The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Wednesday, November 15, 2006 - 9A
Can'D'
handle
Smith,
Ginn?
By KEVIN WRIGHT
Daily Sports Editor
There are still three days left until
Michigan and Ohio State square off, but
that's plenty of time to hype this game
through the roof.
Yesterday, we looked at the Michigan
offense verses the Ohio State defense,
with the Buckeyes gettingthe nod.
Today, the Michigan defense and the
Ohio State offense take center stage in
part two of our three-part breakdown.
Michigan defense: Two plays stand
out from the previous two years. Texas
quarterback Vince Young scrambling 23
yards for a touchdown late in the fourth
quarter of the 2004 Rose Bowl and Ohio
State quarterback Troy Smith running
14 yards for a crucial first down in the
Buckeyes' game-winning drive last sea-
son.
Traditionally, the Wolverines have
struggled to contain running quarter-
backs, but with coordinator Ron English
now manning the controls, this year's
Michigan team has looked like a South-
eastern Conference defense - hard-hit-
ting, big and fast.
Already, the stingy Michigan defense
has held mobile quarterbacks - Vander-
bilt's Chris Nickson, Michigan State's
New band means
nothing to Bo
The following are excerpts
from formerMichigan coachBo
Schembechler's Monday press
conference. Just a few weeks
removed from a cardiac-related
hospital stay, Schembechler
energetically regaled the media
with tales from what he called
"college football's greatest
rivalry." This is the conclusion
of the transcript.
. I have no thoughts about
(the Columbus rock band the
Dead Schembechlers) at all.
I never heard of them until
a couple of weeks ago. I was
doing my television show and
a guy asked me down there,
'Did you ever hear of them.'
I said, 'No, there's no such
thing.' And then he took me
over to the computer and he
showed me where they did
have a band. I don't know
what their thinking is there.
It was all right, until their one
guy was quoted as saying 'He
almost joined us.' (laughs).
Which was true.
* I can't go to the Michigan-
Ohio State game because)
it's too hard for me to walk.
I don't know where I would
end up; even if they escorted
me right to the press box, I'd
have to go up steps and do all
that. It's just too big a hassle
for me now. I haven't gone to
away games. I did purchase a
50-inch plasma TV, soI have a
very comfortable (setup). And
I'm mad at ESPN. They have
the worst camera work I ever
saw. Honest to God. They miss
more plays ...
" I think this is about as big
as it gets. I don't know what
else you can do. Two teams
that have been dominant all
year long. ... There's no rivalry
that compares with this. This
is the greatest college football
rivalry there is. I don't see that
changing. I mean, I think it's
going to continue to be exactly
that way.
. Historically, if you go back,
we play in the last game of the
year against these guys. If you
total up the Big Ten Cham-
pionships, it's usually one or
the other. It goes way, way
back, you know, long before
any of us - to Fielding Yost
and Francis Schmidt and all of
those guys back at Ohio State.
... I just don't see one any big-
ger than this.
* I'll never forget how tough
(Woody Hayes) was. I was
sitting there as a graduate
assistant, 21 years old, after
the Michigan game, we lost
to Michigan that year, 7-0.
And we went back home, and
Woody called a meeting at his
house. We're all sitting there
in his house and he's got the
projector. Now, you under-
stand back in those days, we're
talking 16-millimeter film.
And he has this projector on
there and he's running it back
and forth, and he finally all of a
sudden, I'm sitting in the back
of the room staying out of the
way and he's getting madder
and madder. And suddenly, he
picked up that projector and
threw it. And he said, 'I won't
subject the people of Colum-
bus to football like that.' I'll
never forget him saying that.
. Well, if you go back, I have
a lot of friends (at Ohio State).
I coached there for six years.
There are guys there that are
really close friends of mine.
I never brought it up when I
coached, but I have close ties
at Ohio State. Unfortunately I
even have a graduate degree
from there. They made me go
to school while I was a gradu-
ate assistant. No, I have enor-
mous, enormous respect for
Ohio State, enormous. That's
why I loved to play them
when I was up there. There's
no other team I would rather
play, no other coach I would
rather go against than the old
man (Woody Hayes).
O I don't make any predic-
tions, none at all: I'll just tell
you one thing: It will be a
whale of a battle. Unless I miss
my guess, it will be a heck of a
battle."
STEVEN TAI/Daily
Cornerback Charles Stewart and the Michigan defense must contain the explosive Buckeye
offense if the Wolverines hope to win Saturday's matchup in Columbus.
