The Michigan Daily -Sports Wednesday- January 6, 1993 - Page 3 Josh Dubow Clean slate signals new Michigan era Y PASADENA - When Gary Moeller walked off the Rose Bowl field last Friday, he had achieved in three seasons what it took his prede- cessor Bo Schembechler 12 seasons and six trips to Pasadena to accomplish - a Rose Bowl triumph. Now, Moeller can set his sites on a jewel Schembechler never found - a national champ- ionship. Schembechler's Wolverines threatened for the title a few times during his 21 seasons in Ann Arbor, but never won the mythical championship. Schembechler's best team never threatened for the title. The 1980 team - his first Rose Bowl championship team - suffered two early- season losses to Notre Dame (29-27) and to South Carolina (17-14) which ended the Wolverines' title chances. Except for a couple of breaks, Schem-bechler might have won the elusive national championship in 1980. Moeller's first Rose Bowl championship team also would have made a run for the title if a few balls had bounced the Wolverines' way. While Schembechler's teams never made a seri- ous run at the title after his first Rose Bowl win, Moeller's team might be poised for a championship run in the next two years. In Moeller's first season, narrow losses to Notre Dame, Michigan State and Iowa spoiled an otherwise spectacular start to his Michigan coaching career. The Wolverines' primary goal in 1991 was to avenge those three defeats and earn a trip to Pasadena. Michigan did get revenge, breaking a four- game losing streak to Notre Dame and streaking through the Big Ten season undefeated. But Moeller's second season was tarnished by a pair of 20-point losses to Florida State and Wash- ington. After the Wolverines walked off the Rose Bowl field last New Year's Day, their attention was again focused on one thing - revenge. Revenge for the 34-14 thrashing at the hands of the Washington Huskies. The Michigan players did not celebrate after each victory on their road to Pasadena this season. Each win brought the Wolverines one step closer to re- demption. Last Friday, they achieved it. "I couldn't be happier," Moeller said. "The one thing Michigan wanted to do is that we wanted to sing 'The Victors' in Pasadena." Now there is one jewel for Moeller to chase. He has three Big Ten championships. He has a 21-game unbeaten streak in the Big Ten. He has beaten Notre Dame. He has won the Rose Bowl. He has accomplished everything at Michigan except for the national championship. The Wolverines are one of the deepest and most talented teams in the nation. In Tyrone Wheatley, Michigan has perhaps the most ex- plosive back in the nation. Throw in former all- Big Ten running back Ricky Powers, Ed Davis, Jesse Johnson and Chi Foster and that's proba- bly the deepest backfield in the country. Michigan's entire corps of talented receivers led by Derrick Alexander returns. Seven of the 11 defensive starters from the Rose Bowl will return. Former starting cornerbacks Alfie Burch and Coleman Wallace will return from injuries to anchor the defensive backfield, which strug- gled against Washington. Michigan has also had back-to-back top five recruiting classes in 1991 and 1992 and should have another top class this year. There are two things which could stop Michigan's championship drive next season - a letdown and the loss of senior leadership on the offense. The Wolverines kept their focus all season because they kept their sights on getting to Pasadena and winning the Rose Bowl. "I know it's a silly statement sometimes, but after something so great is over, sometimes 2 you have the greatest letdown and you walk away - it's not lost, but the emotion and ex- citement is gone," Moeller said. The Wolverines also will need to replace seven starters from their offense. The biggest loss will be at the offensive line where Moeller must replace four starters from one of the top lines in the country. This will put immense pressure on quarter- back Todd Collins, who must fill the shoes of three-year starter Elvis Grbac. Collins filled in admirably in two starts earlier this season, set- ting Michigan records for completions and touchdown passes. But next year, Collins won't have the same offensive line in front of him. Collins has not yet shown the poise and leadership that Grbac displayed on the game- winning drive against Washington. Grbac moved the Wolverines down the field without his tpp running back and receiver. He did so without making any mistakes. But if Collins can fill Grbac's shoes, and the offensive line can continue clearing holes for the Michigan running backs, Moeller and the Wolverines won't have to be satisfied with just a Rose Bowl championship. KRISTOFFER GILLETTE/Daily Wolverine coach Gary Moeller achieved in only three years what it took his predecessor Bo Schembechler 12 to do - win a Rose Bowl. I. U ! WHEATLEY Continued from page 1 linebackers close to the line of scrimmage in an effort to bottle up the opposition's running attack and to put pressure on the quarterback. The strategy worked well last year against Michigan in Pasadena, but Saturday's game showed that it does have its drawbacks. Once an opening is hit, there is little but green between a player and the end zone. Wheatley ran untouched on his first two scores. What went through his head when he saw open country? "Not to get tackled," he said with Trivia Answer The Wolverines went 10-0-1 during the 1973 season, tying for the Big Ten championship with Ohio State. Ohio State went to the Rose Bowl, and Michigan stayed home. a smile. "To score the touchdown, that was basically it. First of all you go for a first down, and then after the first down you're thinking the home run." Wheatley hit a grand slam. And then he hit another one. And another one. All this from a young man still learning the art of rushing. "From the beginning of the sea- son to the end, Tyrone Wheatley has gone a long way in learning how to carry a football," Jackson said. "He was a quarterback (in high school). You look at the things he did today, that was the true sign of a running back." Following such a stunning cap to an already fabulous season - Wheatley was voted the Big Ten's offensive player of the year - the Heisman talk was inevitable. So was speculation about turning pro. Wheatley remained open about the first subject, but put Michigan fans' minds at ease concerning the second. He said he plans to he in Ann Arbor for two more years. And when a reporter persisted, Wheatley gave his reason. 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