THE WEEK
EAST
Yale and Rich Diana and their win over Connecticut notwithstanding, the Ivy League had rough going, losing seven nonconference games. In Cambridge, Mass., Harvard and Holy Cross both turned blocked punts into touchdowns, but the Crimson's effort went for naught as Holy Cross won 33-19. John Andreoli smothered the Harvard kick early in the fourth quarter, one play after he had sacked Quarterback Ron Cuccia for a nine-yard loss. "On a previous punt my job was to drive back the man in front of me," said Andreoli, "but he took a step back. This time I said to myself if he takes a step back, I'm going right on in, full speed ahead." And he did. Chris McMahon picked up the loose ball on the five-yard line and ran it in for the score.
Quarterback Rick Scully hit Kevin Phelan with a 61-yard touchdown pass on Delaware's first possession, and the Blue Hens, the No. 1 Division 1-AA team, went on to trounce Princeton 61-8. Playing little more than two quarters, Scully completed six of eight passes for 141 yards and ran 49 yards for a TD. In other games involving Ivy League schools, it was Colgate 34, Cornell 10; Lafayette 28, Columbia 13; Army 23, Brown 17; Massachusetts 10, Dartmouth 8; and Lehigh 58, Penn 0. The Engineers' rout of Penn was their highest point total ever against the Quakers in a series dating back to 1885.
Indiana, which faced USC superback Marcus Allen two weeks ago, found itself going against another one in Syracuse's Joe Morris. The end result was a 21-7 loss for the Hoosiers, as Morris gained 164 yards on 26 carries and caught four passes for 73 yards.
MIDWEST
How good is this season's Penn State team, a 30-24 winner over Nebraska? Coach Joe Paterno wasn't telling. "I don't want to put a monkey on our backs," he said. "But we do have a good football team, I'm sure of that. How good? I don't know." But Nebraska Linebacker Steve Damkroger, as forthright as Paterno is coy, said flat out, "In my opinion, we were getting beat pretty badly out there." Doing most of the damage for the Nittany Lions was Tailback Curt Warner, who carried 28 times for 238 yards. Warner's longest run, 56 yards, set up Brian Franco's fifth field goal of the day. "I counted on being called on at least three times, but no way did I think they'd need me five," said Franco, who hit from 29,48, 39, 20 and 32 yards. Franco is 6 for 6 this year on field goals and 8 for 8 on extra points. "On the first one against Nebraska I was nervous, but after that I was having so much fun I really relaxed." Franco may have been the only one relaxed in Lincoln, where the lead changed hands seven times. "There was enough glory in that game for both sides," said Paterno. "I was impressed by the way Nebraska kept coming back." Cornhusker Coach Tom Osborne wasn't impressed with his squad's four turnovers, three on first-half fumbles.
Defense, not turnovers, was the dominant force in Iowa's 20-7 win over UCLA. It was the second time in three weeks the Hawkeyes had knocked off a Top 10 team, Nebraska having been its earlier such victim. "Heck fire, early in the second quarter I began thinking, This team cannot score against us,' " said Iowa Coach Hayden Fry. Indeed, the Hawk-eyes held the Bruins to 74 yards rushing and 86 yards passing. "I don't remember ever being as ineffective in my coaching career as I was today," said UCLA Coach Terry Donahue. "We tried up the middle and were stopped. We tried outside and were stopped. And when we tried to pass, Iowa sacked us." Doing most of the stopping was Iowa Nose Guard Pat Dean, who made 12 tackles, 10 in the first half.
Brigham Young found out it can play offense without Jim McMahon at quarterback in a 41-20 defeat of Colorado. When McMahon left the game early in the third period with a hyperextended left knee, sophomore Steve Young threw for two touchdowns and set up a field goal. Before leaving, McMahon threw for 263 yards and three TDs. He also continued his assault on the NCAA record book, setting marks for most touchdown passes over two years (58) and TDs rushing and passing, in a three-year period (75).
An inspired bit of play selection helped Purdue to a 15-14 win over Notre Dame that gave Irish Coach Gerry Faust back-to-back defeats for the first time since 1968 at Moeller High in Cincinnati. After Phil Carter had run 30 yards for a touchdown to give Notre Dame a 14-7 lead with 2:57 to play, Purdue reached the Irish one-yard line when Steve Bryant hauled in a 42-yard pass from Quarterback Scott Campbell. Following a six-yard loss and a pair of incomplete passes, the Boilermakers called time out with 19 seconds remaining to set up their next play. The mumbo jumbo came from Receiver Coach Dick Dullaghan. "I said 'Hey, 63 roll out of the rip [shotgun formation].' " recalled Dullaghan. "I don't know why I suggested that play." Whatever the reason, it worked as Bryant scored on the pass from Campbell to pull Purdue within one. Using the same play, Campbell again passed to Bryant, this time for the two-point conversion and the victory.
