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