Tuesday, August 27, 1968 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Tuesday, August 27, 1968 THE MICHIGAN DAILY By FRED LaBOUR On a sunny Saturday afternoon in the middle of September, 1967, Michigan's football team chalked up its 499th viltry.' "Ho!" exclaimed many of those present at the event. "This might mean we'll do all right this year." For the Wolverines had just beaten Duke 10-7. They did not look like world conquerors you understand, but then they did win * in the last two minutes on a field goal, and that happens in Michi- gan Stadium about as often as Robben Fleming purchases Zig Zag paper. On a snowy Saturday afternoon in the middle of November, 1967, Michigan's football team chalked up its 500th victory. And how they suffered in between. First there was California. Lost, 10-9. Beaten by a 77-yard pass play completed to a guy who was nicknamed "Iron hands" because he was such a lousy receiver. What should have been a winning 72- l yard pass from Vidmer to Berline called back. Sharpe was in motion illegally. NAVY STRUGGLE Next was Navy. Lost, 26-21. Wolverines controlled ball most of game. Costly Interceptions. Ron Johnson carried 270 yards, mostly off left tackle and was voted Back of the Week by the Associated Press. Crowd consensus: "We 'should have won." But oh avow, they hadn't seen nothin' yet. Michigan State rolled into Ann Arbor and utterly de- 0 molished the Maize and Blue, 34-0. It was a day of dropped passes, missed assignments, inept play, and h}eartbreak for the Michigan eleven And the fans were angry. "Dump Bump!" some of them hollered, and the alumni began plotting ways of removing Elliott ' from his post. "Nice guy," they'd say, "but he's no coach.' One bright spot in that debacle was the emergence of Dennis Brown as a capable quarterback replacing Dick Vidmer. And again the fans screamed, "Give Vidmer another chance," some' said. "You shoulda switched to Brown two months ago," said others. And the head position on the Michigan football coaching staff got' to be a less desirable place to inhabit. The next week Indiana came to old Ann Arbor town, and my oh I ny how Michigan wanted to win that one. They wanted to show the world that they weren't as awful as they'd appeared to be the week before, and that Bump could produce a winning team. AGONY But Indiana rallied in the fourth 4 quarter to win 27-20, and if ever a man had a right to feel mis- erable, that man was Bump El- liott. It was near agony to watch him field reporters' questions aft- er the game, tight-lippe'd and somber. "That's why this one hurts so much," he said. "It de- stroys a great' effort." FINAL 1967 FOOTBALL STATISTICS Mich. Opp FIRST DOWNS 168 167 Rushing 97 109 Passing 66 49 Penalty 5 9 TOTAL NO. RUSHES 488 516 Net Yds.-Rushing 1635 1808 -Passing 132 1153 PoRwARD PAsSES ATT'. 244 174 Few days of ightning many TOM STINCIC Michigan's 1967 version of frus- tration orgy had yet to peak though. It took Minnesota to blow the foam off the beer. The Gophers came from behind in the fourth quarter to win 20-15, and everybody wondered if things could get any worse. The team's record was now 1-5, but with a few breaks, it could easily have been 5-1. "The team doesn't know the fundamentals of good football," claimed the alumni, and they started to organize a group that advocated Forest Evashevski for athletic director AND head coach. Again they sang "Bump's a nice guy, but he's 'no coach.". But next week, during a blind- ing snowstorm, the mighty force in the universe that discerns win from loss tippedi the other way for the Wolverines, and they beat Northwestern 7-3. It was a pretty dull game and it was hardly a crushing victory, but then it was number 500, and it was the first conference win for Micnigan. Things were looking up. Illinois and Wisconsin were next and Michigan won both games and played rather well at that. The defensive backfield, once compared to a leaky sieve with some moral hang-up against tackling, seemed to be finding it- self. ,The offensive machine was rolling along with 48 points in two games and Elliott's job appeared to be out of double jeopardy tem- porarily. Who could tell? Maybe they would wind up 5-5. OOZE! But Ohio State routed the Maize and Blue in the last gam'e of the season and it was 4-6 that oozed into the record books. The battle was concluded and it was all over except for the second-guessing. It became evident in the early spring that Michigan was going to be blessed (or stuck, depending on your point of view) 'with ?Bump Elliott for at least another year. Several coaching staff shake-ups occurred, like a new defensive end GARVIE CRAW and linebacker coach and a new offensive line coach. Also, several other coaches appear to have been given new assignments on the team. So 1968 could possibly be summed up, as we all sit here comfortably on an August after- noon, knowing the first game is a month away and that we have lots of room for predictions, as the year that Bump Elliott must produce a winning team. The alumni have demonstrated clear- ly that they're tired of Wolverine football squads that are more frustrating than