Drew Stanton and Indiana's Kellen Wolverines held both Northwestern and
Lewis - to a combined 51 yards on the Penn State to negative rushing yards.
ground. The secondary has been exposed as
The Wolverine front four is arguably the supposed weakness of the defense.
the best in the nation. Defensive end The unit struggled at times, surrender-
LaMarr Woodley, who is two sacks shy ing several big plays when the opposi-
of breaking the Michigan's single-season tion challenges them with the deep ball.
record for sacks, is a force to be reckoned The defense ranks sixth in the confer-
with coming off the edge. And defensive ence against the pass.
tackle Alan Branch has anchored the Still, cornerback Leon Hall continu-
middle of a unit that ranks first in the ally discourages opposing quarterbacks
nation against the run. This season, the See DEFENSE, page 10A
All week long, Daily 1969 when Michigan
Sports will run its upset Ohio State 24-
original coverage of 12. Current columnist
one of the 102 install- Scott Bell also weighs
Michigan ments of The Game. in on the significance
vs. Ohio The series contin- this game had in reju-
ues today with uned- venating the Michi-
State week ited coverage from gan football program.
Without '69, thisame
wouldn't be The GamdTe
Varsity ends Buckeyes'
22- game win streak
n Saturday, arguably the
most anticipated game ever
in col-
lege football's
most storied
rivalry will take
place.,
But without
a game 37 years
ago, Saturday's
matchup would scow
be just another
contest between BELL
two great teams
- not the hype- Too Soon?
fest that's domi-
nated the media for the past month
and taken on a life of its own.
The 10 Years War between Bo
Schembechler and Woody Hayes
began in, and was defined by, the
contest between the two in 1969.
Hayes's Buckeyes were the clear
favorite. They had throttled Michi-
gan by 36 points the year before,
and entered the '69 game as the
nation's No. 1 team.
Going into the '69 contest, Ohio
State was riding a 22-game winning
streak.
Sports Illustrated went as far as
to say the only game worth watch-
ing that season happened every
Thursday - when Ohio State's
offense and defense squared off
against each other in practice.
But Schembechler, Hayes's old
acquaintance-turned-thorn-in-
the-side, had other thoughts for the
Buckeyes' march toward a National
Championship.
Schembechler, a former assistant
under Hayes at Ohio State, took
over a struggling Michigan pro-
gram in 1969 after coaching for half
a decade at Miami (OH).
The opening in Ann Arbor sur-
faced after Bump Elliot's Wolverine
squad were humiliated against the
Buckeyes in the regular season's
final game in'68.
At one point, the '68 matchup
between Ohio State and Michigan
was deadlocked at 14, but Ohio
State then strungtogether 36 con-
secutive points to make the score
50-14.
Following the touchdown that
put the Buckeyes at 50, Hayes elect-
ed to go for two. The attempt was
unsuccessful, but Hayes's hubris
salted the Wolverine wound.
If the mere act wasn't enough
to fire up Michigan players for the
next matchup, Hayes's post-game
comments probably did the trick.
When asked why he went for
two with the game in hand, Hayes
responded: "Because I couldn't go
for three."
So when Schembechler took over
in betweenthe '68 and '69 seasons,
he made it his mission to reinforce
the embarrassment that came from
the debacle in'68.
And not just for Ohio State week,
either. Schembechler had the Ohio
State score displayed everywhere
even before the season began.
"The one thing that he did to
remind us about Ohio State was he
took 50-14, and he it tacked up all
over the place." said Jim Betts, a
wide receiver for Michigan on both
the '68 and '69 teams. "That was
the score of the game the previous
year when they went on to become
national champions, so 50-14 was
pretty prominent all year long."
By game week, Schembechler had
the score tagged on the helmets of
his players to further motivate them.
When game day came along,
Michigan was fired up. The Wol-
verines jumped out to a 24-12 half-
time lead.
By game's end, the Buckeyes
still couldn't solve the Wolverines
defense. Ohio State was still stuck
on 12 points, and Hayes was so
frustrated that he benched his
high-profile quarterback, Rex Kern.
Schembechler's Wolverines won
by 12. The game remains one of the
legendary coach's fondest memo-
ries at Michigan.
"I'll never forgetwhen Woody
See BELL, page 10A
By JIM FORRESTER
Associate Sports Editor
"Nobody has a better defense
- unless maybe its the Minnesota
Vikings." So said Purdue's Jack
Mollenkopflastweekafterhisteam
was (destroyed) by Ohio State.
