an Daily - Sunday, November 18, 1984
BUCKEYE GANG OFF TO PASADENA
Tomczak, Byars ride rose tide
,w
By KATIE BLACKWELL
Special to the Daily
COLUMBUS - The uprights of the goalposts have
vanished, the remainder, sagging pitifully. The turf is lit-
tered with hundreds of yards of toilet paper, hurled in
celebration.
The Buckeyes of Ohio State are headed to Pasadena and a
run for the roses.
THE WOLVERINES are on a flight back to Ann Arbor,
their future uncertain.
After a 21-6 heart-wrenching loss in Columbus, a bowl trip
for the "victors valiant" seems distant at best.
But regardless of the lopsided score, Michigan should
remain proud. It put on an impressive performance stalling
several long drives of a team that has scored over 40 points in
five of its nine victories.
CREDIT MUST be given to the Wolverine defense, led by
seniors Tim Anderson and Mike Mallory with 12 tackles
apiece, for stopping the powerhouse offense of the Buckeyes.
Especially satisfying in this demonstration was the
smothering of the outstanding tailback Keith Byars.
"If he isn't the greatest back in the country, I don't know
Bo Schembechler confers with Wolverine wide receiver
Triando Markray during yesterday's game. Markray caught
one Chris Zurbrugg pass for 12 yards.
''M'goes blue,
roses for OSU
(Continued from Page 1)
Taking over at their 39-yard line, the Buckeyes engineered a
touchdown scoring drive behind the running of Byars and his
backup, John Woolridge. Buckeye quarterback Mike Tom-
czak also completed two passes on the drive to flanker Mike
Lanese for 27 yards. Byars scored on a one-yard plunge, and
OSU was on top, 7-0 with 4:40 remaining in the quarter.
MICHIGAN stormed right back, however, after Jamie
Morris returned the ensuing kickoff to the 23-yard line. Chris
Zurbrugg ran and passed for 59 yards as the Wolverines at-
tained first-and-goal at the OSU five-yard line. But on second
down from the eight, Zurbrugg rolled right and threw an in-
terception in the end zone to Buckeye roverback Sonny Gor-
don. Video replays showed that Gordon's feet were clearly
out of bounds, but the Buckeyes got the ball at their 20 on the
touchback. Zurbrugg's aerial was intended for tight end Eric
Kattus.
The teams then traded six consecutive punts, until with :17
left in the half, Lanese fielded a 46-yard Monte Robbins boot
at OSU's 11 yard line. Fullback Bob Perryman planted a solid
tackle forcing Lanese to fumble and Brad Cochran recovered
at the nine. But the Wolverines were pushed backward, set-
tling for Bergeron's 37-yard field goal as time expired.
Michigan's offense came out breathing fire following in-
termission and completely dominated the third quarter. Zur-
brugg directed a 17-play, 90-yard march to open the half, but
again Michigan was stopped, settling for Bergeron's 45-yard
kick.
IT WAS THIS drive that irked Schembechler to no end.
Michigan had a second-and-four at the OSU 19, when Zur-
brugg stepped away from the line because of the crowd noise.
"The crowd was real loud and had been really loud at that
end all day," said Zurbrugg, who completed 17 of 27 passes
for 164 yards and the one interception. "The line couldn't
hear me, so I asked the referee for time and he didn't give it
to me. I went back to the line and on my next sound a lineman
jumped."
Michigan was assessed a five-yard, illegal procedure
penalty which moved the team back and infuriated Schem-
bechler. "The official on the road has got to protect the visit-
ing quarterback, and he didn't protect mine," said the coach.
"I told him (the official) it was going to happen before the
game, and he didn't do a thing." Michigan had reduced the
OSU lead to 7-6.
MICHIGAN'S defense rose to the occasion forcing the
Buckeyes to punt once again. But on the return, the Wolveri-
nes were nailed for a clipping penalty and the offense
assumed control at its one-yard line.
