Evening star., 1947-10-15
CoI|egians Jeopardize
All Passing Records;
Far Ahead Of 1916
BY the Asseciotsd Press

NEW YORK, Oct. 15.-College
football coaches are learning, it ap-
peared today, that the surest way
to push a pigskin toward the other
fellows goal is to throw it-pro-
vided you have somebody who can
propel it in the proper direction and
somebody else to haul it down.
This was indicated more or less
clearly in the weekly statistics of
the National Collegiate Athletic
Bureau, which show that the out
standing forward passers of 1947
are far ahead of their predecessor
in the matter of accuracy and that
all aerial records are in danger.
Rex Olsen of Brigham Young
University. the leading passer at
the moment in the number of sue
cessful tosses, has completed 81 for
wards in four games covering a
total of 500 yards.
Behind him in the bureaus rank
ings come Charley Conerly Of Mis-
sissippi with As competitions, Norm
Van Brocklin of Oregon with 80,
Gene Bourdet of Montana State
with "a, Johnny Rauch of Georgia
with 80, Jimmy Bowden of Texas
Mines with 27 and five others with
Is each.
Most of them have played four
games, but Perry Moss of Illinois
has completed Is passes in three
contests and Johnny Lujack of No
ire Dame has been on the throwing
end of Is successful pitches al
though the Irish have participated
in only two games.
Schwenk's Mark Threatened.
The terrific pace being set in the
aerial department is accented by
the fact that Travis Tidwell OF
Auburn was leading the country at
this point year ago with q COM
pletions and that in the history OF
college football only two players
have completed more than 1OC
passes in an entire season.
Wilson (Bud) Schwenk set the
record when he hit ia for Wash
ington University of st. Louis in
1941, and Ray Evans of Kansas
completed 101 in 1912.
Tidwell completed onN 70 passes
last year when he led all the passers
in the country.
Olsen, or any Of a dozen other
aerial artists, could wipe out
Schwenk's completion record as well
as the mark of 1,457 yards gained
on passes in season-set by Davey
O'Brien at Texas Christian in 1898
and tied by Schwenk in 1941.
AS a matter of passing interest,
Michigan's mighty Wolverines
currently rated the country's best
have averaged 248 yards per game
on passes and 479.3 yards by both
rushing and passing to lead all
teams in the Nation on both counts.
Gage Is Offensive Leader.
The individual offensive leader for
the second straight week Is Bobby
Gage of Clemson, although he
picked up only five yards against
North Carolina State. Gage has
covered 651 yards on SO plays in four
games.
Olsen held onto second place in
the combined rushing and passing
ratings despite the fact his net yard
age is 584 on SO plays, Is yards less
than his passing total. He has car
ried the ball seven times and wound
up IS yards in the red.
Van Brocklin is third among the
total offensive leaders with 581 yards,
followed by Conerly. Fred Enke of
Arizona and Bobby Layne of Texas.
Jimmy Nutter, Wichita freshman.
held his lead among the runners last
weekend. Although he has carried
the ball only 80 times in four games.
Nutter has covered 403 yards.
Behind him in the rushing ratings
(See COLLEGIANS, Page Aid