Page 4- The Michigan Daily - Sports Wednesday - January 9, 1991
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'M' vying for '91
Kickoff Classic
Happenings
abound in Florida
by Mike Gill
Daily Football Writer
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -
Here's a look at some surrounding
events around the Jacksonville area
during the week the Michigan
team spent in the Sunshine State.
PRESIDENT R & R'S
Michigan President James Du-
derstadt seemed to enjoy his time
in the Florida sun. How does the
prez spend his week as head of the
Michigan Gator Bowl contingent?
"There are a lot of promotional
events for the Gator Bowl," he
said. "The president, the athletic
director, and the coach generally
are pulled into a lot of events
whether they're pep rallies or
dinners or what not. But it's not
as intense as the Rose Bowl so
there is a little bit of R&R."
So hw did the president spend
his R&R? "Reading," he laughed.
"Believe it or not - and resting
on the beach which is something
we don't get to do much in Ann
Arbor."
Duderstadt had one of the best
quips of the trip at a luncheon
sponsored in part by Perdue Co. A
Perdue sign hung behind the main
table and when it was his turn to
speak, he looked at the sign and
said, "I always thought that's how
'you spell Purdue."
ESPN color analyst Gary
Danielson is a Purdue graduate. He
said, "Hey, if we ever got to a
bowl game, we wouldn't care if
you spelled it P-E-R-D-O-O."
NO KISS AND TELL
The day before a bowl game is
not the time to find out what op-
posing coaches really think of
their opponent. Instead, Billy
Brewer and Gary Moeller, might
have kissed, but they surely didn't
tell.
Moeller started: "I would.be
very disappointed if our team were
to take Ole Miss (an 11 1/2 point
underdog) lightly."
Moeller later: "I'd be proud to
say I coached that team."
Brewer: "I think our team has
the toughest draw of any team in a
bowl game," he said, obviously
forgetting about the Irish, Colo-
rado, Georgia Tech, or Miami.
Brewer with this sad fact of
life: "Unfortunately, someone's
gotta win, someone's gotta lose."
Brewer on how Michigan plays
football: "They play smash-mouth
football. They don't fool around."
Brewer on Moeller: "He's the
classiest guy in this profession."~
Where is the violin music?
MO'S ADVICE TO BO?
Danielson at the Gator Bowl
banquet introduced Moeller with a
gracious speech. In part, he said
that he received the following
telegram from former Michigan
football coach. Bo Schembechler
addressed to Mo.
"Dear Gary," Daiielson read.
"Congratulations on a fine season.
Good luck in the Gator Bowl. The
advice you gave me about the
Ernie Harwell situation was a
little off. P.S. Run the ball."
MO CLEANS UP
Among activities planned for
the team while in Florida was a
trip to an aircraft carrier, a comedy
club, and a dog racing track.
Insiders report Moeller cleaned up
at the track, winning around $300
bd winning the first two trifectas.
IVE A HOOT,
The Jacksonville Landing, a
festival marketplace with
restaurants, shops, and bars off the
St. Johns River, was the center of
activity for Michigan and Ole
Miss fans while in Jacksonville.
The most popular bar/restaurant at
the Landing is Hooters, a chain
throughout Florida known for its
chicken wings and beach-attired
waitresses.
While Ole Miss and Michigan
by Ryan Schreiber
Daily Football Writer
Early reports from Kickoff Clas-
sic officials in New Jersey indicate
that Michigan will face Georgia
Tech at Giants Stadium in East
Rutherford to officially open the
1991 college football season.
According to Robert Mulcahey,
chief executive officer of the New
Jersey Sports & Exposition Author-
ity, five schools have been listed as
finalists for the game, scheduled to
take place on Aug. 28, 29 or 30. In
addition to Michigan and Georgia
Tech, the other schools in the run-
ning are Penn State, Florida State,
and Miami.
Michigan has already undertaken
one schedule change for the 1991
season. Originally set to open versus
Notre Dame on Sept. 14, ABC re-
quested that the Boston College
game be moved to Sept. 7 to ac-
commodate their network schedule.
With a berth in the Kickoff Classic,
Michigan would have two games be-
fore facing the Fighting Irish, who
have beaten the Wolverines in four
consecutive meetings.
