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THE WEEK
SOUTHWEST
1. TEXAS (0-0)
2. ARKANSAS (0-1)
3. RICE (1-0)
A 46-yard touchdown pass play from Houston Quarterback D. C. Nobles to Split End Marshall Johnson appeared to give the Cougars a one-point margin over Arizona State with less than four minutes to go in a nationally televised game in the Astrodome. But because of an unnecessary block made when Johnson was already in the clear, the TD was X-ed out, and Arizona State went on to win 33-28. "This was like a bowl game to us," said ASU Coach Frank Kush. "It's hard to attract attention way out in Arizona." His Woody Green was the biggest ham before the ABC cameras, gaining 195 yards.
Texas, Arkansas and Rice had the Saturday off while Texas Tech was unveiling a promising tailback in Lubbock. George Smith, a transfer from East Los Angeles JC, entered the game against Utah after a scoreless first quarter and started gobbling up huge chunks of yardage, most of it on end runs. He sparked the Red Raiders to a 17-0 halftime lead and an easy 45-2 victory. Tech had 615 yards total offense, with speedster Smith averaging close to 14 yards a carry.
MIDWEST
1. OHIO STATE (1-0)
2. OKLAHOMA (1-0)
3. COLORADO (2-0)
Bowling Green was about to meet its first-ever Big Ten opponent when a spokesman for the Ohio school went on television and warned, "It's the 10th anniversary of Miami of Ohio's victory over Purdue. Maybe we can make history repeat itself." The Falcons did just that, polishing the image of the Mid-American conference by edging the Boilermakers 17-14. The winning fourth-quarter field goal was kicked by a freshman walk-on, Don Taylor, who had joined the team earlier in the week. It was BG's biggest triumph since, well, since one of its athletes, Dave Wottle, won the 800 meters at Munich two weeks before. Purdue had posted a 9-1 record against MAC teams prior to Saturday, but Bowling Green Coach Don Nehlen did not like the sound of the word "upset" because, "our kids came into this game believing they could win." Nobody else had.
Purdue got strong running from Otis Armstrong, but its new Wishbone attack was spoiled by butterfingers and hard Falcon tackling that caused six fumbles, five of which Bowling Green fell on.
Woody Hayes' 22nd Ohio State team looked much like all the others in a solid, dull 21-0 manhandling of Iowa before 77,098 fans in Columbus. The battering-ram fullbacks this year are 6'4", 224-pound Harold (Champ) Henson, a mere sophomore, and a quick-hitting junior, Randy Keith. Dull stuff to some, maybe, but not to Woody. He enjoyed himself thoroughly. "About the only thing I have learned is that you better not forget to run your fullback," he said. "When you go hunting and pecking with others, you don't get much done." Iowa couldn't get much done, mainly because it kept running into 258-pound Defensive Tackle George Hasenohrl. Raved Iowa Quarterback Kyle Skogman, "I never saw such a quick man for his size."
Nebraska Quarterback Dave Humm forgot about his shaky losing performance the previous week against UCLA and led the Cornhuskers to an easy 37-7 win over Texas A&M before the home folks in Lincoln. A&M, using a Wishbone similar to UCLA's, moved to the Nebraska five in the second period, but the defense held. Then Humm led his men 95 yards to a touchdown. "That drive gave the offense confidence," he said. "We let the defense know that if they got the ball for us, we could move it."
The record crowd of 76,042 in Lincoln was made possible by the fourth stadium expansion since Coach Bob Devaney arrived 10 years ago. But it was not a totally happy day for Nebraskans. All-America Johnny Rodgers' "nervous stomach" was found to be caused by a bleeding ulcer.
Chris Gartner, a nearsighted pre-dental major from Sweden, kicked field goals from 42 and 45 yards out and made himself one of the heroes in Indiana's 27-23 victory over Minnesota. Senior Quarterback Ted McNulty passed for almost 200 yards and Ken Starling ran for 130, but Gartner's foot was the most important Hoosier weapon. Five of his six soccer-style kickoffs went out of the end zone, preventing the Gophers from even trying runbacks.
