A Weekend in Time

A Weekend in Time – VII

This feature discusses the results of one weekend of college football action from the past. Since the archives of Time magazine are a source for these reports, the title has a double meaning.

November 23, 1918

Source: Newspaper reports shortly after Armistice Day ended World War I.

Coach Pop Warner
Coach Glenn "Pop" Warner

Coach John Heisman, Georgia Tech

Michigan-Michigan Aggies Program 1918

Trench Football Game 1918
The object was to get the football past the German generals.

Postman Wearing Flu Mask 1918

Great Lakes Football Team 1918

East

"PITTSBURGH, Pa. — The Pittsburgh Panthers became officially the world's football champions this afternoon by defeating the celebrated Golden Tornado from Georgia Tech, 32 to 0, in a game played for the benefit of the war work fund before a crowd that packed Forbes field and was estimated at fully 30,000. The Southern champions presented a comparatively green team, with only two veterans in the line-up, but their tremendous victories over all the enemies in their own territory this season had caused them to be heralded as nearly the peer of the famous Tornado of 1917, which had swept all before it, including the [Carlisle] Indians and Pennsylvania. The youngsteres simply were not equal to the task of coping with Coach Warner's powerful, experienced machine." The Syracuse Herald
"BOSTON, Mass. — Brown outclassed Dartmouth today in their annual football game on Braves Field and won by a score of 28 to 0. The elevens lacked the finish and organization of before the war teams, but Brown possessed sufficient power to carry the ball for steady gains in each period. Brown's heavy line tore large holes in Dartmouth's defense and through these openings Gagon and Samson smashed their way for repeated gains." New York Times
"EASTON, Penn. – Lehigh defeated Lafayette on March Field this afternoon by the score of 17 to 0. During the first half the Maroon and White held her opponents scoreless, but in the third quarter weakened and as a result, Lehigh scored two touchdowns in almost as many minutes. Dowd ran forty-five yards through the entire Lafayette team on returning a punt. Almost immediately afterward Lehigh blocked a kick and in four downs Savaria made the second touchdown. Nolan dropped the ball between the bars in the fourth for the last point scored." Wire Service Report

Midwest

"CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. — DePauw walloped Wabash in the annual football clash, between the two schools on Ingalls Field here today, 28 to 6, when the visitors took advantage of the crippled Little Giant team and scored a touchdown in each of the first two quarters and then tallied two in the final period of play. DePauw's bleating goats went wild from the grand stand and rushed on the field at the sound of the Tigers' final note, hoisted their fighting warriors to their shoulders and carried them off the field. Likewise the Presbyterian bunch exhibited the proper losing spirit and carried their players off the field. More than 600 supporters accompanied the visitors here to witness the contest and they outnumbered the local fans." Indianapolis Sunday Star
"CHICAGO, Ill — Chicago was an easy victim for Illinois today, the down state football team winning from the Maroons 20 to 0. Chicago never threatened a score and was able to achieve nothing more than sporadic short gains. The conference leaders encountered just enough to make the game a pretty spectacle. With Walquist and Kirkpatrick alternating in attacking the ends together with short forward passes over the flanks, the Illinois squad furnished good entertainment." Wire Service Report
"ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The University of Michigan outplayed the Michigan Aggies here this afternoon, defeating the East Lansing eleven 21 to 6 chiefly by their ability to break through the visitors' defense. The Aggies' only score came in the final few minutes of play when two fast forward passes close to the Wolverine goal enabled Archer to get over."
"COLUMBUS, O. – In a game marked by fumbles and ragged playing, Wisconsin defeated Ohio State here to-day by a score of 14 to 3. Both of Wisconsin's touchdowns came after 50-yard runs by Smith, the first one in the first period from a punt formation and the second in the final period when he intercepted an Ohio State forward pass on his own 20-yard line. Sundi kicked both goals."

South

With most of South's major schools (e.g, Alabama, LSU, Tennessee) not fielding teams because of the war and others not playing on this date, here were the few results in addition to Georgia Tech's visit to Pittsburgh covered above.
- South Carolina 13 Wofford 0
- Clemson 67 Furman 7

Southwest

"AUSTIN, Tex. — The University of Texas defeated the Southern Methodist University of Dallas here today with a score of 32 to 0. The Texas line up was considerably heavier than that of S. M. U. and a very muddy slippery field worked to the disadvantage of the first light S. M. U. However, the Methodists fought the Longhorns veterans grimly and several times had them on line plunges until S. M. U. got the ball on downs. S. M. U. worked one pretty series of passes behind the line until men were cleared for a forward pass, which netted twenty-five yards. Texas made the first touchdown within seven minutes after S. M. U. had received their kick by a series of short gains after the Methodists had been forced to punt. The weight of the Texans kept S. M. U. struggling uphill all through the game, and several passes by the Longhorns netted gains contributing largely to touchdowns." San Antonio Light
"COLLEGE STATION, Tex. — The Camp Mabry (Austin) soldier team proved easy for A. & M. here this afternoon, the farmers taking a one-sided game 19 to 7. The second string A. & M. squad battled the first half with the soldiers, but in the third quarter, the first team took the field, running up all A. & M.'s scores with long end runs and forward passes. Camp Mabry scored In the final quarter, when a soldier recovered a blocked kick."
"ENID, Ok. – In one of the most savagely contested games ever played in this city the University of Oklahoma this afternoon defeated Phillips University by the score of 14 to 7. The very inclement weather caused much discomfort to the spectators. All of the points scored were made on forward passes, neither team being able to gain consistently through the line. Swatik and Hill starred for Oklahoma while Roby was the star for Phillips." The Galveston Daily News

