Buckeyes wilt 'M' hopes for roses
(Continued from Page 1)
Ohio State inside linebacker Marcus
* Marek, whose performance included a
game-leading 12 solo tackles and one in-
teception. "After we held them to just
a field goal, I knew we were going to do
it. We've never had a better defensive
game since I've been here."
The Michigan defense also performed
well early, holding the Buckeyes
without a first down until 26 seconds
remained in the first quarter. But
during that drive, Schlichter moved his
men 82 yards on 13 plays, capping it off
with a one-yard dive to give Ohio State
a 7-3 lead at the end of the first half.
It's the greatest feeling I've ever
had," said a watery-eyed Schlichter in
the locker room. "It's a great thrill to
finish out my career with a game like
this. We were picked to be the loser and
many thought it was going to be a rout.
You better believe I'm happy.
"The defense just did a super job. My
God, the way they were maligned
earlier, this season, and to come back
the way they did..."
The highlight of the day's Buckeye
defensive showing was when it stopped
Smith on a fourth down-and-inches play
on the Ohio State 39 with less than three
minutes left in the first half.
In all, it was-a less-than-pleasing af-
ternoon for the sophomore signal-
caller.
"I REALLY thought that, if we got
down to the goal line, that we'd be able
to score," said Smith, who completed
only nine of 26 passes with three inter-
ceptions, "We have never been stopped
inside the five-yard line all year. I
really don't know (what went wrong). I
was throwing with my feet not set, and
throwing over people's heads. .The only
pressure I felt is that we had to win in
this game to go to the Rose Bowl. We
moved the ball well - we were down in
their territory six or seven times, but
we couldn't get it in."
Haji-Sheikh field goals of 26 and 23
yards put the Wolverines on top after
the third quarter, and when Brian Car-
penter picked off a Schlichter pass at
the start of the fourth period, things
were looking rosy for Michigan.
But a Butch Woolfolk fumble on the
following play gave the Bucks another
break at the Wolverine 27. Three plays
and four yards later, Atha missed on a
40-yard field goal attempt, and Maize
and Blue fans breathed a collective sigh
of relief.
SMITH TOOK over and engineered a
drive to the Ohio State eight,
highlighted by a third down, 21-yard
reception by Vince Bean. After missing
Carter and Dunaway in the end zone on
successive plays, Smith looked for
Dunaway again in the deep corner. The
ball was tipped by cornerback Shaun
Gayle and fell into the clutches of
defensive back Kelvin Bell.
"When it popped up (the ball), I knew
I was going to catch it," said Bell. "We
train ourselves to catch those kind of
balls."
Schlichter then began his victory
march, the key play coming on a third-
down pass to running back Tim Spencer
which Schlichter threw off balance. A
couple of plays later, Spencer, who led
all rushers with 110 yards, swept
around right end and sped his way 19
- yards to the Michigan nine.
AFTER RUNNING Spencer up the
middle twice for a combined total of
three yards, Schlichter ran the option on
third down. Not able to find a receiver,
Schlichter made an outside cut on two
Michigan defenders and tiptoed into the
end zone for the winning score.
"When I took the snap, I was thinking
passing all the way," said Schlichter.
"But I wasn't going to take a chance
since all we needed was a field goal to
take the lead."
The victory assured the Buckeyes of
a Liberty Bowl bid in which they will
meet Navy.
The Michigan Daily-Sunday. November 22, 1981-Page 9
By GREG DeGULIS
Bus ted opportunities*
... goal line impenetrable
F IRST AND GOAL at the four-yard line. First and 10 at the 13. First and
ten at the 14. First and goal at the eight. Unfortunately for the
Wolverines, these scoring opportunities added up to nine points out of a
possible 28.
"In this game we simply squandered opportunities," said the 8-3 Michigan
coach Bo Schembechler to a room jammed full of reporters after the 14-9 loss
to Ohio State. "This is just like the other games we've lost. In the games
we've lost we squandered opportunities. We just haven't been doing a good
job offensively."
In many Ohio State-Michigan clashes, field position was of the highest
priority. The big game revealed conservative coaching as the two football
giants pushed each other around, waiting for that blocked punt or intercep-
tion to turn the game around.
