Sports SUNDAY. SEPTEMBER 17. 1961 Halftime College football is about as predictable as Penn State coeds, but that doesn’t stop pre-season prognosticators from rating virtually every team from Valpariso Tech to mighty lowa (at least they say that lowa will be mightv this year). Shortly after the 4th of July the first wave of football magazines begins bitting the ncwstands complete with schedules chaits, All-Ameiica picks, and apologies for last year’s mistakes. Invariably the most popular word in the magazines is “if.” It Joe Doak doesn’t break his big toe before the Kickapoo game, if it doesn’t rain in Miami on Sept. 29th, if two halfbacks from Illinois would only stop staying up late playing pinochle. Rip Engle is probably thinking in terms of "if" too—"if only they hadn't rated Penn State so high." Yes, the football forecasters were kind to Penn State this year. "Genuine powerhouse” . . . "best in the East” . . . “best in the nation” . . . these are just a sampling of the accolades heaped upon Engle’s gridders by the crystal ball gazers this year. But Engle, like any sensible coach, knows that pre-season pre dictions are just so many words, words that more often than not are proven false come December. Engle fells Ihe story of an Illinois team in 1954 that was pre dicted to finish 1-2-3 by almost every pre-season poll. The Illini had a dream backfield which included J. C. Caroline, Abe Wood son and Em Lindbeck and an All-American guard in Jan Smid. But State knocked off the vaunted Illini in the season opener at Champaign and Illinois never recovered. They won just one game all year and finished at the bottom of the Big Ten. A check of the records shows numerous cases of wrong picks each year. In 1955 lowa was picked to finish high up in the Top 10, but they won only three games all year. In 1958 the early line had Maryland as high as fifth but the Terrapins ended the season with only two wins. Last year was no exception. In fact most of the football swami’s were -wrong more often than they were right. Syracuse, a consensus pick for the top team in the nation, fin ished in a tie for 19th place with Purdue in the final AP poll. Minne sota, on the other hand, wasn’t even rated as a possible top twenty choice, But when the smoke cleared Coach Murray Warmalh’s charges were the No. 1 team in the land. Illinois, Pitt, Texas, Oklahoma, and TCU were other popular choices to finish in the Top 10 in 1960 but they didn't even appear in the AP’s final top twenty poll. Navy, Missouri, lowa and Duke didn't get a great deal of advance billing but they still finished in ihe Top 10. One team the experts did figure just about right last year was Penn State. The Lions were a consensus pick for 13th and finished 2Cth in the final AP poll. They could have finished much higher if . . . but there’s that little word again. Just for fun, let’s take a look at what the experts say about Penn State this year. But before we do, let’s take a look at the “ifs” the Lions need to make the predictions come true. ... if Roger Kochman regains the speed he flashed in 1959, ... if either Pete Liske or Don Caum develops into a top-flight quarterback to lead State’s Reddie unit ... if Engle finds two ends to back up Bob Mitinger and Dave Robinson ... if Bob Hart recovers from pre-season injuries ... if the Lions can escape without any more serious mishaps . . . then the Lions could probably do every thing the experts are predicting of them. Only time will tell. Phil Pepe, N.Y. World Telegram & Sun. “The best pair of ends in the country. A veteran, gifted, game-tested quarterback. Four solid tackles. The return of speedy halfback Roger Kochman.. This is what Coach Rip Engle has on the credit side of the ledger, and it should add up to an Eastern championship ... at least.” Murray Olderman (president of the Football Writers Assn, of America), “Rip Engle is trying to hide what he's got at Penn State a genuine powerhouse.” Harold Claassen, Ihe Associated Press, “Everybody—except pes simist Coach Rip Engle—will tell you that Penn State is going to be the area’s best in 1961 and one of the top teams