Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Holtz's ELIJAH MARSHALL.. ...a big year E Inexperieno dims Georp, By GEORGE MORRIS Asst. Sports Editor Almost every year since he came to Georgia, poor-mouthing coach Vince Dooley has given preseason doomsday forecasts, and for years Bulldog fans just smiled and said 'Sure, Vince.' Now those same fans are facing up to a startling fact-Vince Dooley isn't kidding anymore. That's not to say Georgia won't squeek by with a winning season, but it's going to be a lot tougher for the Bulldogs than it's been in a long time. Only four starters return from a Porous defense of last year. Defensive secondary coach Sam Mitchell stated the problem well, saying Georgia s goal in 1975 was to "score more and do it slower." Dooley, the eternal pessimist, has more to say. "We lost seven players defen sively, we're very young and small, so the outlook is not good at all. We don't even have a first team on defense," Dooley said. If that wasn't bad enough, star linebacker Sylvester Boler was placed on suspension for the season, eliminating about the only defensive bright spot. Mitchell's philosophy of "score more and do it slower" may be what saves the Bulldogs this year. VINCE DOnLEY V Wolfp xpected at N.C. State ed defense ia outlook As bad as the defense looks, the offense may be capable of living up to his hopes. Quarterback Matt Robinson, who won a starting berth by leading Georgia to a 52-14 rout of Carolina, leads a potentially ex plosive offense. Robinson, a junior, completed 60 or 121 passes for 1,317 and eight touchdowns while rushing for 12 more scores. Glynn Harrison returns at halfback, giving Georgia a powerful and consistant runner. Harrison gained 959 yards on 149 carries, a 6.4 average, and will be joined in the backfield by senior Andy Reid. Georgia's offensive line is big, as usual, and the only problem Dooley faces there is depth. Mike Wilson (6-5, 260), Joel Parrish (6-3, 242), Joe Tereshinski (6-1, 231), Randy Johnson (6-2, 253) and Steve Wilson (6-3, 255) will be opening the holes for Harrison, Robinson and Co. All lettered last year. Another bright spot on offense is that of wide receiver. Georgia switched to the versitile veer .of fense last year, forsaking a cherished Dooley commandment, 'thou shalt not pass.' Speedy Gene Washington is the leading candidate, but he will be pushed for his job by junior Butch Box. The tight end position will be manned by Richard Appleby, who led the Southeastern Conference with a 22.2 average gain per catch. All these strengths and weaknesses not withstanding, Georgia play'ed Pittsburgh Saturday, and in losing 19-9 did the opposite of what everyone predicted. The Bulldog defense stifled the Pitt attack in the first half, but their offense sputtered. So maybe Dooley's problems aren't as bad as they first seemed. If the defense holds together as it did Saturday and the offense picks up (as it should), Georgia might do pretty well this year. But the next time Vince Dooley starts poor mouthing his team, the folks in Athens are sure to listen better. ick stroi By BILLY COX Gamecock Sports Writer The ACC got a dramatic taste of what it was in for even before Lou Holtz took over the coaching reins at N.C. State. North Carolina, which had been bashing in skulls during the 1971 season, traveled to Williamsburg, Va., where Mr. Holtz sat quietly with his William and Mary Indians. After the smoke had cleared, the Tar Heels' heads were spinning. They had been optioned, faked, blitzed, suckered, sweeped, stampeded, and razzle-dazzled into confusion, wondering how they had survived the 36-35 shootout. When Holtz arrived at State, which was tottering after a 3-7 year, he didn't promise a bowl trip nor even a winner, for that matter. What he did guarantee was an exciting brand of football that would, if nothing else, keep the throngs entertained. Well, three years later, Holtz's coaching record stands at 26-8-2. His Wolfpack has gone unbeaten in three straight bowl games. His teams reled off 14 consecutive ACC victories, setting 7h school records in the process. And yes-they've been doing it with pizzazz. The 1975 edition of Raleigh wolves will present somewhat of a different situation from times past. For the first time, Holtz will be without a legitimate All-America candidate at the running back spot. Names like Willie Burden, Stan Fritts, and Roland 'Hooks are missing. What Holtz does have is an electrifying passing game, highlighted by twin threats, Don and David Buckey. The latter, a pre-season All-America choice at Mistakes hurt in ' Bengal By RAY COOPER Gamecock Sports Writer "We can't beat anybody if we make the mistakes we made last year," said LSU Coach Charlie McClendon. The Bengals had a 5-5 1 season last year which is not. indicative of past LSU teams. Coach McClendon is known as "Cholly Mac" to the fans around Baton Rouge. These fans take' their football seriously and so