i.

Page 10-Sunday, October 1, 1978-The Michigan Daily

MORE CONCERNED WITH GETTING JOB DONE

Versatile Leach 'not

worried about the Heisman'

By ERNIE DUNBAR
Rick Leach is rapidly altering the concept of
just what a quarterback is supposed to do. And if the
leader of Michigan's offense continues performing
with the excellence he's demonstrated so far this
season, he should have a lot of observers convinced
that his style of combining a strong running game
with the passing game is the style of the future.
Much of Leach's success this year must come
from the vast amount of experience he's racked up
during his college career. Following yesterday's 52-
0 romp over Duke, Leach completed his 39th game
at the helm of Michigan's offensive attack, 38 as a
starter.
Through all the plays he's directed his team-
mates, Leach has developed remarkable poise in
the pocket when he drops back to pass.
This was most evident on three separate oc-
casions yesterday.
With 2:13 remaining in the first quarter and the
ball on the Duke 48-yard line, Michigan faced a third
and four situation. Leach dropped back to pass, but
the Duke secondary had the Wolverine receivers
covered sufficiently, forcing Leach to scamper
eight yards for a Michigan first down.
After tailback Harlan Huckleby and fullback
Russell Da vis managed first downs, the drive sput-
'tered and Michigan faced a third and five play on
the Duke 12-yard line.
Once again Leach rolled out to pass, but elected to
run and went the distance for Michigan's second
touchdown.
He set up the Wolverines' fourth touchdown on a
similar attempted pass play, running to his left and
picking up 19 yards. He followed that run with

another 19-yard pickup on the next play to spark the
drive.
All three plays seemed so well executed that it
looked like they were taken . directly from the
Wolverine playbook. But according to Leach, the
play of the Duke secondary was responsible for his
scrambling efforts.
"Their defense was dropping off a lot of the time
and that gave us a little problem," said Leach. "A lot
of the times right when I went to pass they (Duke's
secondary) reached out and grabbed our guys' jer-
seys. I couldn't believe the referees didn't call it.
"We were looking for the pass all the way. We
don't have any plays that are designed like that,"
Leach said of his rollout run. "It just happened that
way, more so today (yesterday) than before."
Whatever the reasons are behind Leach's success
at running, the fact remains that he's compiling an
impressive set of statistics to flash at those touting
him for the Heisman trophy.
He's gained 285 yards in 32 carries for four touch-
downs in his first three games this year, 72 of those
yards coming against Duke. That wokrs out to an 8.9
yards per Barry average.
In the passing department, Leach is 16 for 38 for
212 yards and three touchdowns. That's 13.2 per
toss. What's even better is that the interception
column on the statistic sheet remains a string of
zeros.
These statistics have some claiming Leach as one
of the leading candidates for the Heisman trophy.
But according to Leach, the trophy isn't one of his
major concerns. "I'm not worried about the
Heisman," Leach said. "I have a job to do here at
Michigan and the quarterback spot is an important

part of our offense. I just go out there week after
week and whatever happens at the end of the season
happens.
"After the Notre Dame game it probably put me
in a little better position. But we have a whole back-
field at Michigan that could win theHeisman."
Duke's defense managed to keep Leach's arm
fairly silent during his portion of the game, as he
completed two of five passes for 27 yards, his lowest
passing total of the season.
But seeing as how he was replaced by backup
quarterback B.J. Dickey at 8:44 of the third quar-
ter, Leach really didn't have much time to establish
an effective passing game.
"I just didn't think under the circumstances we
should play him any longer," Michigan coach Bo
Schembechler said of-his decision to remove Leach.
"He's just too valuable to me."
"When we scored after the opening of the second
half and went up 31-0, that pretty much dictated to
me that we were going to, win the game," Schem-
bechler added.
Leach left after that series, but the short amount
of playing time didn't seem to bother him all that
much. "I'd rather be in there and be playing but
that's a great moral booster to give a lot of guys who
work hard during the week a chance to play."
The way Leach views things, "If I do my job and
the team performs well, then things should work out
for themselves."
Does that mean he should win the Heisman
trophy?
Leach wouldn't answer, but managed a broad
smile which seemed to answer the question.

