Thursday, October 2, 1969 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Seven Thursday, October 2, 1969 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Seven Against 7/eWi Wal Tigers seek to continue rule over Big 10 The gri(1 rcti Ing . . « (1. polhish joke By LEE KIRK Tis fall, a young sports writer's fancy turns to polls and point spreads and other vicarious farces that vainly try to deter- mine who is better than who on paper. Rating teanis, whether it is done by computers, writers, or coaches, rarely proves anything at all. The proof is in the pud- ding and inevitably the final test of a team will be found some- where other than on the pages of Playboy. Playboy deserves special chastisement for venturing into an area in which they are totally ignorant, but even Sports Il- lustrated is prone to gridiron prognostication disasters. . HUGH IIEFNER'S desire to 'broaden' the horizon of his readers has led him into some difficulties, and these problems are nowhere more evident than in their gridde pickings for 1969. They had audacity to pick Houston No. 1 in the nation, and the Cougars apparently swallowed the bait hook, line, and sinker. They were thoroughly canned in their first two games, including a two-touchdown loss to the lowly Oklahoma State Cowboys. It has been noted by many that getting on the cover of Sports Illustrated is a kiss of death. Back in the fifties, when Oklahoma was unbeatable, Sports Illustrated ran an article on the Sooner's many secrets. The magazine hit the streets on a Thursday, and two days later, the Sooners 47 game winning streak was snapped by Notre Dame. More recently, look at what happened to poor Purdue last year. They made the cover of SI and were picked as No. 1 in the pre-season rating. The result of all this bally-hoo was that Leroy Keyes and Mike Phipps, the two men who made Purdue go, spent the season limping around West Lafayette with various ailments. The Boilermakers were stunned by Ohio State, a brash poll upstart, and later by Minnesota. LEW ALCINDOR and UCLA were able to overcome this hex and it would appear that the reason for their success was simply that their ability was stronger than the SI curse. This curse will be the ultimate test of the seemingly overwhelming power of the Ohio State Buckeyes this season. Unfortunately, the madness of this idle shooting in the dark does not end with the opening kickoff on the first day of the season. Consider the utterly inconsistent methods of the AP and UPI polls released after each weekend's games. The simple fact of the matter is that it doesn't matter so much how you lose or to whom you lose as it does when you lose. Consider the famous poll bowl, the immortal 1966 game be- tween Michigan State and Notre Dame. The game ended in a 10-10 tie, and there was no visible or statistical way of giving one team the slightest edge over the other. Consequently, Notre Dame was No. 1 in the AP poll and Michigan State No. 1 in UPI. Unfortunately for the Spartans, the Irish still had one more game to play, and they butchered Southern Cal, 50-0, and gained the first spot by a substantial margin in both polls. Yet, the fact remains that they were not one iota better than State. Consider the example afforded by our own Wolverines just last season. After an opening loss to California, the Blue twirled off eight straight victories and rose to the number four spot in the polls. A trifle lofty, but typical of the way in which polls work. Of course, after the OSU game, Michigan became de- testable to the Top Ten, and wound up at No. 13 with an 8-2 record. TEXAS, on the other hand, had an 8-1-1 record in the reglar season and a 36-13 thumping of Tennessee in the Cotton Bowl. Their record was very similar to Michigan's, but there was one important difference. The tie and the loss came in the Long- horns' first two games, and when the dust had setlled on the long season, Texas was number two. The ultimate hypocracy of ratings is revealed on a week by week basis that a blind man could clearly see, and even this early in the season, examples abound. West Virginia, No. 18 has a 3-0 record against a schedule that is less than awe-inspiring. Could the Mountaineers beat Notre Dame, who dropped out this week? Indiana humbled Kentucky. Then Kentucky upset Mississip- pi. Meanwhile, the Hoosiers got upet by California. Mississippi stayed in the Top Twenty while Indiana dropped from No. 10 to utter oblivion. Could West Virginia beat Indiana? And what of the case if poor Air Force. They nearly ran SMU right