Evening star., 1939-12-14
The
SPORTLIGHT
Too Early to Predict
VoI-Trojon Victor
BY GRANTLAND RICE.

BY GRANTLAND RICE.
LOS ANGELES, Dec. IA N.AN.
A0.-When Tennessee's Volunteers
march into the Rose Bowl on New
Years Day against Southern Cali
fornia's Trojans. more than 10000
spectators should get an eyeful Of
high-class football. Having seen
both teams In action this fall, my
eardrums have taken quite q pound
ing from noncombatants who want
to know the winner.
1t might be safer to wait and offer
this prediction as a Christmas gift
to those who are not looking for any
expensive present.
It will be much safer to wait
until We can find out the playing
prospects of Cafego and Suffridge,
two Tennessee stars who have been
hurt and wobbly for the last three
weeks. Both are among the best
men I've seen all fall and football
players Of this type are not too
easily replaced.
If they are out of action, it would
be about the same as If Howard
Jones had lost Grenny Lansdell and
Harry Smith.
This doesn't mean that Ten.
nessee has any shallow-deep squad.
It has two good teams ready for
the field, drilled by one Of the
masters, Maj. Robert Neyland.
Coost Team Hos Power,
Tennessee Speedier
Southern California undoubtedly
has the edge in power, especially
line power.
Tennessee has just as much Of
an edge in team speed. Ten
nessee is the faster team, line and
backs combined.
Tennessee has no such line giants
as Smith and Sohn. around the
220-pound mark. The Tennessee
team impresses you as being a
squad that averages around feet
inch in height and 100 pounds In
weight, most of them about the
same size.
And, as Jock Sutherland told me
after the Alabama game, most of
them have the action of sprinters-
fast-moving fellows who can step
around"
Jock especially was impressed in
the play Of Molinski and Suffridge,
the Volunteer guards. This brings
up point-if Suffridge is back in
shape, the big crowd will see the
best guard play of many years
Molinski and Suffridge-Smith and
Sohn.
When it comes to kicking and
blocking, especially down-field block
ing, Tennessee has q decided margin
over the Southern California team
saw against Duke q year ago and
U. G. L. A. recently. Both Cafego
and Butler are fne punters. Neyland
has one or two others who can
thump a football.
Down-FieId Blocking --
Is Vol Speciality
Southern California has shown me
no punter to match one or two
kickers on the Southern squad.
One of Tennessee's specially acts
Is down-field blocking. In this re-
spect Tennessee and Cornell were
very much the two top teams I've
seen this recent autumn. They had
the speed to cover the needed
amount of ground and they knew
how to block. They both took you
out-and they didn't mean maybe.
When Tennessee shakes some
runner past the line of scrimmage
he has all the help any one wants
from there on. This will come from
both backs and inemen.
I've been asked this question, IF
Tennessee could score only seven
points against Auburn-if it could
make no ground at all running the
ball against an oft-beaten Vanderbilt
team, how can it expect to score
against Southern California;"
This is a sane, sound point. In
the first place, it proves the need OF
Cafego-in shape.
But one might also ask: If South
ern California could score only one
touchdown against Washington and
no score at all against U. G. L. A.,
how can the Trojans expect to score
against the unscored-on Volunteers?
Carried to its logical conclusion,
this would mean another 90 game
Neither Team Con Boost
Of Greet Poser
Until Doyle Nave moves into ac-
tion, Tennessee has the better pass
Ing game. When Nave is around
there isn't much difference either
way. Neither has passer who can
throw with Christman of Missouri or
Washington of U. c. L. A.
Tennessee also has better pass
defense. headed by tall, fast Foxx,
one of those alert persons who seems
always to be where the ball is.
Southern CALIFORNIA; pass defense
against U. c. L. A., especially during
the final quarter, was not what you
might call smoking hot.
Doesn't all this give Tennessee
. big edge?
No yet. I have an idea, taking
no credit from a fast, smart and
well-coached U. C. L. A. team, that
Southern California will be in much
better mental and physical condition
for the Rose Bowl game than the
Trojans were for U. c. L. A., before
which Notre Dame and Washington
had removed some of the needed
razor edge.
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