Page 12-Friday, November 20, 1981-The Michigan Daily
e
life:
fter the comeback
Buckeyes have QB advantage;
Michigan running game superior
It is no accident that Michigan and Ohio State
have engaged in such dramatic struggles over the
years; the quality of the individual match-ups
between the two squads has made it inevitable.
Daily Sports Editor Mark Mihanovic briefly
analyzes how the 1981 Wolverines and Buckeyes
compare, position by position.
OFFENSE
QUARTERBACK--Art Schlichter, having his best
year in an Ohio State uniform, poses big problems for
the Wolverine defense with his cannon arm and his
ability to get out of the pocket and move upfield.
Michigan's Steve Smith possesses similar versatility,
but the inconsistency that has plagued him through much
of the season makes him a question mark in The Big
Game. Schlichter has been there-many times. Big
Edge-Ohio State.
RUNNING BACKS-Both teams work their tailbacks
hard, and with good reason. His output has fallen off
in recent weeks, but Butch Woolfolk (1,189 yards) is a
big-game runner, and this is the biggest of 'games.
The Buckeye tailback tandem of Tim Spencer (1,011
,yards) and Jimmy Gale (649) is equally dangerous,
however. At fullback, Michigan's Stanley Edwards
has only totalled 385 yards. He has not been tackled
behind the line of scrimmage once all year, though,
- and he is a more explosive weapon than the Bucks'
Vaughn Broadnax. Edge-Michigan.
OFFENSIVE LINE-Everyone talks about the size
of the Wolverine forward wall, but Ohio State's is
almost as big. The Buckeyes start a pair of
sophomores, William Roberts and Scott Zakenski, on
the left side of the line; center Jim DeLeone (a 5-10,
220-pound senior) and junior right guard Joe Lukens
(6-4, 264) are the standouts. Michigan's Kurt Becker
and Bubba Paris have matched their 1980 perfor-
mances, which is to say they have been excellent.
Center Tom Dixon and guard Stefan Humphries are
not George Lilja and John Powers, and Ed Muransky
has been plagued by holding penalties; thus, the Blue'
unit is not as dominant as it was one year ago. Ohio
State is better up front than it was in '80, on the other
hand, especially at protecting their quarterback.
Slight edge-Michigan.
RECEIVERS-Gary Williams (46 catches for 854
yards) and Cedric Anderson (24 receptions, 480 yar-
ds) have compensated for the graduation of Doug
Donley without missing a beat. Williams last week
became Ohio State's leading career receiver with 110
catches. Anthony Carter is the best of the bunch, of
course. If Smith gets him the ball, he can dominate a
game like few wide receivers ever have. Michigan
still lacks another big threat, though; sophomore
Vince Bean, though becoming a larger factor in the
offense, has not proven that he can consistently catch
the important ball. As a result, the heat will be on
Carter throughout the afternoon. At tight end, Ohio
State's John Frank is more active than Norm Betts or
Craig Dunaway. Frank's 35 catches is plenty of in-
dication that Schlichter will go to him, and often.
Slight edge-Ohio State.
DEFENSE
DEFENSIVE LINE-The Buckeye pass defense has
yielded 290 yards per game, and part of the reason is
the lack of a consistent pass rush. Size is abundant at
the tackle spots, with 6-3, 255-pound Jerome Foster
and 6-6, 252-pound Chris Riehm manning the posts.
Michigan has not been established up front all
campaign. Bo Schembechler relies on two freshmen,
Mike Hammerstein and Al Sincich, at middle guard.
If Winfred Carraway plays at full strength,
Michigan's defensive line could make a difference.
Even.
LINEBACKERS-The Wolverine quartet of Paul
Girgash, Mike Boren, Robert Thompson, and Ben
Needham has performed adequately, but there is no
Andy Cannavino-type leader. Ohio State does have an
individual to rally around in 6-2, 222-pound junior in-
side linebacker Marcus Marek, who leads Ohio State
with 128 st9ps. Glen Cobb is another reason for the
Buckeyes' 82.9 yards-against-rushing average.
Neither linebacking unit is strong versus the pass.
Slight edge-Michigan.
