THE WEEK
SOUTHWEST
Texas and SMU came out with their guns blazing, but Arkansas, Houston and Rice were slow on the draw. Still, all five won to uphold the reputation of the Southwestern Conference against outsiders. The Longhorns piled up 466 yards in total offense—A.J. (Jam) Jones led the way with 127 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries—and scored in every period while blasting Oregon State 35-0. SMU riddled Texas-Arlington 52-16.
Tulsa's Kenny Jackson ran for 98 yards, passed for 117 and almost hog-tied the Razorbacks. But Arkansas won 13-10 when Ish Ordonez kicked a late 41-yard field goal.
Houston overcame the loss of Quarterback Terry Elston, who injured his left wrist in the second quarter, and fought back from a 17-14 halftime deficit to defeat North Texas State 24-20. Rice also trailed—7-3 in the final period—but beat Louisiana State 17-7. Two TDs in the last 3:40 put an end to the Owls' 11-game losing streak. And Baylor won at Texas Tech for the first time since 1966, using a pair of safeties and a touchdown to come out on top 11-3.
TEXAS (3-0)
ARKANSAS (2-1)
SMU (3-0)
WEST
"It was like watermelon with sugar on it," Oregon Quarterback Reggie Ogburn said after his team's 34-10 upset at Washington. Ogburn sweetened things by passing for 121 yards, running for 72 and accounting for three touchdowns. The Huskies, 10-6 leaders at halftime, turned sour in the second half, during which they were outgained 226 yards to 59.
With Rich Campbell on his way to a 30-for-43, 350-yard passing day against Arizona, California seemed to have a sure Pac-10 win, with a 24-10 fourth-quarter lead. But the Wildcats then scored three touchdowns, one when freshman Bill Redman blocked a punt for the second time in the game, and pulled out a 31-24 triumph.
Past performances went out the window as Army went down the drain 31-18 at Washington State. The Cadets, who had allowed only 199 yards rushing while winning their first two games, were trampled as the Cougars ran for 363 yards out of the veer. State, which had given up 66 points while losing its first two outings, clamped down and picked off three passes thrown by Jerryl Bennett, who heretofore had not been intercepted.
Former Army Coach Homer Smith is now an assistant at UCLA, where he has become the leading designer of a multifaceted I-formation attack. Using their new-look offense, the Bruins gained 230 yards on the ground and 183 through the air during a 35-0 victory over Wisconsin. With the regular UCLA tailback, Freeman McNeil, out with a hyper-extended right knee, freshman Kevin Nelson stepped in and ran for 123 yards.
San Diego State was in no rush to rush against Missouri, which had the nation's third-best defense against the run. So the Aztecs took to the air. Although Matt Kofler passed for 218 yards, he was sacked eight times and intercepted twice. In all, the Tigers had 10 sacks and five interceptions, Cornerback Bill Whitaker picking off three Aztec passes for the second year in a row. With a defense like that and with Phil Bradley passing for 165 yards, Mizzou breezed 31-7.
Jim McMahon had his third straight 300-yard game, passing for 339 yards and four touchdowns, as Brigham Young defeated Long Beach State 41-25. Cougar Tailback Eric Lane's efforts were more diversified: he scored three times as he ran for 96 yards and caught 10 passes for 68 yards.
USC (3-0)
UCLA (3-0)
STANFORD (3-1)
SOUTH
"It was the closest one-sided game I've ever seen," said Miami Defensive Line Coach Harold Allen of the Hurricanes' 10-9 upset of Florida State. Miami allowed only one first down in the opening 25 minutes and remained No. 1 nationally in rushing defense by yielding just 25 yards on the ground for the day. Furthermore, the Hurricanes racked up 291 yards against State, which had led the country in total defense with a 132-yard average. Both teams passed for 182 yards. The Seminoles nearly pulled the game out, scoring a touchdown with 39 seconds to go, but a pass for a two-point conversion was broken up.
The anticipated running duel between Maryland's Charlie Wysocki and North Carolina's Amos Lawrence was a dud. After fumbling away his first two carries and gaining 17 yards in 12 rushes, Wysocki was benched for most of the second half. Lawrence, meanwhile, ran for 103 yards and grabbed a 15-yard scoring pass to lead the Tar Heels to a 17-3 triumph. In another ACC matchup, Wake Forest handed North Carolina State its first loss, 27-7, as Jay Venuto passed for 255 yards and three TDs.
Auburn students hurled oranges at visiting Tennessee players before the game, which only got the Vols more juiced up. So aroused, Tennessee romped 42-0 in an SEC battle. The Vols put the game away with four first-half scoring drives that averaged 73 yards.
"Our defensive team had a good day at the office," said Defensive End E.J. Junior following Alabama's 41-0 defeat of Vanderbilt. The offense didn't do too badly, either, accumulating 481 yards of total offense.
Assorted mistakes and penalties were costly for Mississippi State, a 21-15 loser to unbeaten Florida, which won at home for the first time since 1978. In winning a non-conference game from Texas Christian 34-3, Georgia held the Horned Frogs to minus 10 yards rushing. Mississippi, which lost eight of 10 fumbles, was done in by Tulane, 26-24, when Vince Manalla booted a 29-yard field goal as time ran out.
ALABAMA (3-0)
MIAMI (4-0)
NORTH CAROLINA (3-0)
MIDWEST
Rain wasn't the only thing that dropped out of the sky to dampen the spirits of Oklahoma rooters. John Elway's passes also came teeming-down—usually in the hands of intended receivers—as Stanford stunned the Sooners 31-14. In addition to provoking seven turnovers, building a 31-0 lead and holding Oklahoma without a first down for a stretch of almost 28 minutes, the Cardinals led in every vital category: 27-10 in first downs, 237 yards to 188 in passing; 44 yards to 33 in punting average. In fact, even though ace runner Darrin Nelson was sidelined with a bruised hip, Stanford outrushed the Sooners, 220 to 153.
