4 Page 4 - The Michigan Daily - Sports Monday- December 11, 1989 IEEE ~EXPAND~EID IRom BOWL (COERAGI iiTOMOROW 3 IDAILY. I THE OR Taylor's last chance for glory comes in Pasadena by Adam Benson Daily Football Writer Michael Taylor made the decision to run the football. He knew Michigan needed a strong opening drive in the second half to jump back into its game with Notre Dame. The Irish already lead the game at the half before Raghib Ismail returned a kick for a touchdown to put the Irish further ahead, 14-6. On a third-and-eight play, Taylor made his move to assert himself and his team. "It was a pass that was called. No one was open, so I scrambled," Taylor remembers. "A lot of people had told me 'you need to protect yourself, you are the only (quarterback) we have.' I usually try to go around a guy or make a move or do something to try and get as dmany yards as I can. This time, I tried to go down and dive on the ground, thinking 'OK I'm down, I won't get hit.' "As I was diving, (Notre Dame linebacker Ned Bolcar) hit me in the back and I cracked three bones in my back." Not knowing the extent of his injury, Taylor prepared to lead Michigan further down field. "I rolled over, I was getting ready to get up and I tried to move, but I couldn't move," Taylor said. "So when I got helped up and I went off I said, 'Well maybe I just got hit in a good spot' and I'd be back in next series. On the sidelines, I tried to run and I couldn't. I knew that I had broken something. I've never felt a pain like that before." The injury would keep Taylor out not only for the rest of the Notre Dame game, but also the four following games. Injuries have always threatened Taylor's career, even when it was just beginning. "The only time I tried to dji courage him from playing football is when he would play street football," said Taylor's mother, Shirley. "A friend of mine had a son break his back. I tried to discourage him, but he kept playing. My brother told me about a little league where the coaches would watch him;, "He was always big, so he was playing with older kids. I saw him play, and the coaches would always tell me how tough he was. So that calmed me down some." After convincing his mother of his durability, he began a career ripping through the Cincinnati junior leagues and starring at Cincinnati Princeton High School. There, he developed a style of football that would help Princeton to a state title his junior year and make him a top college recruit. Even with all this praise, he would be one of those players applying the pain instead of taking it, if he had fulfilled his dreams as a 14-year old. "When I was in eighth grade, I didn't want to play quarterback," Taylor said. "I wanted to be the one that ran with the football. I was playing running back and I really loved defense more. I used to play linebacker and running back and outside linebacker." His mother said: "(Michael) had been playing football since the second grade and he always loved to play defensive tackle, like Mean Joe Greene. He always wore Greene's number, 75, and everything that he bought he wanted 75 on it. Most of the time he played defense and offense, and he never did play quarterback. He always liked playing defense cause he liked doing the hitting. He never cared much for playing offense." Fortunately for him, somebody else made the decision. "I was getting ready to start at defensive end in the eighth grade, and person who gets it, be the person the initates the blow.' I've always done that," Taylor said. "Trying to act in a passive way out there on the football field, I got hurt. I'm not saying I'd try to run over 230-40 pound linebackers, but I can put myself in a position where I don't have to dive on the ground everytime I see one. That's why I got hurt, and that's why I won't do that again." USC coach Larry Smith admires Taylor's resilience: "He's a true quarterback in every sense of the word, I've been very impressed with him. He was hurt pretty bad in that Notre Dame game. I think when he did comeback, Michigan began offensively to score a lot of points with him." Once he returned, nothing was going to make him leave.. "Against Illinois, on the game winning drive, he was runningthe option a lot," Wolverine tight end Derrick Walker said. "I would look down at his face as I would help him up, and you could tell he was hurt, but he got back up. He tried to hide that he was hurt, but you could see i right through it. He knew the game was on the line and there was no way you could take him out. Everytime he looks hurt, he gets back up." Still, injuries have prevented Taylor from facing some of the great teams in college football. His back injury sidelined him against UCLA and Michigan State, while a broken collarbone kept him out of last season's Ohio State and Rose Bowl games. But he never whined, cried, or pouted; he just prayed his chance would come. Those prayers were simple: "I don't ask to go out and play better than everybody else, I just ask that 'I can, with the talents you gave me, just let me go out and play. It is my faith in you that has kept me striving."' This January 1st, his prayers will be answered. "It has been my goal for the longest time, ever since last year when we won last year's Rose Bowl, I wanted to get a chance to play. I've finally reached that point, now I just want to get out there and play." He has attracted