Again the Wolverines blasted out against the Buckeye
defense. Zurbrugg's passing and Gerald White's running
brought Michigan all the way to the OSU 17 yard line. When
the Buckeyes stiffened, Bergeron trotted out for what ap-
peared to be a 34-yard clip shot which would give the
Wolverines the lead, 9-7. But Bergeron's attempts failed
barely wide to the right. "He's not an excuse maker, he just
missed it," said Schembechler.
Michigan controlled the ball for 12:51 of the third stanza
but could only squeeze out three points.
THE FINAL period was all Buckeye. Twice Ohio State had
excellent field position and both possessions ended with
Byars' scores.
"We broke down in the fourth quarter when we should have
held them," said Wolverine linebacker Tim Anderson.
"When you get the ball so many times inside the 40,
something is going to crack. It's just too bad it was us," said
Michigan defensive end Kevin Brooks.
"It's a heartbreaker," said Brooks, who made five tackles
on the day including a quarterback sack. "It's been a long
season."
It just saddens me that this is possibly my last game and
that we're going out a loser," said Anderson, who along with
Mike Mallory led Michigan with 12 tackles. "And against a
team that we should have beat."
one," said Ohio State nead coach Earle Bruce. "He most cer-
tainly deserves the Heisman Trophy. He's the caliber of
young man who deserves to get it.
Byars is a 6-2, 233-pound bruiser from Dayton, Ohio. He has
1,661 yards on the year. Yet, against the mighty Wolverine
defense, the junior managed a mere 93 yards on 28 carries.
This marks only the second time all season that Byars was
helt to under 100 yards. The remainder of his games ranged
from 120 to 274 yards.
BYARS NOT only leads the Buckeyes with his punishing
ground game, he also tops the Big Ten with 600 more yards
than Iowa's Ronnie Harmon. With his three receptions yester-
day, Byars is second in receptions for Ohio State, having
nabbed 37 passes for 453 yards.
"To tell you the truth," said Michigan linebacker Ander-
son, "I don't think he (Byars) was playing at full strength.
We had seen him do tremendous things, looking at the films
all week, and today he just didn't do them." Anderson also
pointed out that the Michigan defense had been designed to
curtail the explosiveness of the tailback.
Though Byars pounded out all three Buckeye touchdowns,
on jaunts of one and a couple of two-yarders, the big plays
were absent, probably due to a gimpy ankle.
"I TOLD the team that I wasn't going to let my ankle injury
hurt my game. I'm just happy to be a part of the game,"
Byars said.
But, regardless of his individual performance yesterday,
Byars and crew are off to sunny California for the first time
in five years.
"To be truthful, I've been dreaming about it all my life,"
Byars said. "I want to go out there and be victorious."
THIS IS Bruce's second Rose Bowl trip in his five-year
reign as head Buckeye. Ohio State has prevailed in the hard-
fought path to Pasadena. 1984 marked one of the tightest
races the Big Ten has seen in years, with three teams bat-
tling it out most of the way.
In the post-game conference, a teary-eyed Bruce was
visibly moved by his team's accomplishment.
"We're going to the Rose Bowl fellows," he shouted,
hugging quarterback Mike Tomczak. "We are going to the
Rose Bowl!"
BYARS, STILL in uniform, and Tomczak were quick to
credit the Michigan effort on the day.
"Michigan had'the ball for about 11 minutes in the third
quarter and we were hurting," said the senior helmsman.
"You need the ball to put it in the endzone."
Tomczak will finally get to see his first - and last -
Rose Bowl game this January 1.
"THE LAST four years finally paid off. I said last week it
was like we were floating in the ocean.
Today, somebody finally threw us a life preserver and the
tide is taking us to the California shore," Tomczak said.
"What more can you ask, being captain of the football
team, quarterback, beating Michigan and going to the Rose
Bowl? It hasn't even hit me yet," said the three-year starter.
"But whatever lies ahead we're ready for it."
aiy r-otO oy DAN HI
Ohio State star running back Keith Byars holds the spoils of victory as he leaves the field following yesterday's Buckeye
win over Michigan. Byars' three touchdown runs earned Ohio State a trip to the Rose bowl, where they will play USC on
New Years' Day.
