The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-12-15
DUKE DEVILS
 UNDER RATED,
 EVEN BY COACH
BY RANDOLPH HANCOCK United Press Staff Correspondent

Raleigh, N. O., Dec. 15-(UP)- They dropped four straight games during the regular season, yet they are going into their Sugar Bowl game at New Orleans against Ala bama as definite favorites-so don't sell Dukes durable Blue Devils short.
 They played the toughest schedule of any college team this year, and improved with every game until at present they are considered the outstanding team in the Southland.
 On Saturday night, Oct. 28 at New York, coach Eddie Cameron of Duke would have challenged the sanity of any person who might have sug- gested that his ,eam would wind up in New Ye,r day post-sea- son game.
 Duke, after putting up a game fight, had succumbed to Army, 27 to and that defeat on the heels of losses to Pennsylvania, Navy and North Carolina Pre-Flight, put the Blue Devil fortunes at low ebb.
 But Cameron didn't realize what recuperative powers existed in his eleven and so he was glad to be amazed when it wound up the sea- sor with four straight victories, with triumphs over perfect record Geor- gia Tech and Wake Forest on suc- eessive Saturdays highlighting the performance.
 Against Alabama, Duke will pre- sent an all-around versatile attack that gave 1t an enviable reputation even in defeat. If Alabama chooses to set up. a strong defense against forward passes, the 'Hades Hotshots' have running attack that is sec ono to none in the southland. De- fensively the Duke line held its own until overwhelmed by teams with superior manpower and even then the opposition generally paid trib- ute to the ruggerness of its first string.
 In the Duke backheld, there are two standoutS, ''Dr." Gordon Carver and Tom Davis, both whom made the All-Southern United Press eleven. Carver, an embryo surgeon, is the teams top pass catcher. who learned a lot of what 1t takes to handle the ball while playing on the Blue Devil basketball team. He distinguished himself by scoring 27 points in basketball game at Madison Square Garden last winter.
 Davis, considered by many the top hack in the south, played on Dukes 1942 Rose Bowl team in the transplanted game at Durham, N. C., against Oregon State. He was the unanimous choice for All-South- ern backfield and won the annual conference blocking trophy. He had bunting average of nearly 40 yards per try, completed half of his passes and scored 48 points. He averaged 34 yards per carry in 137 trips with the ball.
 George Clark, a speedster. who like Davis halls from Wilson, N. G., and Johnny Krisza, a powerful line craSher complete the first team backf1eld. Clark, a breakaway run ner averaged GA yards per carry during the season.
 The ends are Clarke Jones. an uncanny pass receiver and Reece Harry, who became one of the most talented men on the team after get ting of to a slow start. Frank Irwin, a 205- -pounder, who made several All-S Southern teams and Fred Hardi- son, hold down the tackle posts. Hardison, a youngster, has developed rapidly, bringing him with a record of seven athletic letters earned at high school in WilliamStown, N C..
 The center post will be handled as usual by 18-year-old John Crow der, High Point, N. C., who drew from Cameron the tribute that "the guy never made bad pass all year" !" Cameron also tagged him the "best ball hawk on the team at recover ing fumbles and interceoting passes"
 The guards are Ernest (Bear) Knotts, Albermarle, N. C., and Fred Sink Of Lexington, N. c. Sink won letter at Duke in 1942, spent 1943 in the Army and rejoined the team this season after receiving 8 medi- cal discharge. KnottS drew praise because of his play against the teams which defeated Duke. Sink drew a starting berth when Garland Wolfe was given a Marine transfer on Nov. 1, and has been regular since.