West

"PASADENA, Calif. — The Universlty of Southern California took Stanford into camp today in an intercollegiate football game by a score of 28 to 0. Los Angeles boys had a weight advantage and also proved to have had more experience. Stanford put up a game battle and fought every inch of the way. The game was played at Tournament park, here, because the mask ordinance is again in effect in Los Angeles. An order was issued here this morning that masks must be donned at 4 o'clock, but the players managed to wind up the contest before the law went into effect." Oakland Tribune [The mask ordinance resulted from the influenza epidemic.]
"BERKELEY, Cal. – The University of California defeated the University of Oregon here today 6 to 0 in a strongly contested football game. Oregon had one opportunity to tie the score in the third quarter when they rushed the ball to the Californians' one-yard line, where they lost it." Helena Daily Independent
"GREAT LAKES, Ill. – The undefeated Great Lakes naval training statlon football team, which nosed out Annapolis today by a 7-to-6 score <see above> will represent the east in the inter-sectional match in Pasadena this winter at the Rose Tournament. This was assured today when Commander John B. Kaufman, athletic officer of the midwest naval station, received a wire from B. O. Kendall, president of the Tournament of Roses committee, inviting the Great Lakes team to the coast."

October 31, 1925

"Last Saturday, with a tooth in the wind and a squint in the sky, saw the yellow moon of football ripening to the full."

East

"Coach Roper of Princeton kept backs Slagle and Bridges sitting on the bench beside him lest they get hurt before the Harvard game this week, but he sent Dignan against Swarthmore, knowing well that if Dignan were not there to punt, if Dignan were not there to throw passes, hit the line, and tackle, his team might make a poor showing. Dignan did well. Score: Princeton 19, Swarthmore 7."
"Harvard managed to beat William and Mary though there were Boston 'townies' who left the stands loudly insisting that Mary had played the whole game - that if William had got in, even for a period, everything would have been different. Score: Harvard 12, William and Mary 7."
Yale broke a 7-7 tie in the last period to defeat "an overtrained and suddenly despairing Army eleven." Score: Yale 28, Army 7.
"Emerson Carey Jr. kicked a goal from the 39-yard line so that Cornell could beat Columbia - a goal that never would have been needed if two lucky breaks had not given the latter a brace of unearned touchdowns. Cornell made 23 first downs to Columbia's 6. Score: Cornell 17, Columbia 14."
"Dartmouth kept its slate clean by the efforts of two linesmen who blocked two kicks and scored two touchdowns to beat Brown, 14 to 0."
"Holy Cross, another undefeated team, had an easy time with Bucknell. Score: Holy Cross 23, Bucknell 7."
"It is bad to be born with a name like a fumble, Michalske, for instance; worse if that is your name and you actually fumble to let in the one score of a game that would otherwise have been a scoreless tie. Yet a man is not responsible for his name nor for every sleight of fortune that may juggle a ball out of his arms, and teammates tried to console Fullback Michalske of Penn State even though his fumble in the second half meant that Syracuse won, 7 to 0."
"Eleven dogged Pittsburghers, once called the Panthers, rampaged against a flaccid team from Johns Hopkins. Score: Pittsburgh 31, Johns Hopkins 0."

Midwest

"'Red' Grange, in a new yellow head-guard that shone like the helmet of Navarre, ran out on a field at Philadelphia before 65,000 people who had decided that he was a myth. Before the game was five minutes old Grange had run 60 yards for a touchdown; before it was over he had scored two more and made a fourth possible. He carried the ball 36 times, gained 363 yards. Score: Illinois 24, Pennsylvania 2" The turf at Franklin Field was "wet and soggy from the previous day's snowfall and under conditions which were expected to prove a big handicap to Grange." Instead, "this ace of backfield aces moved with the sure-footedness of a panther, the speed of a deer and the destructive force of a cyclone. Instead of being hampered, the Illinois captain thrived on the heavy going, keeping his feet as he dodged and twisted, shaking off tacklers by the half-dozen with a deadly straight arm and always pressing forward ..." (Associated Press)
"A broken-nosed back named McCarty ran 25 yards to make the lone touchdown by which Chicago registered its customary victory over Purdue. Score: Chicago 6, Purdue 0."
"The Wolverines of Michigan snarled and snapped, clawed, chewed up the Navy team, 54 to 0. 'Biggest naval disaster of all time,' said critics." Associated Press: "The United States Navy's proud gridiron dreadnaught, buffeted and broken by a great Michigan tidal wave, limped into port tonight on the leeward side of a 54-to-0 score. Great holes were torn in her sides; holes through which the Wolverines poured line smashes, long passes and brilliant runs. ... The greatest crowd that ever witnessed a football game in Michigan - 48,000 persons - saw Michigan jam over a touchdown when the game had only just begun."
Associated Press: "EAST LANSING, Mich. Colgate's fast and heavy backfield led by Eddie Tryon, leading point scorer of the east, turned aside Michigan State's defense today to gain a 14 to 0 victory before 7000 homecomers. State's defense which had held Colgate scoreless in the first haf weakened to allow Colgate backs to score touchdowns in the third and fourth quarters. Tryon added both points after touchdowns."

