Football's Week

SOUTHWEST

While Texas, Southern Cal, Oklahoma and Penn State came through with wins worth remembering (page 20), Texas Tech wound up with a loss it would like to forget. The Red Raiders' first oversight in their 17-14 Southwest Conference setback by Arkansas came when several Tech players overlooked the possibility of a runback after Bill Adams came up short on a 55-yard field-goal attempt. Vaughn Lusby of the Razorbacks gathered in Adams' kick in the end zone and, while several Red Raiders headed off the field, streaked along the right sideline. Adams injured a knee when he frantically tried to bring down Lusby, who galloped all the way to the Tech 45 before he was stopped. When the Hogs stalled, Steve Little cashed in on the run-back by booting a 50-yard field goal, putting Arkansas in front 3-0.

For the rest of the first half, however, the Red Raiders gave the home crowd plenty to cheer about. Fullback Billy Taylor, who finished up with 104 yards in 34 carries, topped off his fourth 100-yard effort of the season with a pair of one-yard scoring plunges that gave Tech a surprising 14-3 halftime advantage. At that stage, the Red Raiders had out-gained the Razorbacks on the ground 202 yards to 62.

In the second half, though, the Hogs got their offense in high gear, rushed for 134 yards, capitalized on Tech mistakes and scored two touchdowns. Early in the third period, the Red Raiders drove from the Arkansas 40 to the 14. There, on third and two, Quarterback Rodney Allison inexplicably dropped back to pass. Worse yet, his throw was incomplete, and then Mike Mock, filling in for the injured Adams, had a 31-yard field-goal try blocked by Cornerback Patrick Martin. Of his third-down pass, Allison later confessed, "I called an audible. I thought it was third and seven instead of third and two. I called the wrong play."

Arkansas Quarterback Ron Calcagni then took the Razorbacks 70 yards for a touchdown, which came on his 11-yard pass to Flanker Donny Bobo. In the fourth quarter, following a 26-yard punt by Mock, Calcagni was told by Arkansas Coach Lou Holtz, "This should be six." It was, as Calcagni's first play was a pass to Split End Bobby Duckworth, who zipped down the left sideline on a fly pattern, hauled in the bomb for the go-ahead touchdown on a go-for-broke play covering 59 yards.

With Quarterback Delrick Brown passing for three touchdowns and running for a fourth, Houston steamed Rice 51-21. Also contributing mightily to the Cougar offense was Running Back Alois Blackwell, who ran for two touchdowns and went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season as he gained 142 yards in 20 carries. For Rice the defeat was its 10th in a row, the longest losing streak ever for the Owls.

Doing the job for Baylor was Tailback Gary Blair, who rambled for 127 yards and two touchdowns during a 48-9 rubout of Texas Christian. He was at his best during the first half, gaining 112 yards in just eight carries.

1. TEXAS (11-0)
2. ARKANSAS (10-1)
3. TEXAS A&M (7-3)

WEST

Arizona State earned the right to play at home on Christmas Day, beating Arizona 23-7 to advance to the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe against Penn State. Giving the Wildcats more than they could handle were John and Mike Harris and John Jefferson. John Harris, a safety, scored on a 55-yard punt return, intercepted two passes and pounced on a fumble; Mark Harris, a fullback, crunched out 109 yards and scored one touchdown; and Jefferson latched onto six passes for 88 yards. For both the Sun Devils and the Wildcats it was their last game in the WAC; next season they join the Pac-8.