SPORTS
Daily hansan
SPORTS
62nd Year, No.1
LAWRENCE, KANSAS
Thursday, Sept. 17, 1964
Tough Schedule Faces KU
Frogs Have 3 Starters Back for '64
FORT WORTH, Tex.—(Special)— Coach Abe Martin begins his 12th season as Texas Christian head coach, and the former Horned Frog end star, foresees a top Southwest Conference race again this season.
The Frogs are ticketed for a second-division finish, and it is no secret Martin and staff face many problems before the season opener with Kansas at Lawrence Saturday afternoon.
The Frogs will have 20 of 39 lettermen returning from 1963 — a year that saw the Purples carve out a 4-5-1 record, and a fifth place in the Conference pennant chase. Only three are starters—center Ken Henson, guard Steve Garmon and halfback Jim Fauver. Those three seniors are solid performers, but some more must be found if the Frogs hope to make any noise toward a possible title.
MARTIN HAS BEEN far from pleased with his offense in recent campaigns, and thus, the new DUAL offense was tried last spring. The DUAL will feature both a T-side and POWER side in the same formation; stressing the pass when in open formation; and the run, when closed. Also, there will be some flip-flop of the line; and some strong left and strong right; with occasional flankers and split ends.
"Summing it up, the DUAL offense came about simply because our staff saw it best for the talents available," explained Martin.
Fauver, quick and blessed with exceptional balance, and Larry Bulaich head up the backfield talent. Fauver will operate at the new halfback post; and the 197-pound Bulaich has been converted from halfback to the fullback role, where all-America Tommy Crutcher topped the league the past three seasons.
"THOSE TWO YOUNGSTERS are fine runners, and we felt we needed them in the game at the same time," continued Martin. "Both can run the dive, off-tackle and go wide, giving us a fine one-two punch on offense."
Quarterback seems adequate with letterman Randy Howard and Kent Nix returning from 1963. Howard is a fine runner, ball handler, and owns top experience. Nix has an exceptional arm, and the Corpus Christi junior should have top targets in 1964. Martin plans to start with Howard, but looks for Nix to see equal duty along the 1964 route.
The early problem points to the defense, especially in the secondary, where sophomore talent may have to be stationed. Only Fauver and junior Dan Jones own any experience there. Also at linebacker, where Crutcher was a mainstay along with Clifford Taft and Robert Mangum, there could be another trouble-spot.
"We're far from being a one QB team" he says.
Rounding out the No. 1 backfield will be wingback Bobby Sanders, a converted end. The 167-pound senior is a fine pass receiver, and above-average blocker.
HENSON AND GARMON, two of the finest in the league at their position, anchors the line. Also pegged for duty with the top unit is T-end Larry Perry of Dallas; T-tackle Norman Evans of Donna; T-guard Harvey Reeves of Port Arthur; power tackle Bobby Smith of San Antonio; and power end Joe Ball of Graham. Perry and Ball are junior lettermen, while the rest are lettermen seniors.
CENTER, GUARD, AND end play is solid, especially at end, where the receiving and defensive play could be the best in several seasons.
GALE SAYERS
... KU's all-America halfback
'We'll Be 10-0'
Jack Doubts Guess
"Gale would say we'd be 10-0 even if we suited up the Chi Omega sorority."
That's what Jack Mitchell told sports writers during their Big Eight Skywriters tour here Sept. 1. He was answering questions about Gale Sayers' prediction last spring that KU would go unbeaten this season—and even win a bowl game.
"HE WANTS TO be 10-0 so bad he really thinks we can do it," Mitchell says. "Of course, the odds against a perfect season are fantastic, for any team in the country. Gale is a dedicated boy and he thinks in terms of perfect seasons."
Sayers, KU's (and almost everybody else's) all-America halfback, enters his senior season with 2,042 career rushing yards, placing him ninth on the all-time conference career list.
And he'll open the season within range of Dave Hoppman's league record of 2.562 yards for Iowa State in 1960-1962.
Sayers' 1.125 yards as a sophomore and 917 last year were both good for third in the national rushing race.
