University Daily Kansan
Thursday, Oct. 1, 1970
9
Hawks Over Lobos; Conference Begins
By JOE H. BULLARD Kansan Sports Editor
The Kansas Jayhawks wrap-up their pre-conference football schedule this Saturday when KU meets the New Mexico Lobos at Lawrence.
Saturday's game is the last in the three game series between New Mexico and Kansas. The series stands at 1-1 with KU rolling to a 68-7 victory in 1968. The Lobos evened the score last year with a 16-7 upset over the Jayhawks.
BOTH TEAMS GO INTO Saturday's game fresh from victories last week. The Lobos defeated Utah in a high scoring affair 34-28, while the Jayhawks downed Syracuse 31-14.
The often erratic Jayhawk offense started clicking again last week, rolling up 364 yardspassing for 108 and rushing for an additional 256 yards.
KU running backs John Riggins and Steve Conley both turned in their best games of the season. Riggins rushed for 162 yards and three touchdowns, and Conley rushed for 60 yards in 14 attempts.
THE OFFENSE REGAINED its ability to pull off the big play, putting 20 points on the scoreboard in less than seven minutes. The scoring spree came early in the third quarter after KU lead Syracuse 8-7 at the half.
The Jayhawk defense was vastly improved over previous weeks. The defense held Syracuse to 251 yards total offense after giving up 513 and 472 yards in the first two games.
The Kansas defense turned in their seventh best over-all defensive effort (statistically speaking) in Pepper Rodgers' four years at KU. The list of opponents held to fewer yards are: Syracuse (1969), 246; Nebraska (1968), 239; New Mexico (1968), 127; Oklahoma (1967), 229; Colorado (1967), 241; Nebraska (1967), 191.
OUTSTANDING DEFENSIVELY for KU last week was linebacker Gary Davenport, who was credited with seven tackles including one behind the line for a six-yard loss. He also put the big rush on the Syracuse quarterback when KU's Jerry Evans intercepted in the end zone to stop a fourth-quarter Syracuse drive that had reached the two-yard-line.
The defense will be severely tested this week as New Mexico utilizes a strong running game. In the Lobos first two games, running backs Fred Henry and Sam Scarber rushed for 449 yards on 66 carries.
Last week against Utah, Henry rushed for 208 yards, second best in Lobo history. Scarber was the workhorse when the Lobos defeated KU last year, carrying the ball 38 times for 130 yards.
THE JAYHAWKS WILL once again show their offensive might and will prove too much for the Lobos to handle. The KU defense will again be sound, however the Lobos will be able to keep the ball on the ground and score. My prediction—Kansas 38, New Mexico 21.
KU Hosts New Mexico; Hawks Seek Third Win
★★
Saturday marks the first week of conference play as two Big Eight teams meet.
Fullback Sam Scarber
Oklahoma State meets Missouri at Stillwater, while Colorado tangles with Kansas State at Manhattan.
THE TWO OPENING games are both extremely important. K-State, following a disappointing record of 1-2 in pre-conference games, will try to utilize a healthy Lynn Dickey to get their potentially powerful offense back into high gear.
The Wildcats will find the going tough as Colorado, ranked eight nationally, goes into the game with one of the best defensive teams in the conference. The Buffalooes are none too weak on offense having rolled up 41 points against a previously undefeated Penn State team last week.
MISSOURI ATTEMPTS TO regain face this week at Oklahoma State, after being humiliated last week by Air Force 37-14. The Tigers, picked by many as the team to win the Big Eight title, must defeat the Cowboy's to keep any title hopes alive.
Oklahoma State upset Houston last week 26-17. The Cowboy's possess a potent passing attack with quarterback Terry Pounds and flanker Herman Eben.
The Wildcats will find the Buffaloes too much to handle even with a healthy Lynn Dickey. My prediction—Colorado 28, Kansas State 21.
Missouri will find Stillwater a tough place to open the conference season as Pounds will riddle a weak Tiger secondary with passes. My prediction Missouri 21, Oklahoma State 21.
By DON BAKER Assistant Kansan Sports Editor
Saturday will be one day less than a year since the Kansas Jayhawks were humiliated by a 16-7 loss to a four touchdown underdogged New Mexico Lobo team. The game was thought to be a "breather" for the Jayhawks last year as the Lobos had been the victim of 21 consecutive losses and supposedly possessed little equipment to handle KU.