Daily Photo by MAUREEN O'MALLEY
RICK LEACH needs but 13 more completions in order to break the Michigan pass
completion record set by Don Moorhead in 1969. Leach is also excelling in the
rushing department, as the Heisman Trophy candidate rambled for 72 yards on
just eight carries in yesterday's 52-0 rout of Duke.

Blue

TD

barrage

buries

Duke

I

Swarming defense forces five turnovers

Campbell's Scoop
by Paul Campbell

(Continued from Page 1)
the Wolverines rolled for 50 yards in 11
plays-all running plays.r
"We were getting a lot of good yards
on the inside early," said Schem-
bechler, who substituted freely as the
rout wore on.
"It was a lot easier running today
than it was (against Duke) last year,"
Huckleby said. "We could punch it in-
side."
The Wolverines left no doubts, as they
cruised 81 yards in 15 plays on their
second possession. They only threw on-
ce, although quarterback Rick Leach
dropped back twice preparing. to pass
and then chose to run. He scored on this
ad-libbed play with a 12-yard jaunt into
the endzone, courtesy of a Russell
Daivs block.
"We were looking for the pass all the
way," said Leach, who was replaced by
B.J. Dickey midway through the third
quarter. "We don'thave any plays that
are designed like that. A couple of times
I thought they reached out and grabbed
our receivers."

Whether or not it's a standard play,
it's one that provides yards in critical
situations. "Leach's versatility has im-
proved considerably," McGee said.
Schembechler added, "I think that's
what makes him dangerous."
Yesterday, anything the Wolverines
did was dangerous to the Blue Devils. It
was Duke's worst defeat since 1966
when Notre IDame defeated them 64-0.
"My honest opinion of this game is
that we're not that good and Duke's not
that bad, and the season should prove
that out," Schembechler said.
But just how good a team is
Michigan, currently ranked third in one
wire service poll and fourth in the
other? "I wouldn't say we're a great
team right now," Huckleby said.
"Really we haven't played anyone to
prove we're a great team. I don't think
even Notre Dame was that good a team
to prove anything. We should have a big
year coming if we can keep improving
and working."

Duke of Turnovers

First downs.... .............
Rushing (att/yds) ..............
Passing (att/com/int).....r.....
Passing yds .......................
Punts (no/yds) ....................
Fumbles (no/lost) .................
Penalties (no/yds).................

MICH
29
74-388
124-0
90
2/34.5
1/1
4/36

DUKE
6
29-27
18-64
49
6/41.3
2/1
1/13

SCORING PLAYS
MICH-R. Davis, 1yd. run (Willner kick)
MICH-Leach, 1yd. run (Wlner kick)
MICH-Huckieby. I yd. run (Wilner kick)
MICH-{Willner 35 yd. field goal
MICH-Hupkleby,1 yd. run (Willner kick)
MICH-Reid, 2 yd. run (Willner kick)
MICH-R. Smith, 6&yd. run (Willner kick)
MICH-Clayton, 8 yd. pass from Dickey
(Willner kick)

DUKE
Brower...................
Rhett ........................
Gonet ...........................
Martin ..........................
Driskell .........................
Dunn ............................
PASSING
MICHIGAN
ATT
Leach ..................... 5
Dickey .................... 7
DUKE
Driskell................. 10
Dunn.........:............ 7
Stopper............... 1
RECEIVING
MICHIGAN
M arsh ..........................
Feaster .........................
Kasparek .......................
Clayton.......................
R. Smith.....................
DUKE
Small.........................
Rhett ............................
Gonet ............... ......
Brower ............. ...........

6
6
5
1
3
8

39
18
16
3
-7
-42

COM INT YDS
2 0 27
4 0 63

6.5
3.0
3.2
3.0
-2.3
-5.2

3
3
0

2
1
1

RUSHING
MICHIGAN
Huckihy ........................
Leach .......................
R. Smith.....................
R. Davis .........................
Reid ......................
Dickey ....................
T. Leoni .....................
Page ............................
Mitchell ........................