SAYERS, A GRADUATE of Omaha Central, Neb., High, holds conference records for longest run from line of scrimmage and most net rushing in a game.
The Kaw Valley Gale's 1,125 figure constitutes the highest sophomore total in Jayhawker history. It is four short of the varsity single-season record held by Wade Stinson, new KU athletic director, who set that mark as a senior in 1950.
Sayers paced KU last season in kickoff returns, punt returns scoring, receiving and kickoff returns.
Jayhawks, Frogs Collide Saturday
There might be plenty of facts and factors to provide basis for the folks who are saying this is the year KU's football team will win the Big Eight Conference championship and more.
But, when the Jayhawkers' schedule and a couple of other cold facts are taken into account, there's considerable basis for saying KU will be lucky to break even and still not sound overly pessimistic.
IT MIGHT BE the early games that will make the difference a game as Saturday, for instance, when the Jayhawks open their 1964 season against Texas Christian.
Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. in Memorial Stadium for the game, the last of a series of openers with the Horned Frogs of Fort Worth that started in 1942.
KU opponents will face the huskiest line in Jack Mitchell's seven-year tenure as head coach. With the probable starting line averaging 224 pounds, it will be the heftiest front wall on Mt. Oread since the 1930s.
AT LEAST TWO of the linemen—Mike Shinn and Brian Schweda—are being boomed for all-America honors with the former already an all-Big Eight selection.
As for the KU backfield, there's Gale Sayers. And, from all preseason indications, KU's all-America halfback will have adequate support to comprise one of the best backfields in the nation.
But there are other big lines and other good backfields. And it seems KU will run up against many of them.
Tough foes include Syracuse (there Sept. 26), Wyoming (here Oct. 3), Oklahoma (here Oct. 17), Nebraska (here, Nov. 7) and Missouri (there, Nov. 21).
Almost all of those teams are considered pre-season favorites over KU. Syracuse, Wyoming, Oklahoma and Missouri have been nationally rated in pre-season guess lists.
TEXAS CHRISTIAN, though figured to finish in the second division of the Southwest Conference, will be no pushover. Jayhawker teams have always had trouble with the Horned Frogs of Abe Martin.
In 20 games against TCU, KU has won only three games and tied three.
Coach Mitchell says his squad has the physical potential to be much stronger than the 1962 and 1963 teams, but would have to match both clubs' desire and effort to contend for the conference championship.
THE THREE PROBLEMS the KU coach hoped to solve in pre-season workouts were:
- Finding a No. 1 punter.
- Determining the top sophomore ends from a field of seven prospects.
- Selecting defensive backfield personnel.
"We started last season with a pair of 185-pound guards," Mitchell says. "Now they just aren't big enough.
"Defense is our No.1 problem. Our offense was among the top 12 in the country last year but our defense was only sixth in the Big Eight.
"I THINK OUR linebacking is going to be all right. We worked very hard on it this spring and we have a lot of ability in our seven best linebacking prospects.
"We're afraid we may be a little small in the defensive backfield, though. We have a lot of speed and quickness there, but not too much size."
Pre-season drills opened with Mitchell full of praise for Bob Skahan, a good runner and fair left-handed passing sophomore. But junior Steve Renko is the probable No. 1 quarterback.
"RENKO HAD NEVER played quarterback before last fall," Mitchell said. "He knew no more about how to quarterback than I would know how to put plumbing in a house. Considering that, he did well."
One thing is certain, the Jayhawkers will be much better armored against the run of line injuries that cost them the services of eight important players last year for two to seven-week periods.
KU played the 1963 November stretch thinner than any Mitchell team since his first in 1958.
The pre-season analysis shows guard and tackle stronger than a year ago; center at least equal, despite the loss of all-Big Eight Pete Quatrochi. End cannot be expected to match last year's ability, but several newcomers could make it satisfactory by mid-season.
FRONT-LINE BACKFIELD talent is well-established, even though graduation took last year's alternating starters, Ken Coleman and Armand Baughman.