South

"Southern sport writers call Georgia Tech's team 'The Golden Tornado,' but for all the explosive grandeur of that name Georgia could do little against Flanagan and his friends from Notre Dame. Score: Notre Dame 13, Georgia Tech 0."
Associated Press: "Shreveport La. The Louisiana Tiger was as docile as a house kitten when it fared forth for battle with the Razorbacks of the University of Arkansas at the State Fair here this afternoon and the Porkers ran up 12 points. Their goal line was intact. It made the fourth consecutive win for the squad from Fayetteville and marked the first time either team had registered that many wins in a row since they started their annual battle here nineteen years ago."

Southwest

"After three scoreless periods, Spears of Drake crossed the goalline of a somewhat bleeding Kansas; Sutherland added the point. Score: Drake 7, Kansas 0."
Associated Press: "DALLAS, Texas. The 15,000 fans who packed the Dallas fair stadium here this afternoon to see Texas university and SMU battle to a scoreless tie, witnessed a great finish to the game, when in the last quarter the Mustangs passed to the Texas university's 5-yard line. It seemed that a touchdown was inevitable, but the Longhorn line held. Twice Cortmelgia hurled himself against the Longhorn forward wall to gain only 3 yards. Wade tried and made a yard. Then the 'wonderful wop' tried again. He was thrown for no gain, and the Longhorns kicked out of danger."
Associated Press: LINCOLN, Neb. A touchdown early in the first quarter on a line smash by 'Choppy' Rhodes and another just before the final whistle blew as a result of a long pass snared by A. Mandery gave the University of Nebraska a 12 to 0 victory over an earnest Oklahoma team in Memorial stadium here this afternoon. The Sooners had everything requisite to a first class eleven, except a consistent attack."

Nebraska (dark) vs Oklahoma 1925

West

Associated Press: "GOLDEN COL. Colorado university's former Rocky mountain champions brought down the colors of the Colorado School of Mines by handing them a 14 to 2 defeat after being battled to a standstill through three gruelling periods before a capacity homecoming day crowd here Saturday."
Oakland Tribune: "STANFORD STADIUM. Ability to administer a punch at crucial moments gave 'Pop' Warner's Stanford Cardinals a well-earned 35 to 13 victory over the University of Oregon's eleven here today, despite the fact that the Cards, hampered by the use of many second string players, failed to show any outstanding brilliance in either attack or defense."
Associated Press: "PULLMAN, Wash. Washington loomed more than ever as a possible contender for the Pacific coast football title when she defeated Washington State College this afternoon 23 to 0. The Huskies clinched the game from the start, scoring 14 points in the first quarter."

