Page 8-Saturday, September 17, 1977-The Michigan Daily The Michigan Daily-Saturday, Septembi Blue opens at home Here is a quick rundown on Michi- gan's upcoming opponents prepared by Sports Editor Kathy Henneghan and Associate Sports Editor Don MacLach- Ian. Duke The Blue Devils open the Michigan home schedule this afternoon searching for their first victory ever against the Wolverines after four futile attempts. Under head coach Mike McGee, the Blue Devils posted a 5-5-1 record in 1976. This year he must replace eleven starters from that squad. The Duke attack revolves around 6-4 junior signal caller Mike Dunn. The slick Dunn led the Atlantic Coast Con- ference in total offense in 1976 with 1,835 yards, churning for 757 of those on the ground. In addition to his fine running ability, Dunn can generate quite an aerial attack. Two prime targets are ends Tom Hall and Glenn Sandefur. Dunn averaged 15 passes per game last fall and things should be no different this year. Defensively, Duke boasts a potential All-American in 6-3, 225 pound junior linebacker Carl McGee (no relation to the coach). Six other starters return on defense - a unit which surrendered 23 points per game last year. However, with Dunn at the helm the Blue Devils could pose an offensive threat for the Wolverines. They racked up 234 points and rushed for 2,589 yards a year ago. With the elusive Dunn run- ning the offense, McGee has good rea- son to hope for a better fate in 1977. * * * Navy Navy coach George Welsh probably isn't too sure he wants to return to Ann Arbor after the torture he underwent a year ago. Michigan sunk the Middies 70-14 after Navy held a 14-12 lead late in the first half. . Despite the Michigan shipwreck, the Midshipmen managed to record a 4- 7 season slate and Welsh will have the services of 16 returning starters this fall. The offensive line is only adequate but the Middies have a good leader in quarterback Bob Leszczynski. The jun- ior connected on 84 of 158 passes for 1154 yards a year ago. However, graduation claimed his favorite receivers and Phil McConkey will be called on to make most of the catches. In the backfield co-captain tailback Joe Gattuso returns to strengthen the running game and add another dimen- sion to the aerial attack. Defensively, the line is very thin and will need some work to shut down the likes of Pitt, Notre Dame and Michigan. Four-year starter John Sturges and safety Mike Galpin guard against op- posing ammunition in the defensive secondary. The linebacking crew should be solid but will have to do an outstanding job to back up the feeble defensive line. Navy does boast a good kicker in Bob Tata who connected on seven of ten field goals last year. Welsh must do a little manipulating with his troops or there could be another disaster in Ann Arbor this fall. * * * Texas A&M Texas A&M provides the stiffest non- conference competition for Michigan this year. Some pre-season polls list the Aggies as favorites in the rugged South- west Conference, and as high as fifth in the country. Coach Emory Bellard is banking on a powerful offense which returns seven starters. Texas A&M had the tenth best offense in the country last year and Bellard enjoys having his entire back- field return intact for 1977. Burly fullback George Woodard en- ters his senior year with high hopes af- ter netting 1,156 yards on the ground in 1976. A pair of freshman starters, Curtis Dickey and David Brothers hope tofare just as well during their sophomore campaigns. Dickey ran for 742 yards and Brothers chipped in with 251 while seeing less action last year. Quarterback David Walker should be steady at quarterback and fleet footed Darrel Smith has a lot of potential at split end. The biggest headache for Bellard and his squad appears to be the defense. Eight starters graduated and a youthful contingent must come through to keep opponents from equalling the Aggie of- fensive output. Overall, the team is young - there are only nine seniors on the roster -- and should improve with every game. Texas A&M hopes to better its 10-2 mark of last year which included a 37-14 Sun Bowl victory over Florida. l today If the Aggies get taken down-to the final seconds, kicking specialist Tony Franklin can provide the key boot. The barefooted kicker holds the NCAA record for the longest completed field goal -65 yards. Michigan and Texas A&M have only met once before with the Wolverines prevailing 14-10 in 1970. This year's con- test might be just as close. * * * at Michigan State "The alternative for fans who are tired of dull, grind-it-out football is .. MICHIGAN STATE!" That's the pitch the Spartans are us- ing to get things rolling again after a decade-long lapse. Darryl Rogers and his staff are trying to disprove the maxim that a passing team can't win in the Big Ten. Michigan