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THE WEEK
WEST
Delaware State's Hornets traveled all the way to Portland (Ore.) State to find out if the high-scoring Vikings were for real. What they learned was that the Vikings were so real they were almost unreal. Portland State broke its two-week-old Division I-AA record of 93 points by winning 105-0. Viking Quarterback Neil Lomax played only seven minutes and 28 seconds, but threw eight touchdown passes, a record seven in the first quarter. That made Lomax the NCAA's alltime leader in TD passes, with 98. Lomax completed 16 of 28 for 311 yards; he also ran 13 yards for another score. The Viking defense also did a job, forcing 16 fumbles and recovering six.
"I sensed it for four weeks," said UCLA Coach Terry Donahue after a second straight loss, this one 20-14 to Oregon. "There was no emotion. No elation. No singing. No back-slapping. You could see it coming, but nothing seemed to stop it." The Ducks' Reggie Ogburn passed for 142 yards and ran for 83, giving him 225 yards, 12 more than the entire Bruin team. The loss of Freeman McNeil with a hip injury in the first period hurt UCLA. So did a sack of Quarterback Tom Ramsey by Defensive Tackle Vince Goldsmith when the Bruins had a first down on the Oregon six late in the game.
With leading ballcarrier Darrin Nelson out with a bad ankle in the second half, Stanford wound up at minus 13 yards on the ground against Southern Cal. John Elway of the Cardinals passed for 260 yards, but it wasn't nearly enough as the Trojans won 34-9. Marcus Allen ran for 195 yards and two early scores for USC, and Bob McClanahan added a 21-yard touchdown run.
Tom Flick's near-perfect passing—16 of 17 for 230 yards and three touchdowns—propelled Washington to a 45-22 conquest of Arizona. Tom Tunnicliffe of the Wildcats threw for 328 yards as he hit on 23 of 38 attempts, but it failed to prevent the Huskies from taking a big step toward the Rose Bowl.
Washington State kept its faint Rose Bowl hopes alive by beating winless Oregon State 28-7. Pacing the Cougars was Samoa Samoa, who passed for two TDs and ran for a third.
Colorado State swept past Texas-El Paso 37-7 to remain atop the WAC. Second-place Brigham Young beat North Texas State 41-23 as Jim McMahon connected on 40 of 50 passes for 364 yards. Utah, with Ricky Hardin completing 24 of 35 throws for 358 yards and six touchdowns, whipped New Mexico 49-21.
USC (7-0-1)
WASHINGTON (7-2)
OREGON (5-2-2)
SOUTH
Johnny Smith. Ken Whisenhunt. Ted Peeples. Steve Mooney. Robert Jaracz. Duane Wood. Lance Skelton. Mark Sheffield. Lawrence Lowe. Notre Dame had no reason to fear these players on Georgia Tech's 1-7 squad. By game's end, though, those nine and their teammates had earned heaps of respect—and a 3-3 tie that was sure to end a one-week stay at the top of the polls for the Irish.
Midway through the first period, Yellow Jacket Quarterback Mike Kelley, who started for the first time since spraining his shoulder four weeks earlier, jammed his ailing shoulder again and was through. In came Whisenhunt, a walk-on freshman, whose only experience at Tech had been in practice as a receiver, to engineer a 53-yard drive that ended when Smith kicked a 39-yard field goal with 6:11 to go in the half.
From there on, it was up to the Tech defense; the offense picked up only one first down and 10 yards in the second half. Peeples, who had been bothered by a knee injury, took over at quarterback late in the third period, but couldn't get anything going. Jaracz, Skelton and Sheffield recovered Notre Dame fumbles in the fourth quarter. And other defenders—notably Mooney, Wood and Lowe—repeatedly stopped the Irish. Notre Dame scored after Stacey Toran intercepted a pass at the Irish one and brought it back to the 11. Quarterback Mike Courey ran for 11 yards and passed twice for 19 more, but there would be no more big gains. With the ball on the Tech 29 on fourth-and-three, Harry Oliver, who had missed a 27-yard field-goal try in the second quarter, booted a 47-yarder with 4:14 left to make it 3-3. Notre Dame had two chances after that. The first ended with a lost fumble. The second was doused when freshman Quarterback Blair Kiel was thrown for a 16-yard loss on third-and-four from the Tech 42. With 20 seconds to go, fourth and 20 on the Irish 42, Notre Dame Coach Dan Devine considered a field goal, but he finally opted for a punt—Kiel booted the ball 58 yards—hoping to intercept an ensuing Tech pass. Peeples indeed threw two times, but Notre Dame didn't intercept either and time ran out.
