Hoosier Hot-Shots

"I'm plumb scared," said Coach Alvin Nugent ("Bo") McMillin last week: his flashy Indiana T team had become a red-hot favorite for the Big Ten title.

For 50 years Indiana was the champion low hurdle for Midwestern powerhouses. The University had the smallest male enrollment in the conference, and home games in Bloomington drew so poorly that the team played mostly on the road. First crack out of the box this season, the worm turned with a 13-7 upset of Michigan. Last week the Hoosiers gave Pittsburgh a 19-0 mud bath. This week, if they get by their traditional "Old Oaken Bucket" set-to with Purdue, the unbeaten but once-tied (by Northwestern) Hoosiers will wrap up their first Big Ten (now nine) crown.

Cloud Climbing. For making a silk purse out of a sow's ear, button-nosed Bo McMillin rates high as the coach of the year. He took a quick look at his material last September, and winced. Then things began to happen. Bo converted John Cannaday, ex-quarterback and guard, into a center; he moved Russ Deal from guard to tackle. Burly Howie Brown, thrice wounded in Europe, showed up just after the Michigan game, and plugged a hole at guard. Another ex-G.I, All-America End Pete Pihos, became a pile-driving fullback. Negro Halfback George Taliaferro, a freshman, blossomed fast under Bo's compelling eye.

After breezing past Illinois, Iowa and Tulsa, the hot-shots from Bloomington climbed into the clouds against once-mighty Minnesota. One play made up for a lot of door-matting: with the clock running out in the first half, Pete Pihos jumped off the ground and shouted so all could hear: "Line up fast, boys, same play"; then he romped over for Indiana's, fourth touchdown of the quarter. Final score: Indiana 49, Minnesota 0. Gasped slim Nugent McMillin: "I never thought I'd live to see the day."

It will be jittery Bo McMillin's and slap-happy Indiana's day of days if Purdue can be hurdled this week. If not, the Big Ten title will go to the winner of the Ohio State-Michigan (both once-beaten) game--and it will still be the Hoosiers' best season in 50.

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