PAGE EIGHT
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
TUESDAY, OCTOBER . 1967,
WAGE EIGIVE TIlE MUCUIGAN DAIlY TUESDAY, OCTOBER 3,1967
TD
Pass
Skies
"There are two key plays in every
football game. Last Saturday against
California the two key
both passes-they made
plays were
theirs, and
Bears,
By GRAYLE HOWLETT
Associate Sports Editor
"You know, we (the Michigan
football team) have a chance to
make Navy's season just like we
made California's last Saturday.
They want a victory over us al-
most as bad as they do over
Army. Why, they even painted
Tecumseh, the statue on their
main campus, maize and blue."
The words were spoken by of-
fensive line coach Tony Mason,
but there wasn't that usual
sparkle in his eyes which tells
you that a joke is coming. In-
stead, with his glasses propped
up on his forehead, he seemed
to be gazing back to last Satur-
day and at a California fullback
named John McGaffie gathering
in a 77-yard bomb which blasted
apart a Michigan victory.
"Why did California beat us?
Mainly because California played
a better football game than we
did. And they executed one play
just perfectly - their winning
pass play. The ball had to be
out there just perfectly because
if McGaffie would have had to
break stride to catch it we had
him tackled. I know one thing -
that pass play gave California
the one victory they wanted.
These teams love to beat the
inks
Big Ten, and in particular, the
University of Michigan with all
its tradition."
"That makes the third time in
the last three years - against
Georgia, North Carolina, and
California, in that order - that
Michigan has given some non-
conference opponent their "vic-
tory of the year."
According to Mason, Michigan
can't point to one game like this:
"We have to play all ten games.
We can't even point to the Big
Ten schedule. The idea that our
loss last Saturday to California
is of no consequence is ridiculous.
We can't pass it off by saying
we've still got the Big Ten. The
effect of a loss is never good. The
only thing you get from a loss is
experience, and it's bad exper-
ience at that."
Michigan scored late in the
second quarter on a one-yard
plunge by halfback Ron Johnson
to wipe out 3-0 California leadi'
Then with 6:14 left in the ball
game, Mike Hankwitz booted a
field goal from the 20-yard line
to close out the Michigan scoring.
"Going for the field goal in that
position was the logical play,"
Mason commented.."We had got-
ten a great break by recovering
the fumble on their nineteen but
we didn't make ours."
-Tony Mason, Offensive Line Coach
Wolverines
I
we didn't move it on . the first
two downs. The next play we got
six but look what we were faced
with: We had fourth and four
and the way we were running
that four yards looked like a long
way especially against an eleven
man line.
"Another thing that makes the
try for a field goal the right
call," Mason continued, "is that
we took the field goal away from
them, and they had a great field-
goal kicker. In essence, we were
forcing them to score to beat us.
We were disrupting their game
plan. We knew they had to take
some chances. It worked for them
but it took a perfect play to do
it.
"That was the whole story of
the game: they came up with
the game-breaking play. Every
game can be broken down into
just two plays. That's right, there
are two key plays in every foot-
ball game. Last Saturday against
California the two key plays
were both passes - they made
their's, and we didn't make ours
(the 72-yard pass play to Jim
Berline which was nullified by
a penalty)."
Michigan's first two games have
not exactly been offensive mas-
terpeices as indicated by the total
of only 19 points scored in their
first two games.
"I haven't been disappointed
with our offense. "Mason related.
"just disappointed in the fact
that we haven't been scoring. We
just don't have the breakaway
runner. We have to grind it out.
Our blocking has to be perfect
for us to score. We don't have a
boy like Warren McVea of Hous-
ton or O. J. Simpson of U.S.C.
who can cover up the mistakes.
Did you see all those holes that
we opened up? We just couldn't
exploit them."
The passing game with the
new system this year of multiple
receivers has also failed to live
up to expectations. Michigan
quarterback Dick Vidmer hit on
10 of 20 last Saturday for a pal-
try 70 yards.
"You can't really fault Vid on
the passing," -Mason noted. "He
was getting the ball out there
but the receivers just weren't
catching it."
Next week the Wolverines in
their third game of the 1967 sea-
son host the Midshipmen of Ana-
polis, a team given an even
chance for a winning year. For
Navy, a -win over Michigan .,.
well, Tecumseh is bathed in maize
and blue.
TONY MASON
California fullback John McGaffie hauls in game winning pass ... with Wolverines Brian Healy (54) and Jerry Hartman ... vainly diving af
ter him.
Purdue
0-
-.
WOLVERINE QUARTERBACK DICK VIDMER hands off to workhorse running back Ron Johnson
in last Saturday's game against California. Johnson was Michigan's leading ground-gainer with 53
yards in 20 carries. He also caught two Vidmer passes. Junior fullback Warren Sipp (33), who gained
60 yards, pulls out to lead the blocking.
Big Ten's
Pace-Setters
By ELLIOTT BERRY
After Purdue's surprising 28-
21 victory over number one-
ranked Notre Dame last Satur-
day, the Boilermakers must be
regarded as the team to beat in
this year's beleagured Big Ten
race.
The inspired Boilermakers, un-
der the direction of sophomore
quarterback Mike Phipps, are the
Big Ten's only representative in
the nation's top ten - and this
dismal state of affairs does not
seem likely to improve as the
season wears on.
As of the first two weeks of
the season, the Big Ten has com-
piled an anemic 8-10 won-lost
record against its non-conference
opponents.
Only Purdue and the less than
overpowering Indiana Hoosiers
have not already tasted defeat.
Forget Griese
As the 1967 Big Ten season
is set to open this Saturday, Pur-
due has become the odds-on
favorite. Most teams would balk
at the idea of starting a sopho-
more quarterback, but the Boiler-
makers' young Mike Phipps al-j
ready has Purdue fans forget-
ting about last year's All-Amer-
ica Bob Griese.
Phipps engineered the Boiler-
maker upset of Notre Dame, com-
pleting 14 of 34 passes for 238
yards and two touchdowns, the
last of which was completed to
Bob Baltzell for the game-win-
-ning to with less than 10 min-
utes to play.
Purdue also showed Notre
Dame one of college football's
most versatile players in Leroy
Keyes. Keyes, a throw-back from
an earlier era, played both ways.
On offense he scored on an 11-
yard touchdown pass f r o m
Phipps and, playing defense in
the second half, did an outstand-
ing job covering All-America endI
Jim Seymour. He also came up
with a key interception of a Han-
PL
YBILL
'67-'68
fecaturing -
3tliliam 1~akiipx~rr ~Plus.
John
SER
MoliE
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