The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio • Page 32

-UC 14-0 Unbeaten 'Skins Gome Through With Touchdown Pass For Game's Key Play BY DICK FORBES Miami's Redskins put themselves in direct line for a bid to one of the major bowl games yesterday with a 14-0 victory over Cincinnati, climaxing their first undefeated, untied season since 1921. JTHH CINCINNATI NUl'IRE a FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 1955 FAGE 28 Statistics Cincinnati Miami Tint downi It I Itiuhlnf rrde 101 ill riuinc TrdMf fit r-isfcrs rompMH 4 4 PaBkrt lt.m,IH ruirs Intercepted by 1 2 rnt Punt arerftce 37 a.vj FVnilllet 4 Trd pcnalnrd 4 FumMei Fumbles 1nt 3 Gator Or Nothing! Miami Poll Shows; Club Bathes Ara BY JOE SMITH If a bid to play in a post-season game is offered them, it will have to be from the Gator Bowl, and nothing else, as far as Miami's jubilant Redskins are concerned. "UC Never Quit," Blackburn Says; Miami Is Praised BY BILL FORD 'The walk between the greensward of Nippert Stadium and the dressing room of University of Cincinnati is short indeed. Located, the steaming cubicle rests under" the stands, a few teps from the south goal. This was made clear by the Held in check for quarters by a stubborn, battling Bearcat squad looking for only its second victory In a long nine-game season, Miami came up with the winning punch on the fifth play of the last period, a 24-yard payoff pass from Tom Dimitroff to Pres Bliss.

The second Miami score, with only 20 seconds to play, was merely incidental for the Redskins, who now have defeated Cincinnati for the second year in a row after the Bearcats were invincible for three seasons running, 1951 to '53. A crowdof 25,000 sat in on the 60th annual meeting of the oldest collegiate football rivalry west of the Alleghenies and watched Miami win its 28th game in the series against 26 UC triumphs and six ties. To win Miami had to put down a Cincinnati eleven that played its best game of the year, was fighting from the opening kirkoff and turned in the sort of performance that was anything but a disgrace. It was a solid brand of football that gave Cincinnati fans hope for next year, and assured Coach George Blackburn solid support for 1956. The loss left the Bearcats with only one victory against six losses and two ties, their worst year since 1937 when they lost 10 in a row.

For three quarters, yesterday, it was anybody's game, a gruelling defensive struggle that saw both teams frustrated by frequent fumbles and hurt by penalties at key situations. FUMBLE IS FACTOR A series of fumbles that began late in the third period set up, finally, what was to be the deciding factor in the game. Mallory recovered quarterback Billy Williams bobble, giving Miami the ball on the Bearcat 35, but on the next play Nap Reid fumbled right back, and Larry Kouri grabbed it for UC as the period ended. On the first play of the fourth period came one of the most peculiar fumbles on record. Mallory recovered it again for Miami on what looked like a delayed ball exchange between center Gus Del Rosa and Williams after UC's backfield already had started to maneuver.

In any event. Miami had possession on the 31. Porter gained two, picked up six more at right end, but then was thrown back for two on third down, leaving a fourth and four situation. With a pass sensed by almost everyone in the crowd, Dimitroff hit Bliss in the estreme corner of the field with a perfect throw and Bliss merely stepped two yards past Harry Andreadis and into the end zone for the touchdown. Only 1:55 of the fourth quarter was gone when troff kicked the extra point for a 7-0 Miami lead.

The TD play was good for 24 yards. BURTON SCORES The Redskins never gave Cincinnati an opportunity after that, and late in the game sealed the verdict after Burton signaled for a fair catch on Babe Ruth's punt to give the Redskins the ball on the Bearcat 44. Porter went up the middle for 20 yards to the 24, and then in six plays with Dimitroff and Porter alternating, the Redskins punched to the one-yard line from where Burton raced outside left tackle to a TD, and Dimitroff added the 14th point. There, were only 20 seconds to play. The touchdown gave Burton S4 points for the season, thus breaking Tom Pagna's old mark of 78, set in 1953.

The.game was a ferocious but clean exhibition of line play that saw the Bearcat forwards, sparked by Gordon Green, Gus Del Rosa and Ferd Maccioli, play the more-experienced Redskins virtually on even keel til the way. It appeared, early, as If Miami would make quick work of it. After Dean Porter recovered Jim Niemann's fumble on the Redskins' 40, Burton carrying for the first time swept around right end for 50 yards to the UC 10, but was hauled down from behind. Three plays put it on the one-foot line, and a score appeared certain. But then, as Miami called signals.

