Page 8-Sunday, October 9, 1977-The Michigan Daily
HUCKLEBY RUSHES FOR 148 YARDS
Blue assault dampens Spartan
(Continued from Page 1)
spirits
Mark Anderson inteercepted another
Leach pass at the Spartan one.yard
line. The Spartans ran out' the clock and
left at the half, trailing, 10-7
"In the third quarter we wanted to
get two scores up on the board,"
Schembechler said. "We did that but
then we couldn't get any more."
"We said at halftime that the defense
wanted to get the ball because we felt
that when wejhad them deep in the first
half, we shouldn't have let them out,"
Tedesco said.
Michigan State came out charging in
the second half, but two costly tur-
novers killed whatever momentum it
had.
Fresham Bruce Reeves returned the
second half kickoff 52 yards to the
Michigan 46. Smith then hit James
Earley with a short pass and the power-
ful fullback broke a few tackles before
fumbling at the Michigan 26. The man
on the spot again was Tedesco, who
covered the ball.
The Michigan offense went to work
with 14:38 left in the quarter. On this
That'
appee o ke
series, the Wolverines stuck to the
ground with Huckleby accounting for
49 yards on only three carries.
Russell Davis ended the drive bowl-
ing over from three yards out.
Willner booted the conversion,
ending a 74-yard, nine-play march
which gave Michigan a 17-7 lead..
With eight minutes left in the
session, the sputtering Spartans
again turned over the football.
Dwight Hicks intercepted a Smith
pass and returned the ball 22 yards to
the State six yard line.
"Smith looked away and then when3
he looked back my way, he just threw
the ball," Hicks said. "I read what he
was doing, and he threw it right to
me,"
BULLETIN
In National League playoff action last
night, the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat-
ed the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-1.
Dodger outfielder Dusty Baker hit a
two-run homer and scored another run
to pace the Dodger attack.
The win clinches the National League
title for the Dodgers, sending them intoj
the World Series against the winner of
Game 5 of the New York Yankee, Kan-;
sas City Royals series which starts
tonight at 8:15 p.m.
Probable pitchers for tonight's game'
are Paul Splittorff for the Royals and '
Ron Guidry for the Yankees.
It took the Wolverines two plays to.
hit paydirt again, when Leach scored
on a three-yard jaunt to give Michi-
gan a 24-7 margin.
"I thought we were ready to blow
them out when we had them by 17
points," Schembechler said.
"We wanted to get one more
touchdown to kill their spirit but we
couldn't quite get it," said Huckleby.
A pouring rain began with the
Wolverines on top 24-7 and for the
rest of the period they stayed on the
ground killing the clock.
The Spartans found new life in the
final quarter when Earley scam-
pered 11 yards into the end zone..
Smith hit split Barry Harris twice for
40 yards to set up the score which
narrowed the Michigan lead to 24-14.
"The momentum changed back
and forth," Schembechler said.
"They had the momentum and were
ready to go in the fourth quarter,
when Smith dropped the ball.' "
Turnovers killed the Spartans'
final hopes in the last ten minutes. On
a Michigan punt, Curt Stephenson
jumped on a loose ball which hit
State's Mike Imhoff in the foot.
Five minutes later, Smith had the
Spartans moving but fumbled to end
a 54-yard drive. John Anderson
recovered for Michigan.
Michigan State had five turnovers
to the Wolverines' three.
Huckleby carried the ball 31 times
on the day for a personal high, and
Leach moved into fourth place on the
Michigan career total offense list
with 142 yards yesterday.
Linebacker Ron Simpkins was the
leading tackler for the fifth straight
game with 14 yesterday.
With Oklahoma and Southern Cal
losing yesterday, the Wolverines
could take over the number one spot
in the polls this week.
First downs
Rushing (att/yds)
Passing (att/com/int)
Passing yds
Punts. (no/yds )
Fumbles (no/lost)
Penalties (no/yds)
MICH.
19
69/309
10/4/1
113
6/194
2/2
3/42
M5U
13
30/122
23114/1
147
6/244
S!4
3/38
MICHIGAN S7
The victory over State keeps the
Wolverines unheated in Big Ten
play at 2-0, one step behind the
Wisconsin Badgers, 3-0, who invade
Ann Arbor this Saturday.
