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."