Well, somebody else has a bet-
ter defense and it's the Michgian
Wolverines. Michigan blasted the
Buckeye offense, holding them
scoreless in the second half, as the
Wolverines outplayed Ohio State,
24-12.
The Defense told Woody "Fat
Boy" Hayes it was going to be a
long day when they stopped the
hapless Bucks on their first drive
holding them on fourth and one on
the Michigan 10 yard line. Jim Otis
smacked the middle of the big Blue
line for the last yard but metHenry
Hill, professionally known as the
great Pumpkin, on the way and fell
inches short. In all, Hall made 13
tackles, including eight solos, the
game high for both squads.
But the big man on defense, all
178 pounds of him, was defensive
back Barry Pierson. Pierson was
peerless, intercepting three passes,
making five tackles and returning a
punt 60 yards to set up the Wolver-
ines' insurance touchdown.
Coach Bo Schembecler summed
up the incredible Michigan vic-
tory.
"We wouldn't have wanted to
go to the Rose Bowl," said the Wol-
verine mentor after the game. "If
we lost, and they wouldn't have
wanted us. Now we're going as co-
champions of the Big Ten and don't
you forget it."
But Schembecler couldn't say
enough about the defensive game.
"Great plays on defense saved us
in the second half," he said. But the
coach was quick to mention who
they were aiming at in the Buckeye
attack. "The strategy was to con-
tain Ron Kern because we knew
Otis would get his yards but Kern
wouldn't." The prediction was solid
as Fat Boy went to his second string
quarterback Ron Maciejowski in
the fourth quarter.
But in spite of the vicious
defense, the Bucks put the first
tally on the board as Larry Zelina
returned a Mark Wener punt to
the Wolverine 16. After Otis lost a
yard Kern passed to Jan White on
the three yard line. The Otis hit
the line three times, the last play
for the score. And although Otis
piled up 144 yards for the day this
was the last time he tread into the
endzone.
The Michigan offense went to
work. Don Moorhead mixed his
plays well with the key being the
rushes to the strong side of the
Michigan line anchored by Captain
Jim Mandich, and tackle Dan Dier-
dorf. The end result, after passes to
Mandich and Oldham, was Garvie
Craw touchdown:
Dierdorf explained the Wolver-
ine strategy. "We planned to just
run right at them. Everybody else
has panicked and come out throw-
ing, not playing their own game."
OSU managed another score
the next time they had the ball,
Kern being the key as he passed for
50 yards in the 74 yard drive. The
score came on a strike to Jan White
coming across the field.
The kick was good, unlike the
first score, but the Wolverines were
offside so the Bucks took the penal-
ty and went for two. Kern dropped
back to pass but all his people were
covered and as he looked for an
open man Mike Keller brought him
down to end the threat.
From then on it was all Blue.
Glenn Doughty took the kick and
returned the ball to the 31. Then
Moorhead and Billy Taylor took
over. Moorhead passed to Billy
Harris and Mandich for nine yards
each while Taylor was punching
the line for short gains.
But Ohio was not able to con-
tain the soph tailback as he poured
through the Buckeye line at the
OSU 33 and broke four tackles
before he was downed on the three
yard line. Craw smashed into the
line twice for the score.
This time, though, the Bucks
were not able to return the favor
and had to punt after three plays.
Pierson took the ballin on the Wol-
verine 33 and made his fabulous,
weaving return.
The last Michigan score came
off the toe of Tim Killian in the
form of a 25 yard field goal.
The second half was scoreless
and the defense was the reason.
The Bucks never came close to the
Wolverine goalline in the half until
they drove to the Blue 21 late in the
game. But just when it looked as if
Ohio mightmake the game respect-
able, Tom Dardin picked off the
sixth Michigan interception of the
day. Tom Curtis, had the other two
in addition to Pierson's three.
Curtis returned his first inter-
ception 26 yards to set a new-
NCAA career record for yards
gained on returns of snared enemy
aerials with 431.
In the fourth quarter Michigan
forced Ohio into submission as
they stopped them twice on two
desperate fourth downs while
intercepting two of their passes
and recovering a fumble.
Even the Fat Boy knew what
happened. "We got outplayed
and outpunched," said the Buck-
eye mentor after the game as he
rushed back into the lockerroom
and away from reporters' and
questions.
And that is what beating Ohio
State is all about."
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