SPA R TANS S T E ADY AND R EADY: The Michigan Daily-Friday, October 7, 1977-Page 11 MSU's not passed out By BRIAN MILLER For the last 29 years, capacity crowds in Ann Arbor and East Lansing have witnessed the annual battle between Michigan and Michi- gan State. This year will be no differ- ent. For the past seven years, the Wolverines have defeated the Spar- tans, but this year will be different if the Spartans have their way. In attempting to topple Michigan, the Spartans' offensive game plan won't differ from any of their previous game plans. They will pass ... and pass ... and pass. The leader of Michigan State's aerial circus is senior quarterback Eddie Smith. Spartan Head Coach Darryl Rogers noted that "Smith has the ability to get rid of the ball quickly with a great touch.'' And Smith's statistics certainly back up that statement,. In a little more than one year's playing time, Smith is just 101 yards short of his school's record for yards passed for in a career, 2,576. This year alone, Smith finds himself as the Big Ten's second leading passer, hitting on 53 of 111 passes for 727 yards. He is also second in the conference for total offense, averag- ing 166 yards a game. There are three big reasons why Smith's passing statistics are as good as they are - 6-4 split end Edgar Wilson, 6-4 tight end Mark Brammer and 6-2 flanker Kirk Gibson. Wilson is Smith's favorite receiver to date, catching 15 passes for 274 yards. Once a varsity basketball player, Wilson admits the contact in football is "harder. hitting", but Rogers is pleased with his play. Brammer, who caught eight passes I GRIIJE PICKSI 3T'S FRIDAY morning, do'you know I where your Griddes are? If not, you have until midnight tonight to find and deliver them to the Daily at 420 May- nard to win a small Pizza Bob's pizza with two items. 1. MICHIGAN at Michigan State (pick score) 2. Illinois at Wisconsin 3. Indiana at Northwestern 4. Minnesota at Iowa 5. Purdue at Ohio State 6. Oklahoma at Texas 7. UCLA at Stanford 8. California at Washington St. 9. Brigham Young at Oregon State 10. Dartmouth at Yale 11. Nebraska at Kansas State 12. LSU at Vanderbilt 13. Missouri at Iowa State 14. Pitt at Florida 15. Duke at S. Carolina 16. SMU at Baylor 17. Texas Tech at Arizona 18. Alabama at USC- 19. Air Force at Navy 20. DAILY LIBELS at Ithaca . . . . . . . . . . . . ::~BILLBO'ARD All U of M 'women with a competi- tive background in track and field are invited to contact Coach Red Simmons if interested in running for Michigan's women's team. C a 1 1 763-2159. last week against Notre Dame, is right behind Wilson in receiving, having grabbed 14 passes for 194 yards. This ranks these two as the fourth and fifth best receivers in the conference, respectively. Over the years, however, Smith has found Gibson to be his number one target. Quite often when these two team up on a pass play, the result is a long gain. Three times in their careers, Smith has hit Gibson for an 82 yard touchdown. This year alone, Gibson has caught 11 passes for 223 yards, an average of 20.2 yards a catch. The Spartans' running game has been overshadowed by all the talk about their passing, but Michigan State does have some good running backs. Junior Leroy McGee, Michigan State's top tailback, has compiled 366 yards in 81 rushes, an average of 4.5 yards a carry. McGee is the Big Ten's fifth leading runner and all purpose rusher, respectively averaging 91.5 and 104.2 yards a game.. Senior fullback Jim Earley is averaging almost six yards a carry (213 yards in 36 rushes) and has broken off a 46 yard gain, longest by a State runner so far this year. He is also a good receiver, bringing down eight tosses, making him the fourth best receiver on the team. The Spartan defense has played well all year although they have been poor against the pass. , Sophomore free safety Mark An- derson, however, is helping turn things around in the secondary. He. intercepted three Irish passes last week, tying a school record last set in 1970 by Brad Van Pelt. The Spartan defense operated deep in its own territory almost all game long against the Irish. To its credit, it only gave up one touchdown. The main reason for the great play of the defense on the whole, is the fine individual play of inside linebackers Paul Rudzinski and Dan Bass, defen- sive tackles Melvin Land and Larry Bethea as well as middle guard Kim Rowekamp. Playing right in the heart of State's defense, Rowekamp has come up ,with 29 tackles, three for losses. Rudzinski and Bass have been just short of fantastic, bringing down the opposition 55 and 54 times, respec- tively. Defensive tackles Land and Bethea have teamed up far 71 tackles, nine for losses totaling 49 yards. . a ;. ! M y i -AP Phtoo CLIFF JOHNSON, the Yankees designated hitter, was the offensive star in last night's game as he blasted a solo homne- run and a tie-breaking double. Johnson received .a standing ovation from the sellout Yankee Stadium crowd. Yankee pitcher Ron Guidry pitched a three-hitter while the Yanks pounded out ten hits en route to a 6-2 victory over Kansas City. r (i'4. ; " $ 4.'- F }'