But it is a good thing Texas does not pass. Phillips threw nine times, had only one completion and three interceptions, all by the Bruins' mite-sized safety, Ron Carver.

Last year it was Phillips who threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to beat the Bruins in the final 12 seconds at Austin. "Eddie hasn't run in a week and a half until today," Coach Darrell Royal disclosed. "For a full week he didn't do a lick. Since then he hasn't gone full speed. Although he's executed our offense, it was all dummy." It certainly wasn't dummy in the Coliseum.

Oregon State fumbled and lost the ball six times and suffered four interceptions but still managed to whip hapless Iowa 33-19. Beaver Coach Dee Andros clutched the game ball in one of his chubby hands and said, "There's one. We're gonna get 10 more just like it." With all those fumbles, he should have held it with both hands.

West Virginia Fullback Pete Wood was stymied by California's line, and the Mountaineer passing attack could not take up the slack as the Golden Bears won 20-10 behind first-year Quarterback Jay Cruze. Oregon Tailback Bobby Moore rushed for 249 net yards and caught three passes for 89 more as the Ducks edged Utah 36-29. Aptly named Golden Richards scored his third punt-return touchdown in two games against Colorado State as BYU waltzed to a 54-14 win in Provo. Utah State beat New Mexico State 34-0, mainly because its alert secondary made five interceptions.

SOUTHWEST

1. TEXAS (1-0)
2. ARKANSAS (2-0)
3. HOUSTON (1-1)

Arkansas Coach Frank Broyles sees a pattern emerging and he loves it. There are 54,176 partisan Razorback fans in the stadium, and they go wild as Joe Ferguson and his Clean Machine beat the clock to score a touchdown just before halftime and turn a seesaw game into a runaway. Against Cal with 2:20 left in the half, Ferguson passed the Hogs 80 yards down the field to a TD, and they went on to win 51-20. With 2:27 on the clock in the second period against fired-up Oklahoma State Saturday, Ferguson completed five of five passes for 57 yards, was helped by a pass-interference call and sent Tailback Jon Richardson in for the touchdown. Arkansas went on to win 31-10. "Arkansas is a strong team," said OSU Coach Floyd Gass. "Ferguson is a great passer. He's got the best timing and throws better than any quarterback I've ever seen." Well, how would he compare to Razorback star Bill Montgomery, who set all sorts of records in 1968-70? Said Gass, "That wouldn't be fair—to Montgomery."

Playing in a driving rain in Houston, USC used a "five-zone" defense against Rice. Linebackers Charles Anthony and Willie Hall picked up the Owl receivers as they came out of the backfield, and the strategy helped force the Rice quarterbacks into five interceptions. "It was something we didn't expect at all," said Rice's Bruce Gadd, who threw three of the misplaced passes. "They didn't use it last week against Alabama, but, of course, Alabama didn't pass the way we did." The Trojans wisely stuck to short passes and used their big running backs to win 24-0. Tailback Lou Harris, USC's most effective runner in the opening loss to Alabama, gained 93 yards on 20 carries versus the Owls, despite a chest cold. "I thought our defense played a good game," said Rice Coach Bill Peterson. "It's just darn tough to stop those big running backs of theirs." The Trojans now have a six-game winning streak against Southwest Conference teams.

Once again, the SWC looks like a two-team race to be decided Oct. 16 when Arkansas plays Texas. TCU bullied UT Arlington 42-0, but Baylor, Rice and SMU were all soundly beaten, and Texas Tech lost its second game 13-10 when New Mexico's Joe Hartshorne kicked a 33-yard field goal with three seconds left.