the attention of USC which knows his excellent decision-making ability. "I think Taylor is a little more dangerous than (Notre Dame's) Tony Rice," said Trojan defensive back Mark Carrier. "With the receivers, like McMurtry and Calloway, he can move the football. He's also a good runner. You want to try and contain him as much as possible." But Taylor hasn't limited himself to just performing well, on the football field. He will graduate after the winter term from Michigan's business school. "When I think about combining athletics with the business school curriculum, its real tough. My major setback in school is that I have to play football. I'm not able to study as much as I would like to or like most students are, but with the time I do have, I can't complain. "When I started to do well (on the football field), people would ask me 'what was my grade point like before I got into the business school?' The business school saw that not only was I an athlete, but that I could do as well as a regular student. That's why they could accept me. Taylor, who always planned to attend the School of Engineering, moved to the B-school becuase he enjoyed the analytical work. And don't ask him if he gets any special attention because he could lead the Wolverine football team to a second straight Rose Bowl title. "I don't ask people to give me grades because I am an athlete," Taylor said. "I think whatever grade I get, I deserve based on my effort and how well I did on my tests. There are universities where (athletes) can take a light load and get a job from alumni, but I wanted something that was going to be challenging." Taylor could use a difficult task, but even in the business school he seems to be making the right decisions. Working through the business school and playing for the football team would seem like a tough load to tackle, but Taylor has handled himself in a way that would make Mean Joe Greene proud. Even if he is a quarterback. Injuries have hindered quarterback Michael Taylor throughout his career, but he will be healthy for this year's Rose Bowl against USC. we had no quarterback," Taylor said. "I could always throw the football and I had the strongest arm of most of the kids around. I ran the ball a lot more, I ran for 17, 18 touchdowns in eight games. I had practiced at quarterback for a week or two, but it was nothing major. Then when I was finally out there playing quarterback, it was easy." So easy that he became successful. He graduated as an All- American at quarterback, but he received many offers to move back to the defense as a cornerback or safety. After two years of stardom, Taylor had grown accustomed to being the field general. "I thought that I might be a little bit too short (to play quarterback in college)," Taylor said. "Then, because I ran the ball so much, I thought they would try to move me to defensive back. There really weren't that many Black consider myself one of the fortunate few. I didn't want to play another position." He got lucky because the school that wanted him to play quarterback also had been one of his favorite teams. This made his college decision very easy. "I just always liked when (Michigan) ran out of the tunnel. At first I thought the banner was probably 10 feet tall. Then you run out there and it's not really that high. I fell in love with 'The Victors' and how they played the song, even though I'm from Ohio. There were only two fight songs I ever liked. That and the Ohio State fight song, where they dotted the 'i'. But I liked Michigan's football team a lot better." Michigan's coaches were discouraged, however, with the style of play that had made him a star. "When I was little, I had a coach who always told me 'never be the . . Michigan vs. USC Matchups byAdam Benson Offense--- - -- -- --- - WIDE RECEIVER Greg McMurtry and Chris Calloway make the best wide receiver set in the nation. John Jackson, an academic All-American, gets some help from Gary Wellman, but they are not as dangerous as the Wolverine pair. TIGHT END Derrick Walker was an All-Big Ten selection this year, but he can't bench press 400 pounds; two-time all-Pac 10 Trojan Scott Galbraith can. OFFENSIVE LINE The Trojans start three seniors and two juniors. One of the lines' 'youngsters', guard Mark Tucker, is a consensus All-American. All-Big Ten guard Dean Dingman leads Michigan's front which lacks the Trojans' experience. QUARTERBACK USC redshirtfrosh Todd Marinovich has graced the front pages of newspapers across the nation, but he can't handle defensive pressure. Michael Taylor makes blitzers crazy with his scrambling. Marinovich's weakness is Taylor's strength. RUNNING BACKS Leroy Hoard ran wild in last year's Rose Bowl. Without injured Tony Boles, USC will key on Hoard and fullback Jarrod Bunch. USC relies on springing 5- fo'ot-8 Ricky Ervins, the Pac 10's leading rusher and fullback Leroy Holt. Defense DEFENSIVE LINE Tim Ryan is possibly the best defensive lineman in America and Dan Owens will start his 48th consecutive game for the Trojans. Michigan's Chris Hutchinson was named The Sporting News' top first-year lineman in the nation. LINEBACKERS Bobby Abrhams, Alex Marshall, J.J. Grant and Erick Anderson may be the nation's best set of linebackers. SC's set is far from lacking, with two all-Pac 10 players, Junior Seau and Scott Ross. DEFENSIVE BACKS Tripp Welborne and Vada Murray can only