The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-12-04
HEAD COACH AND PLAYERS HAVE
 PRAISE FOR FOE
BY CARL LUNDQUIsT

United Press Staff ,COrrespOndent)
 New York, December 1. x CUP)- Take 1t from Navy's battered mid- shipmen, speaking aS definite au- thorities on the subject, Ar1ny's un- beaten and probably unbeatable football team deserved the right to- day to niche among the greatest gridiron combines of all time.
 The gold-helmeted Cadets, em- ploying a brand of crash and dash" football off the volatile '"T" formation beat Navy 9 to 2 Satur- day without extending themselves and left the unmistakable impress sion that they could have done the same thing to any other college. or service eleven.
 Commander Oscar (Swede) Hag- berg, the Navy coach, described Army as "just about the best army team have ever seen"
 The Navy players, rocked from portside to starboard by the pun ishing Cadet offense, were unanim- ous in their assent.
 Oddly, the Army rose to its lofty pinnacle in year when college football teams generally were sub par. Almost without exception the teams in every sector, even those supported by Naval and Marine trainees, were not in the same league with squads which repre- sented the same schools before the war took it's toll of young men.
 The lack of first class opposition through much of its schedule handi- capped the Cadets prestige, with the critics making much of the fact that the team never was thorough ly tested. Even in the Navy game that didn't happen and it will re- main to be threshed out by cracker barrel authorities whether any team in the land could have given them a run for their money. Dukes rug ged blue devils did it for one-half, then faded before superior firepower as Army pushed over four quick touchdown in the second half com- ing from behind to win 27 to 2. Notre Dame, supposedly one of the top collegiate combines, was never in contention for one moment and Pennsylvania, ore of the cream teams" of the east was crushed de- spite the fact that the Cadets made more mistakes in that game than at any other time.
 Other teams deserved high rank in the final analysis in the season now officially over except for the post-season bowl extravaganzas.
 There was Ohio States young all- vicilian team, battling its way to a perfect season with pinch Hit ting" coach, Carroll Widdoes, while playing teams that were definite favorites to maui it. There was Yale, carrying on undefeated in the Ivy League while other ''old school colleges closed up formal competi- tion because of Hack of talent.
 In the southland, Duke, playing a gruelling schedule and coming back to rate Sugar Bowl bid with four straight victories after four straight defeats, definitely belonged. There was unbeaten Tennessee and Georgia Tech, magnificent in its supset of Navy. Oklahoma A. & M. and Tulsa rated as the standout teams of the midlandS and South ern California was the peer of both college and service teams on the west coast.
 Notre Dame. as always, rated with the great despite crushing defeats by Navy and Army. The Iirsh de- served a special plaudit because they carried on without their usual array of talent, yet won all their other games and finished the season on a revenge motif by upsetting faV- ored Great Lakes Naval, the team that wrecked it's perefct record in 1943 with a victory in the final 45 seconds of their last game.
 Rounding 1t out, there were the dozens of obscure "also rans", many of them going weeks without vic- tory, yet typifying the spirit of "A" by carrying on when it would have been simpler to call it quits until peace returned.