Cornell Skeptical, Claim Big Red Squad Is Decimated

Felks won't give us a chance to tell them about this new, green Big Red team. It's been that way all year. Everyone's got all the answers already, have those in the "know," and they don't really know what the story is.

All the experts go through some sort of mental geometrics along the following lines: (1) It's a Cornell team; (2) Carl Suavely is the coach; (3) Therefore, it's a good team. They won't believe us when we tell them that it is not yet a good team, although it might possibly develop to such a stature. It will have to get good to keep company with the rest of the Ivy League, which is supposedly really "hep" this year.

How can it be called good? We lost 21 lettermen in graduation last year. There is not a single holdover from last year's starting lineup from last year's crew. All in all, there is only a seven-man nucleus of veteran material, and not much on the veteran side at that.

Pete Wolff, captain and guard, is back. So is Lon Bufalino, a back who showed great stuff last year and should be terrific this year unless a leg injury keeps him from playing. Then there is Kenny Stofer, a fine triple-threat Junior, with lots on the ball. Norm Christenson, the guy who played right behind Nick Drahos on the line last year, fills up one of the tackle slots, while Ed VanOrder, who worked into the starting lineup late last season against Yale (do I hear a boo?), is his running mate. Then there are a couple of veteran ends in Ray Jenkins and Red Johnson. And that is all.

Oh, there are a few others who have played before, without getting a letter, like George Politi and Danny Nehrer, blocking backs, Jim Blanchard and Lou Helmick, centers, Whit Doe, tackle and incidentally native of Harvard, Mass., and incidentally the tallest thing on the squad, all 6 feet 4 1/2 of him, and Harry Tredennick, a promising end, and Phil Goldenberg, a good fullback.

But the rest are all Sophomores--green as the--you know the simile. They weren't exceptionally outstanding as Freshmen, but some of them have come along rather well in the big league. But they had better come along if Cornell is to have any sort of a team, because that's where all our depth is. As a matter of fact, four of these Yearlings started against Syracuse--"Jolting" Joe Martin, who is as sweet a buck back as you could want; Rus Geib, a humdinger of a guard for just a kid; Red McDonald, a mighty fine little tailback; and Frank Rochow, subbing for the injured Van Order at tackle.

There are a few other Sophs you might tab, such as the picket-runners Billings, Tobin and Messer, and the running guard, "Spike" Sisson, and Bud Cushing, a whale of a center as Syracuse will attest, and the big tackle, Anderson. But I'm just about running to the end of my list.

About the Syracuse game--you know, we beat them 6-0. But we had no right to. They were a bigger team and a better team and a far more experienced team. It's just that our kids played their hearts out, played smart heads-up ball, made all the breaks count, although out-statisticized in every phase of the game.

No, we're not so terrific, but we're not weeping crocodile tears yet, either. We know we're up against one mighty tough schedule, our toughest in years, but we're not yelping yet. We know we've got a lot to live up to, and we're going to do our darndest to do just that. But for the first time in a long time, we're not on the spot. That makes us happy.