The Week

MIDWEST

1. OKLAHOMA (7-0)
2. NEBRASKA (8-0)
3. MICHIGAN (8-0)

Iowa State tackled an official (he was sidelined for 10 minutes) better than it did the Oklahoma ballcarriers, so the Sooners enjoyed another romp 43-12. Quarterback Jack Mildren broke Halfback Greg Pruitt's week-old school offense record by rushing and passing for 323 yards, good for four touchdowns. Said Pruitt, "I'll get it back." He was pretty much stymied by the Cyclone defense, however, which put as many as 10 men on the line. Pruitt's 159 yards in 24 carries was nothing to be embarrassed about but was well below his per-game (185.5) and per-carry (12) averages. Mildren's most spectacular performance this season occurred with perhaps bigger things on his mind; he announced after the game a Jan. 14 wedding date. In other Big Eight games Oklahoma State defeated Kansas 17-10 and Missouri took Kansas State's place in the cellar, losing to the Wildcats 28-12.

Michigan and Ohio State remained unbeaten in the Big Ten, but there was no doubt about which of the two powerhouses was the more impressive. The Wolverines swamped Indiana 61-7, while the Buckeyes squeaked by Minnesota 14-12. The Gophers actually had a chance to tie the game in the last minute after Quarterback Craig Curry capped an 80-yard touchdown drive with a two-yard rollout. He tried the same play for the two-point conversion but was tackled inches short. "We were confident he'd try it again," said Ohio State Defensive Coordinator George Hill. "Lucky for us we were there to stop it."

The Buckeyes were lucky, too, that Minnesota declined to receive the second-half kickoff. Leading 6-0, Coach Murray Warmath figured his Gophers could continue to contain Ohio State as well as they had in the first half, and elected to kick off instead. The Buckeyes then ground out 80 yards in nearly eight minutes to score and move ahead 7-6. "I was surprised when he decided to kick to us," said Woody Hayes, "but that was a good old-fashioned Ohio State drive."

It was more like an avalanche at Ann Arbor. Michigan rolled up 489 yards on Indiana, all but 37 rushing. Billy Taylor gained 172 yards and scored two touchdowns on only 11 carries. For the Wolverines it was the kind of day when Taylor could fumble deep in Indiana territory, only to have Quarterback Tom Slade pick the ball up and run 13 yards into the end zone.

Eric Allen set an NCAA single-game rushing record with 350 yards in 29 carries as Michigan State routed Purdue 43-10. The Spartans turned four Boilermaker fumbles and one interception into four touchdowns and a field goal.

Winless Iowa's 20-16 upset of Wisconsin was such a surprise that even Jeanne Dixon, the famous seer, missed predicting it. On a recent visit to Des Moines she was asked when the hapless Hawkeyes would win again. "No vibrations," said Mrs. Dixon. There were lots of vibrations in the last minute of play, however, when a pass interference call gave Iowa the ball at the five and an offside penalty moved it to the 2�. From there Steve Penney scored the winning touchdown. The Hawkeyes even won without injured running star Levi Mitchell; his replacement, Craig Johnson, gained 102 yards.

New Coach Bob Blackman, so successful at Dartmouth in previous years, seems to have turned Illinois around. After six losses, the Illini won their second straight, defeating Northwestern 24-7.

Notre Dame, which used to roll up the score after a loss, could only zap Navy 21-0.