Evening star., 1939-01-01
Wet Field Would Aid
Carnegie in Battle
Aqainst I. T.. u.
Greet BockfieId Speed
Is Trojons' Main Edge;
Vols Have Werks
BY GRANTLAND RICE,
Special Correspondent of The Star.

nominations for the four major
bowl winners on Monday line up in
this fashion: Southern California
over Duke-Texas Christian over
Carnegie Tech-TenneSsee over
Oklahoma-St. Mary's over Texas
Tech.
In each case the class of the op-
position is so strong that all four
games should be battles to the clos
ing down. They will be played be-
fore capacity crowds totaling some
100000 spectators, closely followed
= by many millions east and west,
north and south.
The best chance for an overturn
as far as the above nominations
are concerned comes to Texas Tech
in its joust with st. Marys at
Dallas.
Let's take them in order.
Southern California appears to
have more backfield speed than
Duke can match. The two big, pow
erful lines are we'll matched, al
though Southern California has the
bulge in weight by many pounds
There are combinations where the
Trojan team will average 210 pounds
from end to end. From tackle to
tackle in the starting group the
lightest man is 210-pound Harry
Smith, the running guard. Re-
placements are just about the same.
And this big line is fast.
The Trojan Edge.
The main Trojan edge goes to
greater backf1eld speed. With Nc
Afee still below form, Wallace Wade
has no fleetness to match such
sprinters as Anderson, Lansdell and
Banta, to mention only a few.
There is speed and drive in this
Far Western backheld, against which
Duke must counter with drive and
kicking. And far-kicking Upton
must boot the ball at fleet backs
ready to start flying.
Upton, O'Mara, Spangler, Eaves
and Davis all are good backs. But
they lack the early and the later
foot of the Trojan pack, and this
can make a vital difference. Duke
also will have to take some terrific
blocking from Hoffman. I should
say Dukes best chance is a surge
of spirit-and this is something you
can count on.
T. c. U. Weight Should Tell.
T. c. U. will have busy after
noon with Carnegie Tech. The Tar
tans from Pittsburgh still must be
rated as the best team in the East
a smart, hard-tackling, hard-block-
ing outfit, with Condit and Muha
always dangerous.
But the Tartan line will be out
weighed badly by the Texans And
even if Dave OBrien is rushed or
hampered, Dutch Meyer has a
strong running attack to call on.
Rushing Dave OBtien isn't as SIM
pie as it sounds With the protec-
ton given him by mammoth line
men, who know theif business.
T. c. us extra weight and the
combination of her passing and
running attack should be more
than Carnegie Tech can hold at
bay-especially on dry field In
case of rain the Northern team
has at least an even chance. A
rainy day and wet ball are no great
helps even to an O'Brien.
Vols May Be Best of All.
AS good as Oklahoma is, even
with her backfield injuries, I like
Tennessee because it is my belief
that Bob Neyland has one of the
star teams of the year-probably
i,, o1J 1Fo II
defensive strength.
Back of a fast, charging
line, Tennessee has a combination
of running, blocking and passing
that can't be surpassed
Oklahoma has fine line and two
star ends-ends who will match
anybody's pair. 1t is a hard team
to move around But Tennessees
advantage lies in a better back
field, headed by Cafego and Wood.
Those who have seen Oklahoma
play give the Sooners an even
chance. This should be one of the
best games of the bowl group.
--, Have Faith in Texans.
West Texas has moved on to
Dallas and its spirit is running
high. West Texas is confident its
Texas Tech defenders will have
more than st. Mary's can match.
The main point is that Slip Madi-
gan started with young team at
st. Mary's this fall-a team that
developed steadily from game to
game. 1t is a team that finished
only a stride back of Southern
California for Coast leadership. 1t
is team that will be at it's best
or should be at its best-in this
Cotton Bowl party.
This is the hardest of the four
major bowl games to pick in ad-
vance, and it should be one of the
closest. 1t would be no surprise to
see draw or a .1-point margin.
(copyrisht 1939)