Football's Week

THE WEST

THE TOP THREE:

1. USC (1-1)
2. AIR FORCE (2-0)
3. OREGON STATE (2-0)

For Big Six teams last Saturday was the kind of a day nobody should ever have to face again. At home or abroad they suffered horribly, the biggest blow being OKLAHOMA'S swacking of USC. Stanford, too, went down, but if its loss was less glorious at least it was to OREGON, 36-7. Fortunately, some Big Six rooters were spared the sight of watching their heroes crumble. Washington, UCLA and California were beaten on the road. Only WASHINGTON STATE survived. The Cougars got a tie.

At Stanford the familiar oompahs of the student band were missing for the first time in some 50 years. The band was on strike to protest the dismissal of its director and because the new director wanted to integrate the 110-piece group with nonstudents. With no music to play by, Stanford was as flat against Oregon as a bruised C note. Backs fumbled the ball away six times, and the defense, caught looking for the celebrated Mel Renfro, was ravaged for 513 yards by other equally racy Ducks. Quarterback Bob Berry was the big gainer. He passed for 216 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a third. Some advice to the band: please, please come back.

Colorado State, after breaking its 26-game losing streak, was suddenly brought back to reality by AIR FORCE. The competent Falcons, led by Quarterback Terry Isaacson, ran through, over and around the Rams, trouncing them 69-0. Isaacson darted and wriggled to four touchdowns, two on runs of 47 and 39 yards.

For a while OREGON STATE, which four days before had had 31 players laid low by a virus, was not sure that it would have enough able bodies to send against Colorado. But Saturday all were back, and when the slow Colorado linemen tried to put a rush on Quarterback Gordon Queen, he just threw over them to elusive End Vern Burke for three scores and to Len Frketich for a fourth. The Beavers won easily, 41-6.

Utah State Coach Tony Knap thought he knew how to beat WYOMING. "They come across that line of scrimmage like mad dogs," so, he reasoned, "we'll trap them and shorten up the pass routes." It sounded good, but the Aggie pass defense was too skimpy. Cowboy Quarterback Jeff Hartman slipped in a touchdown pass, Halfback Rick Desmaris ripped through the line, and Wyoming won 21-14. Utah's strategy, didn't work, either, IDAHO'S big line stopped Halfback Ron Coleman's run for two points with 36 seconds to go. Idaho won 10-9.

After a sad first week things were looking brighter for Arizona teams. ARIZONA STATE held off New Mexico State long enough to eke out a 14-13 victory, while ARIZONA found a fourth-string quarterback, Gene Dahlquist, who had a hand in three touchdowns and Brigham Young fell 33-7.

THE EAST