Evening star., 1955-10-12
WIN, LOSE OR
1NAV By FRANCIS sTANN
Game Of the Week

1T COMES UP Notre Dame versus Michigan State in
the game Of the week at East Lansing this Saturday and
regardless of the winner it's almost certain to illustrate
that sitter schedule be advantageous.
The dsadyantage of a weaker schedule was pointed
anew last week by Marylands position merely
the No. team in the Nation Playing well within them
selves the Terrapins ground even while winning
1877 game from Wake Forest
They may lose more this week. especially Notre Dame
is impressive winner oncebeaten Michigan State,
No. 10 in the country but only lat loser to rstranked
Michigan The Irish, whose Coach Terry Brennan con-
ceded before play started could lose four games have
been acting Like team taking dead aim on No. in Their
own right.
From well back the Irish now are No. T. close behind
Oklahoma, and all they would have to do to put the fat
in the IRE Saturday beat Michigan State decsvely
than Michigan did two weeks earlier Almost sort Of
victory would conclusive in fact because Michigan
owed its margin State to recovered tumble while
being outpayed otherwise.
MICHIGAN STATE Is an offense-minded team that has
averaged three touchdowns in rolling SIS points
against Indiana Michigan and Stanford Not quite i'm
pressve Extensively Notre Dame but the other hand
superior defense indicated Southern Methodist Indiana
and Miami all were unable to score the Irish.
Defense was supposed to be Notre Danes weakness
this year. Six of the members of what in this day
and might be regarded iron man" line graduated
and the other, Capt Ray Lemek has a suspect knee In
view of this Brennan announced from the beginning he
would concentrate ofense and gamble defensivey
So far the gamble has paid of. Not since the national
champions Of 1947 has Irish team shut out three
secutve opponents And Michigan State draws blank
Saturday the current Irish win match the 1946 team which
whtewashed Navy, Northwestern, Army and Tulane in
order
This would be asking great DEAL however as Stanford
viii attest One week after upsetting Ohio State last jan
uarys Rose Bowl champion by 60 count Stanford got
clobbered by Michigan State, ss-14
AS THE TOP eight or nine teams now stand there may
be leaders besides UcLA Maryland and Michigan be-
fore the end of the The tpo Is that touch
down separates Michigan, No. and Michigan State No.
1S There would be no way to keep State from jumping
way up If the spartans should defeat Notre Dame.
Oklahoma may be in the same boat as Maryland, with
softer schedule left than of the other powerhouses
but the Sooners winning streak of % straight speaks well
for them Georgia Tech, it gets by Auburn this week.
probably will go unbeaten the way Wisconsin is rated
No but the Badgers figure to lose game two especially
with such Southern California, Michigan State and Ohio
State yet to meet.
Texas Christian, No T. has Miami to hurdle week
and Navy No. 8, has three big left Notre Dame
Duke and Army. Maryland and Oklahoma may not wind
up on top even by winning all of their games but if the
Midshpmen finish unbeaten it would be hard not to
them No. /.
NAVY CAN'T AFFORD to take Penn State this week
lightly Army the only team to lick the Nttany Lions
and the Cadets did it very good day when they
as sharp as they were dull last Saturday in losing to
Michigan Penn State Is not quite good rated per-
haps, but Lenny Moore Negro halfback, is something
special IN the way Of q ball carrier.
"Team Of desire" no, Navys young men may have
tue oculty concentrating on Penn State and hapleSs
Penn for cycling the big with the on October 29
1t probably won't make much difference against PENN which
apparently can't beat anybody but State different
breed Of cat the Middies play the Lions while thinking
OF Notre Dame they might be clawed up.
You can't much blame Navy for itching for the crack
at Ncre Dame especially If the Irish still are unbeaten
Nine straight years Navy has lost to Notre Dame year
by only 60 in the slop at Baltimore.
The last time Navy was in 1914 when the service
academies had the horses and the civilian schools were the
have-nots. Then it 6-6 in 1945 when the pendulum
began to swing, and thereafter
Well it's been swinging for the civilians ever since