4
Page 8 - The Michigan Daily -
Sugar not sweet for
(Continued from Page 1)
"It's hard to believe that we held
them to three field goals and still didn't
win," said Michigan defensive back
Tony Gant.
DEFENSIVE lineman Mike Ham-
merstein also said it took a while before
he realized that Michigan might lose.
"It was frustrating," Hammerstein
said. "I never thought we'd lose until
that field goal. I thought we could stop
them (on the final drive), but we
didn't."
Just as Hammerstein was confident
that the stingy Michigan defense could
pull out the win, Auburn noseguard
Dowe Aughtman watched nervously
from the sideline fearful that the
Wolverine stop troops would find a way
to divert Del Greco's short field goal.
"I WAS pretty pessimistic about that
field goal," Aughtman said. "So many
things had gone wrong for us I knew
there was some way that he wasn't
going to make it, and it was agony stan-
ding there and not being able to do
anything about it."
But make it Del Greco did, and it was
the Wolverines who were left to
agonize. Nonetheless, the team was
able to take solace in the impressive
performance by the defense.
"The defense played outstanding,"
said Michigan head coach Bo Schem-
bechler. "We got some kids to believe
thay could slow this team down and to
play as hard as they could. It was
nothing revolutionary. The defense
was under constant seige and it held
up.
ALTHOUGH Auburn running backs
go Jackson. (the game's Most Valuable
Player) Tommie Agee and Lionel
James rushed for 130, 93 and 83 yards
respectively, the Tigers were not able
to crack the Wolverine end zone.
"That was one of the best defensive
games we've ever played," said Gary
Moeller, Michigan defensive coor-
dinator and assistant head coach.
"Holding an offense like that ;to nine
points is a feat."
Said linebacker Rodney Lyles, "I feel
we did a great job. We wanted to hold
them to 13 points, that was our goal."
It was an evening where defensive
goals were to be reached and offensive
pre-game hopes were not met.
MICHIGAN quarterback Steve Smith
capped a 63-yard drive with a four-yard
touchdown run to give the Wolverines a
7-0 lead with 7:30 left in the first quar-
ter, but from then on they let numerous
opportunities slip through their fingers.
Passes were dropped, penalties came
at inopportune times and excellent field
position was squandered.
"We kept stopping ourselves with
penalties and we didn't block well
enough so we could run and slow down
the pass rush," Schembechler said.
A key point in the game came early in
the second quarter when Michigan let a
golden opportunity go by the wayside.
The Wolverines led 7-0 when Auburn's
James fumbled a punt and the
Wolverines' Kerry Smith recovered at
the Tigers' 13-yard line. On second and
17 after a Wolverine penalty, Smith
went back to pass and was hit by
Auburn's John Dailey causing a fumble
which Aughtman recovered. Or was it
a fumble?
"I WAS definitely throwingthe ball,"
Smith said. "It wasn't a fumble."
In addition to constant pressure from
a ferocious Auburn pass rush, Smith
was hampered by a swollen finger
which he hurt in the first quarter.
"I think it was a little bit of a factor,"
said Smith who completed nine of 25
passes for 125 yards and one intercep-
tion. "I lost some of the feeling when it
got hit in the first period. It didn't ef-
fect me that much. We just didn't play
well. But when you lose the feeling it
has an effect. I couldn't throw a spiral
to save my life."
AFTER DEL Greco's field goal put
Auburn ahead for the first time all
game in the final seconds, Smith was
able to make things rather exciting and
a wee bit uncomfortable for the Tiger
faithful.
Evan Cooper returned the ensuing
kickoff to the 15-yard line. Smith then
completed a pass to Vince Bean to the
36. Then, with 10 seconds left to play,
Smith hit Markray with a short pass
and the receiver got all the way down to
the Auburn 25-yard line where he step-
ped out of bounds hoping to kill the
clock with time left for a field goal at-
tempt. But by the time he reached the
sideline the clock showed 0:00 and a
miracle Michigan win was not to be.
"I looked up and hoped there was one
second so we could kick it and win,"
Schembechler said.
Schembechler's wish was not granted
which was just fine with Auburn's
Aughtman.
"WHEN HE stepped out of bounds, I
looked up at the clock," Aughtman
said. "That 0:00 was the best thing I've
ever seen on a football field."
Auburn head coach Pat Dye was
overjoyed just to escape with victory.
"I'm really very humble right now,"
Dye said. "I'm not so sure I hadn't
rather been playing Nebraska or Miami-
than Michigan the way they were
playing. Coach Schembechler had
them ready. They played like we felt
they wbuld coming into the ballgame.