Bill Mallory, the right end, jumped offside, and Miami was almost six yards away. Niemann then redeemed himself by recovering Dimi-troff's fumble, and UC took over on the seven. Except for that Miami threat, the first quarter was confined mostly to punt exchanges. But UC got in close enough to give the Redskins a scare early in the second period when Jackie Gordon returned Dimitroff's punt 26 yards to the Redskin 34, only to have a holding pen alty put UC back to its 39. But from that spot, Andreadis raced 14 yards on a slant outside left tackle, and then Gordon and Joe Miller alternated in pounding to a first down on the Miami 22.

the last five yards gained on a Miami offsides. But here Mike Murphy, who has been In the game only short time, chose a pass, and Dimitroff intercepted it on the eight. But UC's chances weren't over. Three plays later Dave Thelen fumbled on a sloppy handoff from Dimitroff and Greene recovered cn the Miami twenty. PENALTY HURTS Andreadis then gained two right end, but Cincinnati was penalized 15 yards for holding on the most disastrous penalty of the game for either team.

With the ball on the Miami 46 after two pass attempts went astray, Murphy's third down attempt was intercepted by Burton on the 21. Two plays later Dimitroff hit Burton with a big, high wobbly pass for a 50-yard gain, a play that saw the UC pass defenders watch the ball settle into Burton's arms before they took action and made the tackle. This put the ball on the Bearcat 21, but on the next play Niemann pulled down Dimitroff's throw for an interception on the UC four, and that left it scoreless at the half. Early in the t'-'rd period, W'lth the wind at their backs, the 'Cats paraded from their 49, where Del Rosa fell on a Burton fumble, to the Miami 23 in another threat. But with a fourth down on the 32.

a screen pass from field goal formation was only good for seven yards, Miami was in control, and UC never got close again. This set the stage for the three fumbles in a row that pre-ceeded the Redskin score. The game was not the most thrilling in the long UC-Miami series. It was played too close to the vest, each apparently scared of the other's TD po-tential. LINEMEN STAND OUT Close observance did spot fine performers In Miami's line.

In addition to the UC linemen already singled out. Bliss played well, Glg-antl was a toner of strength, and Roger Siesel and Mallory were deadly on the right side. Statistically, Miami had the best of it. 304 yards to 152, and 13 first downs to 11, but 100 yards of the Redskin total came on Burton's 50-yard run and the 50-yard Dimitroff to Burton pass, neither of which resulted in scoring. Take away those gains and it was a very even game.

Miami only ran two more plays than Cincinnati, 54 to 52. Individually, Burton's average of 11 carries for 89 yards was the best, Porter picked up 74 In 17 hauls, and Troxell only 1.1 in six. Miller, playing his last game after three splendid years as UC fullback, his last as rap-tain, had 52 yards in 15 runs, and Andreadis, another senior, 36 in five. Passed words were seldom fhfi vamiiiishcd Bearcats foiifcl.t into their dressing quarters. Defeat seldom stirs comment and the quiet Is even more frightening: among players who believed they played well enough to win, then suddenly become aware of the fact they did not.

Such was the atmosphere as the Bearcats peeled off dirty uniforms. There were six Bearcats ehedding the red and black ccl-ored football fashions for the last time. Thry seemed the most difficult to convince they had just lost to an arch-rival Miami University, 14-0. To console them, everybody, was the task of coach George Blackburn. Sincere slaps of a job well done were offered each player.

"Vou know," said Blackburn, "these hoys should be congratulated. They played a great ball club very evenly. They never quit. Never. "Had it not been for that one play In the fourth quarter.

No, two plays, there was another in the second and we could have had the game." Blackburn was recalling the Miami drive in the last quarter, the one which subsequently meant the first touchdown when Redskin quarterback Tom Dimi-troff passed on fourth down to end Pres Bliss for the score. "Fourth down and four to go for the first down," Blackburn recounted. "We knew they had to pass and were set for it. But, it was the perfect play. (Dimitroff) threw it perfectly.

That was the touchdown and the game. All in one play." Blackburn minimized the importance of Miami's last touchdown, it registered on the stadium scoreboard in the fading seconds of play. "The game was over before that," he said. Blackburn termed a holding play against his team In the second quarter when the Bearcats were driving inside the Miami 20 "unfortunate." "This has been an unfortunate club all season," Blackburn said. "A penalty here.

A missed block there. The season has been marked by unfortunate incidents such as those." Candidly, that pretty well summed up the frustrations of the Bearcats in a disappointingly poor 1-6-2 season. "But I'll tell you one thing and quote me on this we shall return," enthused Blackburn. "And those aren't emotions talking, either. They're facts.

