The Michigan Daily-Tuesday, De

Page 8--Tuesday, December 11, 1979-The Michigan Daily
A MEMORABLE JOURNEY
'The Schembechier zone

More bowls for the die-ha

By GEOFF LARCOM
You are entering a world where the
Blue coach is king, where success is the
golden rule, where superb athletes
grow in fertile football settings.
This is the ground few intrepid spor-
tswriters have trod for inside stories.
and information, where the incisive,
probing question often elicits a curt
response, or worse, a shove that goes
unapologized for.

It's a world of excitement, of high
finance, great alumni devotion to the
sport, and of massive adoring throngs
of expectant rooters. This is . . . the
Schembechler zone, in the year 1979.
This traveler's first exposure to the
zone came in the spring. The hope was
that a story could be written about what
goes on at practice during the spring.
But the sign on the door read: "PRAC-
TICES FOR 1979 ARE CLOSED!" The
king confirmed this. Prospects for the

story looked rather bleak. Yet the
nature of the zone become apparent.
Writers should beware.
The king spoke before the opener with
Northwestern, which each year barely
survives its excursion through the zone.
"I feel real good about the kicking
game. Bryan Virgil will do the
placekicking and the punting. Ali Haji-
Sheikh will handle the kickoffs," he
said.

And for the kickers, what a journey it
would be.
"If we lose in something other than a
bowl, it's a catastrophe," he added.
And three catastrophes there would be.
After the first, against Notre Dame,
the king held court per usual, before the
writers. He was mad, and the listeners
anxiously settled in, to see how he'd
handle the unusual adversity.
"The defense should have won the
game. We had some problems offen-
sively," he said.
The king was a prophet. For what a
marvelous and durable defense it would
be. And what a wild, explosive, hear-
tbreakingly inconsistent offense it
would be.
The king handled the prying
questions about his team with varying
degrees of grace, with one day marking
a low point. He shoved a student repor-
ter during an interview, something he'd
never do to those who'd made the jour-
ney many times before.
"I think enough has been said about
something that doesn't mean
anything," he said, when asked about
the incident, and that was all. The
king's only superior, Don Canham, had
little to say as well, and the royal
program's image suffered a blow it
nevertheless found quite easy to ab-
sorb.
But the journey had beautiful
moments as well.
" Anthony Carter, one of the
youngest and easily the quickest in the
zone, grabbing a John Wangler bullet
for the touchdown that beat Indiana in
the last seconds.
y Ralph Clayton, running under a 66
yard B.J. Dickey bomb to silence the
huge, partisan crowd at Spartan
Stadium. Score: Michigan 21, Michigan
State 7.
" Curtis Greer and Ron Simpkins, af-
ter distinguished careers in the zone,
reaping All-America honors in their
final year.
" Butch Woolfolk, breaking through
the line, turning upfield and streaking
92 yards against Wisconsin for the
longest run from scrimmage ever by a
Michigan back.
The journey has now but one stop
left-Jacksonville, Florida.
Gt BL UE
Active-own-Sportswear
Down parkas, iockets and vests in
a wide selection of colors and
prices.
T

ORANGE BOWL
JANUARY 1
at
Miami, Florida
OKLAHOMA vs. FLORIDA STATE-
The 1980 Orange Bowl appears ,
to be a complete contrast in ;
styles between traditional mid-b
western powerhouse, Oklahoma,
and Florida State, a team rela-
tively new to the college super-
power scene.
Oklahoma gained an automatic
Orange Bowl bid by defeating
Nebraska in the game that is annually the Big Eight's
equivalent to the Michigan-Ohio State showdown. The
Sooners will play host to Florida State, which com-
pleted an undefeated season by beating arch-rival
Florida over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Oklahoma, of course, is led by last year's Heisman
Trophy winner Billy Sims. Sims hasn't equalled last
year's stats, but he has rushed for a whopping 1505
yards and scored 22 touchdowns. 246 of those yards
came in Oklahoma's nail-biting 17-14 win over
Nebraska.
Quarterback J.C. Watts runs a wishbone offense
that has become an Oklahoma trademark since
Barry Switzer took over the coaching reigns from
Colorado mentor Chuck Fairbanks.
The stingy Oklahoma defense will be tested by the

