The Washington times., 1930-12-11
IRISH MENTOR
GIVEN fine
TRIBUTE
BY TOM THORP

BY TOM THORP
Knute Rockne is the greatest |
Strategist the gridiron game has
vet produced. His inside knowl-
edge Of the game allows him TO
outsmart every rival.
It is by keeping q step ahead Of
the opposition that the celebrated
mentor Of the Fighting Irish Is
able to maintain the leadership
Of the checkered field sport.
Notre Danes victory over
Southern California is moro q
tribute to the strategy Of knute
Rockne than to any other factor.
Rockne led Howard Jones to be-
Neve he had little chance Of re-
placing Moon" Mullins at full
back.
"Cut Back" Best Play
Jones' scouts reported to him
that Notre Danes real offensive
strength rested in the ability Of
Schwartz, Brill and Mullins to
"cut back" through the center Of
the line.
The loss Of one of these stars
would cut Rockne's offensive at
least one-third Of its normal
strength. Knute had no one to
fill Mullins shoes. His Fighting
Irish were in q bad way.
But Jones did not give "Rock"
full credit for the great Strate-
gist he is. While the Southern
California mentor was building up
a substantial defense to meet
Notre Danes "cut-back plays"
Rockne was rehearsing plays to
run outside Of tackle.
It was right there ROckne
Outsmarted his California
rival. (g
He showed the greatest strength
outside of tackle, which proves
the most vulnerable spot in the
| Trojan defense. That is the
story Of the game. Rockne out
smarted Joyce.
Pulled But Six Forwards
Notre Dame pulled but six for
ward passes up to the time his
Fighting Irish cut loose with the
reverse forward pass diagramed
on this page. This led many
rivals to believe the 1880 Notre
Dame team was not a passing
outfit. This caused Southern
CALIFORNIA; backfield to play up
closer than usual to the line Of
scrimmage in the early period OF
the game.
1t was while going out to block
a defensive halfback that Frank
Carideo discovered IAN open
spot" in the Trojans' secondary
defense. He Immediately called
for a reverse pass which would
put him out in this open space.
The result was the first
touchdown NOtre Dame
scored.
| It was this smartness on the
part of Carideo which crumpled
the South California defense.
The Trojans were drilled to stop
line players and "cuttacKS.
when they found themselves
being bombarded with deep passes
they were thrown into a state
of confusion. It was while In
such q condition of mind that
the Fighting Irish got in their
greatest licks. Rockne's lads
never fail to take advantage OF
a slip I'D by the opposition.
Scored on Lateral
Notre Dame showed its first
lateral pass in the opening period
It was lateral from a fake spin
ner by Marty Brill to Bucky
O'Connor. It threw the Southern
California defense into a state OF
utter collapse. Not a single Tro
ian put his hands on Bucky on
that long 80 yards run. His play
proved the straw which broke the
camers back.
Howard Jones' team was
easy meat after this second
scoring play.
Rockne pulled another ont Of
the trick bag when he employed
short forward pass behind the
line Of scrimmage. It Is known
as a Flip pass"
The fullback gets the ball ano
feintS back as If to make deep
!. forward pass. The defense spreads
out. But to the surprise OF all
an end comes racing around be
hind his own rush line to receive
,, a short 'tflip" forward pass from
,, the fullback.
,, The rest of the team is vel
spread out to make interference
While it did not score as the Other
two did, yet it contributed to the
massacre Of the TrojanS.
QUITE A CHANGE
During the 1908 season there
were 266 home runs made in botF
5 major leagues, this year the tota
!. Of four-base hits reached 1850.