Show 5 sp p t t C 0 Ca r a t r s Mirror ti tiBy By JOHN MOONEY MOONEY- Telegram Sports Editor A group of Big Seven Zeven football coaches were talking football of all things at the conference track and field meet last spring in Salt Lake and the general consensus of opinion seemed to favor a more wide open offense for the fall com com- petition Had the coaches been looking into a crystal ball they couldn't have forecast the trend any anymore more accurately For here the football season still has a weep week wee to run in inthe inthe inthe the arid and two backs have already surpassed last years year's highpoint high higl point total A year ago Lewis Dude Dent Colorado States State's J tes te's all conference conference conference con con- ference fullback copped the title with 43 points but here we ve have Frank Nelson of Utah and Johnny Johnny Johnny John John- ny Ziegler of Colorado university university sity sUy each with a game left on on the slate leading the parade with 48 and 45 points ti el It seems more than likely that both these boys will add to their totals in the final games against Idaho and Denver This seems particularly significant significant significant cant when one realizes that in the entire 1941 season only three ball carriers topped the point 30 total and here we have 10 players with 30 points or more to their credit this year Besides Nelson and Ziegler the top scorers include Dent and Tex Reilly of Colorado U. U each with 42 points Carl Stearns of C. C U. U 39 Woody Peterson Utah 37 Walt Clay C. C U. U 36 Earl Shadow Ray Wyoming 32 and Gene Voris of Denver and Roger Loving of Wyoming 30 each The coaches it would seem knew exactly what they had to attempt to keep the sport fans coming through the turnstiles Even though football attendances attendances attendances attend attend- ances may be off this year ear one can hazard a guess that the coffers would have been even less populated had the teams played conservative defensive football Even the University of Utah which sets the standard in cautious cautious cautious cau cau- defenses came through in the last stages of the season with a smashing jarring defense de- de defense defense de de- which stopped Colorado and Wyoming Wyoming- cold on the ground But getting back to this scoring race we have always wondered why points were counted in a conference titular campaign We donot not understand why a back who makes 30 points in two g games mes against weaker non- non conference should rate on a a. apar apar par or ahead of a ball carrier who does his scoring in the conference games which count in the final standings Take the case of Utah's Frank N Nelson lson who has scored 48 points all of them in conference games Nelson by scoring three times against Wyoming last week was was able abe to take over over the lead But actually Nelson should have an point 18 le lead d over Ziegler Ziegler Ziegler ler if only conference points were counted since has has' scored only 30 points in league play Counting only conference points Woody Peterson with 37 points should be up runner-up to Nelson and Ziegler should hould be in fourth place It is significant too that Carl Stearns Steams who carries the load in the tough games in place of Ziegler who sho is only a Bub sub rates fifth firth in total points point with 39 although all but eight of those points were made in conference games It appears to 10 us that the players players players play play- ers who can rack up the points when they are needed in conference conference conference confer confer- ence g games mes ought to be protected from the boys who crack into the easier games Something should be done like putting a limit on the draw in poker to protect the top boys from the herd |