find one set of safeties that could claim to be their equals, USC's Mark Carrier and Cleveland Colter. Claim. Special Teams- PLACE KICKING Quin Rodriguez is consistent inside 40 yards, but he is not J.D. Carlson. Carlson set a Michigan record with12 consecutive field goals this season. PUNTING USC punter Ron Dale won't make any coach envoius, except for Michigan coach Bo Schembechler who settles for Chris Stapleton and Eduardo Azcona. COACHING Bo taught Larry, Bo's got a better record than Larry, Bo beat Larry last year, Bo even has a better bowl record than Larry. Enough said. Steve Blonder Blonder's Ponders \V/m i H IN't MCIGAN7 Even MICGAN M MICHIGAN Mw A MICHIGAN U I Since last April, one hot topic of conversation has been, "Will Michigan's football team win a national championship, too?" The quick answer is no, thanks to some screwy polling. How else can you explain idle Alabama jump- ing Michigan two weeks ago, and then idle Miami ac- complishing the same in the last poll before the Bowl games. Even if Michigan had beaten Notre Dame in the first game of the season, they probably would not be the No. 1 team in the nation. The rationale behind the polling involves jockeying teams in the final-season rankings so that only two bowl games are needed to decide the "mythical" national champion. And the Rose Bowl is not one of them. But that doesn't mean the season is a wash for Michigan. Back in August, Bo Schembechler kept reminding everyone that his team's goal was to win the Big Ten, and then claim its second consecutive Rose Bowl vic- tory. The team is halfway there, and is certainly in a good position to win its second Pasadena appearance of the year. Rose Bowl win means more than nat'l 'myth' anybody. We're not a bad football team." And he's not kidding. What Michigan has done this season is impressive. Since 1966, no other Big Ten team has won outright back-to-back conference championships. And the Wolverines did it without ever getting a chance to play hapless Northwestern. But unfortunately some football know-it-alls will call this season a failure and for what? Because Michigan will not win a national champi- onship despite having a football powerhouse. Because Schembechler, college football's winningest active coach, will not be able to get his team over that one elusive hump.14 And because of that, some will call Schembechler a failure. I think not. This team has come a long way since a sloppy per- formance to open the season. The team has rebounded from the loss of a quarterback, the defensive captain, of- fensive linemen, and starting backfield. Not exactly easy tasks. Schembechler pushed all the right buttons, particu- larly those involving a timetable for quarterback Michael Taylor's return.4 The team gelled when it counted and Michigan stood up to the rest of the country. The Wolverines showed they are not yet ready to relinquish their position as one of the Big Ten's powers. Right now, the Wolverines would have a shot at beating any team in the country. But they only have one shot - against USC. And beating the Trojans is all that matters. If Michigan does that, it comes out smelling like a Rose. That means more to Schembechler than a "mythical" championship, which I guess Michigan still has some remote mathematical chance of winning. The Wolverines played hard this year in the big games, and even a couple of the not-so-big ones as well. Having a single blemish on its record, which would not be there if Notre Dame came here in Novem- ber, and in spite of playing key games on the road, is certainly a testament as to how good Michigan is. Schembechler said, "I think we can play against v Independence Bowl, December 16: Tulsa vs. Oregon Ah, yes. Freedom rings true as Tulsa and Oregon face off in yet another Independence Bowl. Rumor has it that both teams will meet at the 50-yard line and recreate the signing of the Declaration of Independence in commemoration. Problem is getting enough players willing to throw away their macho image and don white wigs and ruffled pants. Aloha Bowl, December 25: Michigan one. The "best" Big Ten team will be playing miles and miles away just one week later. And we all know who the "best" team is, right George? All-American Bowl, December 28: Duke vs. Texas Tech This could be the last game as a Blue Devil for Duke coach Steve Spurrier. For some strange reason, Spurrier's name has popped up all over the place in cities with NFL coaching vacancies. Texas Tech. Interesting. Southern engineers. We wonder how that might sound: We know Bowls by Richard Eisen and Adam Schrager Ireland. Supposedly, it was the first time the Irish got a glimpse of anyone from New Jersey. Rumor has it that a massive stench filled the air and a chant of "What exit are you from?" reverberated throughout the stands. Freedom Bowl, December 30: Florida vs. Washington Rumor has it that Los Angeles Rams owner Georgia Frontierre and California Angels owner Gene Autry are vying for the services of Heisman finalist/Gator running- hn Emmit Smith in this sure that he'll be gunning for Ole Miss, looking for revenge in this Memphis, Tenn. contest. Supposedly, Dowis flew an F-14 into the backyard at Graceland mansion. Elvis' brother, Bobby Joe the citizens actually think Paterno is "a little bit rock and roll." John Hancock Bowl, December 30: Pittsburgh vs. Texas A&M What hanened to the Sun Bowl? Has