1963
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
,C A
Referee Cites Cause of Ruckus;
Claims Game 'Got Out of Hand'
A?
On the Spot...
with JACK HORWITZ
Associate Sports Editor
Refuses To Comment
On Ouster of Players
f
ARE not one to hold post mortems on the disastrous downfall
of the Michigan football squad last Saturday, but we would like
to try to offer :some explanation or reasoning behind Ohio State's
smashing 17-0 win.
Many followers of the Wolverine gridiron fortunes are still asking
themselves, "What happened?" We might say we were just outplayed.
But it was more than that.
A fired up Buckeye squad, seeking its second conference cham-
pionship in a row, entered the Michigan Stadium with just one pur-
pose in mind. They were going to beat Michigan and they had the
equipment to do it.s
The equipment, you might say, was in the person of a 21-year-old
speedster named Cassady, Howard "Hopalong" Cassady, twice named
All-American, and one of the most phenomenal runners in the game
today.
Starting off slowly, he seemed to gain momentum as the game
progressed, ripping into the Wolverine line with comparative ease.
All in all, Cassady gained 146 yards all by himself. Need we say more!
The Buckeye equipment manager, Coach Woody Hayes, brought
out some more for the Michigan fans. It was a strong forwar4 wall
which the Wolverine linemen seemingly couldn't dent. Only in the
fourth and fatal quarter did the Blue uniforms line up in the opposi-
tion's territory, and they didn't stay there for long. Where the center
of the Michigan line fell apart, the Buckeyes excelled. They opened
wide gaps through the guards and tackles and took the centers out
of the plays entirely. The holes in the Michigan line were wide
enough to drive a truck through and Cassady, fullback Don Vicic,
and halfback Don Sutherin just waltzed right through. Even quarter-
back Frank Ellwood was able to gain considerable yardage on quarter-
back sneaks which normally aren't good for more than a yard or two.
Monday Morning Quarterbacks...
SITTING AT breakfast yesterday morning, we overheard several Ann
Arbor residents; long time followers of Michigan football, talking.
They were discussing the demise of the Maize and Blue and making
their own observations of the team. We heard them comment that
Saturday was just an indication of the real ability of the football
squad. We would like to take opposition to this statement.
If this was a poor Michigan team, as some of the fans would seem
to indicate, then why were we ranked first in the country for three
weeks? ,Why did pre-season predictions pick Michigan to win the
Big Ten championship? Why were we picked as favorites over un-
beaten (in conference play) Ohio State?
Some say were were lucky! Certainly we won one by a single
point. But, man for man, we still think that the Michigan squad
is one of the finest teams in the country today. Let's look at the
squad analytically.
Probably the two finest ends the Western Conference has seen
in a long time are in the persons of Ron Kramer and Tom Maentz.
Many have suggested that they belong on any All-American squad.
And how about halfbacks like Tony Branoff and Terry Barr? Not
enough praise can be given to them for their fine play all season
long. They too should receive some special recognition. Add to the list
Lou Baldacci, a hard-charging fullback, one of the better ones in this
part of the country, and two good all around quarterbacks, Jim Mad.
dock and Jim VanPelt.
And the Line Held...
OUR double strength line, working most of the season in two shifts,
was trodden into the mud of the Stadium Saturday, but this is not
indicative of the season play. We can recall many a time when the
line stood fast in the face of the opposition's charges. Take the
Minnesota game for example. When the Gophers came close in the
last half, the line formed like a stone wall to hold them. And against
Indiana and Army. And again against Michigan State and North-
western.' This is indicative of how the Michigan line played.
The backfield worked as a smooth, harmonious unit all season
long. Perhaps performance would best indicate just how good the
line was. Remember, the sparkling offense shown in the 33-21 victory
over Iowa. Recall, the downfall of Army as Maddock and Van Pelt
called a masterful game. Visualize, the kick by Branoff made on
the run against Northwestern to turn the tide of the game. Remember
Van Pelt's work in the Minnesota game. Yes, the offensive work of
the backfield is certainly not to be ridiculed.
The Record Rests...
AT THE finish of a football season, (we like to look back at the
record. With a 7-2 overall record, we finished higher than last
season. Yet we were lower, lower,in the eyes of the fans, the loyal
Michigan followers who watched in awe at the shameful display of
the Wolverines in the final minutes of last Saturday's game. The
hollow feeling within us as we watched, too, makes us want to know
just what happened to the Michigan poise that is usually present in
all the Michigan games.
(Continued from Page 1)
between the two Big Ten schools.
The prestige of the Big Ten was
on the block too. The story of a
Big Ten game being called off for
roughness and unsportsmanlike
conduct would have lived for
years."
