Omaha daily bee., 1909-10-17
NEW RULES ARE NOW POPULAR
Changes Are Meeting with Favor in
Al Colleges.


All Colleges.
NEW YORK, Oct. 16.-when the an
nouncement was made last winter after
the foot ball rules committee had formu-
lated the 1909 gridiron code that the scor-
ing value of a field goal had been reduced
to three points, common comment among
ardent devotees of the great autumn sport
had It that the play would fall into dis
favor. However, it is evident that such
has not been the case. II recent games
can be taken as any criterion the pretty
play whereby the leather spins between the
uprlghts will be decidedly in vogue this
season. Apparently the reduction Of one
point in its rallying value has not reduced
its worth in the minds Of the coaches and
their charges.
1t was heady work on the part Of prince
toms field general and the clever toe Of
Cunningham that saved the Tigers from
being played to a scoreless tie by Ford
ham recently. With but a few minutes
left to play in the second half Of the game,
Princeton recovered the ball on a tumble.
Cunningham was called upon to drive the
oval over the crossbar for the three points
that meant saving his team from the ig-
nominy of a tie with a supposedly weaker
eleven, and he was equal to the task.
Moreover, proof positive that the Tiger
coaches had determined upon the field goal
to save their charges was reflected in that
Cunningham essayed the play twice,
shortly after the beginning Of the second
half, but failed. Gargan of Fordham, also
tried to record a trio of points for his team
by the field goal medium.
But il the field goal saved Princeton 1t
was also responsible for preventing a no
score game being played by one Of its big
Occidental collegiate sisters. Michigan
defeated Case by a 80 total. Captain
! Allerdice booted a successful place kick
from the thirty-five yard lire after a long
run by Lawton had carried the leather
within striking distance. Tobin OF Dart
mouth tailed a field goal against Bow
dom, sending his teams score up to 15-0.
Larry vorhis made it possible for Penn
~sylvania State to tie the Carlisle Indians
by booting a field goal. incidentally
Libby, the aborigines' quarterback, es-
sayed four times to achieve the three-point
score. Vorhis also attempted another goal
toward the close of the bame, but failed.
Alverson of Rutgers caused three points
to be chalked against the Nays record
by his field goal in last Saturdays con-
test. other instances Of the popularity Of
the play were afforded by games in the
west. Western Reserve downed Miami by
a so score; Missouri ~triumphedl over the
Kansas Athletic club through the same
medium, while Iowa was forced to use the
play to beat Cornell college.
From the foregoing it is easy to realize
that the field goal will in all probability
play an important part in the deciding OF
matches this autumn as was the case in
1908. Despite the fact that two successful
boots from the field are necessary to off
set the six points accruing from a touch
down and successful try for the additional
count garnered by an OPPONENT, the team
blessed with a capable booter, all other
things being equal, is decidedly at an ad-
vantage. A recovered tumble or other un-
expected situation developing within the
danger zone in the course of a game places
the weaker team in a position to do
things.
1t is interesting to figure out what would
have been the scores of several of last
years games In which the field goal
played a part had its value been three
points instead Of four. Yale tied Brown,
1910. but IL the field goal had only counted
three points the Ellis would have won by
a 1919 total. The Lafayette-Brown match
would nave ended 90, instead OF o-o' IN
favor Of the eastern combination.
In twenty-three other games where the
goal from the field figured. the new rule
would nave changed the result materially,
The Indians, Michigan. Harvard, Annapolis
and Lafayette profited most by the goal
from the field. In twenty-five games it
was a scoring factor forty-four times.
Disregarding the value Of the play in
points, It is interesting to note by refer
ence to the appended table that in five
games-Indians u, Syracuse o; Lafayette s.
Brown 0; Indians 16, Navy 6; Harvard 4,
Yale 0; and Amherst 4, Williams 0-the
winners did all their scoring by drop or
placement kicking. The same play en-
abled twelve teams to prevent shutouts.