In yesterday's game, however, field position meant little because
Michigan could not push the pigskin over the goal line. On the first play of the
contest, Anthony Carter sifted through the Buckeye kickoff team for 52 yar-
ds to the Ohio State 48. The result-an interception, an omen of what was to
follow.
An examination of the missed offensive opportunities follows:
First Quarter
First and goal at the four-Edwards up the middle, one yard
Second and goal at the three-Smith pass to Edwards incomplete
Third and goal at the three-rEdwards for one yard
Three points
Third Quarter
First and ten at the 13-Woolfolk for three over left guard
Second and seven at the ten-Edwards for four yards
Third and three at the six-Smith loss of three on option
Three points
3rd Quarter
First and ten at the 14-Woolfolk for four yards
Second and six at the ten-Woolfolk cut back for three
Third and three at the seven-Edwards over right guard for one
Three points
Frustrated by the inability to get into the endzone on the ground, the
strategy dictated an assault through the cold Michigan air. After Bob Atha's
40-yard field goal attempt fell wide right and short, Michigan seized the field
position and marched down the field to the eight-yard line.
First and goal at the eight-Smith pass to Carter, incomplete
Second and goal at the eight-Smith pass to Dunaway, behind the receiver
Third and goal at the eight-Smith pass to Dunaway, intercepted
No points
Why couldn't the Wolverines shatter that drummed-up plane running from
the painted goal line into the infinite gray November sky? "We had a few
breakdowns in communication near the goal line," explained tailback Larry
Ricks. "I thought we should have run more near the goal line; run the option.
Most of our plays near the goal line are audibles and several times we
couldn't hear Smitty (quarterback Steve Smith) down there," the Barber-
ton, Ohio native continued.."He's still a young quarterback. I don't fault him
for the mistakes that he made. We just didn't make the key plays."
Smith, in his first Ohio State game, returned to the statistics more familiar
in the earlier part of the season. Smith underwent an education of sorts in the
first half of the season and his completion percentage hovered around 39
percent..In the last four games, Smith impressed everyone, especially Car-
ter, with a 57.7 percent completion average and nine touchdowns.
Against Ohio State, however, Smith resumed his education with nine com-
pletions in 26 attempts for 136 yards and three interceptions.
"I really thought that if we got down to the goal line that we'd be able to
score," said the sophomore quarterback, sporting bandages on his elbows.
"We have never been stopped inside the five-yard line all year."
"We had the intensity, but we didn't execute," said senior fullback Stan
Edwards. "We knew we could move on Ohio State. Their defense rose to the
occasion."
Blue Bonnet blues
RUSHING
First Downs. .
Rushing.........
Passing ...........
Penalties ..........
Rushing Yardage ..
Passing
(att/comp/int)..
Passing Yards .....
Fumbles (no/loss) .
Punts (no/avg) ....
MICH
20
8
1
235
26/9/3
,136
1/1
1/20.0
OsU
15
8
7
0
139,
24/12/2
131
1/0
5/39.8
Woolfolk.......
Smith .........
Edwards ........
Ricks...........
Spencer .........
Broadnax .......
Schlichter .......
J. Gayle........
Daily Photo by KIM HILL
MICHIGAN DEFENSIVE back Keith Bostic (13) is getting the heave ho
from Buckeye fullback Vaughn Broadnax (38), as Art Schlichter (10)
unleashes one of his 24 pass attempts yesterday.
Sm ith has rough day
Owtha OSU defense
SCORING
MICHIGAN ......................3
Ohio State ........................0
SCORING PLAYS
MICH-Haji-Sheikh 19 yd. FG
OSU-Schlichter 1 yd. run (Atha kick)
MICH-Haji-Sheikh 26 yd. FG
MICH-HIaji-She(kh 23 yd. FG
OSU-Schlichter 6 yd. run (Atha kick)
0
7
6 0-9
0 7-14
MICHIGAN
Att Yds
19 84
12 60
14 52
6 3-5.
OHIO STATE
25 110
3 12
8 15
3 -5
RECEIVING
MICHIGAN
Rec Yds
4 52
3 61
2 23
OHIOSTATE
7 68
2 27
2 26
1 10
Avg
4.4
5.0
3.7
5.8
4.4
4.0
1.1
-2.5
Carter........
Bean.........
