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> Purdue's Bob Griese, 21, and James Beirne, 20, are both throwbacks of a sort. Griese is a true triple threat who can run and kick as well as pass. Unfettered by fundamentals, Griese often throws off-balance or off the wrong foot; yet he boasts perhaps the quickest release of any passer in college football and was a consensus All-America last year. Receiver Beirne is not particularly fast, but he has the deceptive moves to break loose from defenders.
> Tennessee's Dewey Warren, 21, and Johnny Mills, 21, have had only a soso, 3-2 season—on the Scoreboard. Which was to be expected, since their school scheduled Georgia Tech (No. 6 ranked) and Alabama (No. 4) back to back. The Vols lost both games by a total of four points. Neither loss was the fault of Quarterback Warren, who has hit on 61 out of 99 passes for a completion percentage of 62%—or of Split End Mills, who has caught 20 for 212 yds.
Such Beautiful Balance. If a team can't win without passing, it also can't win by just passing—certainly not in the company that Notre Dame keeps. "Usually," says Southern Cal's McKay, whose unbeaten Trojans play the Irish on Nov. 26, "the really significant throwing teams—the ones that lead the nation in passing—are losers." Parseghian concurs. "What we are after is balance," he says, and balance he's got. Notre Dame's massive defensive line weighs in at 240 Ibs. per man and looks even bigger—mostly because of Tackle Kevin Hardy, a ferocious 270-Ib. junior. Two weeks ago, against North Carolina, Hardy put on an awe-inspiring show of strength: charging right over the lighter Tar Heel linemen, he personally made half a dozen tackles, recovered a fumble, blocked four North Carolina passes and deflected a fifth into the hands of a Notre Dame linebacker.
To run the ball, Parseghian can call on Fullback Larry Conjar and Halfback Nick Eddy—both of whom are being touted for All-America this year. To open holes for the ground game, or hold off enemy blitzes on pass plays, he has an offensive forward wall that averages 225 Ibs. per man and takes it as a personal insult whenever anybody so much as lays a grimy paw on Terry Hanratty's blue jersey. "After the Army game," recalls Terry, "I was talking to Paul Seiler, the tackle, and I said, 'Gee, Paul, I've been hit three times in three games this year.' I was just joking, but he said seriously, 'That's three times too many, Terry.' " North Carolina's athletic director, Chuck Erickson, calls this year's edition of the Fighting Irish "the strongest Notre Dame team ever," and Army's defensive-back coach Ralph Hawkins predicts: "At least twelve of those guys will be drafted by the pros."