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Show Page HERALD, 6-- THE November Provo Utah, Friday 1978 17 It's Big GameTime In B MARION Dl'NN Herald Sports Editor The fun and games are over ana now BYU'l championship football team begins the tough part of its season It starts Saturday against Utah in Satl Lake City hits the road to Hawaii Japan and San Diego where it will finally end in the Holiday Bowl Dec 22 The Cougars are for the season and 0 in the WAC and might think they deserve a break, but that isn't in sight Now that the Cougars have won the WAC title and the bowl berth the pressure i really uh The can t afluiJ to lose without endangering the status of the new W AC bowl Only two schools have gone unbeaten and untied in WAC plav. Wyoming in 1966-6Arizona State in 197f7l and 75 2 5-- WAC-BYU-U- important a win over Utah is and they art determined to get it The game will start at 30 p m and there will be no live television Early mis week BVl s ace wide receiver Mike Chronister ran laps around the track in the Smith Fieldhouse then came intu the coach 5 suite on the second floor bone-tireI ve been getting in my running he e are going to beat Utah and gasped I'm not going to let snow stop me !nm BYU s champions of 1974 didn t lose a tie with league game but had a Colorado State 33-3- 3 antn i942 that the Cougars were able to come up with their first victory Then it was another 16 ears 1956 before thev could get victory number two In 1965 they started a three year victory string and they have now won six in a row The overall series stands at tor Utah 1 The Cougars have now won the W At in a row but had a ioss io Wyoming in 1976 and were beaten b Arizona State last year three years When the Cougars clinched the cham pionship last week it was the earliest claiming of the title since Arizona State's 1971 team did it with a 0 record And chnching the championship with one game still to go has left some doubt about the Cougars ability to get up for the Utes "Don't believe it, coach LaVel! Edwards said this morning This is Utah and there is no probiem in getting the players up for the Utes They take care of that themselves Thev know how doing rnj laps BVU will be trving for its 7th straight win over the I tes Edwards has never lost to Utah which make him uniQue most of among Cougar coaches whom never beat the I tes At one time the BYU I tah series wac the most lopsided in college football The sene began in 1922 and it wasn t - Preview There game m, McGuire former basketball coach at Marquette diversity used to have a eatehphrase for the he lelt while awaiting a bid to the NCAA tournament He called it "white knuckle time " That phrase is applicable this Saturday to most of the college football coaches whose teams are ranked among the top 20 They will be feeling plenty of anxbowl iety as they await bids to the 16 Al anx-let- 571 yards BYU -- BYU lost by 14 points. guard Randv Tidwell with a broken leg in the San Diego State game. Utah defensive tackle Frank Negrete sustained a sprained ankle against UTEP. but will play against BYU Utah's passing game with Key matchups little Randy Gomez throwing against BYU s secondary. Early in the season BYU s secondary was burned by the long pass in almost every game, but in the last three outings the UTEP. Wyoming and San Diego State secondary has been brilliant, has come up with interceptions and shut down the bomb. Another matchup will be BYU's running game against BYU's defense The Utes are the WAC's sconngest team averaging 28.1 BYU's defense points per game Meanwhi' has held opponents to less than two touchdowns per game and an average of 296.1 yards per game In five WAC games the Cougar defense has given up a mere 46 points. The passing of BYU's Jim What to watch McMahon to such receivers as Mike Chronister, Tod Thompson, Kent Tingey. Clay Brown, Lloyd Jones, Bill Davis, Scott Phillips and Bill Ring and McMahon's running when the opportunity arises. If McMahon is able to leave the poket and scramble the Cougar offense could gain miles of yardage. But if he is sacked often or forced to stay inside, the BYU offense might have as much trouble as it did a week ago. tames - post-e;,sn- - i ,y5 .. ? Saturday's Games BYU at Utah Calif, at Stanford CSL at W. Virginia Florida St. at Navy Harvard at Vale Kansas St. al Kansas Kentucky at