Dwayne Crutchfield, a 232-pound tailback for Iowa State, didn't tell Coach Donnie Duncan how painful his bruised knee was. Instead, he told himself, "If I have to run through those holes on one leg, I'll do it." He did it. Crutchfield picked up 84 yards. Quarterback John Quinn threw a touchdown pass to Jim Knuth, and Alex Giffords boomed a 49-yard field goal as the Cyclones salvaged some glory for the Big Eight with a 10-7 non-conference win over Iowa.
Michigan's Bo Schembechler, normally an ultraconservative coach, took a rare gamble. With fourth down and inches to go at his own 29 on the first play of the fourth quarter, Schembechler decided to go for it, even though the Wolverines led South Carolina 14-10. His call—a fake punt and run—was anticipated by the Gamecocks, who turned it into a Bo boo-boo. After stopping the play cold, South Carolina marched in for the score and a 17-14 win. Michigan had taken a 14-3 lead when John Wangler twice passed to Anthony Carter for TDs. George Rogers kept the Gamecocks on the move by pounding out 142 yards in 36 carries.
Southern California arrived in Minnesota just in time for that state's first frost of the fall. USC got a chill of another sort during the game, finding Gopher defenders as hard to budge as icebergs. Minnesota, which had given up 47 points to Ohio State the week before, kept USC off the scoreboard until walk-on Quarterback Gordon Adams hit Flanker Kevin Williams with a 29-yard pass 46 seconds before the half. Eric Hipp's 39-yard field goal made it 10-0, but the Gophers cut the margin to 10-7 when Marion Barber scored on a 16-yard jaunt. Near the end, Minnesota's iceberg defense melted, and Trojan Tailback Marcus Allen broke loose for scoring runs of 20 and 37 yards as USC won 24-7. In all, Allen rushed 42 times for 216 yards.
Both quarterbacks accumulated impressive stats as Ohio State defeated Arizona State 38-21 in another Big Ten-Pac-10 showdown. Mike Pagel of the Sun Devils ran for 25 yards and passed for 288 and a pair of touchdowns as he connected on 24 of 49 attempts. That gave him 313 yards overall, three more than Art Schlichter of the Buckeyes. When not running for 39 yards, Schlichter hit on 14 of 19 passes for 271 yards and three TDs. Six of Schlichter's passes, good for 133 yards and 12 points, went to Doug Donley.
OHIO STATE (3-0)
NEBRASKA (3-0)
NOTRE DAME (2-0)
EAST
For Penn State, which hoped to avenge last season's 42-17 loss at Nebraska, the rematch turned into more of the same. Jarvis Redwine of the Huskers stunned the Nittany Lions with another vintage performance, powering his way for 189 yards and two touchdowns on 34 carries. Quarterback Jeff Quinn added deft passing, connecting on 12 of 17 throws for 158 yards. And the Nebraska defense was positively devastating, forcing seven turnovers and sacking Penn State quarterbacks nine times for minus 88 yards. When it was all over, the Nittany Lions had lost again, 21-7.
Before leaving the game early in the second quarter with a slightly sprained knee, Pittsburgh Quarterback Dan Marino uncorked three touchdown passes as he made good on nine of 15 attempts for 150 yards. That was enough to send the Panthers on their way to a 36-2 triumph over Temple. In the fourth period, Rick Trocano, who had been the Panthers' No. 1 signal caller last season until Marino took charge, stepped in. Trocano, who had started at safety against the Owls, made the most of his chance by completing five of six passes for 80 yards and leading the Panthers to a final TD.
There was Boston College, memories of the previous week's startling 30-13 upset of Stanford still fresh in mind. There was host Villanova, winless in three outings and about to be led into combat for the first time by freshman Quarterback Kevin Ingram. "He didn't know he'd be starting," Wildcat Coach Dick Bedesam said. "I was hoping the emotion of him starting would spark the kids." Apparently it did. Ingram was on target with five of eight passes for 81 yards before a leg cramp put him out of commission in the third period. The Wildcats, who led 13-9 at that point, scored again under the direction of senior Pat O'Brien and went on to win 20-9.
Fred Reitzel, who played in the defensive secondary the past two seasons, solidified his hold on the quarterback job at Navy by passing for 206 yards during a 45-6 rout of William & Mary. Three Middie touchdowns came on passes by Reitzel, who hit on 13 of 16.
In the final game of a series that began 111 years ago, Rutgers defeated Princeton 44-13 as Ed McMichael threw four touchdown passes. The Tigers requested an end to the competition, insisting they could not compete on the same level with the Scarlet Knights, who take on Alabama next week. Four other outsiders knocked off Ivy League teams, Bucknell beating Brown 28-20 as Ken Jenkins ran for 192 yards, Lehigh routing Penn 35-6, New Hampshire defeating Dartmouth 24-7 and Colgate upending Cornell 38-20. Three Ivies won: Harvard edged Holy Cross 14-13, Yale beat Connecticut 20-10 and Columbia defeated Lafayette 6-0.
PITT (3-0)
PENN STATE (2-1)
RUTGERS (3-0)
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSE: John Elway, Stanford's sophomore quarterback, was the main man in a 31-14 upset of Oklahoma, completing 20 of 34 passes for 237 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran 18 times for 37 yards and a TD.
DEFENSE: Jim Burt, a 6'1", 252-pound senior middle guard, enabled Miami to shock previously unbeaten Florida State 10-9 by causing five fumbles, making 11 tackles and batting away three Seminole passes.
