The Champs

Calmly confident, Army's cadets bet that their wonder team would collect a touchdown in four plays. Said Navy's grim Coach Oscar Hagberg: "Army can't call its shots against us. We're not that bad." To find out, President Truman and 102,000 other fans last week jammed Philadelphia's Municipal Stadium.

Navy's underdogs charged hard (six-man line, with two close backer-uppers) and barely missed some important tackles. But to miss Blockbuster Doc Blanchard and Speedster Glenn Davis was disaster: Army scored in seven plays.

For one brief moment--after a 61-yard Bruce Smith-to-Clyde Scott touchdown pass--Navy almost got back into the ball game. Then Army's murderous line rushed Passer Smith off his feet. Far from their streamlined best in the last half, Blanchard & partner still managed to stage two touchdown explosions. Their day's total, five (Blanchard three, Davis two. The score: Army 32, Navy 13).

In a class by themselves, after finishing a second straight unbeaten and untied season, Army could sit back and watch lesser teams fight it out for consolation prizes in the year-end bowl games. Last week, Southern California passed its Rose Bowl exam by whipping U.C.L.A. 26-15, earned the right to play unbeaten Alabama on New Year's Day in the Pasadena classic.

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