Weather Levelers

East of the Mississippi, the weather (see NATIONAL AFFAIRS) made footballs take some strange bounces. Gales, snow, sleet, rain and mud--the great levelers--made fumbling bumblers out of All-America candidates, made even the lowliest underdog look good, raised line-smashing fullbacks to an importance never intended for them in the hipper-dipper T-formation system.

After 100 tons of snow had been cleared off the field at Knoxville, Tennessee's Cotton Bowl-bound Volunteers threw themselves on the frozen turf to recover eight of Kentucky's nine fumbles, then whipped the unbeaten Wildcats, 7-0, in 15DEG weather. Some Southern comfort was provided after the game with the announcement that Kentucky, despite its defeat, had been chosen to play in the Sugar Bowl. Probable opponent: Oklahoma, which won its 30th straight by downing Nebraska, 49-35.

The Big Ten had its share of weather and upsets. At Columbus, Ohio, in the face of 30-m.p.h. winds and blinding snow, Michigan was unable to manage even one first down, but did manage to skid past Ohio State, 9-3. Illinois, with its bags half packed for a Rose Bowl trip, was frozen out of the journey and the Big Ten title by Northwestern, 14-7. Though once tied and thrice beaten, Michigan, as conference champions, will go to the Rose Bowl. Michigan's opponent: unbeaten California, which had its record only slightly marred by Stanford, 7-7.

In Palmer Stadium, while officials held the ball down to prevent its blowing away in a 60-m.p.h. gale (and 25,000 of the 31,000 ticket-holders stayed home), Princeton's single-wing power finally overcame Dartmouth's stubborn, mud-aided defense, 13-7. The victory gave Princeton its first undefeated season in 15 years, a top-flight national ranking in anybody's book, and clear claim to the Ivy League title, a matter further clarified the same day when a couple of Cornell T-formation fullbacks slogged through Pennsylvania's mud-caked line for a 13-6 upset.

Idle Army, resting up for the Navy game, still looked like the best team in the country, weather or not.

Other football winners last week:

P: In Cambridge, Mass., Yale, stymied until the last quarter by 55-m.p.h. winds and a surprisingly stubborn defense, over Harvard, 14-6, for the Elis' 39th victory in the 67-year-old series.

P: In Denver, Wyoming over Denver, 42-12, for the Skyline Championship, Wyoming's tenth straight victory, first perfect season.

P: In Richmond, Va., Washington and Lee, with its regulars on the bench, over Richmond, 67-7, for its first Southern Conference championship in 16 years.

P:In Dallas, Baylor over Southern Methodist, 3-0, with a fourth-quarter field goal, to put the foot back in football for the pass-happy Southwest Conference and to hand S.M.U., voted the top team in the country a month ago, its third loss in four games.

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