SOUTH

1. TENNESSEE (1-0)
2. AUBURN (1-0)
3. ALABAMA (2-0)

South Carolina, apparently preferring to deemphasize academics rather than football, became an ACC dropout last spring so it could lower entrance requirements. Coach Paul Dietzel was tired of having to turn away promising local prospects who "always seem to come back and whip you." Well, last Saturday the Gamecocks paid their first visit back to the ACC (Duke's Wallace Wade Stadium) since the divorce and were beaten 28-12. What made it worse was that the Duke star was 5'10" senior Cornerback Ernie Jackson from just outside Columbia, S.C., home of the Gamecocks. He had the grades to enter South Carolina but was not wanted. Saturday he returned a punt 74 yards for Duke's first touchdown, intercepted a pass and returned it 30 yards for another score and also intercepted in the end zone to stop a South Carolina threat. "Ernie Jackson has to be one of the outstanding backs in Duke history," said new Coach Mike McGee.

One of the most overworked is Steve Jones, who constituted most of the Blue Devils' offense. It was Jones over right tackle, Jones over left tackle and Jones up the middle—three yards and a grass stain. He also punted nine times for a 40.8 average, effectively pinning down Gamecock return specialist Dick Harris. Duke Quarterback Dennis Satyshur, who has replaced the pass-crazy Leo Hart, is content to be a hand-off man. "The only record of Hart's I want to break is games won," he said.

In sweaty Baton Rouge last year, Texas A&M upset LSU with a 79-yard TD pass play 13 seconds before the gun. The goat was native Texan Paul Lyons, who tried for an interception and missed, instead of playing it safe with the clock running out. This season Lyons has been moved from cornerback to his original position, quarterback, and Saturday night he got sweet revenge against A&M. He passed for two touchdowns, ran effectively and faked so well that the befuddled Aggies were trying to tackle the cheerleaders. LSU romped 37-0. Lyons got the game ball and some interesting statistics: two missing teeth, one loosened tooth and 11 stitches in his lip.

Press-box wits dedicated Georgia Tech's 10-0 win over Michigan State to Lewis Clark, a Tech hero from the days before the forward pass was legalized. The Yellow Jackets did not complete one pass in 10 tries (two were intercepted) and managed to win only by playing excellent defense. They intercepted four passes and two times stopped the Spartans with fourth-and-short yardage. "Oh, just for a couple of feet or more here or there," moaned State Coach Duffy Daugherty.

In Athens, Georgia beat Tulane 17-7 as sophomore Andy Johnson ran for 127 yards and directed the Bulldogs' key 80-yard touchdown march in the fourth quarter. "I would hate to make my living playing Tulane every week," said Georgia Coach Vince Dooley.

Florida State's Eddie McMillan took Miami's opening kickoff on his 10 and ran it back for a touchdown, but the Hurricanes refused to collapse. It took the Seminole kicker, Frank Fontes, to decide the issue 20-17 with a 25-yard field goal late in the final quarter. Powerhouses Auburn and Alabama picked on local poorhouses, Chattanooga and Southern Mississippi, and eked by, 60-7 and 42-6. Tennessee went further afield for its cannon fodder, bringing in UC Santa Barbara for a 48-6 workout.

Florida flinger John Reaves had a bad day (17 for 40, four interceptions and a 13-10 loss to Mississippi State), but he did break Archie Manning's SEC career total-offense record. His batterymate, Carlos Alvarez, caught eight passes for 98 yards to become the league's career pass-reception yardage champ. But the Gators are still 0-2.

Marshall played its first football game since a plane crash last November killed 75 persons, including most of the Thundering Herd team. The Huntington, W. Va. school fielded a team mostly of freshmen and sophomores, yet trailed Morehead State by only 16-6 going into the fourth quarter before losing 29-6.