WEST
In what could have been labeled The Battle of the Hobbling Heisman Trophy Candidates, Ohio State's Art Schlichter and Stanford's John Elway, both nursing sore ankles, played to a draw in their personal quarterbacking duel, but the Buckeyes came out on top 24-19. Schlichter completed 16 of 32 passes for 240 yards and two TDs, Elway 28 of 42 for 248 and two TDs. The difference in the game was the Ohio State defense, which held the Cardinals to two field goals through the first three quarters. "We were blitzing and generally pressing," said Ohio State Middle Guard Nick Miller, "but then we went into a nickle and three-man rush. That gave Elway a little more time." Elway took advantage of it, passing to Don Lonsinger and Mike Tolliver for fourth-quarter touchdowns before reinjuring his ankle. Elway returned with 1:33 to play, but the Cardinals' final drive ended on the Ohio State 46 when Vincent White fumbled after catching a short pass.
"We've been choking on duck meat," said Washington Tailback Dennis Brown of last year's 34-10 upset at the hands of the Oregon Webfoots. Brown and his teammates found a more palatable taste in this season's 17-3 win. Still, the game, which was played in intermittent rain, wasn't exactly duck soup for the Huskies. They needed a blocked punt to put them ahead and 10 points in the fourth quarter to keep them there. "I think we finally recognized that this is a rivalry," said Washington Coach Don James. "You better be ready to play. We took this game more seriously this year."
Arizona State may not have taken its game against Washington State seriously enough, and the Sun Devils were upset by the Cougars 24-21. The difference was Kevin Morris' 29-yard field goal with 5:18 to go. Washington State jumped out to a 21-6 halftime lead, the second score having been set up by a 45-yard flanker reverse pass from Paul Escalera to Jeff Poppe, but Arizona State tied the score with two touchdowns and a two-point conversion in a 3:03 span in the third quarter.
SOUTHWEST
Texas and Miami engaged in a defensive struggle for the better part of three quarters in Austin, and then staged a shootout for five minutes and 14 seconds late in the third and early in the fourth quarters. When the smoke had cleared, the Longhorns had two of the three touchdowns, enough for a 14-7 victory. Texas marched 99 yards in seven plays for the first TD. A.J. (Jam) Jones ran nine yards for the score, but the big play in the drive was a 58-yard pass from Rick McIvor to Herkie Walls, who made a juggling, falling catch at the Miami 36. "I practice those just to give the folks something for their money," said Walls. "Seriously, the ball hit me in the face mask. I was bobbling it and just thinking I'd better hold on. If I'd been able to stay on my feet, that would have been something." Miami retaliated on the next series with a four-play, 80-yard scoring drive. The clincher was a 32-yard pass from Jim Kelly to Larry Brodsky. Texas came back with an 80-yard touchdown march of its own. McIvor connected with Donnie Little on a 45-yard pass for the TD. Before all the offense, punters had provided most of the action. Miami's Greg La-Belle averaged 45.4 yards on eight kicks, and Texas' John Goodson booted seven times for a 48.8-yard average.
The officials provided most of the action in Houston's 35-7 win over Utah State. Cougar Quarterback Lionel Wilson ran for two scores and threw for another, but the refs were the real standouts, assessing Houston 208 yards in penalties and Utah State 147.
SOUTH
In a day-night doubleheader in Jackson, Miss., Mississippi State beat Florida 28-7 and then Arkansas defeated Mississippi 27-13. Defense was the key to the Bulldogs' victory, as they picked off five Gator passes, recovered a fumble and held Florida to minus 10 yards rushing. Mississippi trailed Arkansas by seven points late in the fourth quarter and was marching for a score when Cornerback Danny Walters intercepted a John Fourcade pass on the Razor-back 13-yard line and returned it 87 yards for a touchdown. "The second I released the ball I knew it was going to be a footrace," said Fourcade. One that he was bound to lose, according to Walters. "When I tucked the ball away I couldn't see anything but grass," said Walters, "and I knew no quarterback was going to catch me." Three plays before throwing the interception, Fourcade broke the Mississippi career total offense record. His 257 yards gave him 5,677. The old mark belonged to Archie Manning, who accounted for 5,576 yards from 1968 to 1970.
Alabama Coach Bear Bryant moved closer to a record of his own after the Tide beat Vanderbilt 28-7. The win was Bryant's 309th and leaves him just five short of Amos Alonzo Stagg's career victory mark. The Tide rolled when Defensive Tackle Jackie Cline blocked a first-period punt through the end zone for a safety. Seven minutes later, Cline hit Vanderbilt Quarterback Ardell Fuller from behind, jarring the ball loose. Defensive End Russ Wood caught the ball in midair and returned it 33 yards for a touchdown.
Kelvin Bryant of North Carolina had another resplendent day as the Tar Heels routed Boston College 56-14. Celebrating his 21st birthday, Bryant iced Boston College with four touchdowns and 173 yards in 22 carries. In three games, North Carolina has scored 161 points.
Football may be fun again for Georgia's Herschel Walker, who rushed for 176 yards and two touchdowns in the Bulldogs' 24-0 romp over South Carolina. "I was hitting the hole faster this week and I was accelerating," said Walker. "The first few games this season I was dancing and looking too much. I followed my blocks better today."
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PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSE: Kelvin Bryant, North Carolina's 6'2", 195-pound junior tailback, rushed 22 times for 173 yards and four touchdowns in the Tar Heels' 56-14 win over Boston College. Bryant has 15 touchdowns in three games.
DEFENSE: Clay Peacher, a 6'2", 195-pound sophomore linebacker at Mississippi State, had five solo tackles, five assists, two sacks for minus 29 yards and a 34-yard interception return in the Bulldogs' 28-7 defeat of Florida.