Michigan had more trouble than expected in a 7-0 win over Northwestern before 71,757 fans in Ann Arbor. New Wolverine Quarterback Dennis Franklin did well, but Coach Bo Schembechler was most pleased about his defense. "I don't care what the score is as long as we win," he said. Illinois was forced into a running game because of Quarterback Mike Wells' injured finger, and Michigan State beat the Illini 24-0. The Spartan defense scored two touchdowns and set up a third.
While Colorado was blitzing Cincinnati 56-14, Oklahoma was having a grand time in Norman, crushing Utah State 49-0. The Sooners played 63 men, and two freshmen, Quarterback Kerry Jackson from Galveston, Texas, and Halfback Joe Washington, were the leading ground-gainers. What happened to All-America Greg Pruitt? Oh, he got his licks in, too: 80 yards in 15 carries and three short-yardage touchdowns. "Oklahoma has so many people out there they trip over each other," marveled State Coach Chuck Mills. Iowa State shut out Colorado State 41-0. The Rams have failed to score a point in eight quarters.
SOUTH
1. LSU (1-0)
2. ALABAMA (1-0)
3. GEORGIA (1-0)
Georgia was a 28-point favorite over visiting Baylor (1-9 last year) and, as usual, reporters and fans were ignoring Coach Vince Dooley's gloomy forebodings. This time, however, he was right. Baylor, under new Coach Grant Teaff, who conducts morning devotionals for his team, gave the Bulldogs a good scare before losing 24-14. Punter Don Golden probably saved Georgia by averaging 46 yards on seven kicks, rolling one out on the Baylor one and another on the two-yard line. "He's the guy who killed us," said Teaff. A 55-yard scoring pass from James Ray to Rex Putnal helped, too. "We're not as good as everybody thinks we are," said professional pessimist Dooley. "We just can't replace people we lost. We don't have the big playmakers." Dooley lingered to talk to the press after the game, and the team bus left without him. "I guess I deserve to walk," he said, "but I didn't know we looked that bad."
At Grant Field in Atlanta, a sophomore defensive back named Randy Rhino, who by all logic should be a charging fullback, led Georgia Tech to a 34-6 trampling of South Carolina. He gave Tech a 10-0 half-time lead by returning a punt 95 yards for a touchdown and he returned another 41 yards to set up Tech's third TD.
Pacific played before the biggest crowd in its football history, 66,574 at Baton Rouge, and shocked LSU with a first-minute touchdown (recovering a blocked kick in the end zone). Not only that, the Westerners, led by freshman Quarterback Bruce Keplinger, outgained LSU on the ground 167 yards to 91. Still, the host Tigers won 31-13 as the smallest player on the field, Split End Jimmy LeDoux (5'7", 171 pounds), scored three touchdowns. LSU Quarterback Bert Jones hit nine of 17 passes, including two to his kid brother Ben, a sophomore.
Memphis State jumped off to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter and showed a strong offense throughout, but could not hold up its defense in a 34-29 loss to Mississippi. Rebel Quarterback Norris Weese ran for two touchdowns and passed for three. Kentucky beat Villanova 25-7 and Virginia downed Virginia Tech 24-20.
In Raleigh Dave Buckey, a skinny freshman quarterback from Akron, Ohio, led North Carolina State to an upset 43-20 win over Syracuse. At 6 feet, 155 pounds, Buckey needed lots of protection from charging linemen, and he got it. He masterminded four Wolfpack scoring drives and set up one of the touchdowns with a dazzling 57-yard run.
Defending ACC champion North Carolina won its 10th straight league game, but it was not easy. Maryland was threatening at the end, then blew its chances by fumbling in Tar Heel territory with 35 seconds to go. Carolina Quarterback Nick Vidnovic passed for one touchdown and ran five yards for another to help give his side a 17-3 halftime lead. But Maryland tied it at 17-17 and kept the pressure on until the fumble insured a 31-26 Carolina win.
