THE WEEK

WEST

1. USC (6-0)
2. UCLA (5-1)
3. AIR FORCE (5-0)

Week after week the Washington Huskies looked bad yet won, but last Saturday in Palo Alto they just looked bad. The Huskies not only lost a game to Stanford 24-0, they also may have lost their star quarterback, Sonny Sixkiller, for the rest of the season. Sixkiller injured his left knee in a first-quarter collision with Stanford Safety Dennis Bragonier, but even while he was at the controls the Washington offense had its usual case of jitters, fumbling the ball away twice. Stanford scored all three of its touchdowns in the first half, then added a 32-yard field goal by Rod Garcia in the third quarter. Cardinal Quarterback Mike Boryla had target practice in the Husky secondary, completing 24 of 44 passes for 293 yards and throwing touchdowns of 23 and 30 yards to Eric Cross and Don Alvarado. Stanford's third TD came on a fake field-goal attempt from the Washington 20. Holder Steve Murray rose up at the snap and hit Miles Moore with a scoring pass. "I've been waiting three years for that play," said Murray, who also doubles as a substitute safety.

USC had only a light workout against California. The Trojans stretched their undefeated record to six games and will probably keep stretching it effortlessly until they meet UCLA on Nov. 18. The USC front five of Monte Doris, John Grant, Jeff Winans, James Sims and Dale Mitchell kept the Golden Bears in check until late in the game. Quarterback Mike Rae ran for two touchdowns and his substitute, Pat Haden, came on in the second half to keep things rolling with scoring passes of 40 and nine yards to Charles Young as the Trojans won 42-14.

UCLA bobbed up with some alert defensive work by Tackle Rich Gunther and a good substitute quarterback of its own in a 37-7 rout of Oregon State at Corvallis. The Bruins led at the half 17-7, plowing in to score from three and eight yards out after Gunther had jumped on a punt that had been blocked by teammate Rick Baska and then recovered a fumble by the Beavers' Dick Maurer. UCLA added another touchdown in the third quarter and two more in the fourth when Rob Scribner came on with the second-string back-field as a substitute for Quarterback Mark Harmon, gained 156 yards on eight keepers and ran 23 yards for a touchdown on the game's final play.

In a wild one at Tempe, Arizona State, getting and giving up touchdowns like Monopoly money, scored 45 points in the first half, then held on to beat Utah 59-48. Despite the loss of Woody Green, the nation's leading rusher, with a first-quarter knee injury, the Sun Devils amassed a total of 632 yards on offense. They trailed 20-17 after the first quarter, but in the second Quarterback Danny White engineered four touchdown drives. He passed to Wingback Steve Holden for one score and dived over himself for another, while the defense blanked the Redskins and put the game out of reach, despite the loser's final-quarter flurry of 22 points.

SOUTHWEST

1. TEXAS (3-1)
2. ARKANSAS (4-1)
3. RICE (2-1-1)

For the first time in nine years Oklahoma, leading the nation in total offense (621 yards per game), rushing (498.7) and scoring (56.3), was favored in its traditional game with Texas at the Cotton Bowl. The Sooners won as predicted, 27-0, but it was the defense, not the offense, that provided the punch. It blocked a punt, intercepted four passes, recovered four Texas fumbles and scored two touchdowns as the Longhorns were shut out for the first time in 101 games. Playing with almost hysterical energy, Texas more or less contained Greg Pruitt (81 yards on 11 carries) and the rest of the Oklahoma offense (273 yards), trailing only 3-0 with three minutes left in the third quarter. Then Tackle Derland Moore broke through to block a third-down quick-kick attempt by Texas Quarterback Alan Lowry from his own 25-yard line and Guard Lucious Selmon fell on the bounding ball in the end zone. "I know a lot of folks who paid $7 will question that play," Texas Coach Darrell Royal said later, "but nothing is good that backfires."