MIDWEST

1. NOTRE DAME (1-0)
2. NEBRASKA (2-0)
3. MICHIGAN (2-0)

Slotback Johnny Rodgers put his varied skills on display in Lincoln and mighty Nebraska had its 21st straight game without a loss, battering Minnesota 35-7. In the first quarter, Rodgers got two steps on his man and Quarterback Jerry Tagge laid the ball in his arms in the end zone. In the third he caught a Tagge pass on the 15, darted this way and that and left two Gophers on the ground as he zipped in for TD No. 2. Three minutes later he showed off his rebounding ability, circling under the ball in the end zone and outjumping the defender. "Nobody yet has stayed with Johnny in single coverage," said Tagge. "They just can't do it. Minnesota jammed the middle and slanted the ends. We couldn't just line up and run, so we switched to our passing game."

But up-the-middle power was not entirely abandoned. I-Back Jeff Kinney gained 79 yards in 16 carries and scored the Corn-huskers' other two touchdowns. "Nebraska is a fine football team, beautifully trained, and it executes well," said Minnesota Coach Murray Warmath. "I don't think they are going to get beat." Then he groused about redshirting, allowed in the Big Eight but banned in the Big Ten. "The value of the five-year program is so obvious it is not worth discussing," he said. "Maybe [Bob] Devaney could still do wonders without it, but it is a Big Ten disaster."

For the second straight week Michigan used a Statue of Rules play. The Wolverines were leading Virginia 28-0 in the second quarter when Virginia's Gerard Mullins stood around and watched a kick-off roll over the goal line, presuming it a touchback. Michigan's Dave Elliott fell on it like an avalanche. Touchdown. "That is a live ball," said Michigan Coach Bo Schembechler. "I tell my kids that until they despise it." The final score was 56-0, and the game was so one-sided that Schembechler played 73 men, everyone available except one fellow who got an upset stomach—probably from watching the carnage. Michigan won the first-down battle 33-7, and 14 of its runners gained yardage. The poor Cavaliers never penetrated inside the Wolverine 36. Said beaten Coach Don Lawrence, "They have the best six running backs I've ever seen."

Mountain-country neighbors Colorado and Wyoming met for the first time in 24 years, and it was too soon for the visiting Cowboys. Colorado had a sophomore quarterback in charge of its triple-option offense but still won easily 56-13. The sub was 5'7", 174-pound Joe Duenas, starting in place of another soph, Ken Johnson, who suffered an injured wrist in the preceding week's upset of LSU. Duenas almost did not get the call because Coach Eddie Crowder was worried about his speech problem—a stutter—in the huddle. "The only thing I was worried about was calling the plays," said Duenas, "beating that 25-second clock. I only got caught once." The clock was about the only thing that caught him. He ran for three touchdowns and passed for another, and he was second in ground-gaining only to Tailback Charlie Davis, who enjoyed his second straight 100-yard game: 174 yards versus LSU, 109 versus Wyoming.

Playing in light snow flurries at Air Force, Missouri could manage only two Greg Hill field goals and took its second loss 7-6, an unhappy beginning for new Coach Al Onofrio. With five seconds to go, Hill tried another from 35 yards, but a shifting wind pushed it about two feet wide to the right. Workhorse Tailback Brian Bream ground out 90 of the Falcons' 186 soggy yards.

"Ninety percent of the time our defensive coach up in the press box called the exact play they would use," said Illinois Coach Bob Blackman, but it did not do the Illini much good. North Carolina executed so well and Ike Oglesby ran so effectively that the Tar Heels won easily 27-0. Oglesby carried 39 times for 169 yards and one touchdown. He scored another on a 58-yard pass play.

Toledo extended its winning streak to 25, longest in the nation, with a last-minute field goal that beat stubborn Villanova 10-7. In a steady rain at Lawrence, Kansas routed Baylor 22-0, the Jayhawks' second straight shutout and Baylor's fifth straight opening-game loss. Afterward, a tipsy fan came out of the stands and approached KU's Don Fambrough. "Coach, I like your style," he said. "You don't allow the other team any points."

Oklahoma's defense constantly dumped SMU Quarterback Gary Hammond for losses, and the Sooners won 30-0. Sophomore John Carroll kicked field goals of 25, 33 and 45 yards. Tulsa's Mike Ridley ran the opening kickoff back 97 yards for a touchdown, but that was about the only thing the Golden Hurricane did right in a 19-10 loss to Kansas State.