DEFENSIVE BACKS-Three sophomores ana a,
freshman explains a great deal of the trouble which
the Buckeyes have encountered when faced with the
Big Ten's better quarterbacking arms. Smith and
Carter could have a lot of fun tomorrow if the Blue
signal-caller is as effective at reading defenses
against the Buckeyes as he has been the past few
weeks. The Michigan secondary, after a shaky and
injury-riddled start in 1981, shut down Tony Eason in
the second half two weeks ago and stifled Scott Cam-
pbell last week. Jerry Burgei is a very solid
replacement for the injured Marion Body.
Edge-Michigan.
KICKING AND SPECIAL TEAMS-Both Michigan
and Ohio State traditionally field strong speciail
teams, and 1981 is no exception. The elusiveness of
Carter is all-important here-give him a block, and
he's gone. Ali-Haji Sheikh has had a poor year (three
for eight in field goal attempts), and his confidence is
certainly not at the level it was one year ago. Bob
Atha is 12 for 16 in field goals, including four boots of
45 yards or better. Don Bracken's punting average of
44.3 yards betters the 40.0 yard mark of Atha's. It is
difficult to determine whether Carter's return ability
or Atha's kicking edge will make the difference.
Even.
IT WILL BE the veteran versus the kid at the quarterback position tomor-
row. The veteran, Ohio State senior Art Schlichter (left), will be starting his
fourth consecutive Michigan-OSU game. His counterpart will be Wolverine
sophomore Steve Smith (right), in his first season as Michigan's starting
signal-caller.
'
I5 msemmnasa
The coache
Bo Schembechler (at Michigan)-122-23-3 (vs. OSU)-6-5-1
Earle Bruce (at Ohio State-27-7 (vs. Michigan)-1-1
... .. . . . . . i i } s i " J. . . . . . . . .
Bo and-
Bucks
.
r
s
M-OSU game a grid wa
During one of his football broad-
casts, the late Bob Ufer once said,
"If it must be war, then let's fight it
out on the footballfield."
Since 1897 the Michigan
Wolverines and Ohio State
Buckeyes have engaged in one long
gridiron war and the intensity of
play in the overriding majority of
battles has been at such a high level
that many feel it is college football's
greatest rivalry.
There certainly has not been a let-
down in the quality of the series
during Bo Schembechler's 13-year
tenure as head coach of the
Wolverines. In every sense of the
word, Michigan vs. Ohio State has
established itself as a classic mat-
chup, and Daily Associate Sports
Editor Drew Sharp takes a quick
look at what happened when the
two teams bucked heads during each
of the Schembechler years.
1969-
Michigan 24, Ohio State 12
In what might have been the biggest
upset in Michigan football history,
Schembechler capped off a fine rookie
season when his Wolverines shut down
the top-ranked and undefeated
Buckeyes.
1970-
Ohio State 20, Michigan 9
The Buckeyes enjoyed this much-
savored triumph over the Wolverines,
which provided sweet revenge after the
Blue victory the previous year.
1971-
Michigan 10, Ohio State 7
The Wolverines already had the Rose
Bowl berth secured, but they would not
allow Ohio State to slip by them. The
Bucks held a 7-3 advantage going into
the final quarter, but tailback Billy.
Taylor scored on a touchdown scamper
with just two minutes remaining to give
the Wolverines the victory.
1972-
Ohio State 14, Michigan 11
The Buckeye defense stopped the
Wolverines at the goal line in two
separate series to preserve the win.
1973-
Michigan 10, Ohio State 10
In what was probably the most con-
troversial of the Wolverine-Buckeye
showdowns, Michigan kicker Mike Lan-
try muffed two field goal opportunities
which would have given Michigan the
advantage. Quarterback Dennis
Franklin engineered a fourth-quarter
touchdown drive to knot the game at 10.
On the march, however, Franklin suf-
fered a broken collarbone. When the
conference athletic directors voted to
send the Buckeyes to represent the Big
Ten in the Rose Bowl, it was widely
reported that Franklin's injury was a
deterring factor.
1974-
Ohio State 12, Michigan 10
In a game where kicking dominated,
the Bucks' Tom Klaban boomed four
field goals to provide the Ohio State
points. Lantry one again failed to con-
vert on the crucial three-pointer 'which
would have vaulted Michigan to vic-
tory. His 33-yard attempt sailed to the
left of the goalpoasts as time expired.
