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 STUDENT SPECIAL TROUSERS * Deluxe cleaned and finished * 65c cash and carry Gold Bond (leaners 515 E. William ----------- - - hey! hey! vacation begins December 16th GOING HOME! G0 VULCANS Students save up to 1 8% on train fares e ,. " o f:. ;Q, I We're selling to: Chicago, Rochester, Albany, Boston Buffalo, Syracuse, New York, Springfield ..,..and other points east ... i _ _ _ .: