Duke's Day

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

There is something about the name Emmett Augustus Carlisle III that conjures up visions of double-breasted blazers and yachting caps, and maybe a seat on the New York Stock Exchange. But this Emmett Augustus Carlisle III, 21, is a broad-shouldered blond from Athens, Tex., who is more comfortable in hip pads than flannels. Around the University of Texas campus, folks are so proud of him that they sometimes call the seniors "Carlisle's Crowd," and anybody who breathes "Duke" Carlisle's given names is alookin' for trouble, pardner. If Duke can't handle the trouble himself, he can always call on his buddies on the Texas football team. After the way Carlisle and cronies walloped No. 2-ranked Navy in last week's Cotton Bowl, Lord help the loudmouth.

Bored to Death. It was a game full of surprises--and Duke Carlisle was the biggest. In any other season, on any other team, Quarterback Carlisle might long ago have caught the fancy of sportswriters with his nifty short passes (33 completions in 79 attempts) and nimble rollout runs. But this was the Year of the Quarterback; compared to such wizardrous performers as Navy's Heisman Trophy Winner Roger Staubach, Carlisle was a face in the crowd. At that, No. 1-ranked Texas was hardly the showcase for a quarterback. Grinding over ten straight opponents by a score of 215 to 65, Coach Darrell Royal's Longhorns stuck to the ground so doggedly that wags cracked "They don't beat you; they just bore you to death." Carlisle threw one touchdown pass all season. But he did not complain when halfbacks hogged the points. And he even managed an elegant shrug when newsmen asked how it felt to play in the shadow of a star like Staubach. Said Carlisle: "To each his own."

Last week, Carlisle came into his own--and it was Navy Coach Wayne Hardin who unwittingly gave him the chance. To stop Texas's chew-'em-up ground attack, Hardin ordered the Middies into a 5-3-3 defense, with the linebackers and corner backs stacked up so tightly that the deep secondary was left practically unguarded. Navy creamed three out of Texas's first four running plays. But then, on third down, with the ball on his own 42, Carlisle dropped back and did the one thing the Middies never expected: he threw the bomb. On the Navy 40, Wingback Phil Harris--who had caught only five passes all season--daintily sidestepped Navy's Pat Donnelly and reached up. Down came the pass, spiraling prettily into his hands. No one touched Harris as he scampered all the way to the end zone. Stocking-footed Tony Crosby booted the extra point, and Texas led 7-0.

Back to the Bench. As it turned out, that was all the Longhorns needed. But Carlisle was enjoying himself. Now it was the second quarter and first down on the Texas 37. Why, everybody knows that Texas never passes on first down, never, never passes inside its own 40. So back went Carlisle, out went Harris--and once more Donnelly was the Navy goat. Lunging for the ball, Donnelly tipped it straight into the Texan's hands on the Navy 37--and fell flat on his face. The rest of the 63-yd. trip was a breeze. Another TD, 14-0. At last Navy got the message and started blanketing Harris. Down to earth came Carlisle, marching Texas to the Navy 9 and personally swivel-hipping past a pair of tacklers for a third score. He then trotted back to the bench to become a spectator, while Reserve Quarterback Tommy Wade ran it up to 28-0. In less than 40 min. of action, Texas's Carlisle had completed seven passes for 213 yds., gained another 54 yds. on the ground--making him the game's top rusher as well.

And what of Navy's Staubach? He was running for his life, mostly. Time after time, led by massive (6 ft. 3 in., 240 Ibs.) All-America Tackle Scott Appleton, the hard-charging Texas line dumped him behind the line of scrimmage; twice, they knocked the ball loose before he could get his pass away. On one play, desperately trying to elude Appleton's clutches, he smacked into the referee, bounced off into Appleton's arms for a 23-yd. loss. Asked who his most persistent tormentors were, Staubach sighed: "Well, they all had me down one time or another, and I didn't notice their numbers." Not until Darrell Royal cleared his bench did Roger's passes begin to click: he marched the Middies 75 yds., sprinted 2 yds. himself for Navy's lone TD--and filled the air with footballs in a futile attempt to get still another. He wound up completing 21 out of 31 passes for 228 yds.--15 yds. more than Carlisle, and a Cotton Bowl record. But Staubach won only the statistics; Carlisle won the game, 28-6.

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