Evening star., 1950-10-09

SeCOIlQ III The
Nation a week Whittlesey.
ago.
Tatum verified his point b.
taking a play-by-play account O.
the game and pointing out wher,
Maryland gained the ball on Of.
tense.
Eight times Maryland's defen
Sive platoon turned the ball owe
to the offense in Michigan Stat,
territory. Five times Maryland
took over between midfeld ane
its own 35, which is a good posi-
ton. Only four times was Mary
land back of it's own 35 when i
put the ball in play on offense.
Those figures, according tt
ratum, were the key to Mary.
lands victory.
Somebody mentioned that JOE
Kuchta was mighty valuable in 6
surprise role as safety man. Thai
brought a smile from the coach
as he told how Kuchta happened
to be there.
Found Answer in Movies.
Early in the week it was ap-
parent to Tatum that he was
going to have to do something
about that safety-man setup as
one by one, the players he had
depended on were eliminating
themselves with injuries, or he
was counting on them for other
duties.
Tatum vaguely remembered q
safety man who was a standout
in some previous game or practice
scrimmage. He couldn't identify
the player by name. although in
the back of his mind he could
picture the incident.
After the coaches left the meet
lngs in Tatum'S home last week,
Jim sat there for hours for sew
eral nights, running over old game
pictures and practice pictures,
looking for the mystery safety
man. -
Tatum was about to give up at
3 O'Clock one morning when he
decided to take a look at just one
more film. 1t was spring prac-
tice session, and there was
Kuchta, playing safety in admir-
able fashion. Tatum installed
him in the spot and, although Joe
didn't run back any long punts
or star in spectacular fashion, he
was a valuable man. One of
Maryland's six interceptions was
by Kuchta. $50
Scout Reports Big Help.
Maryland's scout reports played
major role in the triumph. Bill
Meek secuted Michigan State last
year, and twice this season, once
with Denver Crawford.
There's luck in scouting as well
as skill, but it was a great day
for Meek. Michigan State fol-
lowed almost every offensive pat
tern he had predicted, and for
tunately Maryland's defense al
most always seemed to be in the
right spot.
The Terps were in excellent
physical condition, and Tatum
had nice words for Duke Wyre,
the natty trainer, on that account
Somebody mentioned that the
team did not appear up" for the
Spartans, but Jack Hennemier
Tatum's top aide, disagreed. eve
knew they were up," Hennemier
said. "The boys were behaving
just like they did the week of the
Gator Bowl game last year
maryland beat Missouri, 20-D
THANK goodness" Hennemier
added, ''there wasn't any repeti-
ton of the way they looked before
Georgia. They were down, and
we couldn't do anything about it.
Tebell Praises Defense.
Gus Tebell, the former Virginia
coach who refereed the game, was
asked for comment on leaving the
officials room for a comment
officials room. THAT was thu
greatest defensive exhibition I've
ever seen," he said.
Of Michigan State, it remains
to be seen how good they will
prove to be over the rest of the
season. Saturdays results were q
double blow to the Spartans, a.
they hoped to meet Notre Dame
in three weeks with both teams
unbeaten.
Michigan State, remember, lost
81 lettermen by graduation, and
there was a question in some foot.
ball minds even in East LANSING
as to whether the Spartans
honestly deserved that No. 2 rat.
ing. They beat Oregon State
easily, and then upset Michigan
14-7, but is Michigan as good az
usual?
Some coaches point out that
the caliber of Western Confer
ence football this year is not uu
to past years, and the remarks
were made even after the Purdue