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Show THE HERALD Page'Jfi' Prdvb-- ' VUth, FoAtball Sertiri, Wednesday! AitfUt.?; tm Michigan, Notre Dame Michigan quarterback expected to repeat stellar 1991 performance to battle expected for honors in Midwest . By JOE MOOSHIL AP Sports Writer It won't take long to deter- mine which perennial Midwest football power Notre Dame or Michigan will have the best shot at serious contention for the national title. Michigan, gunning for a fifth straight Big Ten title and a chance to redeem its failure in the Rose Bowl against Washington, opens the season Sept. 12 at South Bend, Ind. "We can't control that," coach Gary Moeller said of the race for the top spot in the polls. "But we can control the league. We have the capability. We could be real good or we could fal flat on our face . ' ' That's unlikely, but could happen if Michigan loses three of its first four games to the 1 likes of Notre Dame, Houston and Iowa. The Big Ten has not had a national champion since Ohio State in 1968. Since then, Notre Dame has carried the banner three times for the Midwest 1973, 1977 and 1988. The Irish have the makings of another because they catch two of their tougher opponents, Michigan and Penn State, at home. Coach Lou Holtz has 10 starters returning on a defense that includes linebacker Demetrius DuBose and end Devon McDonald. The offense will be headed by quarterback Rick Mirer and fullback Jerome Bettis. There are holes to be filled on the offense, but the talent is there. "I think we've got a chance on offense," Holtz said. 'We've just got to build it over again." Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard is gone, but Michigan remains a power on offense. Quarterback Elvis Grbac, Michigan's all-tim- e leader completions (393) and touchdown passes (54), is back. So are tailbacks Ricky Powers (1,197 rushing yards) and Tyrone Wheatley, who scored nine touchdowns as a freshman. in The main challengers to Michigan's bid for a fifth straight Big Ten title will be Iowa and Ohio State. Indiana and Michigan State could be darkhorses. Purdue and Wisconsin are coming, but still have a long way to go. There are new coaches and new systems at Illinois, Minnesota and Northwestern. Iowa's Hayden Fry promises an "exciting team that could provide a good season, particularly if we get off to a good start." E3HDC2! A good start would mean defeating North Carolina State in the Kickoff Classic, Miami and Colorado before opening the Big Ten season against Michigan. Fry said he has "one of the best offensive lines in the coun- try" and that Jim Hartlieb "could be the best running quarterback we've ever had. ' ' "In seven of the last nine years the winner of the Iowa-Michig- an game has gone to the Rose Bowl," Fry said. John Cooper's response was that his Ohio state team has played Michigan for the championship in two of the last three seasons. But the Buckeyes haven't defeated Michigan in the four years under Cooper. This time Cooper thinks his Buckeyes can win the Big Ten. "We have the players," he said of 16 returning starters, eight on each side of the ball. Kirk Herbstreit will quarterback a bevy of running backs. Included is Robert Smith, who returns after sitting out a year. Smith rushed for more than yards as a freshman. By ED SHERMAN Chicago Tribune He was the No. 1 CHICAGO ranked quarterback in the nation, but in January, Elvis Grbac felt like No. 250. All the joy of a dream season was vacuumed out for Grbac by a terrible showing in the Rose Bowl. The Michigan quarterback wilted under Washington's unrelenting pressure, and so did the rest of the Wolverines in a 4 loss. "January was a terrible month," Grbac said. "To have a season like that and then perforrr 34-1- horribly in the Rose Bowl really shook me up." Michigan quarterback coach Cam Cameron noticed. So he called Grbac into his office anc showed him an edited highlight film. This tape, though, was different than any Grbac had ever seen. It wasn't about plays; it was about Grbac's gestures during the Rose Bowl. "He just showed me dropping my head or pulling at my chinstrap after a play," Grbac said. "He showed me losing my poise. He let that run for a while. Then he asked if that was the quarterback he had seen during the season. "I didn't say anything. That hii home fairly hard. It was a learning experience. I'm going to keep it ir my back pocket. If it happen again, I'll know how to react." Michigan can't afford any breakdowns from Grbac this season. With Heisman Trophy winnet Desmond Howard gone to the pros, Grbac definitely is the Wolverines' go-t- o player this year on a team that is favored to make its second straight trip to the Rose Bowl. ' Michigan needs a repeat, or even better, of Grbac's performance in 1991. He completed 65 percent of his passes for 2,085 yards, throwing for 25 touchdowns with only 6 interceptions. Unprecedented figures for a Wolverine quarterback, and his quarterback performance rating was the best in the nation. However, 19 of those touchdown passes went to the acrobatic Howard. For the first time since they both attended the same Clevelan- high school together, d-area Grbac will have to adjust to life without Howard. "It was a little different going to spring practice and not seeing No. 21," Grbac said. "Now it's up to the other players to step up. " Grbac more than anyone else. With or without Howard, the situation would have been different for Grbac this year. He's a senior now, and with that status come responsibilities. The offense has to revolve around him. Michigan's attack, which has flourished in the last two years, works only if the quarterback is on top of his game. "There are a lot of younger le guys on this team, and they're looking to me for leadership," Grbac said. "I have to take on that responsibility. In the last four years, I've grown into that situa- tion." Michigan coach Gary Moeller thinks Grbac has grown quite nice- iy- - "He's demonstrating excellent leadership right now," Moeller said. "He was really into spring practice. He is excited. He worked hard in winter conditioning. He has been brought up with the idea of good work habits go back and go to work." Grbac inherited his work ethic from his parents, who are Croatian immigrants. However, his parents almost halted his journey to stardom. Grbac was a basketball player in high school, and his parents wanted it to stay that way. He hardly had their blessing when he firsi started playing football in his senior year. "I sat them down and said, '1 want to play football,'" Grbac said. "They said if you get hurt, it's your own fault." While Supplies Last! 1 Indiana keeps falling short and that might be the Hoosicrs' fate again. "Our program is close but not quite there," Bill Mallory said. "But there's no reason to think we can't be in the thick of it." Running back Vaughn Dunbar is gone, so the load on offense falls to quarterback Trent Green. He has good receivers in Thomas Lewis, Eddie Beaty and Scott McGowan. Michigan State fell to 3-- 8, We've out to make room for our new stock, so it's time to MAKE YOU IN OFFER Come in today and save on MANY VARIETIES OF FISH! HURRY! YOU CAN'T REFUSE! GIANT DANI0S its worst season under George Perles. "We'll be back and we'll be in contention," Perles said. Running back Tico Duckett will be the Spartans' main ticket to respectability. Jim Miller is the quarterback. Purdue could spring some surprises. The Boilermakers but two of their losses were 4-- 7, were by a total of five points. Jim Colletto will have quarterback Eric Hunter back along with an improved running game led by Jeff Hill. Most of the Purdue defense is back, including nose guard Jeff Zgonina. Wisconsin also is on the way back under coach Barry Alvarez, and was 6 last year. 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