Page 8 - The Michigan Daily - Sunday, October 14, 1984
Rein rises to spark
(Continued from Page 1)
Wolverine slaughter
when Wildcat quarterback Mike Green-
field threw an interception to Erik
Campbell on Northwestern's very next
possession. Campbellreturned the ball
16 yards giving Michigan possession at
the Wildcat 26.
The Wolverines needed only four
downs to score again as Rein threaded
a perfect five-yard bullet to tight end
Eric Kattus for the touchdown.
"WE PLAYED a good first half,"
said Schembechler who admitted that
he wanted to see his offense play. a
similar second half.
Instead, Jamie Morris returned the
second-balf kick-off 80 yards to the Nor-
Morris-to reach the end zone.
only four downs - three Rogers rushes
and a five-yard touchdown run by
Morris - to reach the end zone.
Leading by 31, Schembechler wat-
ched his offense grind to a halt. "I
would have preferred an 80-yard drive
to the long return," said Schembechler
smiling. "We got up by 31 points, then I
think we lost our concentration."
ALTHOUGH the Wolverine offense
slowed down as the game wore on, the
defense got stronger throughout. Nor-
thwestern had 11 possessions in the
game and was forced to punt eight'
times. Twice, the Wildcats ended drives
after failing on fourth down, and they
missed the-one field goal attempt.
"They played extremely well defen-
sively," said Wildcat head coach Den-
nis Green, "especially when you con-
sider that (Kevin) Brooks, one of their
top players, one of the top players in the
league, was not in there today." Brooks
missed the game with a knee injury.
Michigan sacked Greenfield, *vho
played in place of the injured Sandy
Schwab, five times for losses of 40 yar-
ds and held the poor Wildcat rushing at-
tack to 2.1 yards per carry. Linebacker
Tim Anderson led Michigan with 11
tackles. Linebacker Jim Scarcelli had
two sacks. This was Michigan's first
shutout in '84.
Next Saturday Schembechler takes
his injury-plagued team on its second
road trip of the season. The Wolverines
travel to Iowa City to face the high-
powered Hawkeyes, who at 3-1 in the
Big Ten, share first place in the con-
ference standings with Michigan, Ohio
State and Purdue. "We're not going to
quit," said Schembechler. "I don't
know what's going to happen up there
(in Iowa City), but this team is not
going to quit."
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Michigan tailback Rick Rogers makes a move on the Northwestern defense.
Rogers was -the Wolverines' leading rusher yesterday, rampaging for 139
yards on 27 carries.
By PAU HELGRLN
Northwestern quarterback Mike Greenfield eludes Michigan defensive tackle
Vince DeFelice as Wildcat offensive guard Mario Zappia (65) runs inter-
Daily Photo by DAN HABIB
ference. The Wolverine defense had Greenfiehl on the run all day yesterday,
sacking him five times for losses totaling 40 yards.
Rein keen on run ning' muchine
By JEFF BERGIDA
Russell Rein was like a kid on Christmas morning.
He couldn't keep the joy out of his voice.
Jim Harbaugh's replacement at quarterback had
just directed Michigan to a 31-0 trouncing over a
hapless Northwestern squad, completing eight of 11
attempts for 83 yards in the first start of his college
career. While Rein didn't remind anybody of Doug
Flutie, his performance was reminiscient of the days
when Rick Leach or Dennis Franklin was leading a
tough ball-control offense for the Wolverine teams of
the '70's.
"IT'S SUCH AN advantage knowing that you're
going to play," said Rein, who went 2 of 7 with an in-
terception last week when called upon after Har-
baugh went down with a broken arm. The Oak Lawn,
Ill. native looked sharp from the beginning, com-
pleting six of his first seven passes.
Rein didn't know whether he or Chris Zurbrugg
would be starting signal caller until yesterday mor-
ning when Bo Schembechler gave him the good news.
Zurbrugg did make an appearance with six minutes
left in the game, but, by that time, Rein had things
well under control. Schembechler said it was a mat-
ter of going with the hot hand.
"I MIGHT HAVE (put in Zurbrugg earlier) but I
thought Rein was doing a good job so we stayed with
him," offered the Wolverine mentor. "Either one of
those kids would've done a much better job (last
week) had they had a week to prepare."
While Zurbrugg was understandably less than
thrilled with the decision, he praised'the effort.of his
teammate. "I think he did a real good job," said the
sophomore from Alliance, Ohio. "Of course, I'd like
to play more."
Rein spent more time practicing with the first team
this week and the decision surprised neither player.
"We alternated but it became obvious that they were
preparing Russell to start," Zurbrugg said. "They
told us this morning but I knew all along (that Rein
would start)."
THE HIGHLIGHT OF Rein's day was probably his
first career' touchdown pass, a five-yard completion
to tight end Eric Kattus that put the Wolverines com-
fortably ahead, 24-0. That scoring strike, and other
aspects of Rein's game drew praise from teammates
and the opposing coach.
"He showed a lot of poise out there," saidMichigan
tailback Rick Rogers, whose 139 yards on the ground
gave the rookie quarterback some breathing room.
"He got us into the right game plan."
Fullback Eddie Garrett was not surprised by
Rein's success. "Once you get a little playing time,
you get in the groove and things get a little easi:er for
you."
NORTHWESTERN COACH Dennis Green, like
Schembechler, was forced to use a second-string
quarterback when his number one man, Sandy Sch-
wab, was injured. The fourth-year head coach was
impressed by the signal caller who put 31 points on
the board. "I thought he did a good job of moving the
offense," said Green, who has been outscored 143-14
by Michigan in his four years at the Wildcat helm.