Dunaway ........
Frank ...........
Anderson.......
Williams ......
Spencer .......
TD
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
PASSING
PUNTING
By BUDDY MOOREHOUSE
Eleven weeks ago, Steve Smith began
his career as Michigan's starting quar
terback with a performance that
left quite a bit to be desired. In a 21-14
loss to Wisconsin, Smith threw 18
passes and completed six of them -
three to his team and three to Badger
safety Matt Vanden Boom.
But in the games that followed, Smith
started to give reason to believe that the
was becoming the type of consistently
good player that Michigan coach Bo
Schembechler hoped he would. En-
tering yesterday's contest against Ohio
State, Smith had completed 79 of 169
passes for 1,373 yards - a 46.7 percent
completion rate. And after his three-
interception performance on opening
day, the sophomore from Grand Blanc
only had five passes picked off in the
next nine games.
AGAINST THE Buckeyes, Smith was
facing a defensive secondary that
ranked dead last among all Division I
college football teams when it came to
stopping the pass. Opposing teams
were averaging 290.2 yards through the
air against Ohio State and in the last
three games, Buckeye defenders had
allowed 516 yards passing to Purdue,
444 to Minnesota, and 339 to North-
western. With Smith improving every
week and wide receiver Anthony Carter
getting into the offensive groove, it
looked as though the Wolverines would
have a field day passing.
But instead of ripping apart the
Buckeye secondary, Smith once again
caused the fans to wonder which team
would catch more of his passes. The 6-
0, 191-pounder attempted 26 passes in
the 14-9 loss to Ohio State, nine of which
were caught by his teammates and
three of which were picked off by the
Buckeyes' much-maligned secondary.
" I didn't throw the ball real well,"
Smith said in the locker room after the
game. "I really don't know why. I was
throwing with my feet not set, and
throwing over people's heads."
IT WAS SMITH'S worst performance
since the 9-7 Wolverine loss to Iowa five
weeks ago, when he completed just six
of 20 attempts for 108 yards. What hurt
Smith the most yesterday was his
inability to move the offense into the
end zone. The Wolverines got the ball
inside the Ohio State 10-yard line on
four occasions, but were unable to score
a touchdown each time.
"We moved the ball well," said
Smith. "We just couldn't -get it in. I
really thought that if we got down to the
goal line, that we'd be able to score. We
have never been stopped inside the five-
yard line all year."
Despite Smith's relatively poor
outing, Schembechler did not lay blame
for the loss on his sophomore signal-
caller. "There are a lot of other factors
involved," said the Michigan coach.
"You take your choice, - the coach, the
quarterback, or whatever."
ALTHOUGH CARTER had an out-
standing day returning punts and
kickoffs (37 yards in punt returns and
117 on kickoffs), the junior speedster
only grabbed four of Smith's tosses
yesterday, accounting for 52 yards.
Split end Vince Bean caught three
aerials for, 61 yards while tight end
Craig Dunaway hauled in two passes
for 23 yards
One of Smith's interceptions came in
the fourth quarter, when Michigan was
at the Ohio State eight-yard line. Smith
threw to Dunaway in the corner of the
end zone, but Buckeye safety Kevin
Bell moved in and caught the ball as he
was falling. "That was just a fluke
play," said Smith. "There's nothing you
can do about it."
As for the season which saw Michigan
ranked first in the country (prior to its
losing two of its first three Big Ten games)
Smith said, "We didn't live up to our
expectations. But if you take away five
mistakes (in the three losses), we'd be
11-0 right now."
MICHIGAN
Att Comp Int Yds TD
Smith............26 9 3 136 0
OHIO STATE
Schlichter........24 12 2 131 0
Bracken........
Edwards......
MICHIGAN'
No Yds
1 20
OHIO STATE
5 199
Avg
20.0
39.8
BIG TEN R OUND UP:
Ha~wksg
IOWA CITY (AP)- Phil Blatcher
rushed for a career high 247 yards and'
scored two touchdowns as 19th-ranked
Iowa defeated Michigan State 36-7 in
Big Ten Conference-football yesterday
to earn its first trip to the Rose Bowl in1
23 years.1
The Iowa victory, coupled with Ohio
State's 14-9 decision over Michigan,
made the Hawkeyes and Buckeyes co-
champion of the Big Ten.