SCORES
Notre Dame 44, Penn State 7
Oklahoma St. 16, Iowa St. 10
Virginia 24, North Carolina 24
Florida 25, Kentucky 17
Maryland 41, Clemson 23
Navy 38, South Carolina 21
Boston College 24, Syracuse 16
Yale 30, Harvard 27
BYU 24, Utah 14
Temple 19, West Virginia 17
Alabama 29, Cincinnati 7
Washington 38, Washington St. 29
Mississippi St. 16, LSU 14
Tennessee 41, Mississippi 17
Kansas 35, Missouri 21
SMU 31, Texas Tech 0
UCLA 29, Southern Cal 10
Oklahoma 17, Nebraska 7
Texas 44, TCU 23
Arkansas 28, Texas A&M 01
Baylor 46, Rice 40
Stanford 27, California 10
Lafayette 28, Lehigh 7
Virginia Tech 23, vanderbilt 3
Florida State 37, Tennessee Chattanooga 0
Azusa Pacific 37, Sonoma St. 20
Ouachita 24, E. Texas St. 14
LIBELS 21, Lantern 0
Big Ten Standings
Conference Overall
W
Ohio State ................ 7
Iowa ..................... 6
Illinois ................... 6
Purdue ................... 6
Wisconsin ................ 5
MICHIGAN .............. 5
Michigan State ........... 5
Minnesota ................ 2
Northwestern..........2
Indiana ..............0
LT
2 0
2 1
3 0
3 0
3 1
4 0
4 0
7 0
7 0
9 0
W
9
7
7
7
7
6
6
3
2
0
L
2
3
4
4
3
5
5
8
9
11
T
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
Raising H el
By PAUL HELGREN
Bo's worst Wolverine year .. .
..are Duffy Jikugherty days here?
COLUMBUS
I T'S OVER. The season we would all like to forget
ended in defeat at Ohio Stadium yesterday.
But as much as we'd like to, we can't ignore the
true meaning of Bo's worst season as a Wolverine.
Yes, Michigan went down fighting, holding
superback Keith Byars to under 100 yards (bye-
bye Heisman, Keith), and playing the favored
Buckeyes tough until late in the game.
But the bottom line is 6-5 and in all likelihood,
no post-season appearance.
Six-and-five. I lamented about that possibility
after the Michigan State loss. But I never believed
it would happen. That's because I - and a lot of
other Michigan football fans - was too blindly
loyal to see the signs of the Wolverines' decline.
But the time has come to wake up and smell the
coffee.
Admittedly, it's hard to put the season in per-
spective right now. Sitting in the middle of the
Ohio State student section and suffering through
to happen eventually. All great football schools hit
down-cycles. Michigan has gone through a few in
its illustrious history. They are usually short in
duration and often occur at the end of a great
coach's career.
And at age 55, Schembechler may be facing this
phenomenon.
Call it the Duffy Daugherty Syndrome.
Daugherty was the great Spartan coach who once
led his team to a national championship, but
coached mostly mediocre teams in his last few
years.
The same thing happened to Michigan's Bump
Elliott (22-18 in his last four years). It happened to
Bennie Ooosterbaan (7-9-2 in his final two years).
It happens to a lot of great coaches. And unless I
miss my guess, the Duffy Daugherty Syndrome is
striking again.
Check the record. In the past four years,
Michigan has won one Big Ten Championship. In
the five seasons before that it wnn frnir Trie
follows years of success. Because certain
strategies lead to success, a coach may be tem-
pted to unswervingly remain loyal to them. This
season Bo continually used conservative run- and
defense-oriented tactics that worked well in the
past when he had dominating offensive lines and
runningbacks, but were insufficient for the 1984
squad.
That's not to say that the players are to be
blamed. They were gutty and fought hard all
season, despite critical injuries. But even without
the injuries, the talent on the field was not such
that it could give Schembechler the luxury of
relying on a line-'em-up-and-let-'em-go
plhilosophy.
A third factor that explains Michigan's decline
is what I call cyclical regional competition.
Earlier this season, somebody pointed out that
through the years Michigan and Michigan State
rarely have great programs simultaneously. It
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