Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012, October 01, 1954, Page Five, Image 5

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    _ By GORDON RICE
Emtnld Sport* Editor
Looking ahead to Ko.se Howl time, it appears that the Ore
gon Ducks face ail almost impossible task in their fight tc
get to I asadena on New ^ ear s Day, as many sports writers
national polls, and rival coaches predicted. Their defeat Iasi
week at the hands of the alert Indian team from Palo Altr
considerably dimmed the hopes of Duck followers who wert
counting on Deorge Shaw and Co. to tumble Coast confer
cnee opponents one after the other after all the pre-season
ballyhoo on the team came out.
Coach Len Casanova wasn’t nearly as optimistic as peo
ple thought he should be, however, when he said that he
had a lack of experienced help to back up the front line. He
said that probably Oregon wasn’t good enough to survive
through the rugged Coast schedule which continually mur
ders Northern teams which are outmanned by the bigger
Kip Taylor
Boat Hotter Than I W
California schools year aftei
year. It looks like he was
right.
1 his isn’t an apology foi
the < Jrcgon Ducks because
they don’t need one. But i
Northern Division team i;
lucky when it comes up wit!
one win a year from the Cali
tornia schools, and 00 percenl
of the time the losses are dut
to that big factor in footbal
—manpower. Oregon’s garni
with Stanford was in tin
other 10 percent category
since the Ducks had the In
dians outgained in every de
portment except the score
column. It was just one ol
i»u ii >1111 went mio inc loss column ot the
league standings
A look at the facts shoyld convince anyone but a dreamer
that it will take some kind of gridiron miracle to enable
any Northern team to get to the Rose Bowl this year,
something that hasn't happened since Oregon State beat
Duke in the transplanted Bowl game of 1942. That's a
long drought for Northern teams, and it probably won't
end this year.
I .ft's take a look at tlu* record so far. The four California
schools have compiled a record of seven wins against one de
feat. so far this season on two successive Saturdays. To be
sure, Stanford’s two wins have been by the narrowest of mar
gin-. and l Cl,A has been the only team to really look im
pressive so far.
Northwest Teams' Record Only Fair
Hut the five Northwest teams in comparison have run up a
record of only four wins to five defeats, and two of the wins
wi re over Idaho by Oregon teams. In general, the Northern
teams’ play has been so spotty it's hard to tell exactly what
may happen before the end of the season
Saturday's lone conference game in Portland in which
Oregon State’s improved Beavers face the hopped-up
Huskies from Washington should go a long way in de
termining just how good a team each school has this sea
son. The Beavers, although unimpressive in their 13-0 win
over Idaho last weekend, are much deeper than last season
and, for the first time since 1951, Coach Kip Taylor has
material enough to give the team strength enough to face
the bigger schools for 60 minutes and come out still kicking.
Oregon Picked to Beat Utah
Klsewhere on the coast Qrcgon shouldn’t have much
trouble with I'tuh. but the Ducks will be pointing to a big
game with California at Berkeley the following week. Since
Rose Howl predictions are currently favoring the Hears or
I'SC. which the Ducks take on the following Saturday, Ore
gon will be using this contest as a practice session for the
important games coming up.
Right now it looks like UCLA will repeat as conference
champs, but the season stretches out a long1 way in front ol
everyone yet- As previously mentioned, both California anti
USC look like top contenders and, since the Bruins will be
ineligible for the Roses this year, the Bear-Trojan game at
the halfway mark of the season could be the clincher. How
ever. we aren’t discounting our own Oregon Ducks just yet
Not by a long shot. But it's not going to be easy.
Ducks Work on Attack,
Defense for Redskins
Coach Len Casanova ran his
Oregon football team through
offensive and defensive drills
Thursday in preparation for Sat
urday's game with Utah on Hay
ward field.
The Ducks are scheduled to go
through a series of loosening-up
workouts this afternoon, and
will work on plays, kickoffs,
kickoff returns, conversions,
punting and othef non-contact
exercises.
Lineup Indefinite »
The Oregon lineup for the 1:30
I p.m. game is still in doubt at
i several positions, as a result of
injuries in the last two games.
Quarterback George Shaw is not
likely to see action at all, al
though Casanova said he would
not know definitely until some
time today. Shaw re-injured a
pulled leg muscle against Stan
' j ford last week.
If Mhaw does not play, John
ny Keller, who has played ex
cellent ball in the last two
game^t, will take over at quar
terback.
Jasper McGee, who started at
fullback against Idaho and was
injured in the first half, may
see some action, according to
Casanova. A rib cartilige sep
aration had healed sufficiently
by the middle of the week to
allow him to get in some prac
tice. It is likely, however, that
Dean Van Leuven will start the
game at fullback.
Mobley Doubtful
End Dick Mobley, who had
some bruised back muscles earl
ier in the week, is another doubt
ful performer. Sophomore Phil
McHugh has been working out
i *n Mobley’s position all week and
will probably start there.
A number of other players,
including Jack Patera, Bon
Pheistcr and Wally Russell,
came up with lesser injuries
GEORGE SHAW
May Miss Utah Game
during the week, but none of
them are expected to miss the
Utah tilt.
Track Coach Bill Bowerman
scouted Utah for the last two
weeks, and reported that the
Redskins’ inconsistency in the
two games made them a confus
ing team to scout.
Utah Winless
Utah lost its season opener to
Washington 7-6 after nearly up
setting the Huskies, and then
collapsed in the second half last
weekend as they lost to Arizona
54-20 after leading 20-13 at the
half.
Bowerman reported that the.
Utes looked terrible in the first
half against Washington, but
recovered and played good foot
ball in the second half. He said
that they should have scored
more than they did againrft the
Huskies.
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The situation was just re
versed in the Arizona game, how
ever, as Utah looked very good
in the first half and then folded
completely after the intermis
sion.
Utes Good Passers
Bowerman pointed out that the
Utes have a good passing team
and always have a high-scoring
! outfit. Utah has 20 lettermen,
but only one regular, back from
1 last year’s Skyline conference
champions. Coach Jack Curtice
I lost 17 lettermen, including
Quarterback Don Rydalch, one of
the top passers in the country
last year, and End Morris Nel
son, Rydalch’s favorite target.
Bowerman reported that the
Utes had a number of good
backs and some good linemen.
He was especially high on Cen
ter Carl Poglajen, a two-year
veteran playing his first year
as a regular.
Halfback Max Pierce is the
tenth ranking receiver in the
country, and Quarterback Dave
Dungan in the 13th ranking
passer in the nation, according
to the latest NCAA statistics.
Dungan has completed 12 out of
19 passes for 153 yards and one
touchdown, and Pierce has
caught six passes for 139 yards
i and one touchdown.
SLACKS
On the campus, in the class
room, around the links —
Rough Rider Slacks take top
honors. They're action-tai
lored. Try on a pair today.
N A ? a .
California