Coaches Give Rose Bowl a Boost : Schembechler, Smith Play Down Possible Loss of Prestige

Bo Schembechler, who has been known to be crusty at times, was charming and self-deprecating Wednesday at a press conference at the Tournament House in Pasadena.

Schembechler, the Michigan football coach whose team will play USC in the Rose Bowl game Jan. 2, even poked fun at himself for his 1-7 record in the postseason game.

He was seemingly more comfortable in this gathering than he has been on other occasions.

For one thing, Schembechler is in a more familiar environment. He’s opposing his former colleague, USC Coach Larry Smith. Smith was an assistant to Schembechler for 2 years at Miami of Ohio and for 4 more years at Michigan.

Neither coach would accept the idea that the Rose Bowl game will be upstaged by the matchup of unbeaten Notre Dame and West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl--same time, different television network.

“We’ll be playing USC for the fourth time and we have an 0-3 record, all by 1 touchdown,” Schembechler said. “However, Larry contributed to that first loss because I didn’t make that game. Jim Young and Smith ran the team, but that loss is in my column not theirs.”

Schembechler was referring to USC’s 10-3 win in the 1970 Rose Bowl game, when he suffered a heart attack here and couldn’t be with his team on the sideline.

As for the supposed loss of prestige for the Rose Bowl game, matching USC at 10-1 and Michigan at 8-2-1, Schembechler said:

“You can match all the teams in the country, but you and I know that the premier postseason football game is the Rose Bowl. I’ll promise you one thing: All those guys playing in the other bowls, if they had their druthers, they’d rather be here in Pasadena.

“You’re viewing audience will look at it exactly the same way. There’s no substitute for the Rose Bowl. I don’t give a damn who is playing in it.”

On the same subject, Smith said:

“I agree with Bo that other teams would give everything they have to be in the Rose Bowl. But what really upsets me is that the television networks have gotten into promotion of their own people (teams), which I guess they have to do because of advertising.

“Let’s face it. It affects the polls and everything else. Media people are supposed to be unbiased. But I don’t see that coming on television. NBC, CBS and ABC are all guilty of the same thing.

“The whole No. 1 thing is being tainted. It’s going to push us to have a playoff game (system), which I’m opposed to.”

When Schembechler was asked if he believed he was snake-bitten in the Rose Bowl, he smiled and said:

“I’ve tried every method possible. I’m not a dumb coach. If something didn’t work, we tried something else. We’ve played some great teams here and have come up short. I don’t feel jinxed. The players don’t feel jinxed because they weren’t involved in all those games.

“I know people are going to make hay on that and I’m willing to take it because I deserve it. Anyone who comes out here 8 times and whose record is 1-7, I’d say, what the hell?

“And you’re all going to tell me what a weak conference the Big Ten is. I don’t see it, not at all. Maybe we’re down a little bit. But we have some great players in the league.

“Every time I come out here, I’m supposed to have a super power that’s supposed to win. At least this time, I’m not supposed to win.”

For USC and Michigan, it has become a season of what might have been.

USC, by losing to Notre Dame last Saturday, 27-10, lost an opportunity to win a national championship. Michigan opened the season by barely losing to Notre Dame, 19-17, and Miami, 31-30, then went unbeaten with only a 17-17 tie with Iowa marring its record.

As for USC’s loss to Notre Dame, Schembechler said: “You take away a misplayed option play and a receiver falling down on an interception, USC was the dominant team the rest of the game. Of course, I wanted Larry to win. But then if I beat him in the Rose Bowl, we wouldn’t be friends anymore because that would have cost him the national title.

“Southern Cal is Southern Cal. Larry might not win a national championship this year, but he will (eventually). I hope he does, but not at my expense.”

Smith said he came off the field after the Notre Dame game angry and disappointed because he didn’t think that USC had been beaten by a superior team.

“I feel if we play a lot of times, we’d have a lot of different winners,” Smith said.

He added that he must re-motivate his team for Michigan and try to put aside thoughts of the Notre Dame game.

“We never really had time to enjoy the UCLA victory and winning the Pac-10 championship,” Smith said. “Then, we had to jump into preparing for Notre Dame.

“Right now, our guys are walking around like we had an average season. But I think time is the best healer. I told them I don’t want to see them for 2 weeks. I think they’ll respond. Young people are basically resilient. I’ve learned that from Bo.”

As for opposing his former mentor, Smith said that he marvels at Schembechler’s sustained success in his 20 years at Michigan.

“I’m just a young guy on the block,” Smith said. “And I’m going against the veteran.”

Trojan Notes

More on the measles: USC Coach Larry Smith said there’s a possibility that senior offensive tackle John Guerrero and freshman defensive back Lamont Hollinquest have the disease. “We won’t know for sure until we get the results of the blood tests,” Smith said. “Both of them had a rash Sunday.” Guerrero had a 102-degree temperature Friday night but played against Notre Dame after his fever subsided.

Smith added that Jack Ward, USC’s longtime trainer, is also sick, but he isn’t sure that Ward is a victim of the measles that forced quarterback Rodney Peete into a hospital during the week before the UCLA game. . . . Outside linebacker Michael Williams didn’t play against Notre Dame because of a sprained ankle, but Smith said his backup, Cordell Sweeney, filled in commendably.

When Notre Dame was blitzing, its defensive backs covered the USC wide receivers man to man. Smith said other teams have been resorting to that type of coverage the entire season. “I don’t think that was the key to the game,” he said. “Notre Dame didn’t make a single critical mistake that hurt. We made 8 (including 4 turnovers). Those critical mistakes cost us a point swing of 28 to 32 points.”

In hindsight, Smith said that USC should have run the ball more against Notre Dame. Peete threw 44 passes, completing 23. . . . USC offensive coordinator Chuck Stobart was an assistant under Bo Schembechler for 10 years, 2 at Miami of Ohio and 8 at Michigan. . . . In the years that USC plays UCLA and Notre Dame in late-season games here, the Trojans are 14-10-2 against the Bruins and 12-11-3 against the Irish.