MIDWEST
Before his school's showdown with Ohio State, Illinois Chancellor John E. Cribbet said he was concerned that "the flow of adrenaline and exuberance surrounding a championship-quality football team" would lead to the kind of unseemly conduct Illini fans had displayed in demolishing a goalpost following their team's 33-0 upset of Iowa three weeks ago. This time, after Illinois beat Ohio State 17-13 for its first victory over the Buckeyes since 1967, Illini supporters tore down both goalposts and had to be dissuaded from jamming one of them through the Illini dressing-room door. A turning point in the game came in the first quarter when Illinois Defensive End Terry Cole belted Ohio State Quarterback Mike Tomczak from behind while Tomczak was throwing. Tomczak wobbled to the sidelines, where he convinced Coach Earle Bruce that he was unhurt. Tomczak returned to the game after missing just one play and promptly threw an interception to David Edwards, who returned it 47 yards for a touchdown to put Illinois up 7-0. When Tomczak had another pass picked off, the team doctors decided he had suffered a concussion and pulled him from the game.
With 1:47 to play, the Buckeyes were leading 13-10 and driving. Facing a fourth-and-four situation at the Illinois 19, Bruce called for a pass over the middle to Tight End John Frank. Quarterback Jim Karsatos, a second-year freshman, argued that he could pick up the four yards on a bootleg. Bruce relented, and Karsatos got only two yards. Illini Quarterback Jack Trudeau then completed passes of 24 and 22 yards and scrambled for another 16. With 1:06 to go and the ball at the Ohio State 21, Trudeau, who had called a draw in the huddle, noticed a Buckeye linebacker lined up to blitz. So at the line Trudeau changed his call to a pitch to Thomas Rooks, who ran right for the winning TD.
Because of injuries, Iowa had to start four reserves in its 31-14 defeat of Purdue. One of them was Left Tackle Jeff Drost, who was playing in place of standout Paul Hufford. Early in the game the Boilermakers ran most of their plays over Drost. "It was like getting run over by a train," said Drost. "If I'd been Purdue I would have run over me, too. If I'd been the Iowa coaching staff, I would have pulled me out of there." Drost recovered to make seven tackles, including a sack.
Culver-Stockton College, an NAIA school in Canton, Mo., ended the longest losing streak in the nation at 28 with a 21-7 victory over Southwest Baptist University of Bolivar, Mo. This is Southwest Baptist's first year of varsity competition.
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