Football's Week

SOUTHWEST

1. TEXAS (8-0)
2. ARKANSAS (8-0)
3. HOUSTON (6-2)

TCU is the only team to play both Texas and Ohio State, but those poll watchers hoping to draw something conclusive by comparing scores were doomed to frustration. The Longhorns beat TCU 69-7, the identical margin by which Ohio State had beaten the Horned Frogs earlier in Columbus (62-0, remember?). Still, the Texas fans are stubborn animals, and they were quick to point out that 1) TCU's best runner, Norman Bulaich, had been injured on his first run against Ohio State and 2) that surely TCU's sophomore quarterback, Steve Judy, is much tougher now. So there, doesn't that show who's really No. 1? "You really don't want to beat anybody that bad," said Texas Coach Darrell Royal, neatly sidestepping the polls issue. "We substituted as fast as we thought it was completely safe."

The game was reasonably safe early, with Texas scoring the first four times it had the ball, but Royal couldn't be blamed if he felt a little cautious. He had sent an unbeaten, untied team against TCU four previous times in his 13 years at Texas, and on three of those occasions the Longhorns were upset. Even this victory was not completely painless for Texas. As TCU's Linzy Cole returned a punt 65 yards for his team's only TD, Texas Tight End Tommy Woodard suffered torn ligaments which will sideline him for the season.

Texas Quarterback James Street completed five of eight passes for 54 yards, including an 18-yarder to Cotton Speyrer for the Longhorns' fifth TD, and Halfback Jim Bertelsen rushed for 104 yards in 16 carries. Thanks to the Texas defense—which yielded only 17 yards on TCU's first four possessions—Judy had his worst day. Mercifully, he got knocked out early in the last quarter and couldn't remember much of anything.

Arkansas' Bill Montgomery was off target with many of his passes, but the Razor-backs still beat SMU 28-15. With only 4:33 left and Arkansas clinging to a 21-15 lead, the Porkers got a break when Cary Stock-dell's punt went out of bounds at the SMU one. Two plays later Arkansas monster man Bob Field intercepted a Chuck Hixson pass to set up Bill Burnett's game-breaking run, on which he dragged SMU Guard Joe White most of the way. "I could tell I had a little extra weight," said Burnett. "I could feel him back there and I could see the goal line, too." Burnett, the Southwest's leading rusher, also scored on a pass reception. "I like that," he said. "It is a lot easier to score than the way I usually make them." Hixson completed 26 of 39 passes but netted only 196 yards, his second lowest ever.

The near-freezing weather at Raleigh, N.C. didn't faze Houston, which jumped out to a 9-0 lead on the way to beating North Carolina State 34-13, the Cougars' sixth straight win.

WEST

1. UCLA (8-0-1)
2. USC (8-0-1)
3. STANFORD (6-2-1)

Both UCLA and USC were so ordinary in their final tune-ups for Saturday's game that maybe neither one should be allowed to play Ohio State's juiciest leftover in the Rose Bowl. Throw out the whole Pacific Eight, as a matter of fact, and let somebody exciting play in Pasadena, somebody like crazy ol' San Diego State. The Aztecs are 8-0, you know, and get a load of this: they beat New Mexico State 70-21 as their quarterback, a guy named Dennis Shaw, threw nine touchdown passes, breaking the NCAA record of seven, which he had tied a week earlier. Six of Shaw's TD passes went to Tight End Tim Delaney (another NCAA record), and the other three went to his favorite catcher, Split End Tom Reynolds, who now has 18 for the year (yep, another record). Altogether, Shaw has 34 TD passes for the year (you guessed it, a record) and his biggest night may be coming up: the Aztecs play North Texas State and their passing wizard, Steve Ramsey, Saturday.