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Undefeated Tigers Favored to Crush Crimson in Big Three Opener Today
Palmer Stadium Fans to See Battle of Single Wings
The 1950 competition for the Big Three title opens today at Princeton's Palmer Stadium. This 43rd meeting between the Crimson and the Tiger has all the suspense of a Class Day outing as Harvard sends its winless team against an undefeated eleven which is ranked eighth in the nation.
Only 30,000 fans will gather for the 1:30 p.m. kick-off to a game which in its palmer days would be one of the country's major gridiron attractions.
Coach Charlie Caldwell's single wing machine, winner of six straight contests and eastern leader in offense and defense, is a prohibitive favorite to beat Harvard for the fourth successive year and then to down Yale for its fourth consecutive Big Three crown.
Displaying an optimism which would horrify most coaches, Caldwell early this week set the tenor of the game by saying "I will be very much surprised if we don't hit 'em with everything we've got from the start and keep hitting 'em."
Now that Harvard has abandoned its winged T plays, today's match will be one of the few of the year between two single wing teams and the only game in which the Crimson will meet its own type of attack.
Tigers Average 452 yards
But where Lloyd Jordan at Harvard is still trying to develop the speed and blocking to exploit this system, Caldwell has acquired and trained personnel which gets maximum power (452 yards a game) from the single wing.
Employing a fast line instilled with the rudiments of single wing shoulder blocking, Caldwell has been able to open gaping holes in every defense he has encountered. But the key to the success of the Princeton single wing has been a backfield possessing a blocking quarterback (George Chandler), a triple threat tailback (Dick Kazmaier), a shifty fullback (Jack Davison), and a pair of breakaway wingbacks in Bill Kleineasser and Bob Unger.
Davison Dangerous Up Middle
Although Kazmaier is second only to Reds Bagnell in League passing Princeton has never had to rely on its passing attack to open up a ball game. In fact Caldwell usually spreads the opponent's defense with a buck-lateral series which sends fullback Davison up the middle. It was Davison who put Princeton ahead in last year's game with a 67-yard dash through the guards.
Jordan may be able to rig defenses to stop Davison, but any attempts to jam the middle will expose the Crimson to end sweeps or passes by Kuzmaoler and company. In appraising today's opponent, Jordan does not rate Princeton as good as Army, preferring to compare it to Penn. "On any given Saturday," says Jordan, "Princeton, like Penn, could pull an upset." Old Rivals Although this is Jordan's freshman year with the Crimson, he is an old gridiron rival of Caldwell. Prior to the war the tow coaches opposed each other in the Little Three when Jordan was at Amherst and Caldwell at Williams. When his competition ended in 1942 Jordan had a six to five edge over his rival. In the final contest, his undefeated eleven smeared Caldwell's clean slate, which included a win over Princeton. Jordan regretfully admitted this week that "Charlie has the horses now and he won't spare any in this game." Caldwell returned to his alma mater in 1944, when he set the stages for a football organization designed to bring Princeton to the heights of its gridiron power. While Harvard spent the postwar years seeking coaches and a football policy. Princeton, with the help of Caldwell and one of the nation's most vigorous alumni bodies, accepted the challenges of "big time" football simply by fielding a big-time team. Good Physical Shape The Crimson eleven held a token workout yesterday in Palmer Stadium, scene of the last victory over the Tiger in 1946, before adjourning to the Peddie School. The squad is in good physical shape and eager to turn in a good showing against the toughest opponent it has faced since Army. Only defensive halfback Dusty Burke will be benched today because of an injury. Left and Dike Hyde has returned to the squad, but Jordan plans to use Hyde for limited action only. Sophomore Paul Crowley is expected to go both ways in place of Hyde, with support from George Emmons on defense.
end sweeps or passes by Kuzmaoler and company.
In appraising today's opponent, Jordan does not rate Princeton as good as Army, preferring to compare it to Penn. "On any given Saturday," says Jordan, "Princeton, like Penn, could pull an upset."
Old Rivals
Although this is Jordan's freshman year with the Crimson, he is an old gridiron rival of Caldwell. Prior to the war the tow coaches opposed each other in the Little Three when Jordan was at Amherst and Caldwell at Williams. When his competition ended in 1942 Jordan had a six to five edge over his rival. In the final contest, his undefeated eleven smeared Caldwell's clean slate, which included a win over Princeton.
Jordan regretfully admitted this week that "Charlie has the horses now and he won't spare any in this game."
Caldwell returned to his alma mater in 1944, when he set the stages for a football organization designed to bring Princeton to the heights of its gridiron power. While Harvard spent the postwar years seeking coaches and a football policy. Princeton, with the help of Caldwell and one of the nation's most vigorous alumni bodies, accepted the challenges of "big time" football simply by fielding a big-time team.
Good Physical Shape
The Crimson eleven held a token workout yesterday in Palmer Stadium, scene of the last victory over the Tiger in 1946, before adjourning to the Peddie School. The squad is in good physical shape and eager to turn in a good showing against the toughest opponent it has faced since Army.
Only defensive halfback Dusty Burke will be benched today because of an injury. Left and Dike Hyde has returned to the squad, but Jordan plans to use Hyde for limited action only. Sophomore Paul Crowley is expected to go both ways in place of Hyde, with support from George Emmons on defense.
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