M Lineup Changes 'A Strong Possibility'

M LINEUP CHANGES ‘A STRONG POSSIBILITY’
WOLVERINES PREPARE FOR ‘JUG’ BATTLE
By Wayne DeNeff

Look for some changes in the Michigan starting lineup on Saturday when the Wolverines take on Minnesota at Minneapolis in the annual struggle for the “The Little Brown Jug.”
Coach Bo Schembechler, understandably disturbed about the 23-12 loss to Michigan State in an important Big Ten test, said today “there are strong possibilities changes will be made.”
Schembechler cited a “lack of efficiency” against the Spartans “plus a need to shake ‘em up” as reasons for the possible lineup changes.
“Competition,” he said, “is a great thing.”
The loss to MSU was Michigan’s second loss of the season but Schembechler said “he felt better about the Missouri loss because I felt in the Missouri game we played some good football. We made a lot of major mistakes and that killed us.
“At State we made a lot of little mistakes but we didn’t play good football either… we played badly at a lot of positions.”
Schembechler didn’t pinpoint the possible lineup changes as the Wolverines started drills on the grass at Ferry Field for the first time this season.
All Michigan’s practices and games so far this season have been on the artificial turf.
Since he has never before coached a team which played on artificial turf and then went to a sodded field, Schembechler said he didn’t know quite what to expect although it has been said that Michigan State, going from its own artificial turf to grass, experienced leg weariness in its games with Notre Dame and Ohio State.
“We are going to have a tough time this week, I’ll tell you that,” said Schembechler about the coming game.
“Minnesota,” he said, “is one of the best teams I’ve seen. You wouldn’t believe the difference from their first game of the season and their game with Ohio State.”
The Gophers were beaten by Arizona State 48-26, at Tempe in the opener but last Saturday gave top-ranked Ohio State its roughest test of the season before bowing, 34-7.
Against OSU, the Gophers picked up 25 first downs, one more than the Buckeyes, rushed for 139 yards and found they had a strong aerial attack, after all. With quarterback Phil Hagen at the controls, Minnesota completed 26 of 47 passes for 305 yards and had just one interception. The interception, plus five fumbles, gave Ohio State all the breaks it needed.
“It would seem that anyone in his right mind wouldn’t say that Minnesota is a top team because of its record (0-4-1),” said Schembechler, “but I’m telling you that Minnesota is a top team. I really feel that way.
“If you saw Minnesota against Ohio State you wouldn’t think that Ohio State was that good,” he continued. “Murray (Coach Warmath) has done a job. He has got ‘em coming and Minnesota always finishes strong.”
In pre-season guessing, some figured the Gophers had the makings of a team which could challenge Ohio State but were surprised by their losses in non-conference games. Now the Gophers are starting to rise. Warmath says he feels his players’ Scandinavian origin is responsible for their slower maturity.
In reviewing the loss to Michigan State, Schembechler said most of the damage was done in the first half.
“They gained about 250 of their rushing yards in the first half,” said the Michigan coach. “If we had played defense in the first half the way we did in the second half we could have stopped them.”
The Spartans led 16-3 at the half and punched another TD early in the third quarter, given a start by a Michigan penalty.
“When we decided to just go after them, we stopped them cold. Although they hurt as the guard positions with their size, we felt all the way through that we could run the football.”
Schembechler pointed out that at the start of Michigan’s first two drives in the first period, the Wolverines “were knocking them off the line of scrimmage.”
A fumble and some exceptional work by defensive end Rich Saul helped the Spartans stop those early drives.

BOX TEXT: M, Spartans Tangle Again: Michigan and Michigan State’s freshmen football teams meet for the first time at 10:30 a.m., Saturday in Michigan Stadium.
It will be the first game of the season for the Wolverine frosh, coached by Louie Lee. The second game will be played at Notre Dame on Nov. 15. Admission for Saturday’s game is $1. Tickets will be sold only at the gate.