The Town Talk from Alexandria, Louisiana • Page 9

ALEXANDRIA DAILY TOWN TALK, ALEXANDRIA-PI NEVILLE, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1970 SECTION A PACE NINE hfusker ake Crucial Line Change For Unheralded Murray Starts at Tackle if 7 would catch more passes than he did so that Guy's daddy, a stockbroker, would increase his allowance. Like LSU, with senior Lee and sophomore Jones, Nebraska divides quarterback duty between two junior quarterbacks, Jerry Tagge and Van Brownson. Tagge plays about 60 percent of the time, as does Lee. Both completed more than 60 percent of their passes this season. Chief receivers Ingles and Rodgers can't tell any difference in the two.

"There have been times," said Ingles, "when I caught a pass and didn't realize that we had changed quarterbacks. They are coached the same way, their timing is the same and the call comes in the same way. I just can't tell any difference in them." Ingles and Rodgers are also pro baseball prospects and because of their size may have to turn to the diamond for a living. "I just want to finish school and make some money," said Rodgers, without saying which sport he prefers to play professionally. come an overnight sensation since the Tigers resumed practice after arriving here the day after Christmas.

But everything else has failed, and Phil just might be the type athlete who blossoms when offered a challenge. He will have a challenge Friday night. Nebraska's defensive left end, who will be playing across from Murray, and the man Murray must stop if Lee and Bert Jones are to have time to pass, is John Adkins, a 6 3, 222-pounder from Lynchburg, who brings some excellent credentials into the Orange Bowl. Otherwise, McClendon will stay with the lineup that fin-ished the season, during which the Tigers knocked off such teams as Auburn, Alabama and Ole Miss, while losing only to Notre Dame after that two-point upset by Texas ASM in the season opener. This is a lineup Nebraska thinks is better than any it faced while going through an undefeated season that was marred only by a 21-21 tie with Southern California in the second game.

"We haven't played against a defense that compares with LSU," said assistant coach Tom Osborne. 'iome people mignt say their pass aelense isn't all tnat guoa because they gave up Ibd or bu yaras a game in passing. Tne lact is, tne de-iense against tne rusn was so good tnat everybody had to tnrow au the time, aure, iney completed some, you nave to waen you tnrow tunes a game, but they also had three ur so intercepted every game, and they weren scoring any points." inen Osborne explained: "ine Dest detensive team we piayeu was Kansas State. Vve scored ol points against tnem, so tnat imgnt stein Strange. But their oi'tensve gave us tnose poims, not tne ueiense.

Vve intercepted seven passes." Nebraska is an exceptionally big team, but two of the real stars are midgets receivers Guy Ingles (5-9, 158) and Johnny Rodgers (5-10, 171). They have the speed (4.6 in the 40-yard dash) and the intestinal fortitude to offset their lack of size. Casanova 'Best' "Tommy Casanova is the best defensive back I've seen," said Ingles, basing his opinion on films of LSU's 11 regular season games. Asked why Casanova is so good, Ingles answered: "He has sense, sense of where the ball is, and such great balance." Unlike most receivers, who naturally like to catch the bomb and score the touchdown, Ingles said he preferred the medium pass. "I don't really have the speed, liked Johnny (Rodgers) to beat the man for the deep one," he said.

Asked if he is handicapped in battling the tall defensive backs for a pass, Ingles said: "I don't really think about size during a game. If the ball is up there, you just have to try to get it and not think about who is up there with you." Rodgers, an articulate Negro, and Ingles both are from Omaha and are close friends. One Nebraska writer revealed that Rodgers had once said jokingly, that he hoped Ingles Buddy Lee. Tigears Bert driver 'Sweet' Edge CARTER'S COLUMN ar Prep Dampened It's No Fun to Lose Air Force Has Vols By Ron Brocato (Town Talk Sports Writer) NEW ORLEANS The participants of the 37th annual Sugar Bowl grid classic Air Force and Tennessee have completed their pregame mock battles and now sit through the proverbial calm before the storm. But as far as Air Force head coach Ben Martin is concerned, his Falcons progressed well through their week at the Saints David Drive practice field.

Literally, one could say that the Air Force is a two-day favorite over the Volunteers if nothing else. The Falcs rounded into shape two days prior to Tennessee, and Volunteer head man Bill Battle will be the first to admit it. "We try to consider the Sugar Bowl game as just another game on our schedule an award for our team winning 10 (of 11) games," the youthful coach said. "But we're playing this game in New Orleans and not Knox-ville, and you must consider that in planning." Tennessee, the favorite, will attract most of the attention from the stands when the ball is teed at noon. Of local interest is the fact that the Volunteers finished second to Louisiana State in the campaign for the Southeastern Confer-e championship, but gained a higher position on the various top 10 polls.

