The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-11-03
Comparative Scores Place the
Team Among the Leaders.
Her Showing Against Brown
Better Than HarVard's.
CARLISLE SWIFT, TOO.
The Indians Show Fast Work
in Games Played.
In the West Laurels Appear to
Be Drifting to Chicago.

New York, Nov 5.-If Pennsy1van-
ia can hold the Indians to tie score
and the Indians can beat the Navy
eleven. which held the Harvard men
to a tie score, that makes It look as
If the University of Pennsylvania had
pretty good eleven. She has a pref
ty good eleven, but just how good as
compared to Harvard, Yale, the Navy,
the Army and Princeton-the group
of prominent teams she does not meet
can be judged only by roundabout
and unreliable methods of reckoning
Whatever rule there is on COMPARE
tive scores shows Pennsylvania to be
as good as any of them, for her show
ing against Brown was better than
Harvard's.
The wide swath which the IHdians
are cutting in the football campaign,
and the fact that Harvard is believed
by more than one expert to be team
of unusual potential strength. makes
the Harvard-Indian game next Satur-
day one of the most important OF the
year. If the Indians win this game,
and then go on through their season
without defeat it is plain that they
will have to be placed high in the final
rating. Only one game stood between
them and a place very close to the top
last year, and that was their Prince
ton battle, in which they fell down.
Whether they win or lose at CAM
bridge the game is sure to be specta-
cular.
Whether the Navy was as good
against Carlisle as against Harvard
only those who saw both games can
form an intelligent idea; but one re-
suit of last Saturdays games Is that
s the oTtl fS for Navy AYR ci Tsd1%
on November % is less pronounced
than It was. The Army Is improving
certainly. For that matter. the SOL
diers have been more backward than
the mddshipmen. Still, the Army is
likely to be a stronger team than the
slow playing against Yale two weeks
ago indicated The play is getting
more alert and more aggressive.
AS for the Indians, the Navy was
not entitled to win on the merits of
the play-not 50 long as place kicks
for goal count four points each. The
Indians sixteen points did not mean
any vital weakness in the Annapolis
defense. When team becomes as re-
markedly proficient in field goal kick
ing as the Indians the best team Iiv-
ing can not provide a defense to block
them; that Is, unless the Indians can
be kept in their own territory entirely
and they are too good an all-round
team for that.
Yale's thirty-eight points against
Washington and Jefferson. followed
by forty-nine points against the Mass
achusetts Aggies.s are not in them
selves any particular evidence of Yale
strength. These two teams were not
in the same class with the teams Har-
ward and Princeton were meeting at
the same time.
Championship laurels of the west
appear to be rushing toward Chicago.
The Maroons seem TO have the inside
track again with Wisconsin booming
up as the only probable contender.
The Maroons' brilliant victory over
squelched the Gophers' ambitions. In
fact the erstwhile giants of the north
were totally ecIipsed for the first time
IN years.
Wisconsin's shallow victory over
Marquette may be due to the policy of
Coach Barry in concealing his plays
But at that, It is hard to conceive that
Wisconsin has as great a team under
the new style of play as wears the
Maroon OF the Midway. There is. of
course, a chance for a triple tie, pro-
viding the Gophers defeat Wisconsin
and then the Badgers turn around and
waIlOp Chicago. But this is scarcely
looked for
Chicago's marvellous development of
the open style OF the game was an
eye-opener Saturday. and critics claim
that Coach Stage has brought it up
TO It's highest point of perfection to
date. The Indians alone have solved
the problem to the same extent and
they have not shown so much accu-
racy in making the plays.
Outside of the championship games
in the west. the victory of Michigan
over Vanderbilt was the feature OF the
week. The wolverines had been con-
sfdered a weak bunch and scarcely up
TO the strength of former teams. but
Saturdays splendid victory over the
Commodores again places Michigan in
the front rank. Yost seems to have
done a lot in a short space, of time.
Illinois gained a clever victory over
Indiana and should land up among
the leaders in the west by the time
the end OF the season rolls around
Nebraska played old-style football
against Iowa, and captured a closely
contested battle by IL to s. Purdue