in the country.” Tim Morgan, Boston Herald-Traveler, '‘Coach Rip Engle’s only worry is that his second unit isn’t quite on a par with his first unit, under his equal-time plan. Since his first unit is perhaps the bett in the nation, this offers some idea of how the Nittany Lions shape up in 1961. The Lions have on unmatched first line, an outstanding backfield, and if Roger Koch man plays back to his sophomore yeai of 1959, they’ll have the speed to make the over-all picture a master piece.” Larry Klein, Assistant Managing Editor for Sport Magazine, “This year may be Penn State’s turn to rise and shine. On-pre-season paper the Nittany Lions look as if they should shade Syracuse as the East’s top team and finish high up among the country’s best College Football, “Penn State is the odds-on favorite to take ail honors in the East. Coach Rip Engle may well have the strongest squad in the school’s history. To match adequate personnel in al departments, the Nittany Lions are rugged, hard-hitting, and physi cally strong.” latly (o(EoUrgt Grid Polls Put Lions on Spot THE DAILY COLLEGIAN. STATE COLLEGE. PENNSYLVANIA By JIM KARL Sports Editor KM? A BETTER PBNN STATI Smith Gets Okay To Start Saturday By JIM KARL Rip Engle sat back and breathed a little easier yester* day after learning that Jim Smith, his captain and start ing right tackle, would he hale and hardy for the season opener against Navy Saturday. | Smith suffered a concussion in a scrimmage Sept. 5 and was con sidered almost a sure bet to miss the Middie game. But he came along fast and got the green light Friday after undergoing a complete check-up at Geisinger Memorial Hospital in Danville. Right guard Bob Hart wasn’t quite as fortunate. A knee injury he sustained when his cleats caught in the turf will keep him out of two games and possibly more. Except for Smith and Hart the Lions have managed to avoid any serious injuries in their two-a-day practices. But Engle still had plenty to worry about with eight of his gridders bedded down with a virus infection at one time or another the past two weeks. Tackle Charlie Sieminski, end Bob Mitinger and center Jay Huff man of the first team and guard Joe Galardi and tackle Jerry Far kas of the Reddie unit (second I team) were among the gridders I who caught the virus, i The others were halfback Bob !Kline, center Carl Bendik and .guard Chuck Ricevuto. "We haven't had our full first iwo teams together since the first three days of practice, "En gle said yesterday. "That virus really hurt us. We're about one and one-half weeks behind in practice." Now that his squad is healthy Maris Clouts 57th Homer; Yankees Lose By The Associated Press Roger Maris renewed his as sault of Babe Ruth’s record by clouting his 57th homer of the season yesterday but the wallop didn't save the New York Yankees from going down to a 10-4 defeat at the hands of the Detroit Tigers. Maris’ first homer in eight games put him one game ahead! of Ruth’s record pace. He has; four games remaining in which to overtake and pass Ruih, according to baseball commissioner Ford Frick. Maris is the fourth man to ex ceed 56 homers in the majors. Ruth did it twice with 60 and 59, while Jimmy Foxx and Hank Greenberg each had 58. Norm Cash and Dick Brown of the Tigers and Elston Howard of the Yankees also had homers as Frank Lary went the distance to gain the victory. Football Scores PUt 10 Miami (Florida) 7 Wyoming 20 Montana 0 Southern Illinois 44 Missouri Mines 0 Teru State 20 St. Mary <of Kansas) 12 Scholastic Football Score* .John Harris 20. Milton Hershoy 0 Steoiton High 25, Williamsport 0 Lower Dauphin 32, Camp Hill 13 Governor Mifflin 33. Fast Pennsboro 20 Sustjuehitfl 32. Northern 7 Cornwall 13, Lancaster Catholic 7 York Centra! 