Sunday, November 23, 1969
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Page Elever
547 ichta Daily
SUNDAY SPORTS
NIGHT EDITORS: ERIC SIEGEL and PHIL HERTZ
"We're going as conference co-
champions and don't you forget
it."-Michigan Coach Bo Schem-
bechler.
-Daily-Jimn Diehl
-Daily-Randy Edmonds
Mandich rides wave of victory
Curtis, the interceptor, and Huff, the envoy
GOODBYE,
COLUMBUS
ictory,
h
weet
ictor
joel block -
No upset . .
... for the Buckeyes
ANN ARB3OR, MICH. (A),
The Ohio State Buckeyes,
sparked by the superlative quarterbacking of junior Rex Kern,
almost upset the powerful Wolverines of Michigan, 24-12, in
front of a record crowd yesterday at Michigan Stadium.
Yes, fans, it's all true. The Champions of the West proved
just that yesterday, as they showed the "Fat Boy", Woody Hayes
that press clippings don't win football games.
"It may sound funny, but we knew before we went out there
that we were going to win," safety Tom Curtis said yesterday
afternoon in the Michigan lockerroom. It was this confidence
that dethroned the allegedly number one team in the nation.
"Anyone can be ordinary, all you have to do is breath.
But WF'RE NUMBER 1, WE'RE NUMBER 1," Wolverine half-
back Bill Taylor said so aptly yesterday.
THE MICIIIGAN locker room yesterday was right out of
a Tex Maule novel. University President Robben Fleming greet-
ed the 1I.ayers and then bear-hugged athletic director Don Can-
ham.
Coach Bo Schembechier professed, "It was a great win.
Now all the sour sportswriters on the coast will have to look
me in the eye." Schembechler was referring to all the pre-game
talk about how the West coast wanted the Pacific Eight cham-
pion to me ta "iruly representative team" from the Big Ten.
Now the world knows the only "representative" squad from
the Big Ten is the victorious eleven from Ann Arbor.
THE STATISTICS for the game are deceiving. The f i r s t
down totals were remarkable even. But the interesting item is
that first-string quarterback completed 10 passes; six of them
were to Buckeyes and four were to Wolverines. Likewise, second-
stringer Ron Maciejowski completed three of ten passes to his
own receivers and two to Michigan defensive backs.
The plain truth i' that the Wolverines stopped the Ohio
State running attack and when Kern and his back-up tried to
pass they fell prey to the best defensive secondary in the world.
I sat in the press box next to Roger Stanton, editor of the
Football News. If you've read this week's edition, you'd know
about his article how sad it is that Ohio State can't go to the
Rose Bowl this year. Stanton unfortunately wrote it before yes-
terday's trial of strength. During the game all of the Michigan
partisans in the press box kidded Stanton about his erroneous
editorializing.
I must confess that this column is being written when this
writer is in a state of drunkeness. I am drunk with the notion
that Michigan is the greatest team in the country. I am drunk
with the idea that USC will suffer the humiliation of the cen-
tury next January 1st.
JIM MANDICH told me in the locker room that Friday
night the Michigan temn saw a Paul Newman flick called "The
Prize.' Whoever scheduled that movie must have had the un-
predictable prinonit ion that Michigan would earn the most-
coveted trophy of the century.the ''unwinnable" win over the
Buckeyes
Henry 11:1 1evealed to ne the basis for the Wolverines' suc-
cess: "We knew all week we could bean em. How can you com-
pare any collge team tio a pro team Minnesota)?"
The unanimous consensus of Hill, wolfman Tommie Darden,
and defensive tackle Pete Newell who, by the way. played his
best game was that Michigan's win was due in a large measure
to its being an "emotional" game.
MARTY McLAUGHLIN, President of Student Government
Council an astute observer of both athletic and political spheres
of the Michigan campus quoted yesterday "Sheriff Doug Harvey
should larn a few things from the Michigan defensive line. "
Schembechler, a former pupil of the "Fat Boy," taught his
master a few rules of the game. The first lesson was not to
count your national championships until they're real. "The first
play shook me a little," Schembechler admitted, referring to
Kern's 25-yard scramble run.
S('HEMUECHLIEtR pointed out in the locker room that "In
the second half our offense didn't do the job we had to do.
However, our defense was terrific all day." And that's what won
it for Michigan.
Repeatedly the Wolverine defense stopped the nationally-
hernlded ruekex'e offense Hill sail "the rme nnn was to con-
-Daily-Thomas R. Copi
Billy Taylor (42): One of many heroes
W olverines warm up
fo
(Continued from Page 1
play for the score. And although
Otis piled up 144 yards for the
day this was the last time he tread
into the endzone.