out of Dallas, and then lost a couple of two-point heartbreakers to highly-ranked squads from Missouri and Wy- oming, games they could just as easily have won. Where are votes for Air Force? THISSH.1AM manifests itself each week when point spreads are announced. Michigan is favored over Missouri by two points, even though Missouri is higher in the rankings. Ranked 13th, Michigan State is a three point underdog to unranked Notre Dame. The classic example of this kind of drudgery is the an- nounced point spread on the Ohio State-Washinton game. The Buckeyes are favored by 21, but if the Huskes can stay that close, it will be the upset of the year. Besides, didn't Michi- gan beat the Huskies by 38? Wait a minute! Who did they say was number one???? SUBJECTS NEEDED FOR EXPE RIM ENT: Must be native speakers of English with no history of a hearing disorder or speech impediment, Subjects needed for four hours at $1.50/ hour. Please call DAVID P ISONI, 764-2594 from 10 A.M.-12 Midnight or CRLLB, 764- 0510,9-5. By JOE MARKER Contributing Editor Missouri, the nation's ninth ranked gridiron power, seeks to extend a lengthly domination of Big Ten opponents when the Tigers take to the Michigan Sta- dium carpet this Saturday. Dan Devine's charges have re- peatedly wreaked havoc in their recent campaigns north, piling up an 8-1-1 record in encounters withI Big Ten opposition over the last eleven years. The amazing string was launchedI in 1959 when reserve quarterback Dick Haas scored from the one- yard line with only two seconds left on the Michigan Stadium scoreboard to give the Tigers a' 20-15 decision and simultaneously spoil the coaching debut of Bump' Elliott. Since then, the only blotches on Missouri's Big Ten ruination cam- paign were a 23-12 setback at the hands of Northwestern in 1963, This was accomplished despite the fact that both tackle positions were manned by rookies substitut- ing for injured vets Rocky Wal- lace, an all-Big Eight selection last year, and Mark Kuhlman. Wallace and Kuhlman have been sidelined with a pulled hamstring and bruised ankle, respectively, but are probable starters this week. Thus it seems that Devine's earlier-season analysis of his de- fense: "Some people we're de- pending on haven't been playing very well," was a bit premature. If the defense was supposed to be a problem, the same certainly can't be said for the offensive unit, which features a bone-crush- ing running attack led by junior tailback Joe Moore. Moore punished the Air Force for 130 yards, and then last week bedazzled the home-town (St. Louis) crowd with 150 yards rush- ing in the first half alone. The Tigers also have a bruising fullback in 202-pound Ron Mc- Bride, who blasted the Air Force for 86 yards. The other runners, halfback Jon Staggers and quar- terback Terry McMillan frequently carry the ball, but rely on finesse rather than power to gain yard- age. dailly sportst NIGHT EDITOR: CHRIS TERAS and a scoreless tie with defensive colossus Minnesota in 1962. In their latest foray into the upper Midwest, the Tigers thor- oughly trounced hapless Illinois, 37-6, last weekend. In that mis- match, the powerful Missouri' rushing attack pummeled the Illini defense for a 21-0 halftime. The game was a suitable follow-up to last year's 44-0 rout of the Illini.- The domination of Big Ten foes is not out-of-line with the team'sj overall performance, however, as the Tigers have traditionally par- Moore. Staggers, McBride, and,- MacMillan all took turns deci- - -.._- - mating the Alabama defensive line in last season's Gator Bowl, which many Missouri people view as the Rocky Wallace highlight of Devine's career. In . that contest, MacMillan tried only { ... ......:::. ":::.. two passes and completed exactly none. So far in 1969 the Tigera*or e gSa d i s aerial game has been just'as weak. The passing attack has not been AMEIRCAN LEAGUE NATIONAL LEAGUE Eastern Division Eastern Division overly effective, for the simple w L Pet. GB NV L Pct. GB reason that it has not been needed. Balitniore. 