Not A Passing Fancy

These good runners have an aggressive, hard-blocking offensive line in Ends Bill Huber (he caught 25 passes last year) and Gerry Sandusky (who will play defense, too), 230-pound Tackles Bryan Hondru and Joe Bellas, who is an authentic All-America candidate, Guards Chuck Ehinger and Steve Schreckengaust and Center Bob Andronici.

So what is Engle afraid of? SYRACUSE. "My goodness, they have that Floyd Little and all those other big people back," he says. "I just hope we can be close to them." One man who wants it close, too, is Coach Ben Schwartzwalder of Syracuse, who predicts the worst. "I'd have to say that Penn State is the team to beat," he moans. The point should be proved early when State invades crumbly Archbold Stadium on October 16.

Never one for fancy teams—i.e., passing teams—Schwartzwalder is not particularly concerned about the East's quarterback drought. He much prefers a smashing game, and last year the Orange smashed hard enough to lead the nation in rushing with 2,510 yards.

Syracuse will be that kind of a team again. One big reason is Little, the bandy-legged halfback who made All-America as a sophomore. Little burst through the opposition for 828 yards, accounted for 1,681 yards in all, on runs, pass receptions and kick returns, and scored 12 touchdowns. He strikes inside or outside, and now Schwartzwalder has adjusted his unbalanced T to take even greater advantage of Little's remarkable skills.

Little is not alone. Mike Koski, a splendid runner and blocker, is back at right halfback, releasing Ron Oyer to take over at fullback. The most likely choice for quarterback is Ted Holman, a string bean of a lefthander who played defense last year. Holman is only a fair passer but he can run. And if for some wild reason Schwartzwalder wants to throw the ball, he has Rick Cassata, a fine sophomore prospect who is adept at hitting receivers.

Syracuse's stock-in-trade has always been big, punishing linemen, and there is no scarcity of them this year. On offense Pat Killorin, a 230-pound All-America center; Tony Scibelli, a 245-pound outside tackle who has switched positions with 235-pound Guard Gary Bugenhagen; and End Harris Elliott are all experienced at leveling defenders. John McGuire, a 6-foot-5 end transfer from Colorado, knows how to catch passes—which could surprise the opposition.

The defense hardly needs sprucing up (it was sixth in the country in 1964), and it looks even better with two big sophomores filling in some gaps. Dennis Fitzgibbons, who goes 240 pounds, takes over at tackle, while Larry Csonka, a versatile 230-pounder, will strengthen the linebacking. The deep secondary, which had trouble against passes last year, is tighter, too, with Charley Brown and Terry Roe and George Fair.

Army Coach Paul Dietzel, who last fall finally beat Navy, was faced with a dilemma this spring. His entire backfield and most of his offensive line had been graduated and he was left with only 15 lettermen. Looking around for a drastic remedy, he deposited himself and staff of coaches at the knee of the USC coach and I-formation expert, John McKay. The I henceforth will complement Dietzel's all-too-familiar T.

Quicker than the I, Dietzel began juggling his players. Sonny Stowers, a linebacker, went to tailback, Mark Hamilton from tailback to fullback, Sam Champi from split end to tight end, Dave Ray from tight end to center, Vince Casillo from tackle to middle guard, John Montanaro from tackle to offensive guard, and Pete Braun from middle guard to linebacker. A large sophomore, 235-pound Don Roberts, was installed at offensive tackle, and Terry Young, another promising rookie, took over at split end.

What Army wound up with is a relatively experienced and fairly solid defense but a still questionable offense. The ends, Dave Rivers and Tom Schwartz, and the tackles, John Carber and sophomore Steve LaKamp, are strong operators, while Townsend Clarke, a 210-pound junior who delights in bashing heads, may be the second-best linebacker (behind Texas' Tommy Nobis) in the country. At least Dietzel thinks so. "Townie," he says, "has an amazing faculty for getting to the ball, and he considers it a personal affront if he doesn't make the tackle."