Florida Miami - Fla. at San Diego St. Michigan at Purdue Nebraska at Missouri Nev. - Las Vegas at ITEP New Mexico at Pacific Oklahoma at Oklahoma St. Oregon St. at Arizona St. UCLA at Southern Cal. Weber St. at N. Arizona - BYU 4 Stanford 21-Cole Navy 10-Yale 14-Kansas Si. Florida Miami Fla. Michigan Nebraska Nev. - Las Vegas New Mexico 0 Oklahoma Arizona St. 0 Southern Cai. 10-- 7 N. Arizona 28-- Nov Georgia, ranked pighth needs only a victory over Auburn to wrap up a berth in the Sugar Bowl as the Southeastern Conference representative. An opponent for the Bulldogs would likely be fourth-rankeOklahoma, which closes out its season Saturday .gainst Oklahoma State Alabama is probably going to wind up in the Cotton Bowl opposite Houston Houston, idle Saturday, needs only one victory in its last two averaged nearly three years per carry and has completed one of three passing attempts. Two years ago he quarterbacked Springville into the state semifinals. HALFBACK SOPHOMORE Scott Phillips can give BYU an added dimension with an occasional option pass. Phillips, who has played somewhat sparingly because of injuries, has .681 179 - 37 BYL Stanford W. Virginia Florida St. Yale Kansas St. 1 4 3 Florida Miami 21-- 7 24 d Ray Schwartz 36) d t - 689 (80 Nebraska which clinched a Only second-rankeberth in the Orange Bowl last week as the Big Eight ' 'onferer.ee s representative, knows for sure where it will be 'Living in the competition r Ry 9 p m est Saturday however, most of the suspense will be over Rose. Naturally, the four major bowl games are the ones which Orange Cotton and Sugar reatc the most national interest and there s a good hatice that two of those will be completely filled by Saturday night It Nebraska beats Missouri Saturday, as expected, Penn State will probably accept an then t Row! to meet the Cornhnskers on New bid (range Year's Day l'enn State is idle Saturday but has a game remaining against Pittsburgh on post-seaso- n ''" - Fla. Michigan 4 Missouri Nev. - Las vegas 5 New Mexico 5 Oklahoma 0 Arizona St. Southern Cal. 0 N. Arizona Kurt Kragthorpe Pat Edwards .873 (54 .675 - 26) 54 - 26 BYU Stanford Colo. St 7 BYU Stanford Colo St. Florida St Florida Yale Kansas St. 14 7 Kentucky Fl. Miami Michigan 2110 Yale Kansas Florida Nebraska Nev. - Las Vegas New Mexico 28 7 Oklahoma Arizona St 10-- 7 Southern Cal 0 Northern Arizona 28 14 Las Vegas New Mexico Oklahoma Arizona St. Southern Cal Y Arizona 21-- 646 (75 .637 BYL St. 41 1 - Bob Hudson 42 .612 (71 Colo. St. 10-- 7 1 Navv Yale Kail 5i3 3 Florida San Diego St. Michigan Nebraska 14-Nev - Las egas New Mexico Oklahoma Oregon St. Southern Cl Weber St - but me Cougars still have that unrecord to protect and should be able to overcome Utah's emotion with solid fundamental football as they have done all year." Dick Harmon: "Utah could shut out BYU; Utah could roll over BYU's defense, the Utes could possibly even rack up the score on the visiting Cougars. But the likelihood of those items coming to pass are about as good as having directors of the Rose Bowl and Big-1ties and disregard PAC-1calling Coach Wayne Howard at 7:30 Saturday evening and inviting him to Pasedena because of the way he combs his hair. The contest will be like a game of cards: the weather will be the dealer BYU will take the Royal Flush." Marion Dunn: "BYU vs. Utah. It's enough to make you rise and shout The defeated W?AC 0 0 Vbraska I CLA game will mean nothing in the WAC standings because BYU has already clinched the championship, but it will mean everything :n the state. The Cougars don't want t lei a loss to the Utes tarnish their championship and bowl appearance and they have the talent to win But it could be exciting ." Bob Hudson: "It won't be easy, but the Cougars will finish with a perfect WAC record. They'll have their fans worried before a "fourth quarter rally pulls them through, though." Darrell Berkheimer: "After the drubbing BYU received at the hands of USU. the Cougars should be up for Utah, even though they've already won their bowl berth, while the Utah rivalry-emotion- will be fighting to contain the BYU offense So I pick BYU by one Meanwhile, I'm looktouchdown, ing for Purdue to pull the upset of the week 27-2- favorite and there is a good chance that the Hogs will get the bid sometime tomorrow. It isn't that the committee became disenchanted