Lots of things have seemed to backfire for Arkansas this year. The Razorbacks lost their opener at home to USC, squeezed out narrow victories in their next three games and last week had to tussle and hustle right down to the wire to beat Baylor 31-20 in Fayetteville. Arkansas Running Back Dickey Morton had a fine day, with 157 yards gained on 34 carries, and so did the Razorback defense, stealing four Baylor passes and recovering on three fumbles, but the offense was erratic on a soggy field. The Razor-backs led 28-6 late in the third quarter, but Baylor made it 28-20 with 11 minutes to play. Then Mark Hollingsworth choked off two Baylor drives with interceptions and Mike Kirkland kicked the clincher, a 23-yard field goal with 1:49 left.

Houston reserve Quarterback Terry Peel hit Robert Ford on a 99-yard-touchdown pass play, and starting Quarterback D. C. Nobles threw for four other scores as the Cougars swamped previously unbeaten San Diego State 49-14. Texas Christian routed Tulsa 35-9 and Texas Tech came from behind to edge Texas A&M 17-14.

SOUTH

1. LSU (5-0)
2. ALABAMA (5-0)
3. TENNESSEE (4-1)

Virginia Tech fans have been kept in a state of frenzy this year by the arm of Don Strock, the nation's leader in passing and total offense, and some hair-raising finishes. Two weeks ago at home in Blacksburg the Gobblers tied Houston when the Cougar placekicker missed an extra-point try with 75 seconds left to play. Last week in Blacksburg against Oklahoma State, Don's place-kicking brother, Dave, went from goat to goat to hero in a matter of seconds as VPI won 34-32 on an 18-yard field goal with 12 seconds left. Quarterback Strock had hit on 20 of 40 passes for 355 yards and two touchdowns and Placekicker Strock had booted a 53-yard field goal, but with time running out Tech still trailed the heavily favored Cowboys 32-31. At this point Dave missed a field goal from the 12-yard line. But wait! A flag on the play. OSU was offside, so Dave tried again from the seven. Blocked! And OSU recovered on the two. But wait again! On the first play from scrimmage, Cowboy Fullback George Palmer, who had gained 128 yards rushing, fumbled and Donnie Sprouse recovered for VPI on the three. Three plays later Dave got his third chance and this time he clicked from the eight-yard line for the victory.

Speculation as to whether undefeated Auburn could snap the nation's longest winning streak for the third straight week, as it had against Tennessee and Mississippi, was laid to rest early last Saturday night in its game with LSU at Baton Rouge. Before a record home crowd of 70,132 the Tiger offense operated with lethal efficiency the first two times it had the ball, marching 67 and 69 yards. Auburn never had a chance, eventually losing 35-7, and the nation's longest winning streak is now nine. LSU Quarterback Bert Jones had his most productive game of the season. He climaxed LSU's first scoring march with a touchdown run of seven yards, completed 10 of 14 passes for 179 yards and connected on scoring strikes of 19, 19 and 27 yards, all to Wide Receiver Gerald Keigley. The Bengals' other touchdown came on a dazzling halfback option play with nine seconds left in the first half and locked the game away for keeps. Wide Receiver Joe Fakier took a reverse from Jones, then passed into the end zone to Tight End Brad Boyd, who wrestled the ball away from Auburn Safety Dave Beck.

In Jackson, Mississippi State was out to save its coach, Charley Shira, rumored to be leaving at the end of the season. But visiting Florida State, with a defense weakened by an accumulation of injuries, was out to save a season that had started well and then been partially wrecked two weeks ago by Florida. The result for the pass-minded Seminoles was a rare ball-control game plan and a 25-21 victory. "There was no choice but to keep the football," said winning Coach Larry Jones. "We knew our defense could not hold." If the game had lasted a few seconds longer it might not have held. FSU marched 73 yards for the first score, a Gary Huff to Barry Smith pass of 14 yards. Mississippi State tied it on a seven-yard run by Mel Barkum, but Huff, who completed an unusually modest 10 of 18 passes, hit Smith on a 53-yard touchdown play, and Ahmet Askin kicked a 46-yard field goal to give the Seminoles a 17-7 lead, which they held until 66 seconds remained. Then the game turned wild. Mississippi State scored on a 21-yard pass from Rocky Felker to Bill Buckley to make it 17-15. FSU retaliated on the first play from scrimmage on a 49-yard run by Mike Davison and it was 25-15. So Felker hit Tommy Strahan with a 13-yard scoring pass: 25-21. Then the Bulldogs recovered the ensuing onside kickoff at the Mississippi State 44 with 16 seconds left. Felker was still vainly throwing as time ran out.