They played good enough to deserve
better."
Daily Photo by BRIAN MASCK
Steve Smith collides with Auburn linebacker Jim Bone.
I ~ I
Ron Pollack
Who's number one?.. .
...One Bo cares, one doesn't
Michigan football
I
NEW ORLEANS
The Miami Hurricanes, who Michigan plays in its
season opener next September, may be number one
in the polls, but they most definitely aren't the coun-
try's top team in the minds of the Auburn Tigers.
As far as the Tigers' players and coaches are con-
cerned, the fact that they entered the bowl season
ranked third, coupled with losses by top-ranked
Nebraska and number-two Texas, makes them the
rightful national champions. That, and the fact that
they excelled despite a devastating schedule.
"I JUST happened to have some figures here, and
they say that our opponents had a higher winning
percentage than anybody else," said Auburn head
coach Pat Dye. "Because of that, we should be the
number-one team in the country.
"It's cut and dried," Dye continued. "If they are
going to have a number-one football team in
America, and it's going to have any credability at all
- if there is any credability in scheduling - then
there's no way Auburn shouldn't be number one.
"I don't know what you've got to do to win a
Auburn played this year. We should be number one."
AUBURN RUNNING back Bo Jackson, who was
the game's Most Valuable Player, also feels his team
was slighted by the polls.
"Going into the game we were the number-three
team in the nation," Jackson said. "The top two
teams lost so we should be the number-one team in
the nation."
Al Del Greco, who kicked the game's winning field
goal, conceded that Miami was worthy of con-
sideration, but still felt that Auburn deserved to be
national champions.
"I SAY we're the best team in the nation," Del
Greco said. "We played the toughest schedule in the
nation, but if Miami beats Nebraska (which it did, 31-
30), they have a legitimate gripe."
Not everyone in New Orleans felt that Auburn
deserved to be national champions, though. Casting
an unofficial vote for the Hurricanes was Michigan
linebacker Rodney Lyles.
"Auburn is a good team, but Miami seems to have
done a number on Nebraska," Lyles said.
MICHIGAN HEAD coach Bo Schembechler,
meanwhile, sits on neither side of the fence.
"As long as Michigan is not number one, which
we're not, I don't care who's number one," he said.
As well as the Michigan defense played against
Auburn, it would probably have been even more im-
pressive were it not for the offense.
"THE PROBLEM is we left the defense on the field
too long," Schembechler said. "You can't play
defense the rest of your life without a break. The
defense played well enough to win. The offense didn't
quite."
Said quarterback Steve Smith, "I think our defense
played great. They shut them down. If we moved on
offense, Auburn wouldn't even have gotten nine poin-
ts.
*
*
*
The loss was an unhappy way for Smith to end a
record-setting college career.
"I'M A little disappointed," Smith said. "We had a
great opportunity to win but didn't, basically because
of the offense and I'm an integral part of the offense
so I almost feel as though I lost the game."
Smith, who injured his right index finger in the first
quarter of the game, only completed nine of 25
passes, but had a number of his tosses dropped.
national championship. But you can c
history and nobody played a tougher s
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VIOLA TIONS FOUND IN INVESTIGA TIONS:
NCAA to charge Illinois football
fis ISeeI
By LARRYMISHKIN
Blue defense sweet ..
Sbut 9-7 hard to swallow:
"War 'Damn' Eagles!"
That was the Auburn battle cry that constantly echoed off the walls of the
French Quarter in New Orleans over the New Year's weekend much
to the delight of the countless number of Auburn rooters
who had made the trek from Toomer's Corner to Bourbon Street for the 50th
annual Sugar Bowl.
For the few Michigan fans though, who were lucky enough to escape the
artic-like midwest winter for the coldest week in Louisiana history, the cry
became as annoying as the daily news headlines pointing out the unusually
inclement weather.
There was nothing that could be done about the cold, but those War 'Damn'
Eagles, or damn War Eagles, had to be stopped.
That's what still hurts so much about Michigan's 9-7 loss Monday night.
Not the defeat itself but the fact that those War Eagle,' or Tiger or Plain-
smen fans still think their offense is the greatest thing to happen to the south
since the saying"'Ya'll" was created.
On the street of the French Quarter, in the courtyard of Pat O'Brien's and
even in the fancy shmancy restaurants, normally known for their stuffy and
quiet atmosphere, one was always being treated to a round of "Hey, yall
from Miiichigan? Well our ol' War 'Damn' Eagles and good ole boy Bo
Jackson are gonna thrash your hides in that there Sugar Bowl game."
