The Republican., 1940-12-05

W tx StlI lose the ball
game.
''a'~-a"t'S 'SsN~s I've located over
Grantland Rice 40 teams this season
who have made more yards along
the ground ard through the air and
have had,-the better kicking, and
still have lost. When two good teams
meet, the breaks almost always car
ry the winning story. Which means
the flip of coin.
This is no indictment of football,
as a game. 1t is the turn that gives
the underdog his chance against bet
ter football people. 1t is the factor
that gives its thrills to big crowds,
which have realized there are few
setups.
First downs have become minor
factors. On a recent Saturday II
teams made more first downs and
greater yardage-in many eases by
decisive margins-and yet lost. 1t
is something like an open golf cham
pionship with a vast roulette wheel
spinning the answer.
But it is stupid to say always that
''the better team Won" 1t is often
truer to say, "The lucky team won"
And most coaches know this.
Calling the Turn
The forward pass came along in
1906. That was "a years ago. -Four
years later, some 80 years ago, l
happened to be with Hurry-up Yost
of Michigan and Bill Hanna, one of
the star football writers who was a
veteran when Frank Hinkey was a
freshman at Yale.
''This is a new game" Yost told
us. "I've found at Michigan we can
beat the second team by seven
touchdowns ON Tuesday, and fail to
score on Wednesday. Passes and
plays click one day. They don't the
next. It's all different"
That was 80 years ago. But Yost
saw what was coming-a better
game for the player, a far better
game for the crowd, but no longer
a game for past performance nor
for accepted form. Yost at that
time saw ahead how many better
football teams were going to be
beaten by underdogs, by minor
teams.
For Example, Minnesota
This season Minnesota stepped
into one of the toughest schedules
of the year. I'd say the toughest.
The Gophers barely scrambled by
Washington, and l happen to know
that both Jimmy Phelan and Wash
ington thought they should have won
with 80 per cent of the breaks.
Ohio State had two easy chances
to beat Minnesota and blew both,
which is nothing to Buckeye credit.
An intricate play called in>the rain
for a one-yard touchdown wasted
one of them.
One point after touchdown for
Northwestern would have tied Min
nesota. Two points after touchdown
would have won. The point after
touchdown is the cheap concession
from the rules committee to the
crowd-not to the good Of football.
In the Michigan game the Wolver-
ines were all over the Gophers-
something like Is first downs to 5.
Michigan that day was the better
team on the field. But Minnesota
won on single play.
Yet, 1 still say Minnesota has
turned in the best job of the year,
barring nobody, when you look at
the Gopher schedule. Yet, without
the breaks, Minnesota could easily
have lost at least three ball games.
Maybe four.
Minnesota this fall" veteran
Big Nine coach told me, "was like
Iowa was last year. Iowa last year
could easily have been beaten by
Indiana, Minnesota, Purdue and No
tire Dame, which Eddie Anderson
knows. NOtre Dame was in the
same spot. NOtre Dame on the days
play could easily have lost to both
Army and Navy. When you play
tough schedules, anything can hap
pen.
you've got to give Minnesota
credit for taking the years big gam
ble-a gamble that even Minnesota
might easily have lost three ways.
But it has still been the big job Of
194O."
For One Game
'The main angle in football" FL
,,aer ,aVden of NOtre Dame said. "iS