"I'd like to give a lot of credit to
Michigan State," Schembechler said.
"We took their best punch. That's the
way it is when. you're,.on tope and
that's the way it should be. You
should be able to take their best
punch."
Goofs haunt Spartans
Earley
McGee
Middleton
Hans
Reeves
Smith
By KATHY HENNEGHAN r
Spartans surp rse ... .
a big flop
PAssIN(
MICHIGA
TATE
13 76i
12 30
2 14
1 1.
1 1
1 -15
N
Att Com/int
10 4/1
TATE
23 1411
VG
N
5.8
2.5
7
1
Yds.
il
!4?
SCORING PLAYS
MSU-Gibson, 19-yard pass from Smith
(Nielsen kick)
MICH.-White, 12-yard pass from Leach
t(Wilmner kick) ,'
MICH.-Whiner, 50-yard field goal
MICH.-Davis, 3-yard run (Willper kick)
MICH.-Leach, 3-yard run (Willner placement)
MSU-Earley, 11-yard run (Nielsen kick)
Leach
Smith
Clayton
White
MICHIGAN S7
RECEIVI
MICIIIGAI
No Yds Avg.
3 99 33
'1 12 12
EAST LANSING
ICHIGAN WORKED all week in practice defending the pass, a Spartan
L.' specialty. Fortunately, Bo Schembechler did not overlook State's
running game, which he felt had improved significantly since last season.
MSU coach Darryl Rogers pulled a fast one yesterday. State came out
running up the middle in the first half, hoping to catch the Michigan defen-
ders bysurprise.
In 1969, Spartan coach Duffy Daugherty altered his offense and caught
the Wolverines completely off'guard. Michigan lost 23-12 in Schembechler's
first year as coach.
Yesterday, Michigan State opened every offensive series with a running
play. Quarterback Ed Smith, who normally averages 32 passes a game, i1-
stead alternated handoffs to fullback Jim Earley and tailback Leroy McGee.
"The strategy to run inside was a very good game plan," said Schem-
bechler after the game. "He (Rogers) probed the middle because he knew
we were concerned with the pass."
Consider State's first possession of the game. The Spartans took over on
their own 26 yard line.
FIRST DOWN: Earley off left guard for a seven yard gain.
SECOND DOWN AND THREE: McGee through the middle for three.
FIRSTi DOWN1 ON THE MSU 36: McGee off right tackle for four.
SECOND AND SIX: McGee outside left tackle for another four.
THIRD DOWN AND TWO: McGee outside right end-no gain.
FOURTH DOWN AND TW kO:Puit.
"They really changed their game plan from what we thought," said;
Michigan defensive end John Anderson. "A lot of tie defense we put in
during the week was designed to stop the pass. But they were trying to
establish their running game first, then throw a pass to mix us up."
"At the half we came out with the thought that we had to stop the run,"
explained Wolverine linebacker Jerry Meter. "In the first half we were a lit-
tle soft up the middle. Their backs are good runners-they wouldn't give up
after one or two yards. But once we got ahead we made them throw the
ball."
Even when Smith opened up in the second half he did not do the damage
he might have. He completed 14 of 23 passes for 147 yards. Rick Leach, while
throwing sparingly, was more e'fficient in connecting on four of ten attempts
for 111yards.
Smith co uld've been bietter
However, in all fairness to Smith there probably should be a statistic for
receivers equivalent to the fielding error in baseball. Flanker Kirk Gibson
simply dropped two passes which were right on target. State fans have
become increasingly disenchanted with Gibson, who dropl ed passes in three
previous games. On three other attempts the State receiver slipped on the
wet turf before completing his pattern.
Despite the flaws, State mixed its plays well combining Smith's aerial
attack with a running game underestimated by some. The Spartan perfor-
mance was adequate, neither awesome or awful. The fact is the Spartan
strategy failed.
"We did what we had to do,'' said a sullen Rogers. "We threw the ball.
We moved the ball well." .
Perhaps the game was best summed up by an inebriated Spartan fan
who commented, "It might have gone the other way. Very basically it was a
matter of too many points for one team and not as many for the other."
