T1I'C3"R.SDAY, SET" TMBER, 20,1950 THE MICHIGAN DAILY PAGE SEVENTE ThURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1950 THE MICHIGAN DAILY PAGE SEVENTEEN I Sooners Again Seen as Football Picture in 1956 Also Rates Georgia Tech, MSU, TCU Among Leading National Contenders By DAVE GREY Daily Sports Editor Some pretty familiar.names in intercollegiate football should be leading the gridiron powers of the nation this fall. Or so say "the experts" in the annual pre-season predictions. Every summer sports writers across the country attempt to pick who will be doing what once the season gets under way. The choices are not particularly mean- ingful other than to give some in- dication as to which teams seem to have strength and which teams don't. Early Season Guesses There are always some surprises, once the season starts, but at this early time, the forecasts seem to point to the following. THE MIDWEST - The heart of the nation's football power should beat out again with the perennials - Notre Dame, Michi- gan State, Ohio State, and Michi- gan. The Irish are blessed with an- other "All-American" quarterback in Paul Hornung. In him, the hopes of Notre Dame seem to rest, especially since Coach Terry Bren- nan has a relatively inexperienced squad that will see a good many sophomores in the ine-up. Big Ten A Scramble The Big Ten by all indications is very strong again. Michigan State, which last year "said" it, was pointing toward this year, is; rated potentially as a national champion. Two halfbacks--Clarence Peaks and Walt Kowalczyk - are the main reason for- the Spartan op- timism. It is hard to find two bet-, ter running backs on one team at the same time, many writers and football experts claim. Ohio State and Michigan also seem to be rated highly. OSU without Hopalong Cassady may have its troubles, but perhaps the most heralded lineman in recent years -- guard Jim Parker - can help carry Ohio State's running attack that was unbeatable at times last season. And in the picture comes Michi- gan with far less pressure than last year when the pre-season fol- lowing talked of a possible cham- pionship squad. Michigan is generally picked to represent the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl in January, especially be- cause Ohio State and ' Michigan State are ineligible. The Confer- ence title, however, is the Wol- verine aim. Illinois Also Strong Power Oklahoma Passes'M' In Grid Polls Oklahoma, ranked number ope in last year's press association grid polls, has overtaken Michigan as the number two team in the com- posite poll for the years 1936-1955. The poll, combining both United Press and Associated Press re- turns, counts 10 points for each first-place rating, nine for second, and so on. The 20-yr. tabulation shows the Sooners with 65 points and the Wolverines with 62. Notre Dame is safely in first with a whopping 103 points. Army Fourth Army is fourth in this mythical tabulation, with Tennessee, Ohio State, Minnesota, UCLA, Michigan State, and Alabama rounding out the first ten in that order. It is significant that four Big Ten teams are in the top 10. The AP poll of sports writers has been in existence since 1936. The UP began a poll of college coaches in 1950. Prior to these tabulations, the Rissman and Knute Rockne trophies, symbolic of the national, title, were awarded annually from 1924 to 1936. Michigan has been mythical na- tional.champion three times since 1924 -- in '32, '33 and '48. Notre Dame leads in this department with seven first place rankings. Minnesota is in second place with four, Big Ten teams have been se- lected tops in the nation 11 of the 32 years that mythical champs have been picked. Michigan fin- ished 12th in last year's Associated Press poll..I I I ON PROBATION BUT POWERFUL - Or so Ohio State Coach Woody Hayes hopes as his OSU team goes after a Big Ten record of three consecutive Conference championships. Hayes is flanked by this year's co-captains, end-turned-tackle Bill Michael (left) and quarterback Frank Ellwood. be for the Eastern title, as the Cadets seem to be fairly strong again this year. Syracuse and Yale also have solid returnees from solid teams last year. Cornell and Navy rank as rather weak "dark- horses." THE SOUTH - Probably sec- ond only to the Midwest in pro- ducing strong football players, the South sees a wealth of strong teams in 1956. Leading the pack seems to be Georgia Tech, and not close behind come Maryland, Tennessee, Mississippi, Duke, West Virginia, Auburn, Miami, and Vanderbilt. South Has Depth The list seems long, and it is because the South has more even- ly divided strength than it's had in a long time. Tech, for example, has six very good backs, Maryland has another solid line with two possible "All-American" linemen in Mike Sandusky and Jack Davis. Some other teams to watch when the upsets start to come will be Clemson, North Carolina, and Kentucky. THE . 9 (TTTTAhui' QT_'T'1-. name part of the country, however, is Oklahoma and only Oklahoma. Coach Bud Wilkenson is some- what dubious of the "national champion" tags placed again on his Sooners, but all indications are that only something short of a miracle will stop last year's "best" from being unbeatable and setting an all-time consecutive winning streak in intercollegiate football of 40 straight (by the season's end). The Sooners, by the way, won't be eligible for an Orange Bowl bid this fall because of a new two- year ruling. THE WEST COAST - In the midst of penalties and confusion, the pre-season votes lean toward Stanford as PCC champion. But both UCLA and USC must still be rated as possible powers, despite the stiff ineligibility penalties against their members. Washington and Oregon State might also find themselves in the scramble, but penalized Washing- ton like UCLA and USC will not be able to gather the rewards even if they do happen to hit the Confer- ence title jackpot. L J Subscribe to The Michigan Daily x a a e h mmmmmwmmmmmmv vwawmpwlmq . .® """"""" 7 [ I GYi EQ ulp T I , ~GYM SUITS 'i WARM UP SUITS SHOES -SOX HANDBALL GLOVES ~ SQUASH RACKETS V MICHIGAN "T" SHIRTS I I ii, .Complete line of SPALDING-WILSON -MacGREGOR GOLF CLUBS BRUNSWICK BOWLING BALLS- BAGS-SHOES I C.C.M. HOCKEY SKATES FIGURE SKATES "rvenytking & pthe dth/ete" I A f III I U I I