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IG IEN PRE EVI
10. Wisconsin 9. Northwestern BY ADAM BENSON LB Brad Quast may be the best Iowa
linebacker ever. If QB Tom Pohol-
The conference will again feature some of the country's top players, sky and RB Tony Stewart get over
particularly at running back, where Indiana's Anthony Thompson, injuries from last season, Iowa's
Minnesota's Darrell Thompson, and Wolverines Tony Boles and Leroy offense could be powerful again.
Hoard lead a strong class of returning ground gainers back for another Worst scenario: 6-5. Iowa
season. usually breezes through their non-
On defense, the Big Ten has as menacing a set of linebackers as any conference schedule, but the Big Ten.
conference in the country. Michigan State's Percy Snow, Iowa's Brad Quast will be brutal. Hayden hopes last
and Minnesota's Jon Leverenz are the top three linebackers, but several season's injury problems will not
others could crack this elite group. haunt the Hawks, but the team still
-Yetonly one team really distinguished themselves last year, the Iowa to stgglehealth Watch Br
conference and Rose Bowl champion, Michigan. This year, the Wolverines Ten, but finish well.
Morton Christian return a solid chunk of the squad that finished fourth in the nation last
The Good: They don't play season. Michigan is the consensus pick to win again. Three other teams
The Good: Eight starters returning Michigan...stronger on offense, return a nucleus of players with somewhat serious hopes of preventing the 6. Indiana
on defense...one of the best crowds with depth at wide receiver, and a Wolverines from becoming the first team to repeat as outright conference The Good: The return of Dave
in the nation. solid replacement for TB Byron cham-pions since Michigan State's 1965 and 1966 teams. Schnell, possibly the conference's
The Bad: The eight starters Sanders in the form of Bob the Ten into a division and top quarterback, and Anthony
returning helped Wisconsin to a 1- Christian...October 21, the date the Taddiion. Fognostior slt- Bi goo d h Thompson, who may be the confer-
10 record last year...weakpasn WidtsrvetoM io. a bad division. For most of the late-1960s and 70s, fans referred to the ence 's top player ...light early
game. .little experience in the conference as the big two, and the little eight, better known as Michigan and schedule,tgiving this young team a
backfield...an ugly showing in the The Bad: They need a quarter- Ohio State. chance to develop confidence, under
opening game against Miami (Fla.) back...the tradition of Northwestern. But in all likelihood, this season will be the year of the the big one, and one of the most patient coaches in
Best scenario: 4-7. Coach Don Best scenario: 4-7. As coach the little nine. the Big Ten, Bill Mallory.
Morton said that this year his team Francis Peay points out, two-thirds The Bad: They lost their most of
"would look like a Big Ten team of his players have three years of 8, Purdue of the transfer from Air Force that their offensive line, and 10 players
when they get off the bus." The eligibility remaining. The Wildcats he is. on defense...October. Indiana starts
Badgers for years have moved their will begin to improve defensively, s Worst scenario: 2-9. Has the the month at Ohio State, comes
top players to defense. An improved and continue their study climb as an -0loss of Fox shaken this team's faith back to Bloomington to play Minn-
defense, plus good execution of the offensive team. in Akers? Purdue has recruited well, esota, travels to Michigan, and then
one-back offense could make the d th far f b returns home to play Michigan St.
Badgers competitive in the lower Worst scenario: 2-9. The current and tey are not from eing Best 74 Mall find
division of the BigTen. QB, Jim O'Brien, doesn't adjust to andstarts usingknewcomers, this an offense line that canyprotect
Worst scenario: 0-11. The life as a starter n the Big Ten, and year could be a disaster for Purdue. Schnell. The defense makes the most
Badgers last season wouldn't have all that skill at wide receiver goes of its ability and overcomes its lack
been competitive in the Mid-Amer- wasted. The Wildcats will beat 7 Iowa of experience.
ican conference. The Badgers will sonesn, eand tshuld surprut AkersWorst scenario: 5-6. Schnell,
probably finish more like this, than someone ele is yea ut es Gwho has missed parts of two
like the previous paragraph of anything more might be to much to The Good: Seven starters return on
ask. offense, including five offensive seasons, turns out to be overrated
optimism. lnmn n ih ndfne..n and Thompson has a fall off from
linemen, and eight on defense...one last season.