Huckleby
Davis
Leach
Clayton
King
RUSHING
MICHIGAN
Att
31
25
2
l
Yds
148
96
36
22
7
Avg.
4.8
3.8
3.6
11
7
Earley
Gibson
McGee
Middleton
Middleton
Reeves
Harris
Hans
MICHIGAN STATE
4
3.
I
56
3,
4
2
40
16
14
8.6
4
t
2
2
2
4
20
8
MICHIGAN COULD REGAIN NUMBER ONE
USC loses thriller; Sooners upset
By The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - Alabama halfback
Tony Nathan ran for two fourth quarter
touchdowns and the Crimson Tide
withstood a furious Southern California
rally in the final seven minutes to upset
the top-ranked Trojans 21-20 in an in-
tersectional college football contest
yesterday.
Seventh-ranked Alabama had taken a
21-6 lead over Southern Cal early in the
final period of the nationally-televised
game, but USC quarterback Rob Hertel
passed his team back in the waning mo-
ments. ,
HERTEL HIT Calvin Sweeney with a
10-yard touchdown pass with 6:46 re-
maining, then passed to Mosi Tatupu
for the two-point conversion that made
it 21-14.
Then, starting at his own 21-yard line,
Hertel marched the Trojans to the
Alabama 1-yard line, where fullback
Lynn Cain swept end for the score with
39 seconds left to play. But this time,
the USC two-point conversion failed as
Barry Krauss intercepted Hertel's des-
peration pass to preserve the victory.
Alabama boosted its record to 4-1
with the victory, while Southern Cal,
which had won its last 15 games, suf-
fered its first setback in five games this
fall.
The Crimson Tide had the edge offen-
sively in the opening half, but, stopped
by their own errors and a stubborn USC
defense, they fell behind 3-0.
THE TROJANS had moved ahead on
their first possession, as Jordan booted
a 32-yard field goal 6:21 into the contest.
Nathan finished as the game's
leading rusher with 76 yards on 12
carries, and Davis carried 18 times for
The Aslabamadefense, led by left end
Wayne Hamilton and Krauss, held
USC's tailback combination of Charles
White and Dwight Ford to a total of just
85 yards. White carried 15 times for 63
yards, while Ford picked up but 22 yar-
ds on 13 carries.
HERTEL, PUTTING spark into the
sluggish Trojan offense in the final
quarter, finished with 18 completions in
30 attempts for 239 yards. The senior
signal-caller did, however, have to
passes intercepted.
Wide receiver Randy Simrin, who has
now caught at least one pass in USC's
last 29 games, grabbed six passes for
120 yards, and Sweeney caught four for-
53 yards.
The Trojans finished the game with
359 yards in total offense, while
Alabama had 249, all but eight of that on
the ground.
Mea n.hile.. .
DALLAS Forgotten quarterback
Randy McEachern watched last year's
Texas-Oklahoma football game from
the press box, where he spotted for a
radio network, but he bounced off the
bench yesterday to inspire the fifth-
ranked Longhorns to a 13-6 upset of sec-
ond-ranked Oklahoma.
Third string McEachern was such an
unknown quantity that he was not even
listed in Texas' media guide. The red-
shirt junior had never lettered in his in-
jury-plagued career.
BUT INJURIES felled Texas' first
two quarterbacks and McEachern dis-
played all the aplomb of a hardened
veteran and may have earned himself a
battlefield letter.
"Sure, I was scared," said McEach-
ern, whose timely passing set up tail-
back Earl Campbell's devastating
runs.
He said: "This was pretty nerve-
wrecking. Coach Freddy Akers told me
to be ready after our first quarterback
went down, but I din't think the second
one would go down.
"I really didn't know what to think
when he did. I never played in a big
game like this. I was uneasy the whole
game."
TO MAKE the almost fictional script
even more ironic, McEachern disclosed
that "I never even woriked with Earl in
the first unit before. During the week I
usually just stand back and watch the
first two units. I kind of run through the
plays in my mind since I don't have a
third unit to run through on the field;:"
Oklahoma Coach Barry Switzer said:
"I told Texas Coach Fred, Akers after
the game 'I hope they win the rest of
them and the national championship.'
They have a great, great football team.
