Sport: The Bowls

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The traditional onslaught of New Year's Day bowl games left television viewers slightly myopic, more than a little dubious about the true merits of some of the top-ranked U.S. college teams.

¶ Louisiana State hardly justified its No. 1 ranking, had trouble getting through and around Clemson's beefy line, blew repeated scoring chances, scratched out a 7-0 victory in the Sugar Bowl only after a botched fourth-down center snap gave L.S.U. an easy scoring chance from Clemson's 11-yd. line.

¶ Texas Christian fumbled eight times, drew key penalties to stop other drives, muddled to a scoreless tie in the Cotton Bowl with the Air Force Academy.

¶ Oklahoma showed real authority in striking for quick touchdowns on plays covering 40, 42 and 79 yds., polished off slow-moving, slow-thinking Syracuse in the Orange Bowl, 21-6, in a game that was no contest after the first period.

¶ Most impressive New Year's performance was provided by Iowa, which displayed the poise and shattering power of a true champion, broke loose Halfbacks Bob Jeter and Willie Fleming for long gains all over the field in a 38-12 drubbing of game, but outmanned, California in Pasadena's Rose Bowl.