does McClendon. He takes it so seriously in fact that he changed his whole offensive strategy. This year instead of running their traditional Veer offense, the Bengals have switched over to a "multiple offense." This offense will be in the form of a power I, with the backfield shifting out of the I occassionally. McClendon said he is changing offenses because he wants to take some of the pressure off his young quarterbacks. The top two quarterbacks for LSU are Bobby Moreau and Pat Lyons. Moreau is the only quar terback that has seen varsity experience for LSU. He has called signals in one game for a total of 10 plays. The Bengals-lost both of their starting running backs to graduation last year. Terry Robiskie will be counted on heavily uig-aga LOU HOLTZ quarterback, has an arm which has passed for a career 59 per cent accuracy, 16 touchdowns, and 2,775 yards. Don Buckey, at split end, has snatched 68 passes and holds the school reception mark with 1,184 yards. Dave also has some other talented targets to work with, such as Pat Hovance and Elijah Mar shall. Marshall, in fact, emerged from high school with such an impressive pair of hands and legs that State and the University of Tennessee almost went to court to see who owned him. At this stage, though, the Wolfpack's running game looks about as solid as a balsa wood U boat. The most experienced rusher, junior Tommy London, carried the ball 40 times last year for less than a whopping 147 yards. In his traditional mind-blowing fashion, Holtz has converted Johnny Evans, the number two punter in the nation with a 43.5 74 s change c CHARLIE McCLENDON this year by the Bengals to handle the running game. Robiskie is a 6 1, 205 pounder that gained 384 yards last year as a second team back. Another bright spot for LSU is Charles Alexander, a freshman from Galveston, Texas. Alexander runs the 100 yard dash in 9.5 seconds and Coach McClendon is confident that Alexander will help out the Bengals ground attack. Another freshman McClendon is counting on is Mike Quintela (6-0, 180) from Port Arthur, Teasn. in yard average, into a fullback. Because Holtz must keep Buckey healthy in order to move the ball, he has molded together a sturdy nucleus of offensive linemen who seldom let their quarterback soil his jersey. Guards Tom Serfass and Ed Callaway and tackle Mike Fagan spearhead a front line that averages 6-2, 235 lbs. per man. State's secondary looks like bad news for an aerial bombardment. Cornerback Ralph Stringer, a retrun man on kickoffs and punts, specializes in stealing passes and, along with safety Ed Poole, forms a stable defense against the bomb. The Wolfpack's defensive line is quicker than last year's if not a bit smaller. Returning to clog things up are Ron Banther and Jeff Easter at the ends, Dan Meier at tackle, and Jack Hall and Bill Cherry at linebacker. Banther, incidently, broke the game open during last year's 42-27 win over Carolina. With USC trailing by a touchdown and deep in State territory, Banther grabbed a fumble and dashed 84 yards the other way for a score. Indeed, the Pack's defense will have to jell if it is to stop teams like Michigan State, Florida, and Penn State. Saturday night's 26-3 win over East Carolina allowed the Pirates a scant 26 yards in the air, with its running corps jolted for five fumbles. Although showing nothing new in its opener, with the Buckey to Buckey combo responsible for most of the 198 aerial yards and Evans scoring twice, unheralded freshman Rickey Adams put on a solid performance in the backfield. Naturally, Holtz would like to count on unknowns to pop up every game in order to confuse op position scouts. If that doesn't happen, he'll probably just option, fake, blutz, sucker, sweep, stampede, and razzle-dazzle everyone to death. With a smile. offense Quintela will help out at split back and split end. The offensive interior line will be anchored by experienced players and should be another bright spot on the young Bengal team. The Bengals have a very tough schedule this year. Their first game is with Nebraska and as if that wasn't enough, they follow up the next week with Texas A & M. McClendon called this schedule a coach's nightmare and also said it was the toughest schedule the Bengals have faced in some time. Probably every Gamecock fan at the USC-LSU game of 1973 remembers it well even though the Bengals won 33-29. Coach Mc Clendon remembers that game as a "hair raiser." He said the Bengals were lucky to get out with a win. "We're never had this young of a football team," he said. Mc Clendon also said he was worried about the 48 rule when he has to t ake his team to Nebraska. Now that the 48 rule has been over thrown, McClendon will surely take the 60 player limit to Husker land. "We can't afford to get anyone hurt this year," the coach said. We only have 15 seniors and four of them are already hurt. This season is going to be an "uphill battle for us.