THE WEEK

MIDWEST

1. OKLAHOMA (6-0)
2. NEBRASKA (7-0)
3. MICHIGAN (7-0)

Notre Dame's glaring lack of a first-rate passer finally cut the Irish down after five straight wins. And, of course, the team that did it was their annual tormentor, USC, whom they have not defeated since 1966. "To beat Notre Dame you have to bomb them and do it early," said Coach John McKay. "They couldn't rally. The only thing we were afraid of was that they would ball-control us to death."

The Irish never had a chance to exhibit any ball-control tactics, for USC had a 28-7 lead after 20 minutes and held on easily to win 28-14. Edesel Garrison, an inexperienced end who is one of the nation's fastest quarter-milers, scored USC's first touchdown in the opening quarter on a 31-yard pass from Jimmy Jones, breaking clear from Clarence Ellis when the All-America cornerback slipped attempting to stay with a quick Garrison cut. Garrison scored the next first-period touchdown on a 24-yard pass from alternate Quarterback Mike Rae. Once ahead, the Trojans had little difficulty containing Cliff Brown's desperate passing. He completed only 12 of 35 and was intercepted three times, including a 53-yard touchdown return by Defensive Back Bruce Dyer for USC's final score.

While Notre Dame stumbled, Nebraska walloped Oklahoma State 41-13. The Cowboys managed to halt Cornhusker drives the first three times they had the ball, but alter that it was an easy trail to Nebraska's 17th straight win. Jeff Kinney scored a first-quarter touchdown on a 25-yard run, Dave Mason ran an intercepted pass back 27 yards for a TD and Jerry List scored on a 42-yard pass from Jerry Tagge, who completed 13 of 22. Slotback Johnny Rodgers broke loose for Nebraska's final touchdown with a twisting 92-yard punt return. He had scored on a pass earlier in the game and amassed 232 yards rushing, receiving and returning punts. "They're awesome," gasped losing Coach Floyd Gass when the game mercifully ended. "They're stronger than last year, and they deserve their ranking. They have a good offense and a tremendous defense."

Oklahoma was fired up, too, killing Kansas State 75-28. Halfback Greg Pruitt gained 294 yards in 19 carries, as the Sooners galloped to 711 yards on the ground, an NCAA record. "The amount of offense was unreal," said Coach Chuck Fairbanks.

Michigan remained undefeated with a solid 35-7 win over Minnesota and held on to the Little Brown Jug. Tailback Billy Taylor scored two touchdowns and gained 166 yards in 33 carries, boosting his three-year total against Minnesota to 468 yards and six touchdowns. But like Notre Dame, the Wolverines showed little passing finesse; their quarterbacks could complete only two of 10.

Ohio State's explosive offense, led by a lanky soph tailback, Morris Bradshaw, crushed Wisconsin 31-6. Bradshaw scampered around end for 88 yards for a second-quarter touchdown—a school record run from scrimmage—then returned a fourth-quarter kickoff 88 yards for another touchdown following the Badgers' only score.

Northwestern stretched Indiana's losing streak in the Big Ten to nine games with a 24-10 win, while Illinois ended its nine-game losing streak, upsetting Purdue 21-7 with two second-half touchdowns, the last coming on a 38-yard run by soph George Uremovich late in the fourth period. Joe Duenas, a tiny, 5'7", 170-pound reserve quarterback, came off the bench in the second quarter with Colorado nursing a 3-0 lead over Missouri and stirred the Buffaloes to a 27-7 win. Unbeaten Toledo's winning streak reached 30 as Chuck Ealey passed for three touchdowns and ran for another in a 35-7 win over Dayton, the last team to beat the Rockets. That happened in 1968.

SOUTH

1. ALABAMA (7-0)
2. AUBURN (6-0)
3. GEORGIA (7-0)

It was dash and slash in Tuscaloosa as undefeated Alabama won its seventh straight, defeating Houston 34-20 in a splendid matchup of triple options. Houston Backs Robert New house and Tommy Mozisek punched out 287 yards between them through Alabama's usually sticks defense. The Tide's Johnny Musso gained 123 yards on the ground, scored twice and boosted his point total for the season to 80 and his career total to 212, a Southeastern conference record.