However, the Auburn fans, although full of football spirit, as well as some
other spirits, didn't know not/tin about football tradition or else they might
have heard of a more famous Bo and his reputation for stopping running of-
fenses.
This game was tailor-made for a Schembechler defense. He knew Auburn
was going to run, Auburn knew Auburn was going to run, and all 77,893 fans
in the Superdome knewAuburn was going to run. No need to worry about the
pass, just butt heads and grind it out in the trenches.
And as far as the trenches were concerned Michigan won the game, at
least defensively. Sure Auburn rushed for 301 yards and Jackson had 130
yards, but boy did the Wolverine defensive corps do a number on those War
Eagles. Auburn was heldwithout a touchdown for the first time all year and
won the game because its defense was just as aggressive as Michigan's.
Unfortunately for the Wolverines, some key penalties, numerous dropped
. passes, and a dog-tired defense that was on the field fifteen minutes longer
than Auburn's, all contributed to the final score that showed the War Eagles
as the winners.
But in the hearts of the Michigan fans and the Wolverine defensive
players, the score was as phony as the supposedly neutral Superdome an-
nouncer who announced each Auburn play as though he were right there in
the stands with his War 'Damn' Eagles button on.
When asked what his team's defensive strategy was going into the game,
Michigan defensive back Brad Cochran, who had an interception and a fum-
ble recovery, replied, "To try and stop them." And then in a lower, more
emotional voice, with an ice pack held to his injured jaw he said, "and we did
stop them."
One could sense the sadness in Cochran's voice as he realized that what
was perhaps Michigan's finest defensive effort in a few years would go un-
noticed.
And he was right. The sportswriters, having already heralded Jackson as
the next Herschel Walker, voted him the game's MVP to save face despite
his inauspicious performance. But even worse, all those damn War 'Damn'
Eagle fans headed over to the French Quarter to celebrate and to wait for
the final polls that they felt should proclaim their team the new national
champion.
Oh well, things could have been worse. just ask any Illinois fan.
4
Parfait
coupon valid after 2 pm
while supplies last
offer expires 1-12-84
UNION-
Ground Floor
CHAMPAIGN (AP)-Following a
wide-ranging investigation into
recruiting practices at Illinois, the
NCAA is expected to charge the football
program with violating its guidelines,
university officials acknowledged
yesterday.
The NCAA charges would be directed
to UI Chancellor John Cribbet. His
receipt of that letter would mean the
NCAA's case leaves the preliminary
inquiry stage-where it has been for
two years-and any charges become of-
ficial.
UI Athletic Director Neale Stoner in-
dicated the investigation originated
following the well publicized campus
visit of two prospective junior college
transfer students from California.
MSU 73, Iowa 72
EAST LANSING (UPI) - Freshman
guard Darryl Johnson hit a 12-foot tur-
naround jump shot with seven seconds
remaining to give Michigan State a 73-
72 victory over 17th-ranked Iowa last
night.
The game, which matched the pre-
season favorites for the Big Ten cham-
pionship, was the 1984 conference
opener. Both Michigan Stae and Iowa
are 7-3 overall.
Grapplers fall
Lock Haven State stormed passed the
Michigan wrestling team last night 28-
12, losing only three matches in the
process.
Michigan wrestler Joe McFarland
turned in a superior decision on a 24-6
score over Lock Haven's Matt Avery,
and 190 pounder Kirk Trost earned a 16-
8 major decision for the Wolverines
over Ty Hall. Ray Yerkes was the other
Michigan victor, winning his first var-
sity match 9-4 over Greg Wykoff of
Lock Haven. -Steve Hunter
Indiana names football coach
BLOOMINGTON (AP)-Bill Mallory
of Northern Illinois University was
named football coach at Indiana
University yesterday, Athletic Director
Ralph Floyd announced.
Mallory, 48, compiled a 99-50-1 record
in 14 years as coach at Miami of Ohio,
Colorado and Northern Illinois.
Panthers grab 9 ''Fgridders
Nine Wolverines were selected by the
Michigan Panthers in the USFL
territorial draft yesterday.
Among the draftees were quarter-
back Steve Smith, wide receiver Vince
Bean, linebackers Mike Boren, Tom
Hassel, and Rodney Lyles, punter Don
Bracken, tight end Milt Carthens, and
defensive backs Evan Cooper and John
Lott.
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WHEN AVAILABLE
-December, 1983
-January, 1984
WHO MAY APPLY
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