Nightmare In Missouri

It took a little while for people to figure out which of the teams, on this Saturday anyway, was better. But by the third period they knew it must be Kansas. At no time was Missouri in the game. It fumbled twice in the second period, something it prided itself on doing rarely. The team looked tense and expectant. It escaped from the first half with a scoreless tie, thanks to a good defense which twice stopped Kansas deep in its own territory when a score seemed imminent.

Even in the third period it looked as if Missouri had stopped another Kansas drive until Roger Hill, a redheaded senior, stepped up and kicked a 47-yard field goal a la Pat Summer-all, the first of his career. That effort seemed to break Missouri. Bert Coan, the high-stepping back whose switch from TCU to Kansas stirred the NCAA into suspending Kansas for a year, caught a pass for one touchdown and ran for another. Suddenly Kansas was ahead 17-0, and Missouri was at last a loser. Missouri did not score until late in the game, then gave up another touchdown to make the final score 23-7.

The loss cost the Missouri Tigers the conference title, though they will go to the Orange Bowl because Kansas cannot. And it cost them their No. 1 ranking. If anyone should want a bunch of gold buttons with the numeral one in black, they're for sale in Columbia, Mo. cheap.