The Michigan Daily-Friday, November 11, 1977-Page 11
BLUE DREADS ENCORE
Will Purdue be
By BOB WARD
The Spoilermakers - a threatening
" name. It is one that has been tagged on
the Purdue Boilermakers for past up-
sets over Notre Dame and Michigan, to
name a couple. The men from West
Lafayette have already missed two
upset opportunities this year. Could the
Wolverines be their victim this Satur-
day?
The first half of the season has been
like a rollercoaster ride for Purdue.
They opened with Michigan State and
lost, 19-14, before~coming back to troun-
ce Ohio University. Next came Notre
Dame, and the Irish managed to pull
out a last-ditch 31-24 decision.
Spolerfl
back the nex week to tomorrow's game.
a, the Black and Gold tmro' ae
onsecutive defeats by Purdue's head coach Jim Young, an
linois. assistant at Michigan from '69-'73, had
uld have drowned the been concerned about his offense ear-
orale, but they didn't. her in the year. "We had an inexperi-
beat Iowa, Northwest- enced line (and) ... did not have con-
in, and now find them- sistent kicking, he said yesterday in a
5-4 record going into telephone interview.
lki
ers
Blue skaters favored over MSU,
bt coaches make no predictions
BA BOB MIL LER over and play dead.
But the concern for the offense was
due to a starting line-up that had under-
classmen outnumbering upperclass-
men. This worry was relieved with the
impressive entrance of freshman quar-
terback sensation, Mark Herrmann.
Was Young surprised? "With any
freshman starting early in the season,
you have to be surprised," he said.
"The only other freshman I've known to
start out so well was Rick Leach."
Herrmann has moved into second
place on the Big Ten's all-time single-
season passing list by totaling 2,215
yards passing. He has completed 56 per
cent of his passes and has notched 17
touchdown completions. But Herrmann
has been sporadically plagued with in-
terceptions (4 at Notre Dame and 5 at
Ohio State) to bring his count to 21.
Herrmann's favorite receiver is sen-
ior Reggie Arnold, gaining 745 yards on
39 pass receptions. Arnold has scored
eight touchdowns and he averages 19.1
yards per catch.
The running game is led by -senior
John Skibinski, who has gained 587 yar-
ds and scored three touchdowns. But
the relatively low overall rushing tally
(1,276 yards) is not reflective of a weak
line, according to Young. "We're just
passing more," he explained.
igain?
A novelty has been added by Young.
- the shotgun. That's where the quar-
terback takes the snap from a few yar- -
ds back, instead of directly on the ine .
to give the passer more time in the'
pocket. Apparently Young believes it's,
a must. "We use the shotgun because
most teams expect us to pass," he said.
Not much has been made of the Pur-6
due defense, but they've been working -
equally hard. "When you play good de-
fense, you play it with all eleven peo.- ,
pie," Young analyzes. "Defensive staz
tistics really don't tell the whole story' h
sometimes."
Senior Fred Arrington and sopho
more Kevin Motts, two linebackers,
lead the squad with 79 and 70 solo
tackles, respectively. They are tied at,-
138 tackles apiece.
Keena Turner (RE) was last week's
defensive secondary sensation when he ,
picked off a Badger pass at his own 35T
yard line and romped 65 yards for a
Purdue touchdown.,
Leading the Boilermaker kicking
game is Scott Sovereen, a native of
Midland, Michigan. Although he booted
four field goals against Wake Forest
and kicked a 45-yarder in last week's-
game, Young still isn't pleased, "Our;
kicking game is still not consistent."
Before the season started, the WCHA coaches
made their predictions as to the outcome of the 1977-
78 season's title race. The result: Michigan first,
Michigan State last.
With that in mind it would appear the Wolverines,
fresh off an unprecedented sweep at Notre Dame,
are in for some easy pickin's starting tonight at 7:30
at Yost. But don't you believe it.
ALREADY MICHIGAN coach Dan Farrell and
his counterpart at State, Amo Bessone, have uttered
the cliches about disregarding records and getting
ready for some old fashioned fun.