The time isn't too far on the future when we'll put those lumps on some one else." Well-wishers had become common-place in the dressing room. They, too, were subjecting the players to cheery congratulations and encouragement. "You sure scared 'em," someone ventured. "Yeah," rejoined Blackburn. "But that wasn't enough." Blackburn did not single out any individual for particular praise.

lie said it was perhaps the team's most outstanding defensive performance of the season. "Overall offensively and defensively it hardly would be our best." Blackburn said. "But for that pass play," Blackburn recounted. And his voice trailed Into silence. There would be the haunting memory of bliss grabbing that' touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.

Just that one play. 44-man squad as it met in a closed door conference with Dean Raymond Glos, a member of the school's Athletic Advisory Council, following the 14-0 conquest over arch-rival University of Cincinnati yesterday. The happy Warriors from Oxford were called together, the coaching staff excluded, to see if the school's first unbeaten and untied football representative since 1921 would be interested in participating in a postseason classic if the offer were made. When the question was posea by Glos, a spokesman said later that the Redskins answered that they would very much like to appear in the Gator Bowl at Jacksonville, and nothin else. Athletic director Brickels said the team had not been confronted with a bid a yet but that the university wanted an answer on hand from the team if and when the bid is made.

The team's dressing ro6m wis filled with handshaking and wild shouts of happiness as the players changed from sweaty uni- -forms to more comfortable attire. But before the changeover was made, the 'Skins coaching team was given a dunking under the showers by the players. The last person to enter the room, and he was smiling from ear to ear. was head skipper Ara Parseghian. As soon as he entered the door the young coach was grabbed by five or six huskies and hauled into the showers, his new brown suit and all.

After he had been given the "water" treatment Parseghian said it was well worth It. "I would like to make this visit to the shower room every year when we played UC," the young mentor stated. "As everyone might know it is a happy visit." Parseghian, in the the process of wringing out his suit coat and pants, stated that his coaching staff and the players knew well that thry were in for a tough game when they met the Bearcats. "Why, UC has been underrated all season and the thing that hurt them all year was injuries." Some in the room brought up the subject of fumbles and this brought a quick response from Parseghian." We haven't fumbled that much all season and the last time we did was in 1954 when we got beat by Dayton." He added to this by saying, "fumbles are an uncontrollable factor, just one of those things." Parseghian said that he scrrm-maged the team only 10 minutes since it scored a 21-0 victory over Dayton in the last outing." "Maybe this was a wrong thing for not working the boys harder but I was a scared of injuries." he added. The Miami coach, busy accepting handshakes and pats on the back from well-wishers and players, remarked that he was happy that the UC game was over.

He said all of his players played well and that he was proud of them. The victory over the determined Bearcats was the ninth straight for the Miami gridders and according to Parseghian it ranked with the Xavier and Bowling Green encounters as the toughest. Tne season now climaxed, the Oxford crew now will wait, with fingers crossed, to see if the, 'Gator Bowl makes the offer for wnich it is hoping. To Go To Rose Bowl EAST LANSING, Nov. 24 (UP) Guard Embry Robinson and halfback Gerry Musetti of Michigan State will accompany the squad to California for the Rose Bowl game even though they cannot play because of injuries.

Coach Duffy Daugherty said they will be taken' along because of "their great contributions to our fine season." FAKES FIELD COAL, MURPHY PASSES Mike Murphy, University of Cincinnati quarterback shown partly hidden at far right, prepared to drop back to throw a pass after the Bearcats faked an attempted field goal in the third period of yesterday's game against Miami University. Murphy hit on the pass to halfback Harry Andre-adis for a six-yard gain. Ferd Maccioli, UC end, is shown in front of Murphy, while other identifiable players are Cincinnati's Joe Miller (39), Don Whipple (60) and Gus Del Rosa (41). Miami player at left is Pres Bliss (35). Miami won the annual contest, 14-0, to finish its nine-game schedule unbeaten.

Enquirer (Heise) Photo. Ara Gains Revenge For 1953 "Spoiling," Given By Bearcats BY ENQUIRER STAFF WRITERS) MIAMI'S VICTORY over Cincinnati at Nippert Stadium yesterday probably was sweet solace for Ara Parseghian who, back in 1953, had brought another undefeated, untied Miami squad down here only to see the Redskins lose. The score of that game was identical to yesterday, 14-0, only this time the Redskins came through. PARSEGIIIAN'S RECORD at Miami in five seasons now shows 39 victories, six losses and one tie, which surpasses the percentage mark Sid (iillman sent in four seasons (1944-1917) of 31-6-1. Parseghian is the first Miapii graduate ever to coach at his alma mater.