Kentucky, which had opened with a victory in Clemson's reputedly dangerous "Death Valley," found Indiana's stadium far more deadly. The Hoosiers got a school record of four field goals from Swedish soccer-style kicker Chris Gartner (the longest was 47 yards, the shortest 32) and whipped the Wildcats 26-8. Kentucky has not beaten its northern neighbor in the last six tries.

EAST

1. PENN STATE (1-0)
2. SYRACUSE (0-0-1)
3. PITTSBURGH (1-0)

Army Coach Tom Cahill, not ready to concede to Stanford even after watching the film of the Indians' 19-0 romp over Missouri, was giving out optimistic quotes, and the Corps seemed to have forgotten last season's 1-9-1 record, the longest and grayest in West Point history. They should have been listening to Stanford Defensive Guard Pete Lazetich, who warned, "We're out to dominate opponents this year." Dominate they did, before 42,148 fans, the largest Michie Stadium crowd ever. In the last four minutes of the second quarter Don Bunce threw three touchdown passes, two to Miles Moore, and it was all over. Stanford went on to win 38-3. Bunce, a cool sharpshooter, completed 17 of 25 passes for 269 yards. Stanford's defensive front four, that averages 240 pounds, had little trouble halting Army's ragged attack. Lazetich, in particular, made Army Quarterback Dick Atha his own personal plaything, harassing him all afternoon. Cahill's post-game summary was not original, but it stated the case honestly: "Too damn many Indians."

Navy Coach Rick Forzano was hoping for rain to slow down the Penn State backs, but it did not even sprinkle in Annapolis, and the Nittany Lions provided a deluge of points, winning 56-3. Halfback Lydell Mitchell picked up 103 yards in 16 carries, caught one pass and scored five touchdowns. Penn State Coach Joe Paterno had said he was looking "for a close game," but he must have been looking in the wrong direction. His team scored seven of the first eight times it had the ball. Navy's Forzano did not desert the ship. "We are going to win some ball games this year," he said.

Wisconsin made its first journey into New York State in 31 years and held favored Syracuse to a 20-20 tie. The Orangemen drove 87 yards in the last 2½ minutes and tied the game on a 12-yard TD pass from Quarterback Bob Woodruff to Wingback Brian Hambleton. Then Badger Linebacker Ed Albright broke through to block the extra-point try. Wisconsin's Rufus Ferguson gained 127 yards in the first half and scored two of the Badgers' touchdowns.

The Syracuse coaching staff was unhappy with the play of the offensive line and the defensive secondary, but Coach Ben Schwartzwalder, who remembers too well the horrible racial problems that ruined the team's start last year, wasn't about to let a little thing like a tie get him down too much. "We made a pile of mistakes," he said, "and if we start correcting our errors we should be a better team next week." Meaning, versus Northwestern in Evanston.

Boston College, blitzed the week before by West Virginia in Morgantown, snapped back for a 17-3 victory over Temple in Philadelphia. The Coast Guard Academy, where Otto Graham is the athletic director, got four touchdown passes from Quarterback Paul Howard in the fourth quarter to overtake Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 28-27. Neil Putnam made his debut a delightful one at Lafayette. His Leopards opened with a 13-7 win over Rutgers, the first time they have beaten the Scarlet Knights in six years.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

THE BACK: Washington Quarterback Sonny Sixkiller, who saw his defense give up the lead to Purdue with 3½ minutes remaining, took the Huskies right back with passes of 31 yards, seven and 33, the last for the winning touchdown.

THE LINEMAN: Wisconsin Linebacker Ed Albright, who has undergone postseason surgery the past two years, prevented a Badger loss when he raced in and blocked Syracuse's extra-point attempt with the score tied at 20-20.