Lessons in Razzle-Dazzle
The signal caller takes the snap from center, drops back as if to pass, then suddenly races downfield for a 16-yd. gain.
Moments later the opposing quarterback hands off to his halfback, then rolls down the sideline as an eligible receiver and hauls in a pass from the halfback for a surprise touchdown.
These vignettes are not from some dusty newsreel starring Red Grange or Jim Thorpe. They are examples of the old-fashioned razzle-dazzle that took place on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day as college teams dusted off everything but the Statue of Liberty play in the end-of-season bowl games. Coming right after the rugged but relatively predictable N.F.L. conference playoffs, the college contests showed how much fast fun football can still generate.
The Sugar Bowl battle between Alabama and Notre Dame for the national championship was so frantic that ABC'S Howard Cosell could barely get in a sesquipedalian word. The two psyched-up teams ran off 160 plays, compared with a more leisurely pro average of about 120. The pros are allowed 30 seconds between plays--compared to 25 in college--and they do not get a brief time out after every first down. Before Notre Dame won 24-23, the lead changed hands six times. Notre Dame Quarterback Tom Clements dashed for 74 yds. on 15 carries, and Alabama's second-string quarterback, Richard Todd, added a spectacular of his own when he caught a touchdown pass.
Though the score was more lopsided in the Rose Bowl--Ohio State overcame U.S.C. 42-21--both teams played wide-open football. Even conservative coach Woody Hayes had his Ohio State team passing, and once again both quarterbacks ran brilliantly. In the Orange Bowl, an acrobatic touchdown catch helped Penn State defeat L.S.U. 16-9, and Nebraska beat Texas in the Cotton Bowl 19-3 with a breakaway running attack. The message was clear: this year's college players will offer the pros a bright chance to loosen up their game.
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