College Football

MORE, LIONS, MORE

At first, Yale coach Carmen Cozza wasn't certain what to make of the news that Columbia, the Elis' opponent this Saturday, had defeated Princeton 16-13 to end Division I's longest losing streak at 44 games. One thing it means, of course, is that the Lions will come to New Haven thinking about a winning streak, for heaven's sake. "We've tasted victory, and it's time for a bigger bite," said Columbia tailback Greg Abbruzzese, who rushed for 182 yards.

Still, Cozza would rather face the Lions coming off their historic victory than with them still carrying the burdens of a winless streak extending all the way back to Oct. 15, 1983—and a 21-18 win over Yale.

"The pressure is off them a little bit now," said Cozza. "And our team, struggling as we are [0-3-1], doesn't need any added pressure. We need a win, too."

Columbia's victory came at the expense of Princeton and its fraternal stars, quarterback Jason and halfback Judd Garrett, who only three years ago were Lions. Their father, Jim, resigned as Columbia's coach after going 0-10 in 1985—although he had presaged his own departure by calling the Lions "drug-addicted losers" after their season-opening loss to Harvard. Thereafter, the younger Garretts transferred to Princeton.

The Tigers had a 13-9 lead midway in the final quarter before a homecoming crowd of 5,420 at Columbia's Wien Stadium. But then an amazing thing happened. The Lions drove down the field and, for a change, didn't fumble (it was the first time Columbia played without a turnover since 1972). Sophomore running back Solomon Johnson scored from the two-yard line to give the Lions a 16-13 lead with 5:13 to go.

But on their last two possessions, the Tigers drove deep into Columbia territory. The first drive was stopped when Lions defensive end Mark Zielinski sacked Jason Garrett on fourth down at the Columbia 27. The final Princeton effort ended when Chris Lutz's 48-yard field goal attempt fell short with two seconds on the clock.

At his postgame press conference. Lion coach Larry McElreavy clutched a game ball on which was imprinted PROPERTY OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY. "We'll let them celebrate until midnight," McElreavy said, "but then they'll have to concentrate on next week." He paused. "Well, maybe we'll let the celebration slide over until 12:05."

LOCAL HEROES

The two main contenders in the rapidly shrinking Heisman Trophy field were both on display in the Los Angeles area last Saturday as UCLA and USC played at home, the only time that will happen this season until their Nov. 19 meeting at the Rose Bowl (technically, the Bruins' turf). Each of the unbeaten teams beat up on somebody from Oregon, with UCLA whipping Oregon State 38-21 and Southern Cal thumping Oregon 42-14. but the real battle was the duel for the title of hometown hero between quarterbacks Troy Aikman of the Bruins and Rodney Peete of the Trojans.