In the other half of a doubleheader in Jackson, Georgia scrambled back from a 13-0 deficit to nip Mississippi 14-13. Ole Miss marched 83 yards for a touchdown the first time it had the ball, then came back again to score late in the first half on a 42-yard pass from Quarterback Norris Weese to Bill Malouf. But Bulldog Defensive Back Dick Conn broke through to deflect Steve Lavinghouse's try for the extra point. A couple of plays later Georgia got its first touchdown on a 74-yard pass down the middle from Quarterback James Ray to Tailback Hal (The Missile) Bissell, and scored again early in the fourth quarter when Andy Johnson dived over from the one. Kim Braswell kicked the winning conversion.

At Chapel Hill, North Carolina toppled Kentucky 31-20 and in Miami the Hurricanes ended an eight-game losing streak by upsetting Tulane 24-21 on a 32-yard touchdown pass from Ed Carney to Witt Beckman with 54 seconds left. After the game it was learned that Miami had scored the winning touchdown on a "fifth down," reminiscent of the famous 1940 Cornell-Dartmouth game. Unlike Cornell, Miami did not immediately plan to concede the game.

EAST

1. PENN STATE (4-1)
2. DARTMOUTH (3-0)
3. WEST VIRGINIA (4-2)

Penn State, showing none of the stuttering that had marked the first part of its season, put on a display of precise, efficient football in shutting out Army 45-0 before a crowd of 42,352 at West Point. Nittany Lion Quarterback John Hufnagel, directing his offense with the snap of a drill sergeant until retiring in the third quarter, completed 12 of 18 passes for two touchdowns and 153 yards, and ran for an additional 71 yards. At Syracuse, Navy also took its lumps, falling behind 21-0 in the first quarter and finally losing to the Orangemen 30-14. It was left to unbeaten Air Force to uphold service-academy honor and the Falcons did it just barely, edging Boston College 13-9. Two first-quarter field goals by Dave Law-son and a 10-yard touchdown pass from Rich Haynie to Greg Smith put Air Force ahead 13-0 before the Eagles scored on a two-yard touchdown run by sophomore Mike Esposito and a 33-yard field goal by Fred Steinfort as the half ended. In the second half three Air Force interceptions shut off Boston College scoring marches.

The Ivies started mixing it up in earnest. At New York, in a game between two strong title contenders, Harvard edged Columbia 20-18 when the Lions failed three times on two-point conversion attempts, the last disappointment coming with less than two minutes left in the game. In Ithaca, Cornell blew a 17-0 lead over Penn, but managed to nip the Quakers 24-20 when End John McKeown outjumped two defenders in the end zone to catch a 12-yard touchdown pass from Quarterback Mark Allen with 36 seconds left. At Hanover, Dartmouth opened its scoring on a 40-yard pass play from Fullback Doug Lind to Halfback Rick Klupchak, and got three more touchdowns from Quarterback Steve Stetson on runs of six, 32 and one yard as it rolled over Princeton 35-14. At New Haven, Yale scored 25 points in the first quarter against Brown but did hot ice the game until the third quarter when Halfback Dick Jauron, who gained 154 yards on 14 carries, got 80 of them on a touchdown burst over left tackle to spice the Elis' 53-19 victory.

Temple upset West Virginia 39-36 when Owl Fullback Paul Loughran, who had scored two earlier touchdowns, fielded a Mountaineer punt on his 21-yard line, moved to the right behind his blockers and sprinted 79 yards to score with 2:06 left.