BOB HOWARD, Miami publicity director, probably served up the crack of the week concerning Parseghian after the game ended. "I think we had better stop calling him the 'youthful Miami Howard declared. "I think he lived 10 years in this game today." PARSEGHIAN NO doubt was a worried man as the third period ended, with the Redskins going nowhere and Cincinnati apparently getting stronger. Then, dramatically, the tide changed, and came the victory touchdown pass. THAT PAYOFF pitch.

Incidentally, was the fourth yielded by Cincinnati this season. The Bearcats hadn't allowed an opponent a touchdown via the passing route until Hardin-Simmons performed the trick three times on November 12. A BEAUTHTL YELLOW WREATH decorated the plaque commemorating Jimmy Nippert at the south end of the stadium. This plaque is decorated every year on Thanksgiving Day. Nippert, captain of the 1923 UC team, died on Christmas Day of that year from injuries suffered in a game against Miami.

Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, of which Nippert was a member, provides the wreath. THE PLAQUE IN MEMORY of Dr. Reed Shank, long a Bearcat fan and ardent supporter of UC football, also was decorated. The new Shank Memorial Pavillion on the east side of the stadium is in memory of the late surgeon, who died in the first period of the 1933 UC-Miami game after a heart attack. WEATHER CONDITIONS were ideal, with a bright sun warming the heavily top-coated crowd.

The field, which had been covered with a tarpaulin, was In good condition although there were a few soft, muddy spots. The wind was moderate, from South to North. MIAMI HAS TWO MORE Big Ten teams lined up for future schedules. The Redskins have Purdue in 1957 and Indiana in 1958. Cincinnati also is lined up for a game with Indiana in '57.

MIKE MURPHY. OCT OF ACTION for two games with a bad knee, obviously had lost that keen, sharp edge so necessary to a quarterback. The UC senior just wasn't throwing passes with his former assurance. Miami quarterback Tom Dimitroff, at least in the first half, hurt the Redskins' cause. His handoffs were frequently poorly executed, and often times the fast Miami backs started so quickly they hardly had time to take the handoffs.

IN THE TRADITIONAL Thanksgiving Day ceremony, UC crowned Helen Powell, a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma, as its new band sponsor for next football season. She received a resounding welcome kiss from Jim Tarr, drum major. A GATOR BOWL BID FOR MIAMI could be coming up despite a comparatively weak schedule. John Brickels. Redskin athletic director, has had contact with officials of the Jacksonville, people.

The Gator Bowl is notoriously slow In making selections. THE VICTORY MARKED Miami's 11th. undefeated season and sixth undefeated, untied year since the Redskins started playing football in 18S8. IT WAS AN EXTREMELY clean football game. Both clubs were penalized four times, but UC suffered 4(5 yards in losses, Miami 20.

The Bearcats were penalized 15 yards twice for holding. There no calls for unnecessary roughness or unsportsmanlike conduct. HEAP GOOD APPETJZEr? NOW BRING ON MAIN COURSE! Passing, Dimitroff completed IT 0f V'-to white V7iUMkUHt V)Jree Cincinnati Xs Williams. Murnhv and Phil rvi I seven times, completed four for 51 yards. LINE-VPS CINCINNATI 2 Tscklc Oreene.

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Mliml 0 0 0 1414 Mleml Srorlnt Tnurhdownr Bll from Dimitroff i Surton (1, pluntei. Dimitroff 3 Officiili Referoe, Frtnlc Lurtr: llneimn, Sln Mrrwk: field iudlf, MC Srtneffer: umpire. sm Madden. ijj' TIRREL BURTON finished the season with a 7.8 yards-per-carry average, an all-time Miami record. The lean halfback's 50-yard run around end early in the game gave him his big yardage boost for the came.

Burton was caught on the UC 10-yard line in an all-out Bearcat defensive effort. MIAMI HALFBACK IN FOUR-YARD CAIN Ph' Tirrel Burton, fleet Miami University halfback, was driven out of bounds on the Redskins' 2G-yard line by University of Cincinnati's Barry Maroney during action between the two rivals at Nippert Stadium yesterday. Burton had taken a screen pass from quarterback Tom Dimitroff and had gained four yards before being knocked out of bounds by Maroney. Other identifiable players are Cincinnati's Gordon Greene (70) and Gus Del Rosa (41), and Miami's Don Smith (77). A 1 7.