Princeton coach Bill Roper

1925 Yale-Army Program

Mike Michalske, Penn State

Harold "Red" Grange, Illinois
Harold "Red" Grange

HB Eddie Tryon, Colgate
Eddie Tryon, Colgate

Nebraska vs Oklahoma 1925
Choppy Rhodes over the top - Nebraska vs Oklahoma

Coach Glenn "Pop" Warner
Stanford Coach Pop Warner

October 13, 1928

Reference: "Football", Time, October 22, 1928

Chris Cagle

Mayes McLain

"Soldiers' Field, Cambridge MA, is surrounded by a dreary, dilapidated stadium; from factory chimneys near it long pennants of smoke twist in the wind and mark the low sky. Into the stadium last week there drifted a drooling drizzle and a cold, odorous draught. North Carolina, accustomed to warm blue afternoons, grew as stiff as a dying hare. Harvard backs called Gilligan and French fooled Carolina ends called Sapp and Presson so well that Harvard won 20-0."
"As elusive as a god, Chris Cagle of the Army tempted Providence to catch him while he, proceeding in a mysterious way, kept out of reach. Chris Cagle, together with his soldiers, scored 44 points and made Providence seem inadequate."
"Yale avenged its only defeat of 1927 by dowing Georgia 21-6 at New Haven. The Elis' Garvey scored twice on long runs.
"Bucknell's Halicki covered his ugly broken nose with an even uglier protective framework. He then proceeded to make a touchdown, despite Penn State's wild Wolf, who came scampering and sniffing in his tracks." That was the only score in a 6-0 victory."
"In a Big Apple rivalry, New York University crushed Fordham 34-7. "Magpie N.Y.U. students pulled down the goal posts."
"In other Eastern games, "Rutgers died for Holy Cross 46-0" and "Princeton and Virginia came to naught to naught."
"[Republican presidential candidate] Herbert Hoover Jr., Vice President Dawes, Mayors Walker of New York City and Thompson of Chicago, Secretary of the Navy Wilbur, Governor Len Small of Illinois, were a tiny fraction of the largest crowd in U.S. football history (117,000). They sat at Soldier Field, Chicago. They saw Colerick take a pass from Niemiec, causing Notre Dame to sink the Navy 7-0."
"When Mayes McLain, Cherokee Indian, played for Haskell he scored 253 points in the 1926 season. Mayes McLain kicked, passed, plowed, ran, bowled over, tackled, for Iowa. Mayes McLain carried the ball 22 times for an average gain of five yards. Thus Iowa licked Chicago 13-0."
"Wisconsin took on Cornell College (Iowa) and Dakota Aggies on the same day, drubbed both of them."
"Montana's substitute Worden picked up a fumble and scampered 90 yards for a TD. But Nebraska won, 26-6."
"While California was nosing out Washington State, California's southern branch [UCLA] was being trounced by Stanford. Still another institution, the University of Southern California, defeated St. Mary's 19-6."
"Georgia Tech, many times the comet of the South, won from Tulane 12-0."
"Vanderbilt out-tussled Texas 13-12."
"LSU scored its second straight romp over an in-state school. Last week it was Southwestern Louisiana Institute 46-0. This week, Louisiana College, 41-0."

November 7, 1931

Source: Associated Press and United Press reports November 8, 1931, the day my older brother was born.

East

"A stubborn, colorful band of Tigers from Louisiana State, clad in purple and backed by all the loyalty of the state, gave Army a tussle today before bowing, 20-0, before a crowd of 15,000" at West Point. The Cadets scored in each of the first three periods and were stopped on the 7 in Q4. Dropped passes cost the visitors two scores. 200 fans and the 150-piece Tiger band accompanied the squad. However, Governor Huey Long, having political troubles at the moment, was afraid to leave the state. "Mrs. Huey P. Long, wife of the governor, with her three children and Alice Lee Grosjean, secretary of state, led the rooters in person. The Tigers, dangerous at all times, could not manage to score. They tried all that was old and all that was new in the game without getting farther than the Army 26 yard line in Q1 and again to the 30 in the final period, despite the fine kicking of Tom Smith, State fullback." NOTE: This is the only game LSU has ever played against a service academy.
Another Southern team had a better result from its visit to New York. Unbeaten Georgia edged NYU 7-6 before 63,000 at Yankee Stadium. Trailing 6-0, "outrushed and outplayed, the Georgians struck their decisive blow at the outset of the third period," a 97 yd return of the second half kickoff by Buster Mott. However, the game was not clinched until "a magnificent goal-line stand."
7-6 was also the tally by which Harvard beat Dartmouth in Cambridge. And, like Georgia, the undefeated Crimson came from behind. "After being checked for 56 minutes," Captain Barry Wood rallied his fumbling and stumbling Harvard forces just long enough to put over a touchdown with one of his amazing aerial miracles and then drop-kicked the vital point. On fourth down he ran wide to the right on the 45-yeard line and whipped a long, straight pass that Carl Hageman caught on the 10 yard line, far beyond the Green's efficient 2-2-1, overhead defense."
Pittsburgh defeated Carnegie Tech 14-6 in the 18th annual clash of crosstown rivals. "Caught off their feet by a fast starting, more highly touted Panther team, the Scots kept their noses to the grindstone to the end, and got a touchdown to assuage their wounds somewhat just before the game ended."

