LINING THEM UP

The days of KF-79 and Bill Swiacki are long past now but Columbia football coach Lou Little has managed to produce one final Baker Field hero in this, his last year as Lion mentor. This star, 5-8 quarterback Claude Benham, will be the chief threat to the Crimson's bid for its second win of the season this Saturday.

To all intents and purposes, Benham is the Columbia team. Last year he was the second most successful passer in the country and of the 1058 yards that the Light Blue gained offensively in 1955, Benham was personally responsible for 958.

Columbia's total reliance upon him is well illustrated by the first three games of the season. In the 20 to 0 loss to Brown, Benham got no protection from his line and had a very bad afternoon. Against Princeton, he was injured early in the first period, and sat out the game. The Light Blue was whipped, 39 to 0. But last Saturday, Benham's line finally gave him some protection and the quarterback completed 13 out of 23 passes in the 33 to 19 loss to Yale.

In the line, Columbia is especially weak at the ends and tackles. Yale and Princeton gained most of their yardage through these positions, weaknesses that seem made to order for varsity backs Jim Joslin, Matt Botsford, and Walt Stahura. In the middle of the line, Columbia is somewhat stronger, as guards Gene Appel and George Pappas should give Crimson fullback Tony Gianelli strong opposition.

Halfback Spraker

Besides Benham, the main threat in the Columbia backfield is right halfback Ed Spraker. A powerful runner, Spraker, along with end Ron Szczypkowski, is one of Benham's favorite targets for passes. Each has caught seven this year.

At left half, the Lions have Brad Howard, and at full, Bob Ott and Ron Hadge.

Playing opposite Szczypkowski, at right end will be John Wellington, a tackle last year, while the tackles are Paul Tremblay and Ralph Brunori.

Weather a Factor

One very important aspect of Saturday's game will be the weather. Last year, a rain and wind did nearly as much to defeat Columbia as did the Crimson. In such weather, the threat of Benham's passing attack was greatly diminished and he attempted only eight passes, three of which were completions. In other words, if the storm that is now off the coast hits New York on Saturday, Little may lose most of his offense.