early win vs. Miami (OH.). l e
The Bad: Coach Fred Akers can't
hold a quarterback. First, he lost Jeff
R u s hGeorge to Illinois, then Brian Fo 5. Minnesota
R u hleft for Florida. Akers doesn't have a "
solid replacement.. the Boilermakers Quast
do not play two straight home The Good: Solid recruiting
games until their ninth and tenth class .. .the usual easy schedule, and
games of the season...non-confer- no more trips to Hawaii.
ence games include a trip to Wash- The Bad: Losing most of the keyt
ington, and then they return home players from last season.. .Coming
problems of RB Ray Graham, who they may have been one of the most
5 S S tmay never play football again. disappointing teams in the nation.-
556 S. State Best scenario: 4-7. QB Steve Best scenario: 8-3. There is a
Letnich gets hit really hard, wakes big jump from Purdue to Iowa. Thompson
up thinking he's Bob Griese and Hayden Fry, like him or not, is one The Good: Former All-Big Ten
looks like a potential star, instead of the top coaches in the Big Ten. Linebacker Jon Leverenz returns
...they play Ohio St. and Michigan
The University Center for the Child and Family at home and they don't play
1007 East Huron Street Illinois...the Gophers return almost
0 Ann 1p07 as H~ror I Str4e6everyone, including TB Darnell
Ann Arbor, MI 48104 1690 Thompson and QB Scott Schaffer.
Wst new University of Michigan based clinical agency offering a widevariety of psycho- The Bad: ThecMetrodome
Italian Restaurant logical services tochildren and families. ...Thompson must show recovery
Services include: from assorted injuries, which limited
- Assessment of children's social, . Group therapy for adult survivors of him to 910 yards rushing in 1988.
Best Italian Restaurant--Ann Arbor News 85 emotional, aninteulectuaevelop- incest Best scenario: 8-3. Leverenz
met - Evaluation and intervention for competes to be the best linebacker
NOW SERVING BEER AND WINE! -.essmentoffamily relaionships infants andyoung children other than Quast and Percy Snow in
+ ss ss en af am~yreatonhis nfnt aC~ o un g hen ildevaiin s the conference. Schaffer improves at
'ChldandFamily Counseng -Compreensiveevauatins QB, making WR Chris Gaiters more
- Parent Counseling/Education / r - - Curtordered evalu of a threat than he already is. But
OUTDOOR CAFE -Supportgroups for ations none of these things matter, if
children and parentsw4 Darrell Thompson doesn't return.
facing family changes Worst scenario: 4-7. No win is
665-0444 Take Out .300 Detroit Street at Catherine h"asyif Thompson doesnt retulf.to
(across from Farmer's Market) leasecaltX313)764-94 for frhe minfoation and appoina ents,
Neil.Kaer, PhD., Director
a
MICHIGAN PR VIEW
Wolverines hope
for rosy season
By STEVE BLONDER
As the Wolverine basketball team returned to Ann Arbor with its
national championship trophy in tow, Michigan football coach Bo
Schembechler told the 10,000 Crisler Arena fans, "Who knows, maybe
we'll win one in football too."
But four months later, Schembechler can be heard singing a-different
tune.
"We're not talking national championship here," Schembechler barked
at a small group of July visitors. "If we win the conference, go to the
Rose Bowl, and end up undefeated, then we'll claim the national
championship.
"But I'll be shocked if that happens."
But Bo, why is it that a national championship isn't one of the goals
you've set for this year's squad?
"A national title is mythical. That means you guys vote on them. You
don't play someone for them." Schembechler added.
"I'm not going to go in there and say this is our chance to win a
national championship. It's not like my career will crumble into nothing
if I don't win it.
"I don't give a damn."
Strong words from the coach of a team tabbed preseason number one,
or at least top five, by nearly every college football publication in the
country.
Well, then what is in store for a Big Ten championship team that lost
only seven of twenty-three starters and is vying to become the only team
to win two consecutive New Years trips to Pasadena this decade?