Then the Michigan offense went:
to work. Don Moorhead mixed his
plays well with the key being the
rushes to the strong side of the
Michigan line anchored by Cap-
tain Jim Mandich and tackle Dan
Dierdorf. The end result, a f t e r
passes to Mandich and Oldham,
was a Garvie Craw touchdown.
Dierdorf explained the Wolver-
ine strategy. "We planned to
just run right at them. Evrybody
else has panicked and come o u t'
throwing, not playing their own
Sgane."
OSU managed another score the
next time they had the ball, Kern
being the key as he passed for 50
yards in the '74 yard drive. The
score camne on a strike to Jan
' White coming across the field.
The kick was good, unlike thet
first score, but the Wolverines
wre offside so the Bucks took the
penalty and went for two. KernI
dropped back to pass but all his
people were covered and as he
looked for an open man M i k e
Keller brought him down to end
the threat.
From ii on S i twas all Blue.
Glenn Doughty took the kick and
returned the ball to the 31. Then
Moorhead and Billy Taylor t o o k:
over. Moorhead passed to Billy
Harris and Mandich for nine"
yards each while Taylor was
punching the line for short gains.
But Ohio was not to contain
the soph tailback as he poured
through the Buck ye line at the
OSU 33 and broke four tackles
before he was downed on the three
yard line. Craw smashed into the
line twice for the score.
This time, though, the Bucks
were not able to return the favor
and had to punt after three plays.
Pierson took the ball in on the
Wolverine 33 and made his fabu-
lous, weaving return.
The last Michigan score came
off the toe of Tim Killian in the
formh of a 25 yard field goal,
The second half was scoreless
and the defense was the reason.
The Bucks never came close to the
Wolverine goal line in the h a1 fI
until they drove to the Blue 21
late in the game.But just when it
looked as if Ohio might make
the game respectable, Tom Dar-
din picked off the sixth Michigan
interception of the day. Tom Cur-
tis had the other two in addition
to Pierson's three.
r Roses,
.. .the Fat Boy
Punting
Slimming downt.
the evt.
'Iibcip&e
Bill Cusumano_
Suck it up,
Fat Boy
All the pain and hurt that was built up over a year
has ended. Thanksgiving has come early at Michigan and
Stuffed Woody was the order of the day.
True, the score was only 24-12 and true, Michigan lost
numerous chances to rack up more points. But still, the Buckeyes
humiliation is greater than anything that 50-14 could do.
Michigan didn't have to go for two points to rub salt in wounds,
all they did was belt Ohio State all the afternoon.
Offensive guard Dick Caldarazzo put it best when he said,
"We went out there and stuck them. We out toughed them.
They haven't been hit like that all year." And Wayne Woodrow
"Fat Boy" Mayes was forced to agree. "We just got outplayed
and outpunched," was one of the few comments that the ir-
rascible, insufferable coach would make after his supposedly
Number One team was destroyed.
"Fat Boy" immediately retreated into the lockerroom and
wouldn't talk anymore after that, but no one really cared. It
had been expected that he would show his typical attitude
after the defeat and the real story was Michigan anyway.
The story of yesterday is more than just Ohio State
being knocked from its perch and Michigan clinching the
Rose Bowl; the real story is a group of proud, inspired Wol-..
verine athletes who crammed a cocky Buckeye team into
Tartan Turf.
"We were ready to-play and we took it from them," exulted
Wolfman Tom Darden, a native of Sandusky, Ohio. "Nothing in
the world could be better than beating Ohio State." Quarter-
back Don Moorhead echoed Darden's statements and typified
the attitude of the squad when he said, "We were really high
for the game and when you're playing like that you can do al-
most anything."
Moorhead actually was slightly wrong; the Wolverines did
everything, not almost anything. The offense stuck to the
ground the way Bo Schembechler wanted to and they punched
out 24 points.
But the real heroes were the members of the defensive
platoon; An inspired group of 11 men continually pounded
and hounded Rex Kern and his vaunted offensive team-
mates. The super secondary stole six passes, missing a Big
Ten record by one, and Cecil Pryor recovered a fumble.
In addition, the heralded Larry Zelina rolled up a fantastic
minus five yards rushing while the Wolverine tacklers kept
smashing every Buckeye assault.
Henry Hill demonstrated to Jim Stillwagon just who Is the
best middle guard in the conference as he made 13 tackles.
Pete Newell, Marty Huff, Mike Keller and Pryor also join in
the fun as they harried Kern continually, finally drove him out
of the game and then proceeded to work over substitute Ron
Maciejowski.
And then there were the pass defenders. They were, to say
the least, veritably inimitable. Tom Curtis, Barry Pierson, Brian
Healy and Tom Darden put on an exhibition of pass coverage
that was sensational. Curtis grabbed two errant tosses, Pierson
three and Darden one. Curtis returned one interception 26 yards
and set an NCAA record for career yardage in interception re-
turns.
But all the details are just mundane matter. It was the
feeling of the Wolverines and the attitude that was con-
veyed to the 103,588 fants that mattered. Michigan was a
team with a mission, a club that wouldn't be denied,
"We were on fire all day," said an overjoyed Schembechler
in the dressing room. "We were ready to play this one. We
were so emotional we would've won no matter what. I don't
care what happened on the field, if we had been three touch-
downs down we still would've won."
The rookie coach's attitude was typical of his team. The
Wolverines just would not be denied. All week long they ap-
proached the game with but a single purpose, winning, and
they reached their goal.
Now the Rose Bowl lies ahead but no one really cares at
the moment. The only sentiment voiced by the Michigan team
is that of Schembechler's, that of going as champions. "That's
the way we wanted to go," said Bo. "I guess we saved them the
trouble of the vote."
FINAL STATISTICS
FIRST DOWNS 21
Rushing 13
Passing 8
Penalty 0
TOTAL NUMBER RUSHES 66
NET YARDS - Rushing 266
Passing 108
FORWARD PASSES ATT. 20
Completed 10
Intercepted by 6
Yards intercept. retd. 83
TOTAL PLAYS
(Rushes and Passes) 86
PUNTS, Number 3
Average distance 41.6
KICKOFFS, returned by 3
YARDS KICKS RETD. 146
Punts 60
Kickoffs 86
FUMBLES, Number 0
Ball lost by 0
PENALTIES, Number 5
Yards penalized 36.5
OHIO
20
12
7
51
222.
155
28
10
1
20
79
3
27.0
5
1 31
44
87
2
1
5
Sensibaugh
No, Yds. Avg.
3 81 27
DEFENSIVE STATISTICS
MICHIGAN
Solo Assist Fumb.
Hill
Newell
Hu1ff
Keller
Pryor
Darden
Curtis
Pierson
M. Taylor
Moore
Healy
fuisch
Candarazzo
Grambau
McCoy
Coin
Werner
Harris
Francis
8 5
6 4
8 2
6 3
6 1
5 0
6 2
4 1
3 2
2 0
2 0
1 0
1 0
1 0
1 0
1 0
0 1 !
Tackles for Loss
Total
13
10
10
9
5
8
5
5
3
2
2
1
1
1
1
Curtis returned his first inter-OF
ception 26 yards to set a new
NCAA career record for yards
gained on returns of snared enemy Taylor
aerials with 431. Moorhead
In the fourth quarter Michigan Craw
forced Ohio into submission as G tye
they stopped them twice on two
despeiate fourth downs while in-
tercepting two of their passes and Moorhead
recovering a fumble. Mol~
Even the Fat Boy knew what
happened. "We got out played and Gabler
outpunched," said the Buckeye Oldham
mentor after the game as he Mandich
rushed back into the lockerroom Harris
and away from reporters' acid
questions'.
And that is what beating Ohio Werner
State is all about.
FENSIVE STATISTICS
MICHIGAN
Rushing
Tries Gains
23 84
17 68
1 56
4 20
5) 39
ais 66 267
Loss
0
1
0
0
0
1
Net
84
67
56
20)
39
266
Newell
Pryor
Darden
Keller
Pierson
Curtis
Darden
No.
1
NO.
.3
2
1
Passes intercepted
Tot
Yds.
13
9
5
3
Yds.
37
26
15
No.
I
7
1
Passing
Att. Comp.
20 10
Pass Receiving
Int. Yds.
1 108
Passes Broken Up
No. Yds.
1 7
2 14
6 781
1 9 i
'totals 10 108
Darden
Pierson
IHealy
M. TJaylor
01110 STATE
Solo Assist F utb. To'tal
Big Ten Standings e
F"INAL BIG TEN STANDINGS
Punting
No
3
01110 STATE
Rushing
Tries Ga
28 145
12 7
5 5
ki 3 22
I 3
Otis
Kern
Hayden
Maciejow
Campana
G;illian
. Yd
ains I
45
3
5
'2
4
Stillwagon
ds. Avg. Debevc
5 41,7 Adams
Roman
Schmidlin
Loss Net a Tatum
"1 144 Sensibaugh
16 53 Whitfield
0 5 Urbanik
8 14 Laika
0 4 Provost
0I 31 Strickland
7
7
4
6
5
4
:3
3
1
.y
0
1
0
0
10
9
9
8
6
6
s
5
5
4
I
3 Nn lnnppr cln Fat Rnv'!q enmmptttc nn the hact tpum
t