1975-
Ohio State 21, Michigan 14
It appeared that freshman Rick
Leach had led the Wolverines to victory
in the fourth quarter, but two quick
Buckeye scores earned Ohio State"
another trip to Pasadena.
1976-
Michigan 22, Ohio State.0
The last time Michigan shut out the
Bucks was in 1964, 10-0. Behind Rlob
Lytle's 165 rushing yards, the
Wolverines had no problems dipsosing
of Ohio State.
1977-
Michigan 14, Ohio State 6
The Buckeyes dominated the garie'in
terms of total yardage, but they were
not able to come up with the big play
when needed. Michigan touchdowns by
Leach and running back Roosevelt:
Smith provided the cushion for victory.
1978-
Michigan 14, Ohio State, 3
The Wolverine defense once agaid
kept the Buckeyes out of the end zone
for the third consecutive year. Leach
touchdown passes to Smith and oide
receiver Rodney Feaster gve,
Michigan the needed scoring. x
1979-
Ohio State 18, Michigan 15'
The kicking game had been the down
fall of the Wolverines all season long
Buckeye . cornerback Todd Bell
recovered a Bryan Virgil blocked punt'
in the end zone for the go-ahead touch
down. Ohio State, led by sophomore
sensation quarterback Art Schlichter,
went into the showdown ranked second
in the nation and, undefeated.
1980-
Michigan 9, Ohio State 3
The Wolverine defense, which com+
pleted the 1980 season without allowing
a touchdown in its last 22 quarters, shut
down Schlichter, while tailback Butes
Woolfolk romped for 141 yards. The
only touchdown came on a John
" Wangler-Anthony Carter connection in
the third quarter.
OHIO STATE defenders block a Bryan Virgil punt in the 1979 game. The ball was recovered by Buckeye cornerback
Todd Bell in the end zone for the winning Ohio State touchdown. The Bucks won, 18-15.
OSU game is final home
stand for 20 'M' seniors
By BUDDY MOOREHOUSE
When the final gun sounds tomorrow
signalling the end of the Michigan-Ohio
State game, 20 seniors on the Wolverine
squad will have played their last game
in Michigan Stadium.
"It'll be kind of sad," admitted Tony
Jackson, a native of Cleveland and the
starting free safety for Michigan. "But
I'll try not to think about that. I just
want to go out and play. The Ohio State
game is always the biggest game of the
year.",
FOUR OFFENSIVE and four defen-
sive starters are among the seniors that
will be completing their career on the
Tartan Turf tomorrow. On offense, the
Wolverines will be losing guard Kurt
Becker and tackle Bubba Paris from
the line and fullback Stan Edwards and
tailback Butch Woolfolk, the leading
rusher in the school's history, from the
backfield.
For Edwards, a fifth-year man from
Detroit, the final game in front of home
fans is quite important. "This is the
game we look forward to all year," said
Edwards. "Especially when it means a
trip to the Rose Bowl. It will be a
typical Michigan-Ohio State game, a
knock-down, drag-it-out game. Playing
at home is an advantage, but we could
play Ohio State on the moon and it
would be a good game."
The seniors on the offensive squad
are considered by many to be one of the
finest groups to come out of Michigan in
years. Becker, Paris, and Woolfolk
were all named to at least one pre-
-... - A ll ain mAnd it.z Ia
kind of disappointed. We wanted to go
undefeated and finish number one."
Despite the two losses the Wolverines
have suffered in the Big Ten, however,
they need only a win over Ohio State
tomorrow to make a return trip to the
Rose Bowl. "We can still accomplish
our main goal," said Jackson. "That's
always our goal-to win the conference
championship and go to the Rose
Bowl."
MICHIGAN COACH Bo Schem-
bechler credited his squad's ability to
come back from those losses and com-
pete for the league title to the leader-
ship of the seniors. "I never expected
us to fold," said Schembechler. "I
think that our character and good
leadership from our seniors kept us in
it."
In addition to the eight starters that
will be gone after this season, the other
departing seniors are split end Fred
Br.ockington, linebacker Mike Czar-
nntan nit u. ak 14, _1T n av miar-
-
. .. x, .....u