with Navy Far from it. But there were some that inviting the who felt Midshipment with two losses and two games still to play might not he wise So, the committee, I think, decided to make its second choice and to go after Arkansas first. A BYL' - Arkansas game should Alabama hav only representing the SEC 10 21 14 20 14 UNLV 28-New Mexico don t think there s anv doubt that it'll be close.'' From a talent said Trojans Coach .John Robinson standpoint UCLA is as gifted .is any team in the I nited States Purdue which hasn't been to the Rose Bowl since 1967. would have the inside track on becoming the Ilig Ten Conference's representative if it can beat seventh-rankeMichigan Saturday If the Boilermakers win Saturday they would need only a victory over Indiana on Nov 25 to naii down the Rose Bowl berth If Michigan beats the Boilermakers, and Ohio State beats Indiana, then next Saturday 's game between the Wolverines and the Buckeyes will determine the conference's Rose Bowl represenI I7th-rank- tative Other games Saturday which will be closely watched foi probable bowl invitees are Clemson at Maryland and Notre Dame at Georgia Tech The Winners of those two contests are leading candidates for a Gator Howl matchup on Dec 29 Ute, Aggie Cagers Open Next Week The niversity of ( tah and Utah State will open basketball seasons early next week with their 1978-7a pair of exhibition games Monday the l'tes will entertain the Polish National team in the Special Events Center Game time is 7 30 9 21 p m. Tuesday the Cougars Invitations can't be issued until tomorrow afternoon. I imagine that Arkansas, if asked, will accept or refuse in a hurry and if the decision is to say no, then Navy will be asked regardless of how the Middies fare against Florida State. Navy is 7 - 2 at this time and a loss to Florida State and a win over Army would give the BYU's football team will be a respectable 3 record It seems from here as if the bowl can't miss If Arkansas accepts a bid, the success ol the bowl is assured. And if Navy accepts, it will be of national interest At any rate, we know lonioi-ro11 s night predict the order of finish Until last year the meeting was affair, but it always a two-day has been cut to one day now and everything gets over in a rush It wili be interesting to see how the writers and coaches predict the coming race. Going into the meetings, my tanking would be New Mexico 2 Utah 3 San Diego State 4 BYL 5 Colorado State 1 On Sunday the day when look- ing at its Holiday Eowl rival, will WAC variety basketball make its debut in Denver The occasion there will be the annual WAC Basketball Press Day in the Denver Inn adjacent to the airport. The coaches from the WAC - schools plus Nevada Vegas and Hawaii will be on hand to outline their prospects and - - 6 7 Wyoming - UTEP reserve the right to change my mind after listening to all the coaches, but I have a feeling that's the way the final list will read bv both coaches and writers. I will host the Australian Spectrum Game time is 7:30 Aggies in the p.m. I'tah had orieinallv been scheduled to open tonight against the Yugoslavian National team Fans with tickets for that game can use them Monday. vikinas Unknown Quantity' In Region Six Cage Race By ROB WAKEFIELD Herald Correspondent If the unknown really strikes fear into the hearts of men. Region Six basketball coaches may be a bit wary of the Pleasant Grove Vikings as the basketball season approaches. Despite a trio of outstanding returnees from last year's fourth place Region Six finisher, veteran mentor Keith Allred is himself slightly unsure of the true capabilities of his team, making the Vikings an unknown quantity in the region chase "We should be much better material-wisthan we were last year." Allred "We have better explained talent and more size, but at this point we are just getting started and it is difficult to tell how we will perform.' Anchoring the Viking hopes are Mark Atwood and David Ratliff, returning starters who opposing teams will have little trouble remembering from past e Atwood returns at the iorward slot, he makes up for lack of size with strength and determination The powerful senior paced the Viking scoring effort with an 11 2 average last year and will be counted upon to continue ins shooting prowess as the season progresses Ratliff is also a senior, but he is the