IOWA BECOMES the Big Ten's
representative in the Rose Bowl
because Ohio State has been there more
recently, going two years ago.
Iowa, which finishes 8-3 for the
regular season and 6-2 in the conferen-
ce, last played in the Rose Bowl
following the 1958 season.
Indiana 20, Purdue 17
BLOOMINGTON (AP)- Indiana's
20-17 victory over Purdue, coming on
Doug Smith's tie-breaking 39-yard field
goal yesterday, "makes up for all the
Big Ten Standings
Conf. Overall
W L W L
rab
rNoses
Sunday mornings when I felt like not
coaching any more," said a jubilant
Hoosier football coach Lee Corso.
"It was a great win for us," Corso
said. "There was lots of emotion out
there. It was a classic game. I take
great pride in the way we played, and I
hope it's a good start for next year."
Wisconsin 26, Minnesota 21
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)- Backup
quarterback Randy Wright came off
the bench to complete four of five
passes for 82 yards and the winning
touchdown as Wisconsin edged Min-
nesota 26-21 yesterday in a Big Ten
football game.
AFTER LEADING the entire game,
Wisconsin, 7-4 overall and 6-3 in the Big
Ten, fell behind 21-20 early in the fourth
quarter on the second touchdown pass
of the game from Gopher quarterback
Mike Hohonsee to Chester Cooper.
But Wright, replacing starter Jess
Cole with 1:54 left to play, completed
four consecutive passes, including the
7-yard scoring pass with 1:05 left to
Michael Jones. Wright and Jones set up
the winning score by combining for a
49-yard pass to the Gopher 19.
Illinois 49, Northwestern 12
EVANSTON (AP)- Tony Eason
hurled three touchdown passes yester-
day giving him a Big Ten season record
of 20 and led Illinois to a 49-12 victory
over winless Northwestern in a record-
smashing aerial contest.
Iowa ...........
Ohio State........
MICHIGAN.......
Illinois .............
Wisconsin ..........
Minnesota........
Michigan State .....
Purdue .............
Indiana.........
Northwestern ......
2
2
3
3
3
5
5
6
6
9
8
8
8
7
7
5
5
5
2
0
3
3
3
4
4
6
6
6
9
11
Daiv rnoto ov RMA SC
ANTHONY CARTER is about to be gang tackled by four Ohio State defen-
semen. The Michigan wide receiver caught four passes yesterday for a total
of 52 yards.
'Big Two'
lfresh fae
By MARK MIHANOVIC
It has taken a long time, but a member of "The Little
Eight" has finally supplanted "The Big Two" as the Mid-
west's representative to the Rose Bowl. Not since 1967, when
Indiana lost to Southern Cal, 14-3, in Pasadena, has someone
other than Michigan and Ohio State participated in the bowl
classic, but on January 1, the Iowa Hawkeyes, who ripped
Michigan State, 36-7, yesterday, will carry the Big Ten flag
versus Washington, a 23-10 winner over Washington State.
And Michigan, which fought back from two conference
losses only to lose, 14-9, to the arch-rival Buckeyes yesterday,
preventing its fifth Rose Bowl appearance in six years, will
be migrating south instead. The Wolverines, ironically, face
Pac-10 opposition anyway, namely the UCLA Bruins, on New
Year's Eve in the Bluebonnet Bowl at Houston's
Astrodome. Needless to say, no mention of another bowl could
While the Wolverines will need time for their bruises to
heal and minds to focus on the finale in the Astrodome, Blue
Bonnett representatives displayed immediate pleasure with
their Texas Rose Bowl, another Big Ten versus Pac-10
showdown-and one which could spark more interest than
the real thing in Pasadena.
"I THINK WE'VE got the best bowl in the country, mat-
chup-wise," said Charlyn Nance, an administrative assistant
in the Bluebonnet office. "We're going to have two high-
ranking teams here. It turned out exactly the way we wanted
it to."
For its efforts in upsetting Michigan, Ohio State receives
the dubious honor of a spot opposite Navy in the Liberty Bowl
in Memphis, Tenn.
Most of the other bowl slots were filled by late last night
also, as yesterday was the earliest time that the bowls could
dkk ti
AXII
Ir",