NO. YDS
2 41
1 19
1 14
1 88
1 8

25
24
0
LP
25
19
14
8
8
11
11
8
5

ATT YDS
22 84
8 72
11 66
11 64
10 58
7 28
3 10
1 4
1 2

AVG.
3.8
9.0
6.0
5.8
5.8
4.0
3.3
4.0
2.0

3
1
1
1

25
11
8
5

Michigan .......................'7 17 14 14 - 52
Duke....,....................... 0 0 0 0-0


0
Up in arms
Ohio State freshman
quarterback Art
Schlichter holds the ball
aloft as teammate
Jimmy Moore carries
him from the field
following the Buckeyes'
first touchdown yester-
day. The Buckeyes
struggled against the
Baylor Bears, trailing
at halftime 21-17, but
came back to win it 34-
28. For the story on the
Buckeyes and the rest of
the Big Ten action, see
Page 9.

Letdown expected .
.but never materialized
A LL WEEK, everybody was talking about a letdown. Duke after Notre
Dame seemed similar to Bogdonavich after Bergman. Maybe Warhol
after Van Gogh. Or Farrah after Norma Jean.
But it was clear from the start a letdown wasn't in the cards. Michigan
clinched the game before the rain, then turned it into Duke's most lopsided
loss in a dozen years. It was a yawn-a-minute game, a sure sign of Wolverine
domination. The only thing that kept me alert in the press box was staring at
the massive splotches of red, orange, and yellow which popped up in the
stands when the clouds burst.
But, if 104,832 people could be seen stifling yawns, there was 100 or so
who were awake and alert. They were the Michigan players, and they
carried an attitude into the game that kept them from slouching as they oc-
casionally have in the past.
Naturally, most of the credit goes to the coaches, who managed to
prepare the team effectively amidst constant congratulations for last week's
feats in South Bend. But there are also the seniors to consider.
Team goal: no slip-ups
These are the guys that have Waved here for three years and three
games. They remember last year's Duke game, when they were number one
but had to struggle to win 21-9. They remember beating lowly Navy by a 14-7
count. Most of all, they remember afternoons in West Lafayette and Min-
neapolis when they let up and were beaten by Purdue and-Minnesota, losing
chances for outright Big Ten titles and undefeated seasons.
"We don't worry about letdowns now," is how Rick Leach put it after the
game. He certainly showed it on the field, gaining 72 yards on the ground in
only eight plays.
Fullback and co-captain Russell Davis was even more ,emphatic.
"There'll be no more letdowns," he said with confidence. "One of our goals
before the season was to go undefeated, and that means starting fresh every
week."
But it's probably easy for Leach and Davis to inspire themselves. They
know that they'll be critically involved in the offense, handling the ball and
trying to advance it in front of 208,000 expectant eyes.
What about the lesser known players who battle in the trenches? There,
where the play is at its most physical, it must be tempting to let it slide for a
while. But senior middle guard Dale Keitz discounts this theory. "We know
that every win is important, and after a big game we just have to put our
nose to the grindstone."
Except for Notre Dame and Ohio State, this Michigan team has a
decisive talent edge over every team on its schedule. But it's a complicated
game, and one where what happens in practice is absolutely crucial.
Ready to play
I'm not talking about a fever pitch. That level of emotional intensity is
reserved for the big games, when talent and preparation aren't enough. But,
as Schembechler explained simply after the game, there is a happy medium
between being way high and too low key.
"I don't think that we were highly emotional today," said the coach.
"We just came out ready to play."
The domination of Duke temporarily assuaged Schembechler's fear of a
letdown. Like the seniors, he also remembers. But he spoke with quiet con-
fidence, and said it all in one simple phrase:


sports of the DAILY
Clubbers cruise
Special to the Daily
The Michigan women's field hockey team pushed its season record to
2-1 with a 5-0 shutout of Kalamazoo College in a game that was played in con-
tinuous rain.
The clubbers, who downed Toledo 7-0 Friday night, were paced by Lisa
Kaplan, who had two goals. Alexandria Callam, Betsy Colke and Mary Hib-
bard added single tallies. All five goals were scored within the first 35
minutes of play.

Daily Photo by ALAN SILINSKY
HIS SPIRITS DAMPENED by both the rain and the mounting margin of defeat,
this forlorn Duke player hides his head in shame on the bench. The eventual score,
52-0, signified the worst drubbing absorbed by the Blue Devils since 1966.

cf nDEc