Big One

Midwestern football, a wag once said, is divided into four major leagues: Big Ten, Big Seven, Big Six and Big One. The Big One is Notre Dame. This year the Fighting Irish are no disgrace to the tradition that has made Notre Dame the adopted alma mater of millions of men-in-the-street.

Last week when Elmer Layden's troops (three complete teams) trotted into The Bronx's Yankee Stadium for their 26th annual skirmish with Army, 78,000 spellbound spectators watched them. Most of them had never seen either West Point or South Bend, but this was their "Homecoming Game." Notre Dame rooters were proud of their team's record. In five games so far this season it had defeated Purdue, Georgia Tech, Southern Methodist, Navy, Carnegie Tech--none of them pushovers. But to Army rooters that record was just the luck of the Irish: a field goal had beaten Purdue and Georgia Tech, a single point-after-touchdown had nosed out Carnegie Tech and Southern Methodist, one touchdown was the margin over Navy.

When twilight fell on the People's Game of 1939, most football fans agreed that it was not Irish luck but heads-up football that has made this gear's Notre Dame machine one of the few undefeated, untied teams in the country. Except for Notre Dame's bigger & better backs (so many and so good that none hogs the spotlight), the margin of difference last week between the West Pointers and the South Benders was slight. But the Irish were quicker on the uptake. When an Army back fumbled in the second quarter, Notre Dame recovered, scored a touchdown. A few moments later, when Notre Dame fumbled, the Cadets got the ball but failed to follow through. That difference was enough to win the game, but just for good measure, in the final quarter Notre Dame intercepted an Army pass for another touchdown, beat the Cadets (14-to-0) for the fourth year in a row.

Other outstanding games of the week:

>At Champaign, Ill., on the same field where famed Red Grange scored five touchdowns against Michigan 15 years ago, an Illinois team, smarting under Michigan's Coach Crisler's recent boast that Tom Harmon is a greater back than Grange, made Crisler eat crow. Playing inspired football, Bob Zuppke's Illini, who had not won a game this season, bottled Harmon so tightly that he scored only one touchdown, toppled mighty Michigan from the undefeated ranks, 16-to-7.

>At Portland, Ore., Howard Jones's unbeaten Southern California powerhouse, strongest he has turned out in years, rumbled over hitherto unbeaten Oregon State, 19-to-7. Thereby practically clinching the Pacific Coast Conference championship, Southern California began to ponder whom it would invite to the Rose Bowl.

>At Baton Rouge, La., undefeated, untied, unscored-on Tennessee, still the No. 1 popular choice to represent the East in the Rose Bowl, smashed a slam-bang Louisiana State team that had previously trounced Holy Cross, Rice, Loyola and Vanderbilt. Tennessee 20, L. S. U. 0.

>At Chapel Hill, N. C., Texas-bred Ray Wolf's North Carolina boys, led by George Stirnweiss and Jim ("Sweet") Lalanne, two of Dixie's most spectacular razzle-dazzle backs, bedoozled their ancient rivals, North Carolina State, 17-to-0. Undefeated so far this season, North Carolina seemed headed for not only the Southern Conference title but its first undefeated season since 1898.

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