Georgia Tech, the leading candi-
date for the classic, closed its 1990
campaign with an 11-0-1 record,
beating Nebraska in the Citrus
Bowl, 45-21, and topping the UPI
coaches' poll in a split national
championship with Colorado.
The Wolverines, whose strong
national alumni contingency gives
them an added appeal for the contest,
won decidedly over Mississippi in
the Gator Bowl, 35-3, finishing the
season with a 9-3 record. With the
return of key players from its high-
powered offense such as Jon
Vaughn, Ricky Powers, and
Desmond Howard, Michigan should
be an early-season favorite for the
1991 national championship, in ad-
dition to a favorable opponent for
the Yellow Jackets.
Sources indicated that three
matchups look most favorable to
Kickoff Classic officials. They are
Michigan-Georgia Tech, Michigan-
Penn State, and Georgia Tech-Penn
State.
Other matchups have already been
eliminated between the five schools.
Florida State is the least likely
school to be named for three major
reasons. A meeting with Penn State
has been scratched because the teams
just met on Dec. 28 in the Block-
buster Bowl. In addition, the Semi-
noles have Michigan already on their
schedule on Sept. 28. Regional con-
tests have also been looked down
upon by the search committee, giv-
ing reason to believe that a game in-
volving two teams from the south
would not occur.
An added attraction for competing
teams is the guaranteed payout,
which has been increased for the
1991 contest. Both teams stands to
gain $650,000, up $100,000 from
last year. Each of the eight previous
contests have yielded above the guar-
anteed figure.
According to Michael Graime,
the manager of college athletics for
the New Jersey Sports & Exposition
Authority, a final decision on the
teams will not be released for an-
other two weeks, and all of the Top
20 schools are under consideration.
Michigan coach Gary Moeller confers with his team's offensive captain, Jarrod Bunch.
ROOKIE COACH MAKES HIS MARK IN BOWL
It's
by Mike Gill
Daily Football Writer
MO' S
team
now..
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - After
one year on the job, Gary Moeller
has firmly cemented himself as
coach of the Wolverines. And people
need to look no further than the
Gator Bowl to see Moeller's imprint
on the team.
First, there was Moeller's inno-
vative no-huddle offense. Second,
Michigan threw for 324 yards and at-
tempted a flea-flicker. The well-
mixed offensive attack left Missis-
sippi unable to focus on Michigan's
GILL
Continued from page 1
a million and one things going
through my mind. Then it's like -_-
I gotta catch it. If anything - if I
gotto fall down, I've got to catch
it."
Then there was the other
touchdown catch Howard's magic act
brought to Jacksonville. The catch
was not the big deal. The move, as
it is now termed, is another story.
Howard caught the ball in the left
flat, spun away from his opponent,
and pranced into the endzone for a
50-yard touchdown that left the
Rebels without a cause in this cause.
" "That move comes from my
running back days," Howard
reasoned.
And then he simply explained
how he accomplishes his feats.
"Once you get it into your grasp,
then you just run for daylight."
Michigan has a star on its
horizon. And if Moeller continues
with the "play to win, not to not
lose" gameplan,tHoward will find
himself gleaming on the cover of all
the glossy college football
magazines.
He's got the smile. He's got the
laugh. And he's got the nickname,
'Magic.'
In an Ohio junior high school
semi-final basketball game, Howard
scored 20 of his team's 25 points in
a one-point, overtime victory. His
coach began calling him 'Magic.'
It has stuck. Now, he wears
Orlando Magic attire.
And as reporters fawned over the
gameday star, one asked, "It must be
pretty nice to have your own team
now."
"Oh, yes," Howard giggled, "if
only they could start winning."
Which is exactly what Michigan
has done with Mo in charge of bowl
games. Started winning. The Gator
Bowl has followed the Hall of Fame
Bowl victory, when Mo sat in for
Bo.
How many bowl.games has Mo
really won? "The only reason I like
that (Hall of Fame Bowl victory) is
that it gives you guys something
different to write about," Mo said,
two high-powered running backs -
Jon Vaughn and Ricky Powers.