"He scrambled well and threw the ball on the money.
He had some good receivers to throw to."
Rein agrees. "The receivers were doing an ex-
cellent job of getting open," he said. "I felt as if I
should have hit all of them (my passes) today. Jamie
Morris and Vince Bean made some superb catches."
Although yesterday's game was definitely a boon to
Rein's cause, Schembechler says he will not award
the job to anyone on a permanent basis. "I'm not
committed to anything," said the coach. "(The star-
ting job) is not a big issue on our team."
"I COMPETE WITH myself," adds the winning
QB. "I don't want to compete with other people."
For at least one week, Rein probably won't have to
worry about competition. Schembechler's
congratulations speech was "Kid, good job. Get
ready for next week."
Just what Rein wanted to hear.
SCORES
ennis Green Michigan 31, Northwestern 0
Minnesota 17, Wisconsin 14
best the Big Michigan State 13. Indiana 6
ly. "I would Iowa 40, Purdue 3
ca lly tey Ohio State 45, Illinois 38
there, and Nebraska 33 Missouri 23
S, n Georgia 18, Mississippi 12
are the two Air Force 21, Notre Dame 7
It's hard to watch one game...
.,.When your mind's on another
ALL THOSE MICHIGAN football diehards must be commended. It was a
great temptation to sit home and watch the World Series, but they
came anyway, 102,245 strong. They came with their transistor radios and,
their one-millimeter TV's, but they came just the same.
Not only did they come, they stayed. With the game well in hand, 24-0, and
the halftime Homecoming festivities over, they could have headed for the
exits to catch the last six innings. But most of them stayed until late in the
fourth quarter.
Okay, so the two loudest roars of the day followedAlan.Trammell's pair of
two-run homers. And the "Tastes great, less filling" cheer had Michigan
and Trumball written all over it. But that is excusable. On the whole, the
fans were more attentive than anyone could have expected. And certainly
more attentive than one antsy Tiger fan sitting in the press box.
I once promised a friend I would never complain about any aspect of
covering Michigan football, but I must break that promise. Yesterday was
the toughest game of the year to stay interested in. With the Tigers playing
in the World Series it was a tougher assignment than teaching Sparky An-
derson grammar lessons.
As soon as I got to the stadium it was obvious there was something dif-
ferent about this game. When the Wolverines rushed.out onto the field about
a half hour before game time, a one-third full Stadium greated them.
Perhaps the fans would be staying home, I thought. Athletic Director Don
Canham wasn't worried, though. They'll be here, he said. "They can listen
to the game on their radios."
Canham was right. The fans did come, albeit somewhat tardier than
usual. Still there was something strange about the game. Whien is the last
time the fans didn't do their "buuulll-shit" cheer?
The press box wasn't the same yesterday, either. An eerie quiet pervaded
the half-empty facility. Quite a contrast
from the Miami game, when a gaggle of
reporters from the papers like the
Washington Post, New York Times and
Los Angeles Times crowded the joint.
Most of all, though, the difference was
the Tiger game. It was 40 miles away but
its presence dominated the football game.
A fellow sportswriter mercifully brought a
tiny TV to the game so we could keep in
touch with the series. "Is it still 4-1?" was
a frequent query. The public address an-
nouncer kept the fans updated inning-by-
inning (as if they needed to with all those
radios in the crowd). Even Bo's first Rein
question as he came out of the lockerroom
was, "What's the score of the game?"
Nonetheless, there was a football game
played yesterday. I even managed to catch some glimpses of it between in-
pings. Here's what I saw...
-Russell Rein. Everybody seemed to agree he looked decent. HO should be
able to give Michigan everything Jim Harbaugh added to the club. But he
wasn't exactly tested by Northwestern's defense. He only threw 11 passes,
and all but about two were safe ones. I would like to reserve judgement on
Rein until next week at Iowa. I have a hunch the Rein or Chris Zurbrugg
question hias not been completely answered in Bo's mind yet.
'Dennis Green. He's a good man who works so hard. But he just doesn't
have the players or the program. He looked a little sad during the game, his
arms folded and his expression unchanging.
-Lily Handler. Talk about a sight for sore eyes. The ex-Michigan
cheerleader was at the game for Homecoming. She was talking to some guy
for the whole second half so I guess she wasn't too interested in the game.
Wonder if she's a Tiger fan?
'Rick Rogers. Big game for Rick. He's had his share of problems this
year but he may be ready to assert his dominence in the backfield. It needs
him. I still think he's a cut below the good backs in the conference, though.
'Tim Anderson. This guy is fun to watch. Take a look at him on the
sidelines sometime. He's always bleeding somewhere. He had nine solo
tackles yesterday. Not bad for a guy who didn't start playing until his fourth
year at Michigan.
-Some guy in the student section watching the World Series on his little
TV. Imagine that guy. He comes to a football game and watches the World
Series. And after I said all those nice things about Michigan football fans.
(
0
Blue Banter
* Safety Tony Gant, who broke his leg
against Wisconsin, watched the game
from the photography deck. He said the
full cast cn his left leg will be removed
in "two or three weeks." After that he
will wear a partial cast for another six
year, Jamie Morris had 138 against
Wisconsin. The performance was also
Roger's career high for yardage in a
single game. His previous high was 125
against Iowa last season.
Bob Bergeron's 34-yard field goal
secutive weeks. Coach De
feels his team has seen thel
Ten has to offer defensive
say right now statisti
(Michigan and Iowa) are u
I would say they probably
0