"After our big win against Tennessee the week before, we weren't prepared mentally or physically," said Alabama Coach Bear Bryant after the game. "I'm just thankful to get out of it."

Alabama scored first, Musso driving into the end zone from two yards out in the first quarter. Houston tied it 7-7 in the second quarter but was never in the game again. Terry Davis pitched scoring tosses of 10 and 25 yards to David Bailey and Musso scored again, this time from nine yards out following a 64-yard punt return by Bobby McKinney. It was Coach Bryant's 115th victory at Alabama.

Georgia also won its seventh game, crushing Kentucky 34-0. Two 25-yard field goals by Kim Braswell gave Georgia a slim 6-0 half-time lead, but early in the second half 5'9" Buzy Rosenberg fielded a punt and ran it back 56 yards to the Kentucky two-yard line, where Jimmy Poulos piled over for the game's first touchdown. "If Buzy hadn't returned that punt," said Coach Vince Dooley after the game, "we might still be out there trying to protect that 6-0 lead."

Georgia scored three more touchdowns but really didn't need to bother since Kentucky rarely came close to the goal line. The Wildcats made their initial first down with only 2½ minutes remaining in the third quarter and compiled only eight in all. Kentucky has now lost to Auburn, Georgia, and LSU, who along with Alabama are the SEC's four title contenders. "Georgia's the biggest and strongest of the three we've played," said Kentucky Coach John Ray. "I think Auburn's quicker and LSU's the best balanced—a lot like Georgia, but not as strong physically."

LSU was not scheduled, and Auburn, too, virtually took the weekend off, stamping out a methodical 35-13 victory over Clemson despite suffering four interceptions and losing two fumbles. Auburn Quarterback Pat Sullivan had a so-so day; he completed 15 of 31 passes, had two interceptions and threw for only one touchdown, a 45-yarder to Terry Beasley in the first quarter.

Tennessee edged Mississippi State 10-7 as both teams tried to find a quarterback who could move the ball. Tennessee scored in the first quarter on a fine 51-yard field goal by George Hunt and went ahead 10-0 in the third quarter when Linebacker Jackie Walker picked off" a pass on the Mississippi State 42-yard line and ran it back for a score. State's only touchdown followed soon after when Frank Dowsing returned a Vol punt 54 yards.

Vanderbilt, with the SEC's worst offense, and Ole Miss, with its worst defense, showed that a weak defense can beat a weak offense any old time as Ole Miss won 28-7. Florida barely squeezed by Maryland 27-23, saving the game by recovering Monte Hinkle's fumble on the Gator six-inch line with less than two minutes to go. Disappointing Florida Quarterback John Reaves and Flanker Carlos Alvarez, finally had a good game. Reaves completed 23 of 34 passes for 307 yards and four touchdowns, while Alvarez caught 10 for 134 yards and one touchdown.

Navy unveiled a new mascot, Billy XVIII, to replace Billy XVII, who died three weeks earlier, and upset Duke 15-14. With 29 seconds remaining, sophomore Fred Stuvek rolled out right from the Duke three-yard line and tossed a touchdown pass to Andy Pease to tie the score at 14-14. Roger Lanning kicked the extra point, and Navy had its first victory after five straight losses.

North Carolina defeated Wake Forest 7-3 in mud and rain, Georgia Tech beat Tulane 24-16, scoring the decisive TD on a fourth-and-eight pass by Eddie McAshan from the 30, and Florida State routed South Carolina 49-18 as Gary Huff threw for five touchdowns against what had been billed as the Gamecocks' Super Secondary.