Alabama Coach Bear Bryant, who found out the week before what it felt like to lose a No. 1 ranking, tried to rouse his team for an SEC game against Louisiana State by saying, "What do you do when you get beat? Do you duck your head and run off to hide? Or do you pick up a sword and get after people?" Swords in hand, the Tide rebounded from its loss to Mississippi State by foiling LSU 28-7. It was the Tide's 52nd straight on campus victory, an NCAA record. Ken Coley, starting at quarterback for the first time, raced 35 yards for a score on 'Bama's first possession. A pair of three-yard runs by Major Ogilvie accounted for two more touchdowns.
Clemson had the record-setter, but North Carolina came up with the victory in an ACC game. Obed Ariri established an NCAA career mark by increasing his field-goal total to 58 with a pair of three-pointers. Other mainstays in the Tiger offense were Homer Jordan, who passed for 207 yards, and Chuck McSwain, who rushed for 116. But Clemson lost fumbles at the Tar Heel 14, 15 and 30 and wound up a 24-19 loser. Kelvin Bryant of North Carolina ran for 138 yards and a touchdown, and his sidekick, Amos Lawrence, added 112 yards and two TDs to build a 24-6 lead.
Another player who set a record and lost was freshman Quarterback Ben Bennett of Duke. Bennett passed for an ACC-record 469 yards as he completed 38 of 62 attempts. Quarterback Jay Venuto helped Wake Forest beat the Blue Devils 27-24 by connecting on 23 of 50 passes for 291 yards. Rutgers beat Virginia 19-17 on a 41-yard field goal by Alex Falcinelli with 33 seconds left.
Bill Capece of Florida State was one record-breaker who played for a winner. By kicking four PATs and a field goal, Capece raised his season's point total to 99, an NCAA mark for a kicker. Virginia Tech led the Seminoles 7-0, but then was stung for two touchdowns in 51 seconds and lost 31-7. The first came on a 45-yard pass from Rick Stockstill to Hardis Johnson on a fourth-down gamble. And then, after the recovery of a Tech fumble, the same twosome clicked on an 11-yarder.
In a matchup between the top two rushers in the country—No. 1 Stump Mitchell of The Citadel and No. 2 George Rogers of South Carolina—Rogers came out the winner. He rushed for 179 yards to improve his per-game average to 159.6 yards, best in the nation. Mitchell's 146 yards dropped him to third, with a 156.7 average. Moving up to second was Southern Cal's Marcus Allen with a 159.4 average. Oh yes, the Gamecocks won 45-24.
Joe Delaney also strutted his stuff, running for 231 yards and the winning touchdown as Northwestern State of Louisiana downed Nicholls State 21-14. Delaney, who has rushed for 484 yards in his last two games, amassed 669 yards against Nicholls during the past three seasons.
GEORGIA (9-0)
ALABAMA (8-1)
FLORIDA STATE (9-1)
MIDWEST
"They told me to throw a couple times and get the record," explained Purdue's Mark Herrmann, who had been informed that he needed only five yards to set the Big Ten single-game record for passing yardage. So Herrmann stayed in for a few more downs in the third quarter against Iowa and threw three times, hitting twice for nine yards each and his third touchdown during a 58-13 romp. For the day, Herrmann completed 26 of 34 for 439 yards and cracked the NCAA record for career attempts by increasing his total to 1,161. Dave Young of the Boilermakers became the conference's alltime reception leader, lifting his total to 163 as he grabbed eight passes for 143 yards and two TDs.
As impressive as Herrmann was, Dave Wilson of Illinois easily outgunned him. Wilson, a junior-college transfer who had to survive a series of court battles to establish his eligibility this season, passed for 621 yards, an NCAA record. By getting five of his six touchdown passes in the second half, he led the Illini to a near upset of Ohio State, but the Buckeyes held on to win 49-42. Art Schlichter made them winners and ended his 17-for-21 day with 284 yards and four TDs. Turnovers played a big role: Wilson was intercepted three times and Illinois lost four fumbles: Ohio State erred just once and has had only 12 miscues in nine games.
Judging from the way fans were cheering in Madison, one would have thought Wisconsin was upsetting Michigan. No way. The crowd sent up its biggest din when the Wolverines had a fourth-and-one on the Badger four late in the third period. The noise was so loud that Michigan Quarterback John Wangler's signals couldn't be heard. Seven times this happened. After the first two, the crowd was warned. The next three times, Wisconsin was assessed time-outs. And the next two times, the Badgers were penalized, moving the ball to the two-yard line and then the one. When the roar subsided a few decibels, Butch Woolfolk barreled into the end zone to give the Wolverines a 17-0 lead. Michigan, which won 24-0, has outscored Wisconsin 176-0 the past four years, hardly giving Badger fans much to cheer about.
