10
Thursday, November 16, 1978
University Daily Kansan
Unbeaten Penn State takes over No.1 spot in poll
By the Associated Press
Penn State's Nittany League, the nation's only major unbeaten team, moved into the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press college football poll for the first time ever
Fenn State, a 19-10 winner over North Carolina State on Saturday, benefited from previously unbeaten Oklahoma's 17-14 loss to Nebraska and jumped from the No. 2 spot. The defeat dropped the Sooners to No. 4, while Nebraska gained second place in a
tight race with Alabama, setting up the possibility of an Orange showdown showdown with Wisconsin.
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NEBRASKA WAS chosen Monday to represent the Big Eight in the Orange Bowl. Penn State is expected to receive a formal bid on Saturday.
Penn State Coach Joe Paterno took the no. 1 ranking in stride.
"I don't feel any different now than I did when we were ranked No. 2," he said. "We still have two tough games to play before we can stake a claim to being No.1. I've always said the only poll that means anything is the final one."
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN-
Penn State, 10-0, concludes its regular season Nov. 24 against 20th-ranked Pitt.
Sports
THE NITTANY LIONS, who finished
second in the final 1968 and 1969
leagues, finished 50th in the
1973 National League. 45
of 61 first place votes and 1,296 of a possible
1,296 points from a nationwide panel of
1,296 voters.
Nebraska received six first-place votes and 1,209 points, and Alabama, a 31-10 winner over Louisiana State, held onto three place with four first-place votes and 1,207 points.
Oklahoma City = 1,092 points put the Sooners in fourth place while Southern California scored 854.
Washington 28-10 and booted the Huskies from the Top Twenty. drew the remaining team to Atlanta.
HOUSTON, a 10-7 victor over Texas,
vaulted from eighth to sixth with 979 points.
The loss dropped the Longhorns to ninth behind Michigan and Georgia.
Michigan remained No. 7 with 965 points after a 59-14 pasting of Northwestern, and Georgia leaped from 11th to eighth with 803 points by edging Florida 24-22.
Rounding out the Top Ten were Texas with 733 points and defending national champion Notre Dame, a 31-14 victor over Tennessee, with 662.
The Second Ten is made up of Maryland,
Clemson, Arkansas, UCLA, Purdue,
Michigan State, Louisiana State, Pittsburgh,
Ohio State and Georgia Tech. Last
month the University of Michigan, Maryland,
Notre Dame, Clemson, Arkansas, Michigan
State, Navy, Washington and Pitt.
Navy fell out by losing to Syracuse 20-17, and Washington lost to Southern Cal. Ohio State, which trounced Illinois 45-7, returned to the Top Twenty for the first time in five years. The game was the first time this season by winning its seven games in a row, 42-21 over Air Force.
The Top Twenty team in the Associated Press college football teams and the most successful college basketball teams are below. Points based on 20-18 loss to a top-ranked opponent.
1. Penn State (15) 10-9-0 1,296
2. Nebraska (8) 10-9-0 1,296
3. Alabama 10-9-0 1,293
4. Oklahoma 10-9-0 1,292
5. Southern Tail (11) 10-9-0 1,975
6. Hawaii 10-9-0 975
7. Michigan 10-9-0 983
8. Georgia 10-9-0 983
9. Texas 10-9-0 983
10. Notre Dame 10-9-0 769
11. Kentucky 10-9-0 640
12. Clemson 10-9-0 640
13. Clemson 10-9-0 641
14. UCLA 10-9-0 614
15. Florida 10-9-0 614
16. Michigan 10-9-0 637
17. Louisiana State 10-9-0 256
18. Florida 10-9-0 251
19. Ohio State 10-9-0 143
20. Arizona 10-9-0 141
"HOW TO INFLUENCE YOUR CONGRESS PERSON"
Huskers' '2nd bowl game' played too early
KU ECOLOGY CLUB IS SPONSORING
A LOBBYING AND LETTER WRITING
WORKSHOP
THURSDAY NOV. 16
7:30 PM
PARLORS B&C
Kansas Union
FUNDED BY THE STUDENT SENATE
A Professional lobbyist from the Mid-American Coalition for Energy Alternatives will be one of the guest speakers. (Everyone will be welcome to stay after the talks for an informal letter-writing session.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (UPI)—Not many teams get the chance to play in one bowl game a year. Nebraska almost got the chance to play in two this year.
The Cornbushers clinched a trip to the Orange Bowl last weekend with their 17-4 victory over then top-ranked and previously unbeaten Oklahoma. The Orange Bowl, however, was now home again, Jan. 1. The game also could have played in a "bowl" Game Nov. 24 this year.
1. that was the day Nebraska was to travel to Alabama to take on the Crimson Tide, the pride of the Deep South. It was on a holiday weekend. And ABC television officials can
only shake their heads at what might have been.
THE GAME was instead moved up to Sept. 2 to kick off the 1978 season, and what the viewers saw that night was a veteran Alabama team beat a struggling Nebraska team. 20-3. The Big Eight team could not get its offense untracked.
That gave Nebraska an 0-1 start on the season—but what a season it has turned out to be. It was the first time I untracked the following week against California and it has careened throughout the Midwest like an uncontrollable foe, then in being off nine straight victories.
Nebraska ranks first in the nation in total offense with an average of 499.8 yards a game, first in scoring offense with an average of 38.9 points and second in rushing offense with an average of 333.4 yards. Despite the loss, 110 rushing yards and 174 total yards were "amassed" in the game against Alabama.
THE CRIMSON Tide has also had its typically mighty season: posting a 9-1 record, additional victories over Boston, Washington, Washougal and the Los Angeles. The only loss was to No. S. Southern LSU.
Alabama currently ranks No. 3 in the nation. Nebraska, on the heels of the upset
victory over Oklahoma, vaulted into the No.
2 snot this week.
ran not the two teams opened the season against each other, the Cornhuskers would be unbeaten and conceivably ranked ahead of Penn State as the No. 1 team in the land.
THE THEN THAT Nov. 24 game in Birmingham would have been a colossal clash with the New York Giants.
"That would have been the best bowl game of all." One Big Eight official said.
"If we had played Alabama in two weeks it would have been just like a bowl game, " he said. "We're going to suggest he to Chuck Neilens, the Big Eight commissioner, back in the spring that the date be changed. Oklahoma, Missouri and Alabama, each would send kendalls, would even rather tough on us."
"I FELT AT the time it would be to our advantage to play Alabama early," Rick Berns, Nebraska's All-Big eight halfback, said. "Last year they started out of kind slow but came on real strong at the end of season and things just didn't turn out right for us."
Things certainly did not turn out as the Cornhushins expected. Unless Penn State decides to accept an Orange Bowl invitation, Nebraska has virtually no shot at winning the national championship, especially if Alabama is locked out of the Sugar Bowl by Georgia. Then the Clinton Tide is likely to go into action. If they do, either at the Gator Bowl or the Fiesta Bowl for their own national championship game.
overrasta would be left one game short of its national title—the Alabama game.
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