Football's Big Six

In a football season already tainted by the West Point cribbing affair and threatened by investigations from all sides (see above), there were still a couple of pleasant surprises. With emphasis on the single-wing attack, and less of the hipper-dipper intricacies of the T formation, football was a lot easier to watch. The best teams were also easier to see. With the decline of Army and Notre Dame, football's center of gravity had shifted and spread; the nation's top teams are now scattered from Tennessee to California, with regional powerhouses in the Midwest (Michigan State), the deep South (Georgia Tech), the Southwest (Texas) and the East (Princeton). The nation's leaders:

Tennessee, which last week rolled over Chattanooga, 42-13. General Bob Neyland, in his 20th coaching year for the Volunteers, has fielded another of his meticulously perfect single-wing attacks (plays are rehearsed 500 times), sparked by Halfback Hank Lauricella. The defense, always a Neyland specialty, is anchored this year by All-America Guard

Ted Daffer, and has been scored on only twice this season.

California, which beat Washington State, 42-35. Coach Lynn ("Pappy") Waldorf has put the West Coast back on the football map. The Golden Bears' 125-man squad, with no real standouts except Fullback Johnny Olszewski, generates a potent T attack (166 points) and a crushing defense (49 points to opponents).

Michigan State, which edged out unheralded Marquette, 20-14. Rated the nation's No. 1 early in the season, Coach Biggie Munn's combined single-wing and T offense has sputtered more than it has sparked behind sophomore Quarterback Al Dorow. But Michigan State's come-from-behind victories over Ohio State and Marquette make it tough to beat.

Georgia Tech, which romped over Louisiana State, 25-7. Coach Bobby Dodd's Rambling Wrecks have engineered three of the most startling upsets of the young season (over Southern Methodist, 21-7; over Florida, 27-0; over Kentucky, 13-7). The standout in a light (181 Ib.) defensive line: Guard Ray Beck, who averages 50 minutes a game. The offensive spark of the T attack: Quarterback Darrel Crawford, with a 56% record of his passes completed this year.

Princeton, which upended another single-wing power, Pennsylvania, 13-7. Though Coach-of-the-Year Charlie Caldwell lost all but one of his undefeated 1950 offensive team, the one man remaining was the key man: Halfback Dick Kazmaier, All-America triple-threat. Defensive standouts: Guard Brad Glass and 60-minute End Frank McPhee. Princeton now has the longest major winning streak in the nation (16 straight), and only Cornell stands in the way of its second straight Ivy League title.

Texas, which gave once-mighty Oklahoma its second straight beating, 9-7. In a razzle-dazzle conference that includes such standout teams as Southern Methodist, Baylor and Texas A. & M., Defending Champion Texas has switched to a running game and a split T formation this season. Texas' biggest asset: speed. Big-best weakness: pass defense.

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