EAST

1. RENN STATE (6-0)
2. WEST VIRGINIA (6-1)
3. CORNELL (5-0)

With scouts from the Orange, Sugar and Cotton Bowls seated in the stands at Beaver Stadium, undefeated Penn State put on a sparkling show, scoring nine touchdowns in a 66-14 rout of TCU. Coach Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions did almost nothing wrong as they scored the first four times they had the ball, then left it to the reserves to finish impressing the bowl scouts with three last-quarter touchdowns. On offense Penn State used its quarterback option with brutal success. On defense the Lions closed down TCU's Wishbone T by sealing off the corners and smothering the normally sharp passing of Steve Judy, who completed only five of 13 passes. Penn State Quarterback John Hufnagel, the ex-safety, gained 93 yards on a dozen carries and completed six of eight passes. Halfback Lydell Mitchell took over as the nation's leading point scorer (84 points) with four touchdowns and rolled up 177 yards in 22 carries. The point total was State's highest in 24 years, and the 632 yards of total offense set a school record.

West Virginia and Temple locked horns in a wild, back-and-forth scoring battle. The Mountaineers led early by 17 points, trailed late by 10 and finally scored the go-ahead touchdown on an 82-yard pass from Bernie Galiffa to Split End Harry Blake with less than five minutes left on the way to a 43-33 win. Soph Tailback Kerry Marbury scampered 83 yards to a touchdown on a draw play, added two other scores on short runs and compiled a prodigious 291 yards on 22 carries.

Ed Marinaro, the nation's leading rusher, carried 43 times, mostly off tackle, and crunched out 230 yards and three touchdowns as undefeated Cornell walloped Yale 31-10. Dartmouth extended its winning streak to 14, edging Harvard 16-13 on a 46-yard field goal by Ted Perry in the last two seconds. Columbia nipped Rutgers 17-16, and Princeton routed Penn 31-0.

Syracuse scored in every quarter to crush Holy Cross 63-21, Boston College beat Pitt 40-22 and little C.W. Post, with its pro prospect quarterback, Gary Wichard, passing for 289 yards and running for two touchdowns, beat Maine 42-21.

Delaware Coach Tubby Raymond was indignant that his Blue Hens, rated the No. 1 small-college team in the country, had been called a four touchdown favorite over unbeaten West Chester. "Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous," said Raymond before the game. Then his team went out and romped 47-8, rolling up a total offense of 624 yards and posting its sixth straight win of the season.

Army's relief quarterback, J. Kingsley Fink, went in to spell starter Dick Atha and marched the Cadets to two second-half touchdowns as they came from behind to nip Virginia 14-9. Amherst scored in every quarter to swamp Little Three rival Wesleyan 35-10. Boston University Quarterback Bill Poole completed just six passes against Rhode Island, but three of them went for touchdowns in BU's 28-7 win. Six different players scored for Colgate in a 42-32 victory over Brown.

SOUTHWEST

1. ARKANSAS (6-1)
2. TEXAS (4-2)
3. HOUSTON (4-2)

Arkansas made a game effort to hold the score down in its nonconference breather with North Texas State, but the attempt proved to be a rollicking failure. The Razorbacks even went so far as to fumble the ball away six times and throw four interceptions, but they still scored nine touchdowns to rack up a 60-21 victory. The Eagles helped bury themselves, producing seven turnovers and one blocked punt. To make matters worse for future Arkansas opponents, junior Tailback Mike Saint made his first start of the season and scored four touchdowns, all on short runs.

Texas, after losing on consecutive Satturdays to Oklahoma and Arkansas, found Rice more to its liking and punished the Owls 39-10. Said Texas Coach Darrell Royal, "We felt this ball game was one of the most important since 1968 when we opened with a tie and a loss. It was a must game to keep the program going and for personal pride so far as the team is concerned." Personal pride aside, six interceptions helped do Rice in. That and some tough running by two ailing backs—Donnie Wigginton (injured ribs), who gained 120 yards for three touchdowns, and Jim Bertelsen (bruised shoulder), who gained 121.

