The Week

1. TEXAS (8-0)
2. ARKANSAS (8-1)
3. TEXAS TECH (7-2)

A year ago Baylor was embarrassed by the Texas Longhorns 56-14, although Darrell Royal began substituting for his starters before halftime. "I never felt as low in my life," Baylor Coach Bill Beall said last week. "I think all of us made a promise then that nothing like that would happen again if hard work could make it different." This year was different. Beall's defensive unit, convinced that it could contain the Texas Wishbone attack, stayed out an extra hour after Wednesday's practice to polish some new maneuvers.

For a while on Saturday in Waco it appeared that the Bears were in for it again. Texas scored three touchdowns in the second quarter on drives of 15, 77 and 78 yards. At the half the Longhorns held a 21-7 lead, and the Wishbone looked as powerful as ever. But in the second half the most devastating ground attack in college football history was just about stopped. The Longhorns managed only 84 yards and four first downs, and never crossed the Baylor 30-yard line. With more than eight minutes left to play, Linebacker David Jones blocked a Longhorn punt and Ray Penn, another Bear linebacker, gathered up the ball and scrambled 27 yards for a score. Behind only 21-14 now, Baylor had plenty of time in which to catch up, but Texas stiffened and there was no more scoring. Shaken, but with their 27th straight victory in hand, the Longhorns returned thankfully to Austin. Said Steve Worster, who scored twice, "We were lucky to win."

In Arkansas, fans and players seemed to be more concerned with the recuperative powers of a patient in a Dallas hospital than the Razorbacks' game with Rice. Bill Burnett, the team's best ballcarrier, underwent surgery for a separated shoulder on Monday, and the big worry was whether he would be able to play against Texas on Dec. 7. Ah, yes, Rice. The Owls had a 14-3 lead at halftime, but then Arkansas resumed playing 'em one at a time. After the intermission the Razorbacks scored on five straight possessions and ultimately allowed Rice just two first downs. Final score: 38-14. Coach Frank Broyles told his team, "I wasn't ready to play on Friday and you weren't ready to play on Friday. We weren't even ready to play on Saturday. I promise you this won't happen again. But wasn't that a heck of a back nine?"

Doug McCutchen ran straight at the center of the Texas Christian line for 204 yards—two yards short of a school record set in 1942—as Texas Tech defeated TCU 22-14.

The halfback wasn't quite satisfied. "I still need to improve my running," he said. "I haven't been able to break the big play."