Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Nation< As soon as Devaney started to win, Ohio State's Woody Hayes was sort of pushed out of the limelight. With seven starters returning on both the offense and defense, the Buckeyes are in, good position to seriously challenge for national honors. All-star candidates include of fensive tackle John Hicks, defensive tackle George Hasenhorl and linebackers Randy Gradishar and Vic Koegal. But Hayes must find a quarterback to complement his more than ample running corps: fullbacks John Bledsoe, Randy Keith and Champ Henson, along with wingback Rick Galbos and tailback Morris Bradshaw. Colorado looms as Nebraska's biggest foe in the Big Eight. Running back Charlie Davis may very well be the best in the nation. If quarterback Ken Johnson performs as expected, sophomore tailback Gary Campbell comes through and the defense quickly learns its new 4-4 defense, the Buffaloes could be overpowering. Eastern football received a prestigious boost in last year's Cotton Bowl when Penn State ripped Texas to shreds. Though Lydell Mitchell and Franco Harris are gone, quarterback John Hufnagel will be running a balanced offense. And the defense, headed by end Bruce Bannon, will again be very strong. The schedule is not as easy as it has been in recent years, as the Nittany Lions face Tennessee and Illinois early in the season before playing Syracuse and West Virginia back in late October. If Washington had some runners to go with Sonny Sixkiller's passing, the Huskies would be odds-on favorites to take the national title. Sixkiller has done it all in the past two years, but will need some offensive aid if Washington is to reach the heights expected from the best Jim Owens' team since 1961. Defensively, the Huskies were second overall in both rushing and total defense in the Pacific Eight. The secondary includes two of the nation's best in senior cornerback Calvin Jones and senior safety Bill Cahill. Intern Ho use Of SPE( For Stude You must ask VEAL CUT LET..... CHOW MEI FRIED CHICKEN.. 1031 Assembly Street 1 previ A solid running game, improved air attack and strong defense makes Alabama a favorite to repeat its Southeastern Conference championship of a year ago. Joe LaBue, Steve Bisceglia and Ellis Beck will make the loss of Johnny Musso bearable, though not un noticable. End John Mitchell and linebacker Chuck Strickland along with an experienced secondary will make the Tide defense almost as strong as it was last year. Arizona State Coach Frank Kush returns 42 players from last year's Western Athletic Conference champions, including a backfield that has three All-America can didates in halfback Woody Green, Wingback Steve Holden and fullback Ben Malone. Kush may have to do some work with the defense, but there is no apparent reason why the Sun Devils cannot take a fourth straight WAC title. If Southern Cal's runners can keep from fumbling the ball this year (27 fumbles within the op ponents' 20-yard line), PAC 8 fans could be in for quite a race this year. Sam Cunningham and Rod McNeill return for the ground chores. But the air game is un decided, as Mike Rae, Pat Haden and Orlando Olivas are fighting for the starting berth. Inexperience on the defensive side, expecially in the secondary, could hurt the Trojans in the early going. Ara Parseghian knows that Notre Dame's defense connot be nearly as strong as it was last year, though tackle Greg Marx is a definite All-America candidate. Eight starters are gone from 1971's 8-2 team. But Cliff Brown is back at quarterback and the Irish are boasting a 9.5 sprinter, Eric Penick, who has that game breaking ability that Notre Dame has lacked in recent years. The biggest obstacle facing Texas' Darrell Royal is rebuilding an offensive backfield that has only one returnee, halfback Don Burrisk. Tackle Jerry Sizemore and guard Dan Crosslin head a fine blocking unit, but a good group of sophomore and some transplanted offensive performers must prove themselves defensively if Texas is to challenge Arkansas for South western Conference honors. ttional Pancakes :IAL snts Only for the special MON-TUES. ......... For WED.