Minnesota crimped Indiana's bowl hopes with a 31-7 setback in which Garry White rumbled for 145 yards and two touchdowns. Four scoring runs, one a 64-yarder, were part of a 229-yard effort by Steve Smith of Michigan State, which beat Northwestern 42-10.
"The first three quarters produced the most consistent, errorless ball we've played all year," Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne said. No kidding, Tom. At the end of three periods the Huskers led Kansas State 48-0. About the only bright spot for the Wildcats, who lost 55-8, was a school-record 93-yard punt by Don Birdsey. Other than that, all the big numbers belonged to the Huskers: Roger Craig ripped off 183 yards on nine carries as Nebraska ran for 495 yards, and Jeff Quinn passed for 153 yards and three TDs.
Oklahoma continued to share first place with Nebraska after huffing and puffing past Kansas 21-19. Although freshman sensation Kerwin Bell was out with an injured toe, the Jayhawks got ample help from his fill-ins. Garfield Taylor gained 100 yards and Walter Mack 52. It was Taylor's 13-yard touchdown run that concluded the scoring with 8:40 to go. Scoring runs of 22 yards by J.C. Watts and of two and 10 yards by David Overstreet had given the Sooners a 21-6 advantage—and two interceptions by Orlando Flanagan helped them stay in front.
Missouri also had to hang on for a victory, 14-10 over Iowa State. Tim Copeland scored the only Cyclone touchdown when he recovered teammate Dwayne Crutchfield's fumble on the one-yard line and stepped into the end zone. Missouri's James Wilder, who rushed for 111 yards, banged over from one yard out to give Mizzou a 14-7 halftime lead. In the fourth quarter, after Iowa State pulled to within 14-10, the Tigers dug in. With slightly more than five minutes left and Iowa State with a second-and-8 on the Mizzou 26, Crutchfield, who picked up 164 yards, was nailed for a one-yard loss. On the next two plays, John Quinn was sacked for a nine-yard loss and then overthrew a receiver.
"We've got a showdown in Kalamazoo," Central Michigan Coach Herb Deromedi said of this week's game at Western Michigan for the Mid-American title. Miami's 34-24 upset of Western, coupled with Central's 32-10 victory over Bowling Green, set up the big finale. Two touchdowns and 124 yards rushing by Kaiser Holman enabled Miami to pull off its surprise. Central, which trailed 10-0, rallied on three TD passes by Kevin Northup.
Eastern Illinois, No. 1 in Division II, was a 14-9 winner over Northern Iowa, while second-ranked Northern Michigan polished off Akron 38-10.
NEBRASKA (8-1)
NOTRE DAME (7-0-1)
OHIO STATE (8-1)
EAST
Pittsburgh and Navy were sluggish during the early going, and Penn State had a mid-game letdown, but all three won. The Panthers, who set up a Louisville touchdown by fumbling the ball at their own six, fell behind 9-0 in the second period before taking charge. Touchdown passes of 27 and 67 yards from Rick Trocano to Dwight Collins came in a flurry of Pitt scoring—20 points in the second quarter, 21 in the third—that led to a 41-23 win. In all, Trocano connected on half of his 22 throws for 231 yards.
Two interceptions by Elliott Reagans of Navy stymied Syracuse, and Russ Spitz of the Orangemen stopped a pair of Middie drives by recovering fumbles. All the scoring in this 6-3 game came on field goals, Gary Anderson putting the Orange in front with a 32-yarder and Steve Fehr of Navy booting three-pointers of 31 and 30 yards, the clincher coming early in the last period.
"We made enough yards to win two games and enough mistakes to lose three," Penn State Coach Joe Paterno said as he analyzed a 21-13 triumph over North Carolina State. The Nittany Lions seemed to be on their way to a rout, racing ahead 14-0 on their first two possessions as Booker Moore slammed over from three yards out and Kenny Jackson hauled in a 39-yard TD pass from Todd Blackledge. But the Wolfpack retaliated on Tol Avery's three-yard run and two field goals by Nathan Ritter to make it 14-13. Sealing Penn State's victory was a 79-yard march, which Blackledge culminated by passing 10 yards to Brad Scovill. Altogether, the Nittany Lions amassed 471 yards in total offense, 151 of them on 12 carries by Joel Coles.
Zip. Zap. Just like that, West Virginia broke open a tight game at Temple when Cedric Thomas caught two touchdown passes from Oliver Luck within 11 seconds in the third period. After Thomas had grabbed an 11-yard scoring toss, the Mountaineers fell on an Owl fumble on the ensuing kickoff and Luck hit Thomas with a 19-yard pass. Altogether, Luck had four TD throws as West Virginia went on to win 41-28.