mainstay on the guard line "David has to he one of the premier guards in the state this year Like Mark, he is a good competitor." Coach Allred commented. Another returnee who was a starter tor the Vikes last year is guard Kevin Peay, a senior "who can burn the nets from anywhere on the floor. Kevin is a great shooter and will be a great asset to us, but he is still improving in other areas and is not yet a sure starter for us. Allred said." Battling Peay for the starting guard berth are Russell Johnson, a good playmaker and defensive specialist, and Scott Kohler. who Coach Allred claims is performing very well The forward position opposite Atwood is also open and is being consenior Trent Searlc tested for by and 3 juniors Craig Giles and Kevin Ash. Coach Allred holds praise for all three "They are all capable players 0 Midshipmen fifth-ranke- d title where be a goou one and one that the Cougars could win Arkansas is ranked nationally and Holiday Bowl chairman Yinnie Vinson told the Cougars they would play a nationally ranked power in the bowl. Of course. Arkansas might not accept the bid. The chances are good, however, that the Razor-backwill be favorable to playing in San Diego and against the of Sugar Bowl The on Auburn beating Alabama on Dec. 2 likely for the Tide I National team Oklahoma 4 Arizona St 4 Southern Cal. N. Arizona 0 outside chance 1 Yale 28-Kansas Florida l'4 2u Miami Fla 30 I'uriiue .'I 20 Nebraska 27 17 21 19 in At least one hail of the Rose Bowl will be filled Saturday w hen 15th ranked '('LA meets Southern California for the Pacific Ten Conference 35' Colo. St Navv 14-- .in the Crimson Tide s i hances hinge Georgia Saturday then losing to A date with lloutori seems more skirmishes Arkansas Vies With Navy for Holiday Bowl was the first choice but somewhere along the way Arkansas became a prime 57 BYt Stanford 28-- Weber St Sports Editor Holiday Bowl selection committee met in San Diego last Monday to settle on an opponent for BYU in the Dec. 22 classic When the meeting started Navy 45) UNLV 22-- 0 New Mexico Oklahoma 17-- 0 Oregon St Marion Dunn The 558 Kansas St. Kentuckv 10-Miami Michigan 28-- 0 to clinch the Southwest Coherence's berth in the Cotton Row! and Alabama also idle Saturday will have to take the Cotton by virtue oi elimination games Darrell Berkbelmer Harvard Prognosticators Favor Cougars-Slightl- y of us have enjoyed watching the By DICK HARMON Herald Sports Writer Cougars win these past years and have come to take it for granted that BYU BYU Utah of the The winner rivalry will win. Watch out. It's too far to drive Saturday will be BYU, according to the 50 miles back to Provo with a loss just Herald board of prognosticators. But because of overconfidence. Coach most made their predictions with apwill certainly remind the team Howard prehension, not fully knowing what the of last year's game he started and Utes' emotion will produce, just for it before the game ended. preparing how much the Cougars want the game Watch for a tough grudge match. Don't now they've won the WAC forget to take your cardiac pills. Jerry Young: "BYU may have won Ray Schwartz: "BYU should wrap up the WAC last week in its victory over a a undefeated WAC season by whipping but the Utah and tough San Diego State team icing on the cake to a putting is whole season wrapped up in the great conference campaign But great game against Utah Saturday. Too many rivalries like this one can produce young people around here have little some strange happenings, so don't recollection of the drubbings the Utes count Utah entirely out. And emotion is gave BYU in past years they poured a big part of football and the Utes are a it on and delighted in every minute. highly emotional club." The Cougars never were considered tower-over Kurt Kragthorpe: "Wayne Howard worthwhile except to on the field and gloat over afterward. The rest will have the L'tes higher than a kite - BYT Stanford Colo. St Navy 12 Stanford Nev. Las Vegas New Mexico 36-- 8 Oklahoma 3 Arizona St. Southern Ca. 10-- 7 Y Arizona 7 74 BY I. 5 Nebraska 7 d Marlon Dunn Stanford W. Virginia 10-- 3 Navv 17-- 0 Yale Kansas St. 10-Kentucky San Diego St. Michigan 10-- San Diego St. 1 Michigan Nebraska Third-ranke- Dick Harmon - season other than Houston We are going to have to find some way to move the Doll on them as their defense