Midwest

"Notre Dame's football hurricane swept the Quakers from Pennsylvania right into a storm cellar today and buried them there under the debris of an astounding 49 to 0 defeat." The Fighting Irish have now won 25 of their last 26 contests. 35,000 saw Knute Rockne's boys down Penn by nine more points than last year's 60-20 victory. "If ever the critics agreed that Notre Dame of 1931 was on a par or better than the undefeated elevens of 1929 and '30, and the immortal four horsemen of 1924 it was today."
Arkansas joined the parade of teams that traveled north. "Arkansas turned loose a greased Razorback fullback, Ledbetter, who slithered through Chicago's line for two touchdowns in the final period today to earn a 13-13 tie with the Maroons in their intersectional football game. The fourth period was a breathtaker and it had a crowd of about 12,000 spectators in an unaccustomed state of excitement. Vinson Sahlin, Chicago sophomore halfback ace, had given the Maroons a 13-0 lead with touchdowns in the first half and Chicago seemed to have its first major victory of the season safely won. But the Razorbacks, who had tossed passes for three periods with varying success, suddenly came back to earth."
"The Navy Dreadnaught was limping back to its home port at Annapolis tonight badly battered from sixty minutes of tossing on Ohio rocks. The Buckeyes trimmed the midshipmen, 20-0, before a homecoming crowd of 60,640 who refused to leave in spite of rain, sleet and hail." Navy worked the ball within scoring distance five times but was turned back every time. "Ohio scored first in the second period when Sid Gillman connected with one of Cramer's passes on the 20-yard line, shook off two tacklers and dashed the remaining distance across the goal line."
In Big Ten play, "the undefeated Wildcats of Northwestern, the same team that held Notre Dame to a scoreless tie, mowed down Minnesota 32 to 14 in a fourth period scoring riot before a homecoming crowd of 48,000 today and as good as won the 1931 championship of the Western Conference." Michigan smothered Indiana 22-0 before 25,000 "blanketed but still shivering in a raw November wind with a threat of snow." Wisconsin trimmed "downtrodden" Illinois 7-6 (there's that score again). Another Big Ten school, Iowa, lost a non-conference game to Nebraska at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, 7-0. The Cornhuskers of the Big Six Conference drove 62 yd in Q3 for the only score.
In Big Six conference action, Oklahoma downed the Kansas Jayhawkers 10-0. Bob Dunlap thrilled the "wildly enthusiastic" homecoming crowd of 14,000 at Owen Field in Norman with his 47 yd TD scamper.
At State Field, Ames IA, Iowa State "came back today from a three year stretch of ill fortune to make a big for the Big Six championship by overcoming the previously undefeated Kansas Aggies, 7-6. A placekick from the toe of Dick Grefe, lanky HB, after Kenneth Wells had gathered in a pass for a TD, was the margin of victory."

South

"Behind a crushing offensive attack supported superbly by an almost impenetrable defense, Vanderbilt overwhelmed hitherto unconquered Maryland 39 to 12" in a Southern Conference clash in Nashville before a crowd of "close to 10,000." Both teams now are out of the running for the loop title, since the Commodores previously had lost games to Tulane and Georgia."
"While Coach Bob Neyland and most of the Tennessee varsity scouted the Commodores in Nashville today, the reserves stayed at home and kept clean the Vols' 1931 record of an unscored goal line by defeating little Carson-Newman College 31 to 0. Beattie Feathers, Breezy Wynn and Leo Petruzza, sophomore backs, led in Tennessee's scoring attack."
TCU turned by Rice 7-6 in Fort Worth to keep their record clean. Spearman, TCU LHB, ran 60 yd for a TD on a punt return in Q1. With only four minutes left in the game, the Owls' HB Thrasher scored but Jamerson missed the kick. In the remaining minutes, Rice drove to the 12 and again to the 10 only to be turned away.
"Returning to championship form, the Texas Longhorns gored the Baylor Bears for a 25-0 victory." The Steers "passed and ran the Bruins ragged." Ernie Koy started the scoring parade with a 50 yd INT return. UT made 14 first downs to only 5 for the visitors.
"Southern Methodist University line men—the fellows who stay down there in the mire of the battle and get little credit for their accomplishments, entered glory hall by the front door today when the Mustangs bent Texas A & M, 8 to 0. It was the Mustangs' seventh consecutive win and their fourth straight conference triumph and left them one of the few unbeaten and untied teams in the United States." All SMU scoring came on blocked punts, one for a TD and one for a safety.

West

"Southern California advanced a long stride toward the Pacific Coast Conference football championship by defeating Stanford 19-0 today before a record crowd estimated at 95,000" at Olympic Stadium in Los Angeles, site of next summer's games. The Stanford hopes were dealt a solid body blow on the first play when Phil Moffat, the flashy HB, was injured and taken out of the game." Stanford coach Glenn "Pop" Warner wrote in his syndicated newspaper report after the game: "The Trojans' pass defense made Stanford's passing game look bad. The Southern California team had much more power in the line and its backs drove harder."
The Cal Bears "romped down the field and through the Washington line as no California eleven has in years" to give the home crowd of 45,000 "a succession of cold chills and high moments." After a scoreless first half, "versatile HB" Schaldach sparked two TD drives for a 13-0 victory.
Washington State used a FG to turn defeat into victory. Sub FB Eubanks, "unknown to football glory," gave the Cougars their 9-8 victory over the Idaho Vandals before a dad's day crowd of 10,000 in the closing minutes. The soggy field handicapped both teams. "Wilson, Idaho quarter, however, found poor footing no handicap in making constant gains."
"A fighting Colorado College football team thrilled its homecoming crowd of 5000 at Washburn field by holding Utah university to a 25 to 6 score today. In conference play, the score was the smallest to which the Utes had been held this year in their march to a fourth consecutive Rocky Mountain championship."