Campbell is just unbelievable and I told
him I hope he wins the Heisman Tro-
phy"
A tremendous goal'line stand in the
final four minutes sealed Texas' first
victory over the Sooners since 1970.
Florida roars back
to tie Pitt, 17-17
By The Associated Press
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Underdog
Florida roared back twice in the final
quarter yesterday to come away with a
17-17 tie with 15th-ranked Pittsburgh on
a last-gap 28-yard field goal by Berj
Yepremian.
Yepremian's tying kick for the 20th-
ranked Gators came with 1:26
remaining in the game, offsetting a 27-
yard field goal by Pitt's Mark Schubert
with 5:55 to go..
BOLSTERS AERIAL ATTACK
Clayton: Bi shoes to ill
PITTSBURGH quarterback Matt
Cavanaugh, rusty after three weeks off
with a broken wrist, fumbled away the
football three times, but drove the Pan-
thers to two touchdowns.
Speedy quarterback Terry LeCount
moved the Florida team from its 20 to
the Pitt 9 in the closing minutes, but he
was injured on a 5-yard spring. His sub-
stitute, John Brantley, was unable to
produce a touchdown and Yepremian
came in to tie the game.
Cavanaugh led a 94-yard march to
put Pitt ahead 14-7 late in the third
quarter. The score, on a razzle-dazzle,
34-yard halfback pass from Jo-Jo Heath
to Willie Taylor, came after Cavanaugh
gambled for a one-yard gain and a first
down on a fourth down play.
The teams traded touchdowns in the
first half when the defense on both sides
prevailed.
SCORES
American League Playoff
New York 6, Kansas City 4
College Football
MICHIGAN 24, Michigan State 14
Texas 13, Oklahoma 6
Alabama 21, USC 20
Colorado 29, Oklahoma St. 13
Stanford 32, UCLA 28
Washington St. 17, California 10
Ohio State 46, Purdue 0
Miami, Ohio 29, Marshall 1
Iowa 18, Minnesota 6
Iowa St. 7, Missouri 0
Duke25, S. Carolina 21
Indiana 28, Northwestern 3
Wisconsin 26, Illinois 0
Nebraska 26; Kansas St. 9
Bowling Green 21, Toledo 13
Princeton 28, Columbia 7
Harvard 17, Cornell 7
Dartmouth 3, Yale 0
Navy 10, Air Force 7
By TOM CAMERON
Special to The Daily
EAST LANSING-It's not taking long for Ralph Clayton
to come into his own.
Last season, Clayton was a running back. When the
Wolverines opened at Illinois this season, he was second
team. Now, he'a number one.
After only five games at the wide receiver position, the
speedy sophomore has established himself as a downfield
threat. Granted, he still hasn't made anyone forget a cer-
tain Jim Smith, and he still spends a lot of time logging
plays in and out. But he's still well on his way.
"REPLACE SMITTY?: Well that's hard to say," Clayton
replied shaking his head. "Smitty was an exceptional
player. . . an All-American. I feel I'm coming along, but
those are pretty good shoes to step into.
"I'm pleased with the way I've been coming along. I feel I
still have a long way to go, but I'm happy with the way I've
been playing. I won't know until we see the films, but I felt I
had a pretty good game today," he said.
*r___.___ __ ~_ . v L . . ... 1W Y._L n.
CLAYTON MAY NOT have been as impressive in the
second half, but then, Michigan only threw one pass during
the second half. Even that one went towards number 22.
Quarterback Rick Leach explained why Michigan did not
pass as much during the second half. "In the first place,
their secondary was coming up quick to help on the option,
so we did a few play action (passes). In the second half,
they laid back more."
When Leach does throw the ball, he does like throwing in
Clayton's direction. "I like Clayton as a receiver. He's got
great hands and gets himslf open. He's 6'4"-that's a great
target-and it's good to throw to him."
SO FAR THIS season, Clayton and Leach have combined
for 7 receptions, covering 187 yards-an average of 26.7 per
completion. .
The versatile Clayton can also be a threat running the
ball, as he proved yesterday when he picked up 20 yards
running the wingback counter (Jim Smith's "old play").
"(Running the ball) brings back the good ol' days,"
Clayton said with a reminiscent smile. "We don't run that
play a whole lot, but enough to remind teams that we have
it."