The Vols were at full strength for the first time Wednesday after having their stellar defensive and Manley Mixon stricken by mononucleosis, Mixon, who sacked opposing quarterbacks eight times during the course of the season, was flown back to his Nashville home after the "mono" was discovered following the club's initial workout at Tulane. But two other starters, defensive back Frank Howell and safety David Allen, have overcome a touch of the flu By Bill Carter (Town Talk Sport Editor) MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -LSU's Southeast Conference champions had a few glaring weaknesses this season. Almost all of them were on offense. Tre most noticeable was at offensive tackle, particularly on the right side.

For instance, two touchdown pass opportunities went to waste in the 3-0 loss to Notre Dame because big Walt Patulski, Notre Dame's left defensive end, went through untouched and dropped quarterback Buddy Lee before he could throw the ball to his wide open receiver. Coach Charley McClendon tried everybody there except athletic director Carl Maddox and his student managers. The results were always the same disastrous. So, stardom could await an unknown in the Orange Bowl. A 6-3, 220-pound sophomore from Franklinton, will start at that vital position against Nebraska in the Orange Bowl New Year's night.

He's Phil Murray, who was listed as a third-stringer all year and who saw only occasional service, never in a critical situation. It isn't that Murray has be and were able to get in two days of work. "The weather hasn't helped us too much, either," Battle quickly noted. "One of the reasons we haven't looked sharp is because we had to keep moving inside out of the rain." However, the Falcons seem to have weathered the storm in better shape as Martin spoke impressively about his two-a-day drills all week long. "Our intensity to think has been good and the level of effort has been high," the veteran coach noted.

Then he laughed slightly, "But from a football standpoint, we're a bit rusty." x' The Birds, which remind one of the recent Arkansas team, which came into the 1969 Sugar Bowl as underdog and outhustled Georgia, 16-2, accomplished what they set out to do in the short time allocated and now prepare for the vicious Tennessee defense that limited the regular sea- Classic on New Year's Day, the Longhoms were so perfect in their execution that "on that given could have beaten the Green Bay Packers." If the Longhorns, defending National. Champions and the nation's No. 1 college football team, have another "perfect" day like that one against Ar-k a a quarterback Joe Theismann of Notre Dame doesn't see how his Fighting Irish can be expected to upset a team that has won 30 straight games and has scored in 85 consecutive games. "On that given day," said Theismann, an Ail-American and runnerup to Jim Plunkett of Stanford for the Heisman Trophy, "I really think they if I LSU will take into the Nebraska game. "In this game you have to put your record on the line," said the 6-3, 219-pound Sage who just might be the very best college defensive tackle in the country, even if he isn't big enough to play professional ball.

"People have heard about you. So there is personal pride and team prestige to be considered. This is on national television for everybody to see. You do your best under those conditions." Nebraska writers were eager to talk with Craig Randall, who coaches LSU's remarkable defensive line, which enabled the Tigers to lead the nation in rushing defense for the second straight year. ALL ON FILMS "We didn't see Nebraska live," said Randall, in answer to a question.

"Today, in our part of the country, most teams rely largely on films. For example, you seldom run into an Arkansas coach at a game. We see the teams play, but we really depend on the films. We exchanged films with Nebraska. But they could put in an entirely different offense and defense for the Orange Bowl game.

About Nebraska's offense, which ranked second only to Texas, Randall said: "They (Nebraska) are better than anybody we played. They have better running backs than Notre Dame. They do so many things well. This (Joe) Orduna is a real good runner." When other players' names were mentioned and Randall kept shaking his head, sadly, one writer asked, "You mean the whole backfield?" and Coach Randall answered, "That's exactly what I mean." Randall paid Neabraska a real compliment when he said the Corhus-kers were stronger offensively than Auburn. Ovearall, said the coach, Nebraska compared with Notre Dame and Auburn.

Asked if LSU should have beaten Notre Dame, Randall said: "That's hard to say. We had as Turn to Page A-ll MIAMI BEACH, Fla. At an Orange Bowl press conference Wednesday night, a Nebraska writer asked LSU defensive tackle John Sage: "How about these bowl games. After a long layoff, do you have to bring yourself back to play a good football game after being down here and having a lot of fun?" Sage answered as simply and as clearly as he handles all situations: "We all like to have fun, and it's no fun losing." Sage, (pictured) a senior and the leader of LSU's fantastic defensive line, has been a representative of the Tiger football team all season. Consequently, his response represented the attitude the LSU squad will carry into the Orange Bowl game against undefeated Nebraska Friday night.

Bowl trips are a reward for a job well done, Everybody has a lot of fun. The winners, though, never lose sight of the goal. They never are lacking in incentive. For instance, Craig Burns, the Ti-gers's free safety and leader in interceptions, answered, when questioned on this subject: "Nebraska is undefeated. That's incentive enough.

We'd like to be the first team to beat them." NEBRASKA'S KICKING Burns and All-America corner-back Tommy Casanova were LSU's heroes on kick returns during the 9-2 season. When asked about Nebraska's kicking game and coverage, Craig said: "According to the films, they have a good kicking game. There have been few returns. But there have been a few." Burns couldn't restrain a shy grin when he finished the statement, leaving the impression he doesn't think it is impossible for one of the Tigers to take a punt back all the way. In the season finale, against Ole Miss (a 61-17 loser) Burns ran one punt back for a touchdown and Casanova returned two for scores.