"I came out with the idea that we
were not going to play this game
not to lose," Moeller said. "I wanted
to play it to win it and that was a
big debate because you are supposed
to win. I'm not going to sit back
and play hoping not to lose. We've
got to mix it up because if we don't
mix it up on that team and- we let
them line up like they usually line
up, we'd have had a long afternoon."
The brash game plan resembled
Moeller's early season style much
more than his play calling in
November. "We had some shaky
passes in the Ohio State game and I
got a little more conservative," he
admitted.
Moeller's aggressiveness did not
go unnoticed by his players.
"After Elvis (Grbac) threw that
interception at the goalline (on
Michigan's first possession), he
didn't back away," receiver Desmond
Howard said. "He mixed it up really
well today. (Mo) came right back
and (Elvis) hit me with a deep one.
He didn't back away. He has confi-
dence in his players to take chances
like that."
But not only did Michigan play,
ers praise their coach's gameday plan
but also the preparation schedule the
Wolverines followed leading up to
their New Year's Day clash. The
Wolverines interspersed eight hard
days of hitting in Ann Arbor ant
Florida with off days. They then
practiced three days in shorts and had
New Year's Eve as a day off.
"(Practice) really tapered off t6
give us a chance to recover for the
game," Eric Anderson said. "That
basically was the difference. I think
it was good that Mo had us hitting
early and then brought it back so
that we'd be ready to play.
"Bo (Schembechler) would take
this as a regular week of practice.
We'd have two hitting days then a
light day and taper off before having
a run through the day before. Here,
we had two hitting days really early
(in Florida) then tapered off. It gave
us a chance to get our legs back and
really get the mental attitude down.
Moeller said he backed down in
the practices and gave the team the
day off for mental reasons more than
anything.
"It's his own program now and
he's doing things his way and it
works," Anderson concluded.
41;4 1114 11FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK
Impressive stats
prove final score
by David Hyman
Daily Football Writer
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Entering the Mazda Gator Bowl, Michigan
converted 32 of 37 drives when they moved the ball 50 or more yards.
January 1 was no different as five of the eight drives that covered more
than 50 yards resulted in five touchdowns.
Uncharacteristically, four of the five scoring drives took fewer than
five plays and all of the scores took less than 3:35. On the previous 32
drives where Michigan scored, the Wolverines averaged 8.5 plays and 4:00
to score.
IN THE RED ZONE: Entering the game, Michigan converted 84% of
the time it moved the ball inside its opponents' 20-yard line. The
Wolverines were 42 of 50 in the red zone this season with 31 touchdowns
and 11 field goals.
In this year's Gator Bowl, Michigan was only two of five when it
reached the Ole Miss 20. J.D. Carlson missed a 33-yard field goal in the
third quarter and tailback Ricky Powers fumbled into the Rebel endzone in
the fourth quarter. On the third occassion, the Wolverines held the ball on
the Ole Miss 15-yard line as time expired in the contest.
RANKINGS: The Wolverines finished the season ranked seventh irt
the Associated Press poll, eighth in United Press International's poll. :
THE GAME IS DEFENSE: When allowing its opponents less than
20 points, the Wolverines finished the 1990 season with a perfect 9-0
-record. Michigan has now outscored bowl opponents 292-151 in the
second half and has not allowed a point in the second half of eight of its
22 bowl appearances.
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JOSE JUAE/Daily
Ricky Powers rushes for seven of his 112 yards in the Gator Bowl.
LINE
Continued from Page 1
.Dean Dingman, and center Steve
Everitt could be provided with such
an honor.
"It really is a pleasure,"
Skrepenak said. "It feels great. We're
not used to getting many awards. I
think we did a great job today. It
seemed like everything was working
for us."
Skrepenak's father agreed with
his son. "He played a great game
today. He's losing a good friend in
Dean and they both wanted to finish
the season on a high note. They did
"It's a great conclusion to my
career," senior Dingman said. "One
person can't do it all on the
offensive line. We thought we could
be great this season and today we
were pretty good."
Even though Grbac threw his
only interception of the game on the
13th play of Michigan's opening
drive, the offensive line established
its dominance. The Wolverines
marched down the field with ease,
moving the ball on the ground
before Grbac was picked off.
"Michigan has the best offensive
line I faced in four years," Ole Miss,
defensive tackle Kelvin Pritchett
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