Omaha daily bee., 1898-11-20
GOSSIP FROM THE CRIDIRON

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Near End Of the Season Gives Room for Some
Sage Reflections
CORNELLS CHANCE TO BEAT PeNNsy
0unkers In Had shape and Not Very
Good Spirit In Spite of Their
Loud Tnlk-LOcal
Prospects.
The day when the turkey and the Gran
berry sauce reign supreme is the day when
the pigshin reaches the highest point Of its
career. Next Thursday Is Thanksgiving day
and when the sun sets upon 1t the foot ball
season 10 all !ntents and purposes is over.
A few battles OF the gridlron will occur
thereafter, but the climax will have passed
anG iltelest In the struggles viii rapidly
descend to the zero point. Custom has es-
tabished Thanksgiving day as the culminat-
ing point Of the reign of the yellow oval.
In the east the fame has even anticipated
the coming Of the day OF thanks. Princeton
finished Its season a week ago. Both Har
ward and Yale played the eliminating game
OF their schedules yesterday. OF the big
quintet Of the east Cornell and Pennsylvania
alone have a game to play and this couple
will have 1t out next Thursday Out here
In the west, our immediate neighborhood,
there are two Thanksgiving day games Of
interest. One is the Iowa-Nebraska game,
that takes place at the driving park on the
R1tffs eyide of tho ri aud tba Kan ae- a.
souri, struggle. The one game that local
footballists will want to see will be the fight
between the Kansas City Medical college
eleven, the team that Is very nearly the
premier eleven OF this west, and Tarkio
college. This will occur at the Ames avenue
park.
Cornell or Pennsylvania-which? VIII
there be a repetition OF the surprises OF the
year? The sharks picked Pennsy to beat
Harvard, yet the Crimson won. The same
foot ball element selected Yale to down the
Princeton Tigers yet the orange and the
black Of old Nassau futler supreme. Penn
sylvania Is now chosen to conquer Cornell
Will recent history repeat itself? That is
the conundrum that confronts the specula-
tion on the result OF next Thursdays game.
Certainly Cornell has never had such an
opportunity presented. Despite reports
that Pennsylvania has recovered from the
dose Of defeat that was inflicted by the
Harvard Crimson. the Quakers seem to be
more susceptible to whipping at the
hands Of the Ithacans than for several years
past. Their spirit has been broken: their
main support mas been torn away. That
famous guards back play is relic OF the
past In the face OF foe that Is up-to-date
in foot ball matters. In a short two weeks,
especially with rather disorganzed team
as the Philadelphia college has this year,
no new defense OF considerable strength can
be perfected. Rumor has it that Coach
Woodruff has brought into existence a
couple Of new plays that will play havoc
with Comedians, but the foot ball expert
will take but little stock in them. A team
that can In ten days perfect an
offensive play that can be as
universally successful as the guards
back. for example. would be marked out as
a phenomenon. Therefore the Quakers must
be considered as an aggregation that has
been stripped OF Its main means OF offense
and must therefore fall back upon straight
foot ball. And II Cornell should break up
the guards back, as It should, and II Pennsy
fails In it's new plays. as may be anticipated,
then Cornell has q most encouraging out
look Pennsys work Of the season has
demonstrated that it's backs are not phe-
noms; they are an inadequate supplement
for the strong line that will unques ionably
face Cornell. Their fumbling, their loose
play-which did not become feature Of the
Harvard game. but was noticeable during
the entire season-may bring as great dis
aster as 1t did when the team bucked the
Crimson. And Cornell has spent the last
ten days In quietly developing the strength
OF Its eleven. That great progress has been
made was shown in the big score that was
rolled up against Lafayette week ago.
Take into consideration the fact that the
Ithacans invariably play their strongest
game against Pennsy and you have a propo-
sition that looks no better than an even up.
Since last Saturday the sons Of Ell are
seeking solace in the reflection that the Blue
has the best possible excuse that ever was
produced as an argument In favor Of the
vanqushed. myriad Of "ifs" and might
have beens'' are inspired by the unexpired
sensation sprung on the Blue when Poe made
his running of ninety yards and more. the
flight to victory that win be recalled by
generations OF Ell sons as a response to for
lorn hope, a despairing cry, "Biucher or
night" EM will forever hold that the eter-
nal coquette. Madame Fortune, was an out
rageous flrt: that Ell was victim Of the
Establishments Of the woman In question.
But Princeton can return healthy Roland
for Ellis oliver, thusry: Eyes, you may have
had bad luck, but didn't you make your
own bad luck by bad playing?" AS to
ground gaining by actual bucking Yale
showed up to better advantage. but the
fumbling backs and the dlsorganized system
Under which the whole eleven worked were
things that caused the Blue much pain in
view Of what 1t had been led to expect.
That Yale's eleven had not been drilled and
trained as 1t was last season was apparent
from the very beginning Of the battle, while
opposed to the Blue was an eleven that
could not have been in better trim. There
were no seriously crippled players like De
Saulfes In the orange and the blacks lineup
and when later one or two showed signs Of
exhaustion tEey were relieved. AS far as
physical condition went Princeton had an ad-
vantage and by that the Nassau eleven out
classed the Blue. Princeton's line stood the
bifing and the banging Of the much-touted
Yale backs with remarkable for
titude. AS matter OF fact
fact neither eleven had the advantage that
was anticipated. Prnceton's line was ex-
pected to be far superior to Yale's; really,
the two lines were nearly equal. barring the
ends, where the orange and the black had
the plain vantage. Yale's backs were sup