"I want to beat Notre Dame absolutely. I want to beat UCLA and I
want to beat Maryland. I want to beat them all," Schembechler
pronounced. "We've stuck our neck out to do the best job that we can.
We're going to play to win the Big Ten championship."
But some of the Wolverines don't see a second consecutive Big Ten
title, fifth this decade, as just reward for the winningest active coach in
Division 1-A football.
"We would like to (win a national championship) for Bo. Everybody
would," quarterback Michael Taylor said. "Since I was a little kid, I've
wanted to be number one. But only one team can sit up there and be the
best."
Schembechler gave the starting quarterback job to Taylor (who was
expected to win the job) after academics felled Rose Bowl-starter
Demetrius Brown.
And the other Big Ten coaches annointed Michigan king, unanimously
establishing the Wolverines as the conference favorite. The Associated
Press went one step further, as Michigan received the preseason number
one ranking.
But lofty preseason rankings don't phase Schembechler, who says he'd
"feel worse if we were not in the Top 20."
Offensive tackle Greg Skrepanek said the expectations for this year's
team don't put additional strains on the players.
"It's not that much pressure, at least as not as much as people think
we've got, because we always get pressure from Bo anyway," Skrepanek
said. "He keeps that pressure even when he doesn't have a national
championship around him."
Linebacker Erick Anderson disagreed, saying, "We have a lot of
pressure on us to perform well. It will be embarrassing for us if we lose
and let people down."
How far Michigan goes will depend on several factors.
"First of all will they have the same attitude as a year ago, and second,
will this team lead the USA again in fewest turnovers," Sch'embechler
said.
Schembechler answered the first question on Media Day when he
pronounced, "This is a good squad. There is a tremendous attitude here."
The offense was anything but charitable last season, turning the ball
over only eleven times in twelve games, while the defense picked
opposing offenses' pocket thirty times.
One of the keys to a winning season involves holding onto the
football, as everyone knows that a Schembechler-coached team will try
and run the ball down opposing teams' throats.
And with Rose Bowl MVP Leroy Hoard and Heisman Trophy candidate
See PREVIEW, page 9
Pre-season prognosticaton?
Coming into this season, the Michigan football team has been ranked in the top
football poll. The Wolverines, who finished last season ranked No. 4 in the coun
team to beat by Street and Smith, Sport magazine as well as many other medi
speculation among the media that this team could provide Head Coach Bo Sch
Championship.
Adam
Schrager
Come tomorrow, expect over 105,000 people to fill
Michigan Stadium with images of grandeur and
National Championships floating about due to what is
being billed as "The Game."
"The Game" contains Michigan and Notre Dame in
a colossal battle between the No. 1 and 2 teams in the
country, right? Don't tell that to Nebraska which also
boasts No. 1 and 2 rankings from pre-season prognos-
ticators or to Miami, Fla. or Auburn which also have
received No. 1, 2, and 3 rankings in various polls.
The mere fact that this game is being referred to as
"The Game" is because the Associated Press rankings,
or the writers' poll, says it is. The UPI poll, which is
a representation of a board of coaches, ranks the
Wolverines fifth behind the four schools mentioned
above, somewhat decreasing tomorrow's extravaganza.
Think about where all the hype for this game has
arisen. Every day in media organizations all over the
country as well as this newspaper, this, matchup is
being written about or discussed.
"I guess we added to all the hype, by ranking
(Michigan and Notre Dame) as our top two teams in
the country," said Sport magazine's managing editor
Joe Garza. "(The rankings) though are just something
for the fans to play with."
Two of the more well-known sports magazines,
The Sporting News and Street and Smith both rank
Michigan ahead of Notre Dame. Street and Smith has
the two schools as the top two in its poll supporting
tomorrow's hype. But The Sporting News, which
willingly terms itself "The Baseball Bible," places
'The Gary
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Michigan head coach
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head coach Gary Moe
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You're reading one
PAGE 18
A1WEEKD D4/SEPTEMBER 15,1989 'WEEKEN)/SEP'TEMBER I, 1989