Evening star., 1940-11-19
Rice Figures Hoyas
Cotton or Orange
ow|Prospects
Hilltop Eleven Packs
Class Plus Extreme
Interest, He Says
BY GRANTLAND RICE,
Special Correspondent Of The Star.


NEW YORK. Nov. 10 (NANAD.
Rolling into the stretch there still
was healthy amount of debris to
be cleaned up last week end. Min
nesota, Stanford, Boston College,
Texas A. and M. and Tennessee on
the big-time menu still are rolling
along with loud reverberations from
the steep drop of Notre Dame and
Cornell.
When you consider the type of
schedules played I should say the
better Jobs have been accomplished
by Minnesota Texas A. and M. and
Stanford in that order. Especially
by Minnesota, with the scalpS of
Washington, Nebraska, Ohio State,
Iowa, Northwestern, Michigan and
Purdue already in the Gopher wig
wan and only Wisconsin left for
clean sweep.
Texas A. and M. and Stanford
have had their busy days, but
neither Tennessee nor Boston Col
lege, as strong as they are. has had
to tackle any such assignments Yet
Id hate TO put up real cash on any
other teams in the country against
either Boston College or George
town. And Tennessee has one of her
best teams, capable of facing far
stronger opposition. The point is
the others named have had better
chance to prove their place by the
harder road.
As the old rhvme GOES
"Old King Cole was a merry old
soul,
And merry old soul was he;
He called for his pipe and he called
for his bowl"
But the bowl call today would have
drowned out the old king. The sit
uatlon is shaping up rapidly, how
ever, barring some untoward Incl
dents.
Stanford, Aggies Logical Pick.
The roundup favors Stanford and
Texas A. and M. in the Rose Bowl
Tennessee and Boston College in the
Sugar Bowl. What about the Orange
and the Cotton? There is plenty
left-GeorgetoWn, Nebraska. Ford
ham. Alabama and Mississippi or
Mississippi State, to mention only
Few. Georgetown, one point back
OF Boston College, certainly can't
be overlooked since the Hoya
platoon not only is excellent. but
extremely interesting.
What happened to Notre Dame?
What happened to Cornell? The
f1rst answer is that Notre Dame
just didn't have it this season.
Saggau and JuzWik are good. but
her line was outplayed by both Army
and Navy. Rather badly, in each
case.
Cornell is the harder targle.
Rated from two TO three or maybe
four touchdoWns above a Dartmouth
team that had dropped four games
TO F. and M, Columbia, Yale and
Princeton, Dartmouth kept the
Jump on Cornell all the way.
There isn't even debating the
point that if Cornell's last winning
shot came on the fifth and final
down, that score goes out. The
game belongs to Dartmouth by 3
TO without any further arguing.
There are two answers to this game.
One is Dartmouth's rallying spirit
against killing odds-the greatest
uprising of the year. The other is
that Cornell had too MANY seniors
who had too much easy success
for two years.
"SeniorS Get Too Smart"
AS Bob Zuppke of Illinois used to
tell me, These seniors get too
smart to have their brains knocked
out" I doubt there was a Dart
mouth player two weeks ago who
could have made the Cornell team.
But Dartmouth outplayed Cornell
almost from start to finish.
There is part of your answer to
what is known as the old college
try" 1t still is the vital part of
football. Red Blaik and Harry FL
Gnger put over a grand job in
getting Dartmouth ready for this
game-just as Dick Harlow did with
Harvard against Pennsylvania and
Brown.
Football is the toughest game in
the world for an official There is
penalty waiting to be called on
almost every play. Ask any veteran
coach. And there is no excuse for
the number of mistakes that have
been made by excited officials who
overlook yardage and forget downs.
Some time back one of the best
coaches in American football told
me he had quit the game because
he had won two games by official
mistakes and had lost three others
by poor decisions of fact and judg-
ment.
I'm most close games" he said,
''the ofncials turn in the final
score"
Grant Knows First Hand.
This partly is correct Having
worked rs a football Official for
more than seven years, I know what
the problems are In the swirl of %
men. But there have been too
many snarls this season. There is
no excuse for missing down.
We need more officials with the
poise of Tom Thorpe, one of the
best OF all time. The situation is
tittery enough without too much
human bitterness and quivering
pulses. There have been bad mis-
takes In many games this season.
game winning and game losing mis-
takes-such as Ohio State, Navy and
Notre Dame, Cornell and Dart
mouth.
You'd be surprised to know how
many games off1cials decide on plays
that easily could be called either way,
especially forward pass interfer-
ence-such as happened in the Bos-
ton College Georgetown game which
finished 19 to 18.
One official called the play o. K.
Another imposed the penalty. And
there was the football game.
These points are brought out to
show you the terrific amount of
luck-of raw luck-that belongs to
almost every close game. Which
=. ~,