SMU and Texas Tech staged their annual pulse throbber, but this time, after two losses late in the fourth quarter in the last two years, the Mustangs won 18-17, scoring on a 14-yard pass by Gary Hammond with five minutes left. Texas A&M's 5'9" kicking specialist, Pat McDermott, booted a 53-yard field goal in the last quarter to lift the Aggies to a 10-9 win over Baylor.

WEST

1. ARIZONA STATE (5-1)
2. AIR FORCE (5-1)
3. STANFORD (5-2)

Stanford has frequently been regarded as a thinking-man's team with a tendency to lose when swamped with flattery. This hypothesis was confirmed once again when the Indians, a 24-point favorite, lost to Washington State 24-23 on a 27-yard field goal by Don Sweet that cleared the crossbar after time had run out. It was the upset of the year on the Coast. Stanford fell behind 14-3 in the second quarter but got back in the game on a 97-yard kickoff reverse-return play, Miles Moore slipping the ball to John Wines berry. The Indians went ahead on a touchdown and a field goal in the third period and were still in front by two points when the Cougars took over on their own 15 late in the fourth quarter. Runs by Fullback Ken Lyday and Tailback Bernard Jackson, who gained 141 yards on 24 carries overall, and four completed passes by Quarterback Ty Paine, who earlier had confused the Indian defense with his tricky option running, brought WSU to the Stanford 10-yard line with four seconds left on the clock, whereupon Sweet provided the icing.

Arizona State had its 21-game winning streak snapped a week earlier by Oregon State, but it took the Sun Devils no more than one half against New Mexico to start all over again. They left the field at half time with a 41-0 lead and rolled to a 60-28 win. Soph Dan White, who had missed three games at quarterback because of a shoulder separation, completed 12 of 15 passes, six of them for TDs, while Fullback Ben Malone, who had started the week as a third-string halfback, gained 181 yards in 20 carries.

With five games still to play, Defensive Back Jackie Wallace tied an NCAA season record by scoring his third touchdown on a punt return, this time from 74 yards out, as Arizona defeated Utah 14-3. Wallace also intercepted two passes and scored another touchdown on a 36-yard interception return. Air Force had a rugged time with win-less Colorado State, barely scratching out a 17-12 victory when State Halfback Lawrence McCutcheon fumbled a pass reception that was recovered by Air Force Linebacker Jim Morris on his own 12 with only 1:37 to go.

For the third straight game, Quarterback Jay Cruze, a high school lineman three years ago, lifted California to a last-minute victory, this time on a 35-yard pass to Flanker Steve Sweeney to beat UCLA 31-24. "We kind of pulled the play together from the bench, the spotting booth and the boys," admitted Coach Ray Willsey. The Golden Bears are the only undefeated team in the Pacific Eight; but it doesn't mean a thing. The school has stuck with its decision to play Running Back Isaac Curtis, even though he was deemed ineligible by the NCAA, so none of the wins count in the conference standings.

For the first half of its game with Oregon State, Washington appeared to be still in shock from its two losses in a row to Stanford and Oregon. The Huskies led 17-7, but Sonny Sixkiller had completed only eight of 23 passes, and none for touchdowns. Happily, Sonny was crisp with his hand-offs on the draw play to Tom Scott, a slender, 170-pound halfback who slipped through OSU's frantic pass rush for 89 yards in 10 carries to lead Washington to a 38-14 win. Meanwhile, the Husky defense held hard-running Dave Schilling to 22 yards in 10 attempts.

San Diego State Quarterback Brian Sine hurled 52 passes, completing 28 for 439 yards and four touchdowns, as the Aztecs came from 13 points down in the third quarter to defeat Utah State 36-20.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

THE LINEMAN: Tom Reynolds, a San Diego State split end who sat out last season with a knee injury, caught 17 passes, three shy of the NCAA single-game record, for 290 yards and one touchdown as the Aztecs beat Utah State.

THE BACK: Washington State's Don Sweet, a soccer-style kicker from Canada who was discovered in a PE class, booted a 27-yard field goal as time ran out, lifting WSU to a one point upset over heavily favored Stanford.