Seminole offense, which has averaged 29 points per
game. Coch Bobby Bowden has gone with a 2-
quarterback system-usingJimmy Jordan and
Wally Woodham about equally. Their favorite
receiver is Jackie Flowers, who has caught 37 passes
for 629 yards and 7 touchdowns.
The Seminoles have a 100-yard rusher of their own
in fullback Mark Lyles who has averaged 4.5 yards a
carry in gaining 1011 yards. Lyles and tailback Mike
Whiting are also dangerous receivers coming out of
the backfield. State may have to use these passes to
loosen up that tough Sooner defense.,
-Jon Moreland
ASTRO-BLUEBONNET BOWL
DECEMBER 31
at
Houston, Texas
TENNESSEE vs. PURDUE

Boilermakers are 9-2,
They own the biggest
teams in quarterback D
but one Big Ten passi
junior season.
A pleasant surprise
stitute running back, B
yards in the Boilers' g
big offensive threat is 1
the Big Ten in receiv
yards, and a 1040 yard a
Defensively, Purdue
Bill Kay tied for first it
ce with six. The solid d
All-American Keena 'I
ference against the r
ds/game.
All the starters for I
be ready for the gam(
who suffered a broker
who's status for the ga:
expected to ready as w
On the other side a
defense its specialty, 1
who has been named
team. James accumul
the first ten games. Li
nessee's leading tac
assists.
On the offensive sid
the loss of quarterbac
See

The Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl
should be a real tussle be-
tween two tough defensive
teams, Tennessee and Pur-
due. Neither one is bad offen-
sively, so there looks to be a
good game in Houston on
December 31.

4tE(rE 0;
B 8 1

Purdue is making only its
third bowl appearance, and with a win would own
the first ten-win season in Purdue history. The


EN NEFF
IS ENOUGH
(Continued from Page 6)
this part of the country went to the Southeastern Conference and the Big Ten.
Now ACC teams don't have to worry about the college board scores
anymore," declared Brewer.
As brains have given way to fame and prestige, the bowl bids have come
flying. Six of the last seven years N.C. State has spent December elsewhere.
This year is the first one in seven that Maryland will not go to a postseason
extravaganza. And North Carolina has gone bowling seven times in this
decade. Has the ACC reached parity with other major conferences?
"We think it's (the ACC) come up strong in the last 8-10 years. Things.
are evening up," pointed out Gator Bowl sports information director Ted
Emery.
"That area of the country, despite the fact that they've got great basket-
ball teams, has had a lot of good football players. they're keeping more of
them at home. It is a direct effect of the scholarship rule (95 rule-limiting
the number of scholarships to 95 over a four year period)," added Emery.
So North Carolina is spending Christmas in Gator country due to this
reversal in ACC football fortunes. This can be attributed to their upset of
N.C. State, 35-21 in Raleigh, where it led the host team, 28-7 at halftime. And
at one time, four early season wins had catapulted N.C. into the Top Ten.
Michigan should be in for a struggle, especially since the Wolverines will
probably be laughing just as much you probably were before learning about
ACC football. The ACC has been a laughable matter, until recently, as these
prestigious Southern schools have become quite adept on the gridiron.
So laugh all you want but remember, everyone laughed about
Washington two years ago as well.


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Daily Photo by PETER SERLING
IN AN UNUSUALLY up and down season for Michigan, it's been a quick, swarming defense which keyed the gridders'
high points. Here the Wolverines lay a little gang defense on Buckeye Tim Spencer in the season-ending 18-15 loss.

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