is very impress Ae On delense we will try to do the things we have done il season only try to do them a little better. Howard said The game will be the final Utah con test for BYU seniors Chronister tackle Al Gaspard. center Tom Miller, tigh tend Tod Thompson fullback Bill Ring guard Russ Davis defensive ends Ross Yarner and Jeff Harris, defensive tackle John Kormylo. linebackers Rod Wood Larry Miller and Tom Enlow ueie..ive backs Jason Coloma. Ron veiasco ami Man Swehsuu Noiie of these players has ever played on a team that lost to Utah Thev art determined to leave the status quo It's White Knuckle Time For College Bowl Hopefuls - Jerry Young 6 is one special twist to the Last year BYU quarterback Kiekoff -- 1:30 p.m Radio KSL, KALL, Salt Lake as BYU defeated Utah. 38-Last year Marc Wilson set an NCAA record for passing yardage of Favorite Injuries touchdowns in the fourth quarter the final one making the score 38-Wilson will backup sophomore Jim McMahon this year and the quarterback with an eye on the record boon is Utah s little Randy Gomez Gomez already holds seven school passing and total offense records and is closing ;n on the mark tor most touchdown passes in a season Their record is 17 bv Don Van Galder in 1973 With three games to play Gomez is only three shy ot the record with 14 to his credit already this fali Edwards said the Cougars will stay with the things that have made them successful this vear and that he has no surprises in mind BYU is the WAC champion Thev are Me oest team we ve faced thi Marc Wilson set a NCAA record for most yardage passing in a game 571 1 i Wilson also passed for three The game is certain to be an emotional atfair with Utah coach Wayne Howard an admitted master at firing up his teams Utah still has a chance to win the Beehive Boot but must beat the ' ougars and Utah State And the L'tes would love to mar the Cougars pei feci WAC record V Saturday's Saturday tah e part-tim- 1 6-- 2 6-- who received junior varsity or sophomore experience last year, and they should make us " a better rebounding club this year. But the question mark for the Vikings comes at the center spot, where Garth Hansen and 5 Alan Larsen are struggling for the chance to start. "ou might sav that I'm cautiously 5 6-- optimistic about them." Coach Allred said. "Garth is good on offense and Alan is more physical and a better rebounder But if our size comes through we will definitely be able to some teams " surprise Coach Allred, an eight - year veteran at Pleasant Grove, is presently pleased with the progress of his charges. "The kids have an excellent attitude and want to improve. They are working hard, and our goal is to improve with every game we play." Like other coaches in the valley, Coach Allred is excited about the upcoming region action. "We have a very good region this year and every game will be tough. Our first league game is on the road against Payson and it will be a "must ' game." "But think Provo is definitely the team to beat.' Allred continued "They haven't lost a league game since 1972 and can t remember the last time they lost at home. They had seven or eight players in contention for the 1 I Basketball Congress international tournament, so you know that they will be tough "American Fork has the quality big men in the league and Dixie has four starters back and is tough to beat at home, so they have to be in contention also," Allred concluded. But if the Pleasant Grove Vikings lose their unknown quantity and begin to jell as Allred - coached teams normally do. the Vikings should also be in contention for the title before it's derided fiace Favorites - KENOSHA, Wis. (UPI) Saginaw Valley State College is a slight favorite among 100 team entries and Australian Carry Henry of Pembroke State will be defending his individual crown against 429 runners Saturday in the 23rd running of the NAIA cross country championships e The race will be run at the University of Wisconson - Parkside. Saginaw Valley led the final NAIA coaches' poll, with Eastern Washington State second Malone College of Ohio is ranked third and Hilldale, which edged Saginaw in the District 23 meet last weekend, is fourth Henry won last year in a time of 24 11, a course record He is seeking to become the first winner since 1974-7when Mike Boit won for Eastern New Mexico. five-mil- two-tim- e 5 |