However, it would be to Michigan State's advan-
tage to keep their 2-2 league mark in mind. The
Spartans split at North Dakota and returned to East
Lansing where they divided a pair of games with
Minnesota. They have surprised a lot of people with
their early season success and aren't ready to roll
"We're going down there (to Ann Arbor) with a lot
of spirit. We're going to need a lot of spirit,"
Bessone said.
STATE'S 2-2 'RECORD (2-4 overall) is good
enough for a tie with Wisconsin and North Dakota
for fifth place behind the Wolverines, Colorado
College, Denver and the Gophers, who all own 3-1
league marks.
The Spartans will be looking forsome scoring
punch out of Darryl DiPace who leads the team with
five goals and one assist. He is tied with freshman
Leo Lynett at six points for the team lead in scoring.
But the Spartans will be severely crippled if
defenseman Pat Betterly doesn't suit up for the
series.
"Pat has back spasms," Bessone explained,
"there's a little doubt if he'll go down tomorrow. I
hope he'll be ready. We need his experience."
ONCE AGAIN, a familiar MSU face (or mask)
will be Dave Versical, perhaps the Spartans' best
goalie.
During the 4-3 overtime win over Minnesota, Ver-
sical became Michigan State's premier "stop
leader" with a career total of 2,453 saves.
Even with the likes of Versical, DiPace and
Lynett, Michigan State lacks depth and that could
become a factor in an emotional game.
MORE THAN HALF of Bessone's squad are un-
derclassmen including 10 freshmen. However, they
account for more than half of State's goals and
assists through the first six games this year.
Other Spartans to keep an eye on are Russ Welch,
Ted Huesing and Paul Klasinki, all of whom will
have to have a big year if Michigan State hopes to
improve from last year's ninth-place finish.
Recruit
reports
payoff
By The Associated Press .
ANN ARBOR - Johnny Johnson, a
freshman basketball player here at
Michigan, said yesterday that a
North Carolina State assistanit coach
gave him $200 "for expenses" when
Johnson visited the school while
being recruited.
Asked who the coach was, Johnson
said, "I don't know his name."
Johnson was answering routine
questions about recruiting pressures
d'uring the Wolverines' annual pre-
spason basketball press day.
"Did you ever have any illegal in-
d ceritents from recruiters?" he was
apked,
"Yes, at North Carolina State, they
gave me $200," he said. "It was when
I was getting ready to leave."
He said the coach he claims gave
him money, told him, "This is for
expenses." Asked if that meant for
plane fare and other travel expenses,
Johnson said, "No. That was already
taken care of."
Coach Norm Sloan of North Caro-
lina State wasn't immediately avail-
able for comment. Michigan's re-
cruiting, Johnson said, "was unbe-
lievably straight."
Johnson chose Michigan because of
"academics, good coaching and also
publicity. It is a Big Ten school and is
on TV a lot. It's got good coaching,
and has a good team."
GRID. PICKS
Rumor has it that the sales of those
clip-things that are used to attach ones
mittens to ones coat have skyrocketed.
Supposedly because people are realiz-
ing that they are excellent things with
which to attach ones Gridde Picks.
Get those Gridde Picks in by mid-
night tonight (one does not have to turn
in their clip-things) for a chance to win
a small, two-item Pizza Bob's pizza.
.._.__
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Mel Practuse
Pro-med Student
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MICHIGAN at Purdue
Minnesota at Illinois
Indiana at Ohio State
Iowa at Wisconsin
Northwestern at Michigan State
Harvard at Yale
Southern Cal at Washington
Notre Dame at Clemson
Grambhling at Norfolk State
Auburn at Georgia
Arkansas at Texas A&M
Mississippi'St. at LSU
Oklahoma State at Missouri
Georgia Tech at Navy
New Mexico at Arizona
Colorado at Oklahoma
Kansas at Nebraska
Kentucky at Florida
South Carolina at Wake Forest
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