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 -- WEDNESDAY-SATURDAY OCTOBER 4-7 Augu TRUEBLOOD THEATRE U Richc 8 P.M. -J Box office open daily Soph at 12:30 P.M. 5 More Outstanding Plays. ... Arden's RJEANT MUSGRAVE'S DANCE ere s THE WOULD-BE GENTLEMAN ist Strindberg's THE GHOST SONATA ard Reichman's UNIVERSITY PLAYERS Department of Speech present ... 4 UDE oldes' A Premiere Production &NTIGONE f.::.".::::::.r.: >: f ° f xt 2 i I i