Army snapped a three-game losing streak by shooting down Air Force 47-24. Two scoring passes by freshman Bryan Allen and touchdown runs of four and 50 yards by sophomore Jerry Walker kept the Cadets rolling.
Even though Cornell led 7-0, its chances of winning at Yale appeared to go down the tubes when Quarterback Mike Ryan left the game in the second quarter with a banged-up shoulder. Taking Ryan's place was Andy Schroer, a senior who had never played a down of varsity ball. Schroer, however, quickly guided the Big Red to a pair of touchdowns—the second of which he scored on a four-yard run—and a 21-0 halftime lead. Cornell went on to hand the Bulldogs their first Ivy League loss, 24-6. Nonetheless, Yale held a one-game edge over five teams tied for second place. Dartmouth clobbered Columbia 48-0 in the only other league game.
Lehigh and Boston University, which were rated second and fourth, respectively, in Division I-AA, knocked off Yankee Conference opponents. The independent Engineers beat Rhode Island 23-10, and the Terriers took the Yankee title with a 28-24 triumph at Connecticut after trailing 17-0 at the half.
Three teams among Division III's Top 10 were victors. No. 1 Ithaca finished its regular season 10-0 by defeating Cortland State 24-7. Also 10-0 was No. 2 Widener, the division's most prolific point producer (44 per game), which beat Lebanon Valley 42-15. No. 10 Bethany (W. Va.) blanked Oberlin 27-0.
PITT (8-1)
PENN STATE (8-1)
NAVY (6-3)
SOUTHWEST
There's nothing like a stunning loss to bring one down to earth—unless it's two unforgettable losses. Still gnawing at the Baylor Bears were two such downfalls: the previous week's 30-22 upset by San Jose State and last year's game at Arkansas, in which Baylor had led 17-0 in the third quarter only to go down 29-20. There would be no such comeback last week, as the Bears drubbed the Hogs 42-15. Baylor led 28-7 at the half, by which time it had built a 15-2 edge in first downs and a 270-32 bulge in total yardage. The good-news Bears' relentless attack was triggered by Walter Abercrombie, who rushed for 128 yards and three touchdowns. Baylor's victory, which assured it of no worse than a tie for the SWC championship, was its first at home against Arkansas since 1963, and its 42 points were the most it had scored against the Hogs since 1922.
Texas Christian came through with a hard-to-forget victory, its first of the season. Visiting Texas Tech led 17-0 early in the fourth period, but the Frogs wouldn't croak. Steve Stamp of TCU began the comeback by teaming with Stanley Washington on a 33-yard scoring pass. Bobby Stewart then hauled in a 25-yarder from Stamp, and Greg Porter tied the score with a 43-yard field goal. Then, less than two minutes from the end, came the clincher, Washington fighting off one defender to grab a pass from Stamp at the Red Raider 20 and escaping the clutches of another as he dashed into the end zone. That 82-yard play gave TCU an astonishing 24-17 win.
Terry Elston, who came off the bench to win four games for Houston last season, put on another dazzling performance at Texas. With 5:14 left and the Longhorns up 15-7, Elston, who had missed five games because of a wrist injury, went in and completed three passes for 49 yards. Lonell Phea made an eye-popping catch on the third throw, tipping a nine-yard pass some 10 feet in the air and catching it while on his back in the end zone. Texas 15, Houston 13. The Cougars went for a two-point conversion, but Elston's on-the-money throw to a wide-open receiver was dropped, and the Longhorns made the margin stand up. Three field goals by John Good-son and a resolute defense enabled Texas to end its two-game losing streak. Southern Methodist accumulated 417 yards of total offense while wiping out Rice 34-14. Lance McIlhenny, the Mustangs' freshman quarterback, who heretofore had a reputation only as a ballcarrier, passed for three touchdowns. Doing much of the legwork this time was sophomore Eric Dickerson, who ran for 147 yards.
BAYLOR (8-1)
SMU (7-2)
TEXAS (6-2)
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSE: Dave Wilson of Illinois set an NCAA mark by passing for 621 yards and had a Big Ten-record six TDs during a 49-42 loss to Ohio State. He also equaled NCAA records with 43 completions in 69 attempts.
DEFENSE: Mark Sheffield, a 6'1", 192-pound sophomore strong safety, helped Georgia Tech hold Notre Dame to a 3-3 deadlock as he made 10 tackles, recovered a fumble, intercepted one pass and deflected another.