But the resulting loss started KU on the skids that ended only at the season's end leaving the team with a 1-9 record.
The status of tight-end and team captain Larry Brown is still
SATURDAY KANSAS WILL have its chance to help erase those memories as the Lobos visit Lawrence for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff in Memorial Stadium before an expected Band Day crowd of 40,000.
Pepper Rodgers said Wednesday there is no revenge factor in the game but without doubt last year's results have served as an impetus for keeping team spirit high this week.
The Jayhawks, fresh from an inspiring 31-14 triumph over Syracuse last week, will take a 2-1 record into the contest as compared to New Mexico's 1-1.
THE LOBOS OPENED THE season against Big Eight foe Iowa State and were soundly beaten by the Cyclones, 31-3. But last week the picture changed as Utah was the victim of a massive New Mexico running game that resulted in a 34-28 Lobo victory.
Rodgers said he expects the Lobos to rely on that same ground attack against the Jayhawks. Running out of the Wishbone-T set, New Mexico has the material to do it in the form of running backs Fred Henry and Sam Scarber.
Henry rushed for 208 yards against Utah last week, the second highest total ever accumulated by a Lobo player. KU has not forgotten Scarber from last year when the strong fullback carried the ball a school record-setting total of 38 times while picking up 130 yards. In the first two games this year the pair has amassed 449 yards on 66 carries for an average of 6.8 yards per carry.
LOBO COACH RUDY FELDMAN, who was named the United Press International coach of the week after the KU victory last year, is in his third year at the New Mexico helm and believes this team has the most depth of any Lobo team he's coached.
Feldman has 30 lettermen from last season's team which compiled a 4-6 record. Four junior college transfers and a strong corps of sophomores provide added depth at nearly every position. Feldman points out though that the depth is not entirely experienced.
KU SUSTAINED NO further injuries in last week's Syracuse game but will probably still be without the services of running back Donnie Joe Morris and defensive back James Bowman. Morris missed the Syracuse game and Bowman has yet to play this year, both the victims of leg injuries.
Saturday's game is the third and final game in the present KU-Ne'w Mexico series. Feldman and the Lobos surely remember the first game of the series in 1968 as they were the victim of a 68-7 crunching administered by the Bobby Douglass led and Orange Bowl bound Jayhawks.
uncertain. Brown watched last week's game from the sidelines with a bruised leg and may be held out of the Lobo game too. Rodgers said the decision on Brown playing Saturday would not be made until just prior to the game.
Last week's game saw a vast improvement of the KU defense, an area Rodgers said the team
must improve if it is going to survive the Big Eight race. Syracuse, who like New Mexico relies on a strong ground attack, was held to 251 yards total offense. From a statistical standpoint, this was the seventh best defensive effort of any Rodgers coached KU team. Only one Syracuse touchdown was the result of a long and substantial drive as the Orange put its first seven points on the board
... part of Lobo's one-two punch
after a KU fumble deep in its own territory.
KU QUARTERBACK DAN HECK and running back John Riggins continue to be impressive in Big Eight conference offensive statistics.
Heck leads the conference in total offense averaging 172 yards per game. He has rushed for 83 yards to date while throwing for 434 yards giving him 517 total yards. Heck also ranks third in the conference in passing behind Nebraska's Jerry Tagge and Oklahoma State's Tony Pounds.
Riggins is listed second in both rushing and tandem offense. The big Centralia senior has rushed for 311 yards for an average of 104 yards per game, considerably behind Missouri's Joe Moore, who has netted 418 yards for an average of 139 yards per game. In tandem offense, which is rushing and pass receiving combined, Riggins is also in second place behind Moore with a total of 336 yards.
KU punter Keith Lieppman ranks second in the conference and sixth in the nation with a 44-yard average.
Douglass To Defend Title In Azalea Golf Tourney
WILMINGTON, N.C. (UPI) Defending champion Dale Douglass is depending on some copper to help iron out his game during the Azalea Open golf tournament today.
"Ive had a bad summer," said Douglass, who won the 1969 tournament with a 72-hole score of 775.
"I feel I found out some of my problems, though, and I hope I can iron them out and get my
game back in shape," Douglass said Wednesday.
To help, Douglass explained he was wearing a copper bracelet to ward off a pain he used to have in his wrist.
"Those in the medical profession will say there is no curing power," Douglass said.
But he added, "I had wrist trouble before I started wearing it, but since I started wearing it March 5, I haven't had any trouble with my wrist at all."