-THURS. ...... For$ 9 FRIDAY No Checks Accepted Top Twenty 1. Arkansas 2. Nebraska 3. Ohio State 4. Colorado 5. Penn State 6. Washington 7. Alabama 8. Arizona State 9. Southern Cal 10. Notre Dame 11. Texas 12. LSU 13. Oklahoma 14. Mississippi 15. Michigan 16. Florida State 17. Purdue 18. Tennessee 19. Geor*ia 20. North Carolina Louisiana State is blessed with a pair of good quarterbacks in Bert Jones and Tommy Lyons The ground game, however, must be rebuilt around tailback Chris Dantin, fullbacks Jim Benglis and Ken Addy and sophs Brad Davis and Dan Rogers. John Wood returns at end to anchor the defense, but the Bayou Benagls are lacking at tackle and linebacker. No matter what Oklahoma fans thinik, Greg Pruitt can't do it all. Jack Mildren's masterful control of the wishbone is something Chuck Fairbanks won't have this year, and though eight starters, including Heisman candidate Pruitt (9.5 yards per carry last year) are back, the defense lost seven regulars and will be weak at linebacker and the secondary. Southeastern Conference con tenders had better look out for Wississippi. The Rebels return ten Dffensive starters, including a strong blocking line, Norris Weese and Kenny Lyons at quarterback and back Greg Ainsworth, con sidered one of the South's best runners. Head Coach Billy Kinard eels that tight end Butch Veazey is SUMTER & P DRUGS COSli From Page i perhaps the best player on his powerful team. Mackie McKenzie, a sophomore defensive end, is a prize that the Rebels are excited about. Though Ole Miss has a stronger secondary, gaps will have to be filled at linebacker and tackle. Michigan will not be as powerful as it has been in the past few years, but the return of quarterbacks Kevin Casey and Tom Slade should offset the loss of Big 10 MVP running back Billy Taylor, balancing the Wolverine offense. Opponents may go to the air more, as Michigan returns only Randy Logan in the backfield. Despite the loss of safety Tom Darden and linebacker Mike Taylor, the Wolverines should still have one of the better defenses in their con ference. Mention Florida State and one name comes to mind: Gary Huff. The most prolific in a long line of great Seminole quarterbacks, Huff is perhaps-the best thrower in the game. If Coach Larry Jones can come up with some running power to go with Huff's passing, the Seminoles could be a challenger for national championship. Mack Brown and Hodges Mitchell will have to perform capably. Defensively, the Seminole front line has holes at both tackle and end, but a veteran linebacking corps led by Larry Strickland and secondary returnees Eddie Thomas and James McMillan will balance any deficiencies. Purdue looks like it might be reverting to the old Bob Griese Randy .Scott days. Gary Danielson is'back at quarterback, Otis Arm strong returns at halfback and a gigantic defensive line headed by Dave Butz (6-7, 279) will give Boilermaker opponents something to think about. Tennessee and Georgia round out the quartet struggling for the SEC crown. TheVols have untested personel at quarterback, though powerful runners in Steve Chancey and Bill Rudder. Three starters are back on the offensive line, but replacements must be found at RNELL ARMNS F PHONE 253-6491 ENDLETON STS. C( IETICS SODA FOUl~ CHECl linebacker, where only Jamie Rotella returns. Despite the loss of Bobby Majors, Tennessee's secondary will be strong with David Allen and Conrad Graham. Though graduation depleted the Bulldog offensive line, running back Jimmy Poulos and quar terback Andy Johnson are back to spearhead the offense. A good running attack could hurt Georgia's inexperience defensive line, though the secondary is very good with two-time All-SEC selection Buzzy Rosenberg, Jerone Jackson, Don Golden and Gene Swinford. North Carolina will have to find a replacement for Paul Miller at quarterback and eight capable starters on defense if Bill Dooley's team is to repeat last year's 9-2 record. Junior Johnny Klise ap pears ready to step into Miller's shoes, and will be joined by tailback Ike Oglesby and fullback Tim Kirkpatrick in the backfield. Three All-ACC performers return on the offensive line: guard Ron Rusnak, tackle Jerry Sain and center Bob Thronton. All-America candidate Eric Hyman heads the young defensive unit. Of course, there are other teams that stand chances of breaking into the top twenty. Look for Illinois and Iowa State to return to power after some dismal years. West Virginia and Syracuse will challenge Penn State's monopoly of the Lambert Trophy, while Dartmouth appears to be the front runner in a three-team Ivy League race. Stanford, despite the departure of Don Bunce will join the Air Force Academy as dark horses in the West and Louisville, Houston and Georgia Tech rate as other top Southern contenders. Bob Devaney said, "Winning a third straight national cham pionship is improbable, but not impossible. We're going to try." As the old adage says "If at first you don't succeeed........." But Devaney and Nebraska have already succeeded. There's a new kid on the block. )LUMBIA, S. C. (TAIN K CASHING