Criag also returned a punt 90 yards for a touchdown against Mississippi State. Later in the press conference, Sage contributed more to the attitude son foes to 103 points. "We at Air Force believe in Tennessee's defense that's for sure," the graying military boss said. Both teams carry liberal offensive attacks into the New Year's classic. No one in the stands will be lulled to sleep.

Tennessee, used to playing on its synthetic green carpet, may be a strange sight to its followers wearing grass stains as part of its garbs. However, Battle is more concerned about the chance of more inclement weather. Undoubtedly, a soggy Tulane Stadium would greatly affect the Vols speed and open game. During the season in which Tennessee was ranked fourth in the nation, the Vols set several school passing records. Gets Job Done Quarterback Bobby Scott, named the SEC back of the week once, completed 118 of 252 aerials for 1,697 yards and 14 touchdowns.

In Battle's eyes, Scott is the ideal Ten-n quarterback, who doesn't gain national prominence in name, but gets the job done. If Tennessee has a name running back, it has to be fullback Curt Watson. Watson, a two-year All-SEC piledriver, is the team's workhorse. He knows where the holes in the line are and he runs through them. On the other side of the scrimmage line is Air Force's fine young quarterback Bob Parker, whose lethal air arm has also bagged school records.

Parker guided the Falcons to a 9-2 season by completing 199 of 402 shots for 2,789 yards and 21 tallies. He'll test the veteran Tennessee secondary men who claim they'd rather meet a passing opponent than one which runs. But they have never seen the likes of Ail-American wide receiver Ernie Jennings except maybe on film. Jennings, had little trouble hauling in 77 passes (mostly (Turn to Page A-ll) could have beaten the Green Bay Packers. Every team has a day when they do nothing wrong.

But, sooner or later, human nature catches up with them. I hope their luck runs to the hilt." Texas (10-0) and sixth-ranked Dame (9-1) do battle once again in the Cotton Bowl, and last year the Long-horns spoiled the Irish's first bowl appearance in 45 years, with Texas winning 21-17 on a dramatic 76-yard drive that culminated with Billy Dale's touchdown run from the one following an eight-yard pass to Cotton Spreyrer. The game will be aired by CBS beginning at 1 p.m. "I respect their defense," said Theismann, but I don't fear anyone. Individually, PHIL MURRAY in crucial role Sugar Gates Open at 10 a.m.

Gates at Tulane-Sugar Bowl Stadium will open at 10 o'clock a.m., for the 37th annual New Year's Day football classic which this year pits the University of Tennessee against the U. S. Air Force Academy. A. B.

Nicholas, president, said the gates would open 45 minutes earlier this year because kickoff for the game has been set for 12 o'clock noon. Music will begin promptly at 10:15 a.m. and continue until 10:34 a.m. when the American Legion Band makes its appearance on the field. a.W.v...,....,.,,.,.v -w, I.

tt1 -l 4k Ciimii RnuI in Mauf Drlaanc I enneSSee TUIIUowk vuii lianun ai mc "wyw drapes a towel over the outstretched Watson covered Scott's hand after passing hand of Bob Scott (10), Vol- giving him a very wet football to pass unteer quarterback, during a workout in a drill. I 7 Theismann Doesn't Fear Cotton Favorite Texas 13 NOW IN ALEXANDRIA! televised game for the South-w Conference football championship and the host role in the 35th Cotton Bowl By Jim R. Johnson (Town Talk Sporls Wrilcr) DALLAS, Tex. When the University of Texas beat Arkansas 42-7 in that nationally i Blue Liquor WM notice WfflMIffiMMMi notice yfm Seagram's "MUI WW! I ivish to thank all my frienih and cm tomers who have patronized me during Grass Inc. Days Per Week! fcujkt Baurloa'" Wskf i to JBJ! WHOLESALE Liquors Wines and been successful with? The game is more important this year.

Last year it was important, but we didn't have a chance to be No. 1. This year we do. Therefore, we have a more serious outlook." The Cotton Bowl Classic for 1971 is being called the No. 1 bowl game on New Year's Day, hottest bowl game of all.

Texas goes into this rematch with the ninth longest winning streak in history of major-cpllege football. The all-time record is 47 straight by Oklahoma teams of 1953-57. Those Sooner teams also compiled an unbeaten string of 48 straight. Notre Dame defeated the Sooners at each (Turn to Page All) they are a real fine team, but collectively they do a good job. too." Tom Gatcwood, the sensational split, end for Notre Dame who caught 77 passes for 1.123 yards and seven touchdowns this season, had a much better view of the Long-horns.

"Texas is better than last year," said the 6-2 junior from Baltimore who has made every Ail-American team this year as a split receiver. "That is, if you can be better than national champions. They take advantage of all the breaks in the game. We're gonna have to stop the 'Wishbone' to beat them. I don't expect them to alter their offense.

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