"Actions Will Be Forgotten"
"The unfortunate actions of a
few ball players will be forgotten
in a few short weeks. Everyone
certainly hopes so."
As to the key argument itself,
Skover said "Cassady fumbled
after he was over. A Michigan
man recovered the ball. Michigan
claimed that since Cassady didn't
touch the ball to the ground in
the end zone, it wasn't a legiti-
mate touchdown. There were
heavy words thrown at us on that
play. We took them because the
players who were arguing were
sincere. Captain Ed Meads finally
called time."
Skover went on to say, "We
explained the rule to him again.
All that is necessary is for a player
to be over the goal with the ball.
What happens after that makes
no difference. Meadsobviously
tried to explain this. to his players,
but they weren't satisfied. From
then on, things were dffficult."
Couldn't Control Fans
Skover went on to tell how he
and his fellow officials were power-
less to keep the wildeyed fans from
storming onto the playing field as
the game drew near a close.
"This isn't our job. It just hap-
pened that there was a shortage of
policemen to keep the fans off
the field. It was, unfortunate but
I think the officials should nothbe
blamed for that."
When asked why he ejected
Kramer and Sigman, Skover was
reported to have said "I'd rather
not discuss it. The penalties were
for unsportsmanlike conduct. I
know that the officials were sorry
they had to take such action
against players who were in such
a key game when emotions can
get away sometimes. I feel that
its safe to say that the players
themselves are sorry it happened
too."
Meanwhile, here at the Univer-
sity, students were still upset over
the incidents. Many student lead-
ers commented that it was "the
sorriest sight they had ever seen
in the Michigan Stadium."
"Absolute Seniors From Blame"
An anonymous woman called
The Daily this morning, and pslead-
ed with the sports staff to publish
an article'absolving the Michigan
seniors from blame.
"I don't think any seniors were
involved," she said. "Some of
these boys played for three and
four years, and will never again
have a chance to absolve them-
selves in a Michigan uniform
again."
'M' Drops to 12th in AP Poll;
Spartans Second to Sooners
Michigan skidded to 12th place
in this week's Associated Press Poll
after losing to Ohio State 17-0
last Saturday.
With this impressive win, the
Buckeyes advanced to sixth place.
Oklahoma remained the nation's
No. 1 team by grabbing 114 first
place votes and stacked up 1,889
points on the basis of 10 for first,
,9 for second, etc. The Sooners, un-
beaten in nine games, drubbed Ne-
braska 41-0 last week end.
Michigan State moved a step
closer to gaining the National
Championship as it ousted Mary-
land from the No. 2 spot. The
Spartans ripped Marquette 33-0,
while Maryland had to rally to
beat George Washington 19-0.
MSU received 39 first place bal-
lots, and wound up with 1,689
points while the Terrapins had 35,
firsts and 1683 points.
UCLA, which won a Rose Bowl
berth in beating Southern Califor-
nia 17-7, moved up from fifth to
fourth place with 1,374 points, dis-
placing Notre Dame who nipped
Iowa 17-14.
Walker Gains
WIFU Honors
Art Walker, all-American tackle
for Michigan just a year ago, was
recently named to the first team
of Canada's professional Western
Inter-Provincial Football Union
for the 1955 season.
Walker, playing for Edmonton,
was chosen all-star offensive guard
by the Canadian Press in a poll
of football writers and coaches.
His outstanding play all" season
was credited as being instrumen-
tal in Edmonton's first place finish
in the WIFU.
The top four, teams will meet in
two major New Year's bowl games,
Oklahoma vs Maryland in Miami's
Orange Bowl, and UCLA vs Michi-
gan State in the Pasadena Rose
Bowl.
The top teams with first place
votes and won-lost records in
parentheses:
.1. Oklahoma....... 114 (9-0) 1,889
2. Mich. State...... 39
3. Maryland......
4. UCLA .........
5. Notre Dame.
6. Ohio State .....
7. Texas Christian .
8. Texas A&M ,..
9. Georgia Tech ...
10. Auburn .........
11. Navy..........
12. MICHIGAN...
13. Pittsburgh ......
14. Miama, Fla. ....
15. Mississippi ......
16. Miami, Ohio ..
17. Stanford ........
18. Duke..........
19. Vanderbilt ......
20. Syracuse ........
35
6
3
5
3
1
2
(8-1)
(10-0)
(9-1)
(8-1)
(7-2)
(8-1)
(7-1-1)
(7-1-1)
(6-1-1)
(7-2)
(7-3)
(5-3)
(8-1)
(8-0)
(6-3-1)
(6-2-1)
(7-2)
(5-3)
1,689
1,683
1,374
1,255
1,025
994
531
369
245
219
102
90
79
73
46
29
23
18
16
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