Buster Mott (far left)

Bob Neyland

Ernie Koy

Los Angeles Coliseum during 1932 Olympics

September 21, 1957

Reference: Fifty Years of College Football: A Modern History of America's Most Colorful Sport, Bob Boyles and Paul Guido

Jakie Sandefer

Jimmy Orr

Jimmy Taylor

Jim Letcavits

The season kicked off with a Friday night game at the L.A. Coliseum. Florida was scheduled to make the trip west to play UCLA, but a flu epidemic two weeks earlier forced the Gators to cancel. The Air Force Academy, in only its fourth year of existence and third year playing football, filled the visitors position. To no one's surprise, the Bruins romped 47-0.
The next day on the opposite coast, another service academy, Navy, helped Boston College dedicate its new on-campus stadium. The #12 Midshipmen proved to be rude guests, spoiling the festive atmosphere, which included the ex-King of Belgium, with a relentless O that torpedoed the Eagles 46-6.
With only three starters back, preseason #1 Oklahoma seemed to face an uphill battle in extending its 40-game winning streak. A sellout crowd welcomed the Sooners to Pitt Stadium in hopes of seeing their #8 Panthers burst the bubble. But Bud Wilkinson had only reloaded, not rebuilt. HB Jakie Sandefer and QBs Carl Dodd and David Baker all threw TD passes. Pitt fumbles helped the visitors ring up a 26-0 victory.
North Carolina State and North Carolina wasted no time in renewing their rivalry in the first of three straight openers scheduled in Chapel Hill. The Wolfpack D held the Tar Heels to 148y. State HB Dick Hunter's 5y Q1 TD following QB Frank Cackovic's 50y run proved to be the only score of the game.
#10 Duke traveled to the Carolina to the south to defeat the Gamecocks 26-14. The Blue Devils' QB, Bob Brodhead (future LSU AD), scored on a 1y sneak as part of a dominant second half after a 7-7 halftime standoff.
Underdog Virginia held West Virginia twice at the 1 at the end of the game to preserve a 6-6 tie in Morgantown. The Mountaineers took the lead just before halftime on a 62y heave from QB Mickey Trimarki to HB Ralph Anastasio. The Cavaliers finally cranked up an 80y, 10-play drive to tie with 3:10 left in the game but missed the go-ahead PAT.
Texas invaded Athens and thumped the Bulldogs 26-7 in the first game for Longhorn coach Darrell Royal. FB Mike Dowdle scored twice and QB Walt Fondren once. The only Georgia score came on a 57 TD pass from QB Charlie Britt to HB Jimmy Orr in Q3.
With its best crop of sophomores in history - including Billy Cannon - joining quality upperclassmen like senior FB Jimmy Taylor, LSU looked forward to a successful season. But Rice wasn't impressed, winning for the first time in Baton Rouge since 1935. The Owls trailed 14-7 entering Q4 but used the passing of tandem QBs Frank Ryan and King Hill and the running of HB Pat Bailey and FB Ray Chilton to score twice and get out of town with a 20-14 triumph. The Tigers scored first on Taylor's 1y plunge in Q3. Jimmy also ran 13y to the EZ the next period. The winning TD came on a two-play 51y strike – Hill's 35y pass to E Buddy Dial and Chilton's 16y race to paydirt.
Vanderbilt's home opener started badly, with Missouri LB Tom Swaney returning QB Boyce Smith's pass 51y for a score in the first 90 seconds. But that proved to be the Tigers only tally. The Commodores started their scoring drive late in Q1 and capped it with FB Jim Butler's 1y run. Each team squandered a second half chance, Mizzou recovering a fumble on the Vandy 28 but giving it right back on the next play and then the home team driving to the enemy 20 only to lose a fumble. The scoreboard stayed at 7-7 until the final gun.
Rain pelted TCU and Kansas in Fort Worth. Fans who persevered witnessed an exciting ending. The home team owned the first half, outgaining the Jayhawks 207-4. In the first three minutes, the KU C snapped the ball over the punter's head, a Frog recovering on the 3 to set up an easy TD. HB Jim Shofner capped a 78y drive in Q2, but a bad snap led to the PAT kick being blocked. Kansas fought back after the break, finally gaining a field position edge in the muck. QB Bob Marshall tossed short to HB Charlie McCue, who scampered 34y to paydirt. KU launched a desperation drive in the last minutes that culminated in Marshall's TD pass to E Jim Letcavits in the EZ. However, K Ray Barnes missed on the conversion to leave the score tied at 13.
Elsewhere in the Southwest, #2 Texas A&M defeated Maryland at the Cotton Bowl 21-13 in the same rainstorm that pummeled nearby Forth Worth. Each team started fast, scoring on its first possession. The Aggies QB Roddy Osborne ran in a TD and then his opposite number, Dickie Lewis, slanted 3y to the EZ. The Terrapins' pass attack was severely hampered by the rain and wind, going only 1-7 for 3y. A&M went ahead 14-7. Then when the Terps scored, Osborne blocked the EP to preserve the lead. Another TD and EP gave Bear Bryant's Aggies a secure 8-point lead with the 2-point conversion rule still a year away.
Pacific Coast Conference play began with #19 Southern Cal playing #13 Oregon State in Portland. After a scoreless opening period, the Beavers drove 71, 80, and 70y for a 20-0 triumph. USC gained only 190y and punted 8 times.