rewarding ard that they want a winner. And fair, RON JOHNSON or unfair, the head coach is the man they point to. So what kind of material will Bump have to work with for this pivotal year. He's got his offensive and de- fensive backfields back intact, and these should form the nucleus of ithe team. At quarterback is Dennis Brown backed by a host of unproven sophomores. Ron John- son is back at halfback and he will probably carry the massive - bulk of the Wolverine running game again this year. Johnson, could develop into definite star material this season and every- body knows it.1 JOE DAYTON Johnson will probably be joined' at halfback by John Gabler, a strong junior who scored two touchdowns last year. Garvie Craw is back at fullback along with ace-blocker Warren Sipp. Craw averaged 3.4 yards per play last year as a sophomore. The defensive backfield has a full load of experienced personnel, and they could develop into the strongest segment of the team. Tom Curtis, who led the Big Ten in interceptions last year 'should anchor the group, .followed by Brian Healy, Jerry Hartman, George Hoey and Barry Pierson, all returning and experienced. Hoey was also used last year as a punt return man and led the Big Ten in that department. At the defensive end posts Jon Kramer and Phil Seymour seem fairly secure in their assignments. The linebacking set, featuring Tom Stincic, Cecil Pryor, and sophomores Marty Huff and Tim Killian must fill in for the grad- uated likes of Rocky Rosena, Dennis Morgan and Dennis Mon- thei, and that could be a most dif- ficult job. DEFENSIVE LINE The interior defensive line is a little shaky at this point with letter-winners Tom Goss and Jer- ry Miklos at the tackles and. the other positions pretty much un- decided. Jiro Wilhite, Morris Ab- rahams and Guilio Catello appear to be prime candidates for guard positions, although others are in contention also. Undoubtedly the biggest ques- tion mark on a team of question marks is the offensive line. The whole strong side of the line grad uated and It's going to be really tough to replace 'people like All- American guard Ray Phillips and ex-captain Joe Dayton at center, not to mention Jim Berline at split end. Filling in the line wIll be Jim Mandich at tight end." Mandich caught 26 passes for 256 yards last year and proved to be a rugged blocker. Senior Bob Penk- sa is back at left tackle and is al- most assured of a first string berth at that spot. CENTER HASSLE BobE Baumgartner and Stan Broadnax will be expected to carry out guard duties for the squad. Dave Denzin and Fred Sample, both of whom have seen no game action, are .expected to fill Day- ton's certer slot. Dan Dierdorf, sophomore right tackle, improved greatly during spring practice and may capture that starting post- tion. Hoey is being tested at Berline's split end post along with junior Bill Harris. In short, the success of Bump's boys this year will hinge on the offensive line and the frequency of injuries. The squad is tremen- dously hampered by a supreme lack of depth. If injuries strike hard, especially to the line, dis- aster could possibly ensue. There simply are not enough 'back-up men to fill in for more than a very few light Injuries. Either way, 1968 will be a de- cisive year for Bump Elliott. DENNIS BROWN rolls out to his left during last year's drubbing at the hands of Michigan State, 34-0. Some fans have called that mnemorable Saturday the lowest ebb of all time for Michigan's football legions. TUDNT 00K SGRVICG LARGEST USED BOOK STOCK IN TOWN IOPEN 'TIL MIDNIGHT DURING BOOK RUSH "Where the Virtuous Buy Their Books/ 1215 S. UNIVERSITY 761-0700 I WOLVERINE QUARTERBACK Dennis Brown (22) prepares to hand off to Ron Johnson (40) in last year's snowy win over Northwestern. Garvie Craw (48) and John Gabler (18) lead the way into the line. Michigan's 7-3 victory in this contest marked the 500th Wolverine gridiron triumph. - T!n I I I .1 1 .1 -I'l GUITAR STUDIIO Completed Intercepted by Yds. Int'cpt. Ret'd. TOTAL PLAYS PUNTS, NUMBER Ave. Distance KICKOFFS, returned by YDS. KICKS RET. 'Punts Kickoffs FUMBLES Ball Lost by PENALTIES, Number Yards penalized 120 14 178 732 55 37.6 32 999 384 615 22 16 40 443 RUSHING R. Johnson sipp Titas Gabler Sharpe D. Brown Craw Federico Vidmer PASSING D. Brown Vidmer RECEIVING Berline R. Johnson Sharpe Mandich Gabler Craw, PUNTING Drehmann Craw SCORING R. Johnson D. Brown Berline Gabler Hankwitz sharps Titas Sipp Hoey Weinmann Team TOTALS Opponents Tries 220 24 2 16 33 137 29 2 25 At. 156 88 Gains 1932 104 9 39 100 560 '104 3 32 Comp. 82 38 No. 54 13 '5 26 20 1 Loss N 27 1 0 1 0 14 2 202 3 0 100 Int. Y 7 6 Yds. 624 179 58 256 173 5 'et 1005 104 9 25 98 358 101 3 -68 Xds. 913 376 74 13, 80 690 61 35.1 31 849 317 532 28 15 43 388 Ave. 4.6 E4.3 t4.5 i4.5 2.9 2.6 3.4 1.5 t-2.7 ,TD 5. 0 TD 3 1 0 0 1 0 INSTRUMENTS ACCESSORIES Vr LESSONS r Instruments MADE & REPAIREC } 209 South State (upstairs) 665-8001 Internationally known and recommended' by most major 'manufacturers, appeared on television, and featured in many major magazines and newspapers. 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