Page 8-Saturday, September 16, 1978-The Michigan Daily
The Michigan I
Daily-Saturday, Septe
MARCHING BAND DIRECTOR George Cavender acknowledges applause for his
250 musicians during the 1978 Rose Bowl parade. Cavender will retire his positon
at the end of this season.
THE SPORTING VIEWS
Going thru changes...
... watching Rose Bowl
By PAUL CAMPBELL
IT WAS HALFTIME-finally-and so I angrily turned off the television
and got up to mix myself a stiff drink. Michigan, the team I'd been
rooting for since my dad took me along to my first game in Ann Arbor 15
years ago, was getting stomped on in the Rose Bowl by Washington. Not
mighty USC, nor even Stanford's aerial wizards, but Washington, a team so
stocked with underclassmen it could probably get by collectively on two cans
of shaving cream per semester.
I sat there with my Coke in hand (the strongest thing father's liquor
cabinet had to offer) feeling like I was the victim of a massive conspiracy.
The oddsmakers, the pollsters, the coaches and the Big Ten image makers
all had a part in it. They had convinced me that 1978 was the year that
Michigan would finally break the spell that hovered over them in bowl
games. I was sure that the Wolverines credentials as champions of the
rugged Big Ten and conquerors of mighty Ohio State would be enough to
overwhelm the Huskies.
So I was understandably upset by what passed in the first thirty minutes
of that game in Pasadena. Michigan hadn't just been outscored, they'd been
embarrassed. I made a firm resolution never to fall victim again to the
ignorant oddsmakers who looked at a school's name and no more.
So, after fifteen years, this fan had finally seen the light and had become
a cynic. Suddenly, everything seemed to fall into place to support my new
outlook. How could one consider the Big Ten to be one of the country's
premier football conferences after watching the bowl games. One co-champ
was getting beat badly at halftime. The other (OSU) had been completely
dismantled earlier in the day by Alabama.
Even Maryland of the Atlantic Coast Conference, where people would
much rather discuss jump shots than long bombs, had whipped Minnesota
and the Gophers proud football tradition in the Hall of Fame Classic.
Wayne Duke and his fraternity of running game evangelists
notwithstanding, I realized at halftime that the Big Ten's approach to
football, as shown by the Big Two, is antiquated. It is not just a lack of
passing, it is a lack of diversity. A staunch refusal to give reign to the
immense talents of a Jim Smith or the like.
And then there are the self-styled experts who tell millions how to bet
their money. Jimmy the Greek, et al, who studiously ignore the Big Ten
teams' inability to deal with West Coast offenses. They are always about two
or three years behind the times in their analysis, and there is nothing I'd like
better than to sit down with a few of the prognosticators and ask them some
tough questions. Perhaps one would be, "How can you justify your
profession to your family and friends?"
I really hadn't intended to watch the second half at all, but my brother
came in right before with something to mix in the Coke. Steeled with my
newfound convictions, I casually flicked on the tube and prepared to have all
my cynicism justified.
Things certainly seemed to be conforming to the new order of things
early in the half, when Washington marched 90 yards to score after stopping
Michigan on fourth down. It was a beautiful march which perfectly
illustrated what a little offensive imagination could accomplish.
But then something happened. It started with a bang, when Curt
Stephenson took a routine pass over the middle and converted it into the
longest pass play in Rose Bowl history. But I was prepared. A mistake, I
thought, born out of desperation.
But, desperate or not, Rick Leach kept doing it. He completed four
straight passes and Russ Davis scored from the two. My avowed cynicism
was starting to fray at the edges. A touchdown pass to Stanley Edwards
further eroded my rationale.
By the end, when that ball bounced crazily off Edwards' shoulder into
the arms of a Washington defender, I was elated. Being a cynic is no fun
after all. I was awed by what Michigan had shown me in one of the most
impressive comebacks I'd ever seen.
I know what you're thinking. That I'm too much of a fan to learn
anything. You may be partly right. But when the pre-season polls came out, I
was bitterly amused. Michigan has too many question marks to be ranked
sixth. Notre Dame and Penn State also had problems, but they received their
customary spots in the top five and have already proven their unworthiness.'
I'll never pay much attention to the polls.
As for Michigan, I'll have to see more of what that second half showed
-me this year. Why waste the immense offensive talent of the 1978 squad. The
cynicism is on the shelf gathering dust right now, but I know where to find it.
Opponents
(Continued from Page 16)
Tim Brown is being groomed to fill the
void.
SEVEN STARTERS, most notably
All-American Tom Cousineau, return
from last year's defensive unit, but
depth is a major problem here.
Opponents can expect large doses of the
3-4 alignment from Ohio State, which
will again stress aggressiveness and
pursuit from its down linemen.
Passing-oriented teams like Purdue
may exploit the OSU secondary, where
junior Mike Guess is the lone standout.
The Buckeyes enter the upcoming
campaign with more guarded optimism
than usual, primarily because of its
early-season schedule..-Penn State and
Baylor invade 'Ohio Stadium this
month, with a trip to Minnesota
sandwiched in between.
12-Indiana
"When I first came to Indiana I felt
like I was in a long, dark tunnel with
just a faint glimmer of light far off at
the end. But the light has been getting
brighter with each year."
Those are the words of Indiana head
coach Lee Corso and while the light he
speaks of is still in the candle stage,
there is enough potential and
experience on his 1978 football team to
indicate the light should indeed get
brighter.
COMING OFF respective third and
fourth place finishes in the Big Ten the
past two years, Corso will rely on his
veteran defense and strong kicking duo
of Larry Lovett and David Freud to
give the Hoosiers their first winning
season in ten years.
Lovett, another Texas raised
barefoot punter, is a junior college
transfer who hammered out a 44.1 yard
kicking average last-season to lead all
junior colleges in the country. And all
placekicker Freud did was lea& the
team in scoring last year with 55 total
points, hitting on all 25 of his extra point
attempts.
Indiana's defensive squad will have
seven returning lettermen, including
linebackers Joe Norman and Doug
Sybert whom Corso feels are two of the
Big Ten's best. Norman was an All-Big
Ten selection by virtue of his 80 solo
tackles and five fumble recoveries last
year.
ALTHOUGH THE offense also has
seven players returning, the ones that
did graduate will be sorely missed.
Gone is Indiana's record-setting split
end Keith Calvin and the Big Ten's
second leading rusher, Ric Enis. Calvin
holds the school record with 121
receptions while Enis wound up third on
Indiana's all-time rushing list.
But there are some offensive pluses.
Senior quarterback Scott Arnett is
coming off his best year to date. He led
the team in Td's last year with six in
addition to hitting 73 of 151 passes for
796 yards and five TD strikes. Another
bonus is the return of sophomore
tailback Mike Harkrader, who missed
last season with a knee injury after
gaining' 1,000 yards rushing his
freshman year.
With a good balance of talent and
experience, the Hoosiers could force a
few other Big Ten contenders to see the
light this season. But Michigan will not
be one of them as Indiana is not on the
Wolverines' schedule.
-BOB EMORY
Wayne W. Hayes
Dar
198-57-9 at OSU
231-68-9, overall
11
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