McAllister bulls for yardage
The Pac-8
They said Hushies9 hut here comes EJSC
By JIM HUNTER
Of the Emerald
Look at Husky Stadium any Saturday
Washington is home and you’ll find 60.000 Seattlites
screaming for opponents’ blood. Vigorous fans they
are, probably the most rabid on the West Coast.
And why not. They’ve suffered through some
massive indignities in the recent past. In the six
years after their last apperance in the 1964 Rose
Bowl Washington trudged to a 26-32-2 record. Not
bad for a Colorado State or a Vanderbilt but not the
stuff that fostered Jim Owens sweat shirts and
“Mush” buttons.
Sixhiller
Then it happened. To Husky rooters it was a
second coming. To Owens a reprieve. To press and
public relations men a bonanza. It was—he was—
Sonny Sixkiller.
In the sophomore star of 1970 football fans saw a
quality quarterback who could get Washington on
the path to Pasadena. Owens saw his job security
stabilizing. News and PR men saw countless puns
about Indians and, when the public got sick of ethnic
lines, a chance to appear liberal, together, hip by
refering to him as a native American. Or better yet,
not even mentioning he was something other than a
signal-calling WASP.
National publications jumped on the Sonny
bandwagon once they discovered this unheralded
soph was more than a flash in the pan. His junior
year found his stolid visage on the cover of several
national mags and that due how much to the fact he
led the nation in passing the season before?
While in his second year he improved
Washington’s record from 6-4 to 8-3, the opposition
and fans discovered something. Though able to fire
bullets all over the field his passes were many times
too hot to handle. And his passing percentage in
dicated this—only .424.
Following the 1970 campaign, before the world
learned Sonny was a thrower not a passer, “ex
perts” were practically conceding Washington the
Pacific-8 crown in ‘72, Sixkiller’s senior year.
But his percentage last season and events early in
the current go-round have thrown new light on the
situation. The Purple Hoard hasn’t been at all
impressive in barely edging powerhouses
University of Pacific and Duke. And a very real
peril to all Pac-8 teams, not only Washington, is the
reemergence of Southern California to the glory
that was theirs in the days of Garrett and Simpson.
The Trojans, generally acknowledged as a close
second to the Huskies in the race for the Roses and
with little chance to break into the Top Ten
nationally, are currently sitting atop the country
after dumping highly-touted Arkansas, 31-10, and
destroying Oregon State, 51-6.
So who’s to stop USC from capturing it all? Well,
there is Washington. And for optimists there’s hope
of an Oregon upset. But it will probably be up to
Notre Dame Dec. 2 to thwart Trojan national
championship ambitions—though that’s the only
hope they’ll rip asunder. For, you see, by then USC
will have the Rose Bowl birth well in hand.
Then if the Trojans will be in Pasadena playing
the Big Ten representative—most likely Ohio
State—what’s the fate of the other seven conference
members?
The Huskies should get second, and probably with
as good or better record as last season’s, but with
nothing to show for it but the rain and slush of
Seattle in late December.
UCLA, 2-7-1 last year because of a sputtering
offense, is revamped and rolling. Loser to the likes
of Pittsburgh in ‘71, the Bruins shocked everyone,
except perhaps their sparkplug coach Pepper
Rodgers, by tripping up Nebraska, 20-17.
To prove it wasn’t any fluke, UCLA took care of
Pitt, 38-28, Mark Harmon, son of 1940’s all
American Tom Harmon, running the wishbone
effectively and junior James McAllister rumbling
like they knew he would before he was declared
ineligible for 1971.
Stanford and their all-American candidate
running back-flanker John Winesberry should grab
fourth. While Don Bunce, the man who could never
hope to replace Jim Plunkett, is gone Mike Boryla,
a little-used player his first two yeara, is now at the
helm. But everyone knows he could never hope to
replace Bunce.
The quality drops off after those four schools
though one school could surprise and sneak into the
top division. That’s Oregon. Expected to be losers
the first part of the season though spoilers towards
the end after sophomores gained experience, the
Ducks have looked better than anticipated in their
first two games against Missouri and Arizona.
League wins over Washington State, California and
(well, its got to come sometime) Oregon State
should materialize and an upset over Washington or
Stanford is not out of the question.
Cal's good for sixth though they too could sneak
up a notch or two if they ever settle on a quar
terback and he pans out.
Washington State and Oregon State should battle
it out for the bottom. Though neither will be
awesome it's hard to pick the Beavers for last. Not
only do they consistently finish strong (and who do
they always play last?) but they have all-American
Steve Brown anchoring the defense from his
linebacker slot. Still, the Cougars could nab that
vaunted seventh position if senior quarter-back Ty
Paine finds a somewhat respectable replacement
for graduated speedster Bernard Jackson with
which to run the option.
The only thing of which one can be virtually
certain is, considering the Pacific-8’s sub-par 22-20
1971 interconference record and their 1972 successes
against foes like Arkansas and Nebraska, the Pac is
back.