Dick Hunter

Darrell Royal

Frank Ryan

Jim Shofner

Bear Bryant

October 28, 1967

Reference: Fifty Years of College Football: A Modern History of America's Most Colorful Sport, Bob Boyles and Paul Guido

O. J. Simpson USC
O.J. Simpson

Larry Csonka

Terry Hanratty

Chuck Fairbanks

Southern Cal, the unanimous #1 in the AP poll, had no trouble with Oregon 28-6. However, TB O.J. Simpson limped off early in Q3 with what is hoped is not a serious injury. His replacement, Steve Grady, gained 108y and a TD in the second half. Since The Juice had only 63y on 23 carries, he was not the leading ball carrier for the Trojans. The Ducks didn't dent the Coliseum scoreboard until the last two minutes.
#3 Colorado's 10-game winning streak ended on their home field at the hands of Oklahoma State 10-7. OSU's only TD came at the end of a 69y march with the opening KO. QB Ronnie Johnson scored from the 7. The Cowboys added a FG in Q3, enough to withstand CU's TD with less than ten minutes left.
#4 Tennessee survived a nail-biter over the visiting LSU Tigers. Karl Kremser booted a 33y FG with 1:05 to play to break a 14-14 tie. But LSU's FB Eddie Ray threw a surprise 16y pass to help set up Roy Hurd's 36y FG try which went wide right. QB Dewey Warren didn't start because of injuries but came off the bench to hit 41y and 14y passes to set up his own 7y TD scramble. Then LB Jimmy Glover's INT of Tiger QB Nelson Stokley halted a threat shortly before halftime. Tennessee then went 80y, scoring on TB Walter Chadwick's 6y somersault. However, Sammy Grezaffi returned the ensuing KO 100y to make the score 14-7 at the break. After going without a first down in Q3, LSU drove 80y to tie the game in the last period on Stokley's 14y run. UT came right back for the winning FG.
#8 Wyoming edged Arizona State 15-13 in Tempe. The 7-0 Cowboys opened with QB Paul Toscano's 63y TD bomb to WR Gene Huey in Q1. K Jerry DePoyster missed the PAT but added a 38y FG later for a 9-0 lead. After an ASU TD, DePoyster struck again to make it 12-7 in Q4. Then FB Max Anderson ran 99y to put the Sun Devils in front 13-12 after a 2-point pass failed. But DePoyster's record 30th career FG from the 26 won it.
#9 Houston lost its second game of the season. Ole Miss prevailed 14-13 on the basis on a missed conversion. The visiting Cougars struck first on little Don Bean's 74y punt return in Q1. Then Rebel QB Bruce Newell tied it before halftime on a 28y pass to E Mac Haik. Tom Paciorek intercepted two UM passes deep in his own territory to maintain the tie. However, Newell hit TE Hank Shows for a Q3 TD. Cougar QB Dick Woodward connected on a 42y TD in Q4 but Ken Hebert missed the PAT.
After finishing 5-6 last year, Ohio State was only 2-2 this season. But the Buckeyes' slow start got worse as 2-4 Illinois won the Illibuck Trophy for only the third time in the last 14 tries – and in Columbus to boot. HB Dave Jackson dove over from the 1-foot line with 34 seconds for a 17-13 win. WR Dean Volkman, transferred to QB because of injuries, led the winning drive with passes of 7, 16, and 14 to WR John Wright. Woody Hayes' O had eaten up eight minutes of Q4 with an 18-play, 65y drive to take a 13-10 lead, succeeding on fourth down three times along the way.
In another Big Ten clash, Minnesota won the Little Brown Jug with a 20-15 win over Michigan in Minneapolis. Gopher QB Curt Wilson ran for two TDs and passed for a third to gain revenge for last season's 49-0 shellacking in Ann Arbor. Bump Elliott's Wolverines fell to 1-5 despite leading 15-0 until Minnesota scored with only 0:49 left in the first half. With the score 15-13, the Gophers found themselves on the Michigan 3 with 4th-and-two and 5:40 left. Coach Murrary Warmath was persuaded by his assistants to go for it, and Wilson rewarded his faith by faking a handoff and zipping outside to score. However, the visitors didn't go down without a fight, reaching the Gopher 21 before four passes by QB Dennis Brown fell incomplete. Then George Hoey's punt return almost made paydirt, but the punter shoved him out of bounds at the 26 when Hoey didn't cut to the center of the field. The Gopher D sacked Brown twice to preserve the victory
Eastern Independents Penn State and Syracuse staged their annual clash. QB Tom Sherman of the visiting Nittany Lions hit TE Ted Kwalick to key a 22-14 PSU lead at the half. But Larry Csonka, alternating between HB and FB, sparked a second half surge by the Orangemen. Csonka's second TD made the score 22-20 but a two-point pass was dropped. This forced Syracuse to take chances that resulted in an EZ INT by DB Tim Montgomery and another INT that LB Dennis Onknotz returned 53y for the clinching TD.
Virginia Tech succeeded in winning its seventh straight game for the first time since 1918. West Virginia was the victim, 20-7 in Morgantown. Ron Davidson's 73y punt return set up a 2y TD plunge as the Hokies built a 20-0 lead.
What a difference a year makes. After meeting late in November of 1966 as the #1 and #2 teams in The Game of the Century, Michigan State and Notre Dame had five losses between them as they clashed at South Bend. The Irish prevailed 24-12, thanks primarily to FB Jeff Zimmerman who gained 135 on 20 carries with 2 TDs. One of the scores came on a 30y pass from QB Terry Hanratty for a 17-0 halftime edge. But the injury-riddled Spartans rallied for two Q4 TDs despite having six additional players suspended for curfew violations.
Rookie coach Chuck Fairbanks watched his undefeated Oklahoma Sooners throttle Missouri 7-0 in Columbia. He must have wondered if it was enough to get his squad in the Top 20. The Tigers held the nation's top rushing attack to only 150y, over 100 below its average. But the Sooner D pitched its third shutout of the season. The key play of the game was OU QB Bobby Warmack's 51y pass to TE Steve Zabel to the 7 to set up the game's only score.