EAST
1. PENN STATE (0-1)
2. WEST VIRGINIA (2-0)
3. NAVY (1-0)
UCLA first got its hands on the football at its own one-yard line, then gave Pitt a taste of things to come by marching 99 yards to a touchdown. The Bruins, especially Halfback Kermit Johnson, ran through and around the slower Panthers for 405 yards and a 38-28 victory. The Wishbone ground attack was working so well that Quarterback Mark Harmon passed only seven times. Pitt trailed 24-0 at halftime, but Quarterback John Hogan threw three TD passes in the second half to make the final score respectable.
Gary Marangi, the highly touted Boston College quarterback, was a disappointment in his debut, throwing an interception and fumbling twice in the Eagles' 10-0 loss to Tulane. One of his fumbles led to a Tulane field goal. The winners claimed Marangi was tipping off his plays, but BC Coach Joe Yukica blamed the loss on failure to move the ball in third-down situations. "I don't know what the percentage was, but it was terrible," he said.
West Virginia and Navy won, preventing President Nixon from declaring the East a football disaster area. The Mountaineers, entertaining Richmond in Morgantown, unleashed Kerry Marbury for 175 yards and two touchdowns (one a 51-yarder) and beat the Spiders 28-7. Navy put on a late 81-yard drive, capped by Quarterback Fred Stuvek's two-yard TD sprint with 34 seconds left, to edge William & Mary 13-9.
Fullback Joe Wilson and solid blocking helped Holy Cross launch its season on a high, happy note—a 24-14 victory over Rutgers. Wilson scored all three of the Crusader touchdowns and set three school records: most carries in a game, 34; most yards in a game, 274; and most career yardage, 1,739. The career record had stood since 1945. Wilson is a senior from Roxbury who scored nine touchdowns last season, when Holy Cross had a 4-6 record.
WEST
1. USC (2-0)
2. ARIZONA STATE (1-0)
3. UCLA (2-0)
USC used all 50 of its players in a 51-6 mauling of Oregon State. Tailback Rod McNeill could not practice all week, and still made 111 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterbacks Mike Rae and Pat Haden were both impressive, Linebacker Richard Wood had seven unassisted tackles and the most tired man in the Coliseum was the scoreboard operator. Asked to compare this USC team with the national champion Trojans of 1967, Oregon State Coach Dec Andros said, "They're much quicker, have much greater overall size and their quickness just stuns you. They are a bunch of great athletes with one overpowering factor: their aggressiveness on both offense and defense."
Quarterback Sonny Sixkiller returned to the Washington lineup after an ankle injury had caused him to miss the opener, yet the Huskies still looked only so-so in a 14-6 win over Duke. Sixkiller completed nine of 19 passes for 140 yards, including a 45-yarder to Split End Tom Scott, but the running attack was again unimpressive and the Huskies crossed mid-field only once in the scoreless first half. Weak tea for Seattle fans.
It sounded like the familiar sad song in Berkeley. Cal was behind 17-0 to Washington State and Quarterback Steve Bartkowski had been injured. Time to pack up the new blue shoes and white shoes (the latter for backs and receivers) and call it a season. But wait. Sub signal-caller Jay Cruze hit Fred Leathers on a 42-yard TD play. A WSU fumble set up a 33-yard Cal touchdown march. Leathers scored on a fake reverse, going 41 yards, and so on. The Bears came back to win 37-23. "It was the most discouraging game I've ever been in," said WSU Linebacker Tom Poe. "We had it, and then all the big plays and breaks went to them."
Stanford got revenge for its upset loss last season, whipping neighbor San Jose State 44-0. Arizona Quarterback Jerry Davis had his team ahead of Oregon 7-0 when he had to leave because of a bruised back and Oregon came back to win 34-7 behind its own passer, Dan Fouts. Air Force waltzed over Wyoming 45-14, the most lopsided victory in the 15-year series between the schools.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
THE LINEMAN: Ohio State Tackle George Hasenohrl, who made eight unassisted tackles against Iowa (three for losses) and four assists. The Buckeye defensive captain helped cause two interceptions and several wild pitches.
THE BACK: Florida State Quarterback Gary Huff, who hit 22 of 34 passes for four TDs against Miami, giving him six scoring tosses for the season. His long gainer Saturday went 43 yards to his favorite target, Barry Smith.