MIDWEST

1. OKLAHOMA (4-0)
2. OHIO STATE (4-0)
3. NOTRE DAME (4-0)

"If you want to know why coaches get ulcers," said Illinois Coach Bob Blackman, "sit around and think about Archie Griffin carrying the football three more years." Ohio State's freshman tailback was at his best again last week piling up 192 yards rushing in 27 carries, most of them bursts inside tackle, as the Buckeyes ground out a 26-7 win over the Illini. Nor will Griffin's sophomore running mate, 6'4", 224-pound Fullback Harold Henson, provide much balm for opposing coaches. Henson punched out his seventh, eighth and ninth touchdowns of the season on short runs, all in the first half. Ohio State took a 13-0 first-quarter lead on marches of 80 and 51 yards. Illinois struck suddenly on a 60-yard halfback pass from Lonnie Perrin to Joe Lewis, but Henson's third touchdown gave the Buckeyes a 19-7 halftime lead. In the second half Woody Hayes turned conservative, even for him, ordering up only three passes (one for a touchdown) even though Illinois stacked eight defenders on the line to shut down the Ohio State running game.

Notre Dame, perhaps sluggish from its tough game with Michigan State the week before, got off to a slow start against winless Pitt at South Bend. Leading only 14-8 during the third period, the Irish finished with a flourish and sent the Panthers to their sixth defeat of the year 42-16. The Irish lost three fumbles in the first half and were looking shaky in the second until sophomore Drew Mahalic darted in front of a pass from Pitt Quarterback John Hogan and ran it back 56 yards for the touchdown that broke the game open. Fullback Andy Huff scored three touchdowns on short runs, and freshman Running Back Art Best went 56 yards for another touchdown the first time he ever carried the ball for Notre Dame.

Nebraska Coach Bob Devaney has so much offensive depth that it troubles him. He is afraid that even his Cornhusker reserves won't be able to restrain themselves from running up mammoth scores and that he will be accused of cruelty. Last week at home against Missouri his boys proved irrepressible again. The regulars played only 39 minutes, but when they came off the field the reserves took over without missing a beat and rolled tip a 62-0 shutout. Sophomore Quarterback Dave Humm played beautiful music with his passing arm, hitting on 15 of 22 throws for 267 yards and three touchdowns. His replacement, Steve Runty, completed five of seven for 62 yards in the third quarter. "I have to let Runty throw a few passes," said Devaney. "He wants to play football. I can't hobble him forever." Slotback Johnny Rodgers scored only one touchdown, on a 28-yard pass from Humm, but it gave him a Nebraska record of 216 points.

Michigan State advanced deeper into the gloom of a disastrous season by losing 10-0 to Michigan before 103,735 spectators at Ann Arbor. But Duffy Daugherty's Spartans are unlucky. They lost a 24-yard touchdown run by Quarterback Mark Niesen through a clipping penalty. They lost another possible touchdown when Running Back David Brown was hit by Michigan Safety Dave-Brown (that's right) on the Wolverine three and lost the battle of the Browns, fumbling the ball away into the end zone for a touch-back. Finally, a rare Daugherty gamble backfired. With nine minutes to play and his team fourth and one on the Michigan 40, Duffy called a wide sweep. It was stopped short. Two plays later Michigan Quarterback Dennis Franklin pitched back to Gil Chapman on an end around. A good block by Tackle Paul Seymour wiped out the defensive end and Chapman ran down the sideline 58 yards for the clinching touchdown.

Wisconsin and Indiana met to battle for what Ohio State and Michigan plan to leave to the rest of the Big Ten, and the Hoosiers turned up with a surprising 33-7 rout. Indiana Placekicker Chris Gartner, a senior from Sweden, set a Big Ten record by kicking four field goals, one from 48 yards out, and the Indiana defense confined Wisconsin's squat running back, Rufus (Roadrunner) Ferguson, to a mere 64 yards in 15 carries and no touchdowns.

Colorado showed signs that it has recovered from the shock of its upset by Oklahoma State three weeks ago, stopping previously unbeaten Iowa State 34-22.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

THE BACKS: Virginia Tech's Strock brothers, Quarterback Don and Placekicker Dave. Don passed for 355 yards and two touchdowns to keep Tech close to Oklahoma State. Dave then won the game with a last-minute field goal.

THE LINEMAN: Notre Dame's Jim O'Malley, a 6'2", 221-pound senior linebacker who led the defense with 10 tackles and seven assists as the undefeated Irish beat Pittsburgh 42-16 and stilled both its running and passing attacks.