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Show , PPARENTLY only a minor por-stand por-stand just wna; a these days n. - v : Grantland Kice close. Playing Navy means you are likely like-ly to be beaten. Not always. But nearly always. That is s of today. Army and Navy had the two best teams in 194a and they will have the two best teams in 1946. But so far as any national' ranking goes we've drawn a flock of complaints, especially trom the Midwest, about the quality of many southern schedules. "I recall some years back," one Midwesterner writes, "when Bob Neyland at Tennessee took no chances of defeat. Neyland was a great coach and he had great teams. But he rarely played over three hard games a year, with many soft spots planted in between. "In my opinion this has been true , of Alabama this season. Everyone knows Frank Thomas is an exceptionally excep-tionally good coach and that Alabama Ala-bama is one of the best teams in the country. But therie was no way to prove this by playing only three hard games L.S.U., Tennessee and Georgia. I would like to have seen Alabama tested by Army, Navy, Indiana, In-diana, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma A. and M. or Michigan. That's why I don't think Alabama should have been rated over Navy and Indiana or Oklahoma A. and M. After all a national ranking gets you nowhere while a Bowl game gets you from $30,000 to $100,000." Alabama will tell you the Crimson Crim-son Tide could get no stronger outside out-side schedule. This is true. But many of their opponents, east and west, will also tell you they are not interested in southern teams that have so many football scholarships, and Bowl-developed teams. The Bowl Complex I have the feeling that the Bowl complex has set southern football back in a schedule way. For example ex-ample two of my favorite southern teams are Clemson and Auburn, whose elevens go back 40 or 45 years. Once they begin winning, they are too often dropped from southern schedules. The reason "too tough." Tennessee dropped Auburn after a close 7-0 margin in 1938 that almost kept Tennessee out of an Orange Bowl meeting with Oklahoma. Ok-lahoma. Georgia Tech, I understand, under-stand, has dropped Clemson after , Clemson's late mop-up. The South . has given Clemson and Auburn all I the worst of it, and yet, traditionally they belong high up. The various Bowls, apparently, are here to stay. But they have built up two armed, hostile camps. The Midwest, including the Big Ten plus Notre Dame, have no Bowl aspirations. aspira-tions. Neither has the Ivy League plus Army and Navy. This leaves Bowl selections to the West coast, the Southwest, the South and one or two stray eastern or northern teams, such as Boston College Col-lege and Holy Cross. From the South the teams willing to play a tough schedule and take a chance are Duke and Georgia Tech. Duke has been willing to face Army and Navy. Duke was unbeaten unbeat-en outside of these two games. Georgia Geor-gia Tech. has been willing to meet Navy and Notre Dame, always tough customers. And Duke and Georgia Tech also meet. The last time a strong Alabama team played Georgia and Georgia Tech, Alabama lost both games. Tulane Also Takes Risks Duke and Georgia Tech play ov all odds the hardest schedules to tne South. Tuiane is also willing to take a b.gger gamble. The Southw" s also st.cks with its own, from homa to Texas, although TulsJ , wiiling to move away fromt 'own truresa;Jra TeBch! TZXZ. eluding Alabama, plaved . m-even m-even close to InkSZ ft es wltf menu that Included m- Z a Northwestern, w 5'Chlgan' Iowa, Tulsa, 'ift and Purdue. ' lttsurgb The South has turned ut t many great football team, C many leading football coarT too many foothill T.Caches and the various Bowl cow' Permi1 mate its schedtdty:0- arf alight but completely untan ?SOn Bowl invitations, especiail mSUre South, which has uy 10 the much to footbaU t0 gTe ' to attention to any Bow nf sl Us ule arrangements After n Ched" and Georgia Tech are not" h Uke good football teams in . e onl The North and the Midi ?6 SH,lh-er SH,lh-er get to see Gifrner " h "ev" 'wo of the count yTbe |