13, Southwestern G York Suburban 15, West York 6 Baseball Scores National League St. Louis 6 Pittsburgh 3 Cincinnati 3 Philadelphia 2 San Francisco 4 Chicago 3 Milwaukee at Los Angeles (night) American League Cleveland 2 Minnesota 0 Washington 8 Kansas City 0 Baltimore 5 Boston 4 Detroit 10 New York 4 Los Angeles 11 Chicago 4 * ★ * JIM SMITH . . . Lion captain again Engle can attention to Navy. Because they iost almost their entire first two teams through graduation the Midshipmen have been regarded lightly by pre season forecasters. But Engle knows that service teams are al ways in tip-top condition and will battle you all the way. "Don't let anybody kid you. Navy has a darn good team," he said, "Besides they're always in terrific shape and they have tremendous spirit." - j The opener is a natural. Joe Bellino led the Middies to a 9-1 record last year and at season's end Navy was awarded the Lam bert Trophy, symbolic of eastern I football supremacy. j Yale, the Ivy League cham pion, was second and Penn State third. But the Lions finished the season with a rush, winning six of their last seven games. Stale's 41-12 rout of Oregon in the Liberty Bowl convinced many eastern sporlswriters that ! Navy was not the rightful heir io fhe Lambert Trophy. This year, partly on the basis of their nationally telecast Liberty Bowl performance, the Lions are being haled as one of the top squads in the country. The Navy game could be a good indication of just how right the crystal-ball gazers are. Although there are some hot battles being waged for posi tions on the Reddie Unit, State's first team appears set for Satur day's contest. With Hart definitely. sidelined, Harrison Rosdahl will move up to the starting right guard post. The 230-pound sophomore has been impressive in drills and when Hart recovers from his in jury it may take some doing to regain his old spo.t The remainder of the starting lineup is the same one which end ed spring drills. Mitinger and Dave Robinson at end, Sieminski and Smith at tackle, Joe Blasenstein at left guard and Jay Huffman at cen ter comprise the starting line. The backfield is set with Galen Hall at quarterback, Don Jonas and Al Gursky at halfback and Dave Hayes at fullback. State has two of the finest ends in the country in Mitinger and Robinson. Engle calls Mitinger State’s “finest end in 10 years and one of the nation’s really great defensive performers.” Robinson is a versatile ath- turn his full lete who could make the team at end, guard, tackle and pos sibly fullback. He was a Reddie unit tackle as a sophomore last year before being switched to end late in the season. Smith has been prominently mentioned as an All-East tackle this year and Sieminski isn’t far behind. This season will murk Huff man’s third year as the starling confer. Although he’s only a jun ior, Blasenstein is a game-tested veteran who played 276 minutes last year. Hall understudied Richie Lu cas in 1959 and came into his own last year when he com pleted 3Q passes tor 448 yards and five TDs. Gursky, at 6-1 and 205 pounds, is a powerful runner with sur prising speed. Jonas is a jack of all trades who can return punts, throw a running pass and defend with the best of them. Hayes is a hardnosed blocker and corner man in addition to being a powerful runner. The Reddie Unit seems set except for two positions, left guard and quarterback. Dick Wilson and Joe Galardi have been fighting for the left guard spot with Galardi currently . running with the Reddies. Don Caum and Pete Liske, two sophomore signal callers, are bat tling to succeed Dick Hoak as Reddie Unit field general. Liske has Ihe edge on defense but Caum has been able to spark the offense and up to date he has seen more action with the Reddies than Liske. The rest of the backfield in cludes Buddy Torris at full back, Roger Kochman at left half and Gary Wydman at right half. Kochman is a junior speedster who broke up a couple of ball games as a sophomore in 1959 but sat out last year with a knee injury A shoulder sprain has ham pered him in drills so .far but his knee appears to be completely healed. The Reddie line includes Jim Schwab and Dick Anderson at end, Gerry Farkas and Ron Tiejens at tackle, Wilson or Galardi and Ralph Baker at guard and Bill Saul at center. The Reddie Unit sees as much, game action as the starting team under Eng'.e's equal time plan. Sports PAGE NINETEEN * * * ROGER KOCHMAN , , . speed merchant
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers