Tuesday, August 27, 1968 THE MICHIGAN 6AILY Page Three Tuesday, August 27, 1968 THE MICHIGAN DAILY ,, _, "196 7: Few days o lhi htning, many of drums By FRED LaBOUR On a sunny Saturday afternoon n the middle of September, 1967, Michigan's football team chalked up its 499th victory. "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 44ook 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 *n 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 -$e was such a lousy receiver. What should have been a winning 72- 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 wow, they hadn't seen Inothin' yet. Michigan State rolled into Ann Arbor and utterly de- molished the Maize and Blue, 34-0. It was a day of dropped passes, missed assignments, inept play, and heartbreak for the Michigan eleven. And the fans were angry. "Dump Bump!" some of them *ollered,_ 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 my how Michigan wanted to win that one. They wanted to- show the world that they weren't as' awful as they'd appeared to be1 the week before, and that Bump could produce a winning team. *1GONY But Indiana rallied in the fourth quarter to win 27-20, and if ever a man had a right to feel mis- erable, that man was Bump i1l- liott. It was near agony to watch him field reporters' questions ait- er the game, tight-lipped and *somber. "That's why this one hurts so much," he said. "It de- stroys a great effort." TOM STINCIC GARVIE CRAW RON JOHNSON JOE DAYTON r, the head coach is the Johnson will probably be joined ypoint to. at halfback by John Gabler, a 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 tipped 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 nextj and Michigan won both games1 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 game 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 T3ump Elliott for at least another year. Several coaching staff shake-ups occurred, like a new defensive end 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 Llliott 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 and that they want a winner. And fair, or unfai man the So what kind of Bump have to work pivotal year. material will with for this Iie's, got his offensive and de- fensive backfields " back intact, and these should form the nucleus of the 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. 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 personnl, 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 Rosema, Dennis Morgan and Dennis Mon- thei, and that could be a most dif- ficult job. DEFENSIVE LINE The interior defensive line is a little shaily at this point with letter-winners Tom Goss and Jer- ry Miklos at the tackles and the other positions pretty much un- decided. Jim 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 , Bob 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 center slot. Dan Dierdorf, sophomore right tackle, improved greatly during spring practice and may, capture that starting, posi- 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, ds- 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 memorable Saturday the lowest ebb of all time for Michigan's football legions. I: z''- .- -- - ----, STUDENT BOOK SGRVICG LARGEST USED BOOK STOCK IN TOWN OPEN 'TIL MIDNIGHT DURING BOOK RUSH "Where the Virtuous Buy Their Books" 1215 S. UNIVERSITY 761-0700 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. FINAL 1967 FOOTBALL S 1N FIRST DOWNS Rushing Passing Penalty TOTAL NO. RUSHIES Net Yds.-Rushing -Passing FORWARD PASSES ATT'D. 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 WPENALTIES, Number Yards Penalized TATISTICS Mich. Opp 168 167 97 109 66 49 .5 9 438 516 1635 1808 1302 1153 244 174 II r r' 120 14 178 732 55 37.6 32 999 384 615 22 16 40 '443 74 13 80 690 61 35.1 31 849 317 532 28 15 43 388 A GUITAR STUDIO INSTRUMENTS ACCESSORIES LESSONS Instruments MADE & REPAIRED 209 South State (upstairs) 665-80011 a RUSHING K. 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' Sharpe Titas Sipp Weinmann eam 4TOTALS Opponents Tries Gains Loss Net Ave. 220 1932 27 1005 4.6 24 104 0 104 4.3 2 9 0 9 4.5 16 39 14 25 45 33 100 2 98 2.9 137 50 202 358 2.6 29 104 3 101 3.4 2 3 0 3 1.5 25 32 100 -68 -2.7 Att. Comp. Int. Yds. TD 156 82 7 913 5 88 38 6 376 0 No. Yds. TD 54 624 3 13 179 1 5 58 0 26 256 0 20 173 1 1 5 0 No. Yds. 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