Saturday, September 11, 1976 THE MICHIGAkN DAILY Page T hree Saturday. vv emb, ,1 1976.THEM.C.. DAILYPage1-r- OFFENSE: Potent squad could demolish opponents By MARK WHITNEY A year ago, the scoop on the Wolverines was that the defense .as as tough as any team around, but the offense was young and inexperienced. This season, the story is re- versed. Coach Bo Schembech- ler's offensive squad lost only three of last year's starters. There is depth and experience at every position. The defense, though, lost six first-stringers, so the pressure will be on the offense to take up the slack. Michigan has always been noted for a powerful running game. In '75, Gordon Bell and Rob Lytle both gained over 1,000 yards, making the Wolver- ines the only team in the na- tion with the distinction of hav- ing two rushers over that mark. This year again, running will be the Blue's bread and but- ter. The speedy Lytle is back at tailback. The 6-1, 195-1b. senior gained 802 yards there as a sophomore before switching to fullback last season while Bell ran from tie tailback position. He is an excellent blocker and can power through a crowd as well as dart around the end. He made honorable mention in the Associated Press 'All- American list, but Schembech- ler thinks he's underrated. "Rob could be the finest back we've had at Michigan in my seven years here," says Schembech- ler. Lytle is not the only hard run- ner in the backfield. Russell Davis, a 6-2, 205-lb. powerful sophomore, looks to start at full- back. Two impressive juniors, Kevin King and Scott Corbin, are behind him. Of couse, navigating the at- tack will be sophomore Rick Leach. The 6-1, 180-lb. native of Flint matured a great deal last year, despite occasional lapses. As one would expect of a good running team, the quar- terback can run also. In '75, the southpaw rushed for 552 yards, often getting important first downs by turning passing situations into ten or fifteen yard gains. Every now and then, Leach would step back into the pocket and let fly. Hurling his unpre- dictable passes in the direction of w i n g b a c k Jim Smith, Leach was erratic throughout his freshman year. Against Stanford, he hit Smith on a 48-yard pass play in the waning moments of the first half to break a scoreless tie. The Leach-Smith Connection al- so set the team record for the longest pass and scoring play of 83 yards. Despite Leach's improvement, inexperience ailed him at times. Against Ohio State, an intercep- tion late in the game set up the Buckeyes' winning touch- down, then another cut off the Wolverines last chance of ty- ing it up. Against Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, things were worse. Michigan did not com- plete a pass until very late in the game, after 15 unsuccess- See MICHIGAN, Page 16 Doily Photo by KEN FINK MICHIGAN TAILBACK ROB LYTLE bulls past an Indiana defender in last year's game. In '75, Lytle played fullback and gained 1040 yards. This season he switches back- to tailback, his posi- tion as a sophomore. Rebuilt unit braced by Morton, O'Neal DEFENSE: By BILL STIEG At Michigan, defense is never neglected. Though less glamor- ous and less renowned, the de- fensive platoons have received a good share of attention in Ain Arbor. The coach, Bo Schembechler, is well - known for his obses- sion with having a tough de- fense above all else. And it's paid off - Michigan's defense has been near the top nation- ally almost every year in Bo's tenure. The defenders have pro- vided Michigan fans with some memorable thrills the last few seasons. In 1973, Don Dufek started the titan- ic struggles with Ohio State by upending Archie Griffin for a loss on the first play. Last year, desperate goal-line stands kept Stanford and Bay- lor from upsetting Michigan. In the championship game with Ohio State, middle guard Tim- my Davis chased Cornelius Greene into his own end zone, like a dog after a squirrel, near- ly causing an interception that would have clinched a Michi- gan win. But now, for the first time in quite a while, Michigan is en- tering a season unsure of its de- fense and quite confident of its offense. It's not that Schembechler has changed his emphasis - it's a matter of personnel. Du- fek and Davis have graduated, along with four other 1975 start- ers. Fortunately, their replace- ments were able to gain some experience during last season. Based on the graduation toll, the secondary will be strong, the linebackers will be excellent, especially Cal- vin O'Neal, and the line, where All - Big Ten Greg Morton plays, will be solid but relatively untested. The Wolverine defensive sec- ondary received substantial cri- ticism on a couple of occasions last year. Their most frustrat- ing game was against Stanford, when a red-hot Mike Cordova hit 24 of 44 passes to lead his team to a 19-19 "upset." Later in the season, Minne- sota's Tony Dungy connected on 17 of 31 tosses in a 28-21 Michigan win. Illinois and Ohio State were less spectacular but still effective through the air. But the secondary was fair. ly inexperienced in '75. With that enlightening season under their belts, the Wolverines could be quite impressive. Three of the four defensive backs return - safety Dwight Hicks and cornerbacks Jim Bolden and Jim Pickens. Re- placing Dufek at wolfback will he Jerry Zuver, a senior with ample experience. Pickens, a speedy converted wingback, finished fourth on the team in total tackles, high- er than any of the others in the defensive backfield. Hicks, another speedster See GAME, Page 17 Daily Photo by KEN FINK BIG CALVIN O'NEAL (96) tries to drag down Indiana's Darrick Burnett in Michigan's 55-7 win last season. O'Neal, an All-Big Ten linebacker, returns this year for his senior year.