State expects a stronger team than the squad which went 4-6-1 in Rogers' first year as head coach. An NCAA probation limited MSU to 25 re- cruits instead of the usual 30. A year, agoone player was banned for the sea- son, one for five games and five for the opener against Ohio State. Another year and one more recruiting season re- main before the probation is listed as of January 19, 1979. "This year we have no excuses," says Rogers, "We're just going to play the game. I must say that we're looking for- ward to having all of our players play all of the same games, though." MSU returns all of the players who made it the Big Ten's top passing team last season. Quarterback Ed Smith was the !onference total offense champion. Snitt,, who never would have played ui Jer i,.rmer coach Denny Stolz' sys- tern almost completely rewrote the r'tan passirtg records. He completed 1. passes in 257 attempts for 1,749 yar- ds and 13 touchdowns. His top targets return in league-lead- ing receiver Kirk Gibson, Mark Brain- See SPARTANS', Page 9 Spartans' Smith on (Continued fromPage 8) mer and Gene Byrd. The Spartans attempted 46 passes against Michigan last season, the high- est total a Wolverine team has ever faced. "We might throw as many as fif- ty passes against them this year too," says quarterback Smith. "Other Big Ten teams have good athletes of de- fense, but they're not used to coveriifg the pass. And they'd better get used to it." The line looks fairly solid with vet- etan center Al Pitts (6-4, 235) and tackle Jim Hinsley (6-2, 254). However the running game is suspect. Gone from the .ackild are Richie Baes and Levi .Jackson. Fullback Jim Early (6-1, 226) returns with. 354 yards to his credit and the best bet at tailback is junior college transfer Leroy McGee. _ State's defense, put simply, needs help. Last season it was dead la*'n the Big Ten against the rush while yieding 278 points, the highest total in school history. came to the front during spring drills and was the number one quarterback heading into the season. Jardine des- perately needs a solid field general to replace the graduated Mike Carroll, Wisconsin's Most Valuable Player in 1976, and the Big Ten's second leading passer. One of Carroll's favorite targets,. David Charles, returns to torment op- posing secondaries this fall. Charles hauled in 34 passes for 449 yards and three touchdowns last year. The backfield of Ira Matthews (5-9, 178) and Mike Morgan (5-11, 217) pro- vides a solid running attack for Jardine to work with. Matthews, a junior tail- back, ran for 535 yards and doubles as a serious kickoff and punt return threat. The senior Morgan must recover from off-season knee surgery before he can assume the halfback chores. 4 tar Morgan gallop 37 carries last f Last year's s Halleran (6-1, fullback for the The defensiv tact but some p care of on the counts on miiddl 11, 204) to spy See GO New fall and Winter Clothing an Furn ish ings are now in. PleaOse f4 free to COmne in and browse. Kirk Gibson l zt. 'ml I;L i , 1 (.** v-'. Seven defensive regulars are back, including linebacker PaulRudzinski (6- 1, 216) and tackle Larry Bethea (6-4, 244). And several injured players are expected back in top form this fall, in- cluding middle guard Kim Rowekamp (6-2, 250), a pre-season AllAmerica choice in 1976 before he underwent knee surgery. The secondary, however, is inexperi- enced. Michigan State may have one of the best kicking games in the country. Tom Birney will probably do kickoffs, Hans Nielsen the placements and freshman Ray Stachowicz the punting. The Spartans won't get a chance to knock off Ohio State, as has been their wont, for at least two years because the Buckeyes are not on the schedule. They would like nothing better, though, than to knock off that team in Ann Arbor with the "dull, grind-it-out football." Wisconsin The first Big Ten team to roll into Ann Arbor this fall is Wisconsin. The Bat- tling Badgers compiled a 5-6 record in 1976 - losing those five conference games by a total of 32 points, including a 40-27 loss at the hands of Michigan. "If we get off to a good start and our key players have good years, we hope to challenge for the title," says head coach John Jardine. "We are very young - only five of the top 44 players are seniors - and we will be going with an unproven quarterback." Our fine wale cordur clusively for us. A v garment. Coordinate of fine worsted woo $162.50, Pants from I The ever popular trench coc us this season in materials corduroy-twill and popli From $115. .a ~>s. oy suit is made ex- r , ery durable casual the coat with a pair l plaid pants. Suit. .. $37.50. . . .. h.00. f '1 ._ Y ~*~4 .N ., 4, . , ' - )I I p I I ON CAMPUS at State Street and the Arcade ,. , . - . - -- - . - -. . . . " . , ", K ", . . - . I I - klilli" - - - - - - - - - - - - - --- -