109 53 .673 - New York 100 61 .621 -- For example, against the Air Detroit 90 72 .556 19 chicago 91 70 .565 9 Force, of Missouri's 81 plays from Woston 87 75 .537 22 Pittsburgh 87 74 .540 13 Washington 86 76 .531 23 St. Loris 86 75 .534 14 scrimmage, only 14 were passing New York 80 81 .497 28 .Philadelphia'63 88 .391 31 attempts. Cleveland 62 99 .385 461 Montreal 52 109 .323 48 Fans ~who- e£niovwa~tchingr the I layed a rock-ribbed defense into puo io te MinwnO n d Jjn era.gers(inni aignsin the Devine should feel right at home with theCaifornia er asinitiated n 73-26-701Miz- Tigers and their dependence on Chicago "zou" has compiled a 73-26-7 rec- overland tactics. After all, as the Kansas Ci ord and has not suffered through old cliche goes, "the shortest dis- Seattle a losing season. tance to the goal-line is up the It is precisely the traditionally midde. rin; IIefu efnewhmiwssu-nddle."NewYork It has long been the custom of those responsible for the wisdom powerful defense which was sup-ewheel of G... ,:: Itimor contained in these lines to present, in addition to the picks of the p d bt A laot h the 1969 edition. However, in the Chicago Michigan coach and the Daily sports editors, the selections of the season-opener against Air Force. IM Scores oakland week's opposing coach and of some illustrious person from the op- in which the Tigers escaped with' ponent's state. a 19-17 victory, the defenders al- Sigma Phi 14, 'ran Kappa Epsilon 0 Oakland Sigma Alpha Mu 1, Phi Epsilon 0 (for- Calitorni All good traditions bite the dust sometime, however, and it looks lowed only 10 first downs the en- felt) Chicagoa like this week may witness the demise of both the opposing coach's tire afternoon, and were particu- sigma Mu 17 Alpha Delta Phi 6 clevelan s lary brilliant against the rush. Sigma Phi Episilon 8, Phi Epsilon Pi 0 Only gan Western Division 96 65 87 73 ; .596 .544 71 90 .441 68 93 .422 ty 68 93 .422 63 97 .394 Yesterday's Results ton 3, Boston 2 k 4, Cleveland 3 e ?. Detroit 1, 10 inn. ity 6, California 0, 5 inn. 4, Minnesota 3 at Seattie, inc. TodaY's Games at Seattle, night a at Kansas City, night at Minnesota d at New York, night res scheduled. 25 28 28 32' Atlanta San Franci Cincinnati Los Angele Houston San Diego Western Division 93 68 isco 90 71 88 73 es 83 77 81 79 31 110 .578 .559 .547 .519 .506 .317 3 5 42 Yesterday's Results Pittsburgh 5, Montreal 4 New York 6, Chicago 5,.12 inn. St. Louis 6, Philadelphia 5 Houston at Los Angeles, inc. San Diego 9, San Francisco 4 Today's Games Montreal at Pittsburgh, night New York at Chicago Philadelphia at St. Louis, night Cincinnati at Atlanta, night Houston at Los Angeles, night San Diego at San Francisco andt the guests grid picks. This is not, heaven forfend, due to negligence on the part of the Revolutionary Vanguard Elite. It's just that Missouri's most illus- trious figure, Harry S. Truman, has found a way to defeat the evils of modern technology. He refuses to talk on the telephone. Especially to reporters from college newspapers. Missouri's coach, Dan Devine, was also non-cooperative, making himself unavailable for comment when asked to participate in griddle pickings. Never fear, though. When help was unobtainable from the out- side, the Vanguard Elite turned inward, to the Daily's own Little Suzy Funn, spastic rock and roll columnist. To everyones great edi- fication, here are her picks, in bold face, of course. 6 F NOW! YO tent A K0 U CAN LIVE IT UP! With Your Own Refrigerator ... In Your Dormitory Room Now you can have cold liquids (pop, orange juice, etc.), ice cubes cold cuts for late night snacks, all right in your own room. 1. Missouri at MICHIGAN 2. Nebraska at MINNESOTA 3. Michigan State at NOTRE DAME 4. UCLA at NORTHWESTERN 5. Stanford at PURDUE 6. SYRACUSE at Wisconsin 7. IOWA STATE at Illinois 8. INDIANA at Colorado 9. OHIO STATE at Washington 10. ARIZONA at Iowa 11. Mississippi at ALABAMA at Birmingham, Ala., night 12. FLORIDA STATE at Florida 13. South Carolina at GEORGIA 14. SOUTHERN CAL at Oregon State 15. Oregon at WASHINGTON ST. 16. Tulane at BOSTON COLLEGE 17. Holy Cross at DARTMOUTH 18. Maryland at WAKE FOREST night 19. Texas Tech at OKLAHOMA STATE 20. Morevian at WILKES E a ~SpeciaI Rate APA PRODUCTION OF 2:99 P.M. Refre; Question in and Vane Answer R' Session Mic Le GKETS 3.00 eshments n the idenberg oom chigan eague Rent the Mini-Kool Compact Refrigerator-ONLY $7.00 Per Month 'rirIcC t C Al 0 AT MENDEl B LSSOHN THEATRE OX OFFICE LIGHT and COMPACT. This little beauty weighs only, 45 pounds total and measures a small 20xl7x18. VERSATILE and SPACIOUS. All three shelves are ad- justable and removable, yet roomy enough to hold up to six 6-packs of soft drinks. LOW, LOW CURRENT LOAD. When running, this unit draws the same amount of power as a 45-watt light bulb. QUICK. Makes ice cubes in 45 minutes. ATTRACTIVE. Styled in tasteful walnut trim. SERVICE: If this refrigerator should ever fail for any reason we will immediately replace it at no charge. 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