Sammy Grezaffi

Murray Warmath

Ted Kwalick

Steve Zabel

September 15, 1990

This report is based primarily on "College Report" in the September 24, 1990 issue of Sports Illustrated.

Jason Verduzco

Todd Marinovich

Tommy Maddox

Mike Mayweather

As usual, QBs took the spotlight.

5'9" 185 lb sophomore Jason Verduzco has big shoes to fill at Illinois since Jeff George turned pro last spring after his junior season and became the #1 pick in the NFL draft. After John Mackovic's Illini lost on the road at Arizona 28-16 last week, Verduzco led a come-from-behind 23-22 upset of #9 Colorado in the home opener. Little Jason hit 23-29 for 222 and 2 TDs, including five straight passes in a march capped by FB Howard Griffith's one-yard plunge with 1:18 to play for the win.
"QB sensation" Ty Detmer, who led #5 Brigham Young to a shocking win over Miami last week, worried that his teammates were still basking in the glow of that upset. The first half against Washington State proved him right. Facing a 29-7 deficit, Coach La Vell Edwards, a former Mormon bishop, delivered a stern sermon in the locker room. Detmer then led a 36-point Q4 blitz to win 50-36. Ty finished with 5 TD passes and 448 yd. He increased to 15 his NCAA record for consecutive games with 300 yd in the air.
"Robo QB" Todd Marinovich, so named because his father engineered him from the cradle to be a passer, went 22-34/ 240/TD as USC defeated visiting Penn State 19-14. Joe Paterno thus lost his opening two games for only the second time in his 25 year career as a head coach. His own QB, Tony Sacca, threw 16-34/243/TD/2 INTs. In Q4, trailing 19-7, Lion TB Gary Brown raced 32 and 8y to the Trojan 1 but was removed to keep him fresh in the heat. After three runs were stuffed, a fourth-down pass was blocked. PSU did score five minutes later but it wasn't enough.
Notre Dame opened its season with sophomore QB Rick Mirer leading the fourth straight win over Michigan. Mirer threw the winning 18y TD to WR Adrian Jarrell with 1:40 to electrify the South Bend crowd. The tally completed a comeback from 24-14 down. The Wolverines enjoyed two TD catches by Desmond Howard from QB Elvis Grbac (17-30/190/2TD). TB Jon Vaughn ran for 201y in the losing cause.
UCLA's freshman QB Tommy Maddox passed 5-5/71y in a little more than a minute to set up a last-second FG to upend Stanford 32-31. For the game, Maddox was 13-20/244/2TD.
Washington QB Mark Brunell was only 11-24/150/TD/INT but ran for 76y, including a 47y TD scamper in Q1. The Huskies defeated Purdue in West Lafayette 20-14.

Other games:

Army celebrated the kickoff of its centennial season. The glory days of WWII – three straight national championships ('44-'46) – have been replaced by 20 years with only eight winning seasons. Nevertheless, 5'8" 190 lb Mike Mayweather has put his name in the annals of West Point greats. He finished 1989 with a school-record 1,177y and a career 2,961, besting the immortal Glenn Davis's total by 4. He slashed through Holy Cross for 127y and 2 TD in a 24-7 victory.
Kansas State took a giant stride under second-year coach Bill Snyder. The Wildcats defeated their first Division I-A foe since 1986 with a victory over New Mexico State 52-7. KSU is now 2-0 for the first time since 1982. The fans obeyed Snyder's admonition: "I don't want our people to tear down goalposts for doing mediocre things."
Gannon, a Division III school in Erie PA, won its first game in 40 years. No, the school hasn't been that inept. The Knights dropped football following the 1950 season and went 0-7 last year after resuming the sport.
Another school that has revived football is Division II Cumberland in Lebanon TN. If the name sounds familiar, it's because the school is in the record books for the 222-0 loss to Georgia Tech in 1916, the worst in NCAA history. The Bulldogs lost only 38-0 Saturday to Campbellsville (KY).