Evening star., 1940-10-31
Sets Aerial Pace
Fourth Week
In a Row
Lafayette Is Rushing
Leader and Navy
Tops on Defense
BY GAIL FOWLER.
eean;ated prese Sports INriter

SEATTLE. Oct. 31.-Team per-
formance continued to keen pace
with popular favor as Cornell's foot
ball team again ranked today as the
Nations outstanding offensive unit.
For the last three weeks Cornell
placed first in the weekly Associated
Press sports writer's poll. and for
those same three weeks figures COM
piled by the American Football Sta
tistical Bureau have borne out the
selection.
The big Red eleven from Cay
uea leads in total offense. with an
average of 4243 yards per game
by rushing and passing, some 35
yards ahead of the nearest con-
tender. And for the fourth straight
week the Comedians capture honors
as the "passingest" team. beino So
yards per game above second-place
Princeton.
In both classifications Cornell is
down from the previous week. The
total offensive average last week
was 1857. and the passing offensive
average was 272, compared to this
weeks 227.3.
In four games Cornell. in 249
plavs, has lugged the ball 788 yards
and thrown it 909 for total
advance of 1897 Yards. The club
completed IS of rs passes, with 5
intercepted.
Lafayette Leads In Rushing.
Undefeated teams top four of this
weeks six divisions Lafayette's
Leopards boast the greatest rushing
offense. The Navy has the most
impregnable ground and air de-
fenses. Texas A. g. NJ, 1889 leader
in defense against rushing, finally
took over first place in that classi-
fication. Twice defeated and once
tied Utah has the best pass defense
record. and Texas Mines, with a
similar record, is the top punting
team.
The leaders so far as statistics GO.
are:
Total offenSe gains rushing and
passing) After Cornell comes De-
troit, with one game unreported,
1895 yards average per game; Ari-
zona, 356: Pennsylvania. second last
week, 352; Navy, eighth last week,
3474; Boston College, 1855: Lafay-
cite. 3442: Notre Dame, among the
leaders for the first time, 1885: Ken
lucky, 334, and Brown, sixth last
week. 33l6. Mississippi and Creigh-
ton dropped from the top 10.
Rushing offense-Lafayette, also
first last week, Bills yards average
per game, compared to last weeks
342; Detroit, a game shy, 2S7.8;
Brown, still third. 1904; Boston Col
lege, 2674, and Pennsylvania. second
last week. 264.5. Michigan dropped
from fifth to sixth with 26o.6, but
Harman & Co., has made more
rushes than any other team-311.
Princeton Trails Cornell.
Pass offense-After Cornell comes
Princeton, again second, 1854 yards
average per game; Marquette, still
third, 1925: Texas Mines, 18th last
week, 141.7; and Missouri, again
fifth, 1873. Yale dropped from the
first five. Although not ranking
among the first Is, New York u,
leads IN the number of pass attempts
-122,-and competitions, 56. while to
Drake goes the dubious honor of
having the most passes intercepted
is.
Total defense-Navy has kept
land and air attacks down to 632
yards per game. Then comes Ala
bama, It's; Penn State. 1858;
Gorgia, game shy, Ill; San Jose
State, 1854 in seven games; Boston
College, 117.8; Michigan, 1904; Ten
nesee. 123 Texas A. & M. 1246;
Arizona, 1873. Among those dropped
from the leaders ranks are Rice.
Clemson and Mississippi State.
Defense against rushing-Texas A.
g. NJ, yielded but 28 yards per game
average, to its five opponents. Fol-
lowing are Penn State, 295; Ala
bama, 318; Navy, 366, and Arizona,
Ala.
Pass defense-Utah State, 228
yards average per game surrendered
to forward passes; Fordham, 25;
Navy, 1855; Brigham Young, 1858;
Tennessee, 37.2. Pennsylvania and
Clemson have intercepted the most
passes-17 apiece. followed by Bos-
ton College and Lafayette, Is apiece.
Punting-Texas Mines has a 1885
average for six games. followed by
Auburn, Kentucky, Clemson and
Boston College.