Newspapers / The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.) / Aug. 26, 1991, edition 1 / Page 9
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August 26, 1991 Michigan Wolverines top preseason Pappas Poll Eric Pappas Staff Writer With the college football season a week away, here are the picks to click in 1991. 1. Michigan— Whatever happened to "three yards and a cloud of dust?" The Maize and Blue boasts an explosive and balanced offense led by Junior Quarterback Elvis Grbac. His favorite target is Desmond Howard, possibly the most exciting player in the nation. Coach Gary Moeller can call Linebacker Erick Anderson to spark the Wolverine D. 2. Florida St- - Unfortunate for the 'Noles that they don't play an ACC schedule yet. Coach Bobby Bowden must motivate his crew through an endless schedule that in cludes BYU, Michigan, and interstate rivals Miami and Florida. 3. MiamiQß Gino Toretta takes the controls for the Hurricanes. Penn St. re places Notre Dame on the 1991 Miami menu. Fullback Stephen McGuire is a fire plug that will lead the 'Cane ground attack. The loss of Wide Outs Wesley Carroll and Randall "Thrill" Hill might hurt, however the same was said when Carroll and Hill replaced Michael Irvin and Brian Blades. 4. Georgia Tech-The Ramblin' Wreck will be tested early, opening with Penn St. in the Kickoff Classic. Tech' s only other hurdle is ACC rival Clemson. Quarterback Shawn Jones returns with an excellent supporting cast. Ken Swilling spearheads a defense that could make Coach Bobby Ross become the first since Paul "Bear" Bryant in 1978- 79 to lead his team to consecutive national championships. 5. Penn St.—lt's about time Coach Joe Paterno started to schedule stiffer competi tion. Watching the Lions beat up on Boston College and Cincinnati becomes a little te dious after a few years. This may be the year QB Tony Sacca flashes his supposed All- American talent Thus far it has been a long three-year wait. Paterno's defense is led by yet another tremendous linebacker, Mark D'onfrio. 6. Notre Dame—Lou Holtz's Fighting Irish squad returns only four defensive start ers from last season. The loss of Raghib "The Rocket" Ismail also will be felt. Notre Dame's road to the national championship is loaded with field mines in Michigan, Michigan St., Penn St., and Tennessee. However, Holtz may excel in coaching this team decimated by graduation. 7. Washington— Don James* Huskies are back after a five-year lull. Last year's Rose Bowl champions return 16 starters. Wash ington, despite losing their QB Mark Brunell to injury during spring drills, will make a successful "Run for the Roses" again. De fensive tackle Steve Entman most likely will be voted Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year. 8. Oklahoma—When people think of OU, they think of QBs that run the wishbone like Jack Mildren, J.C. Watts, or Thomas LotL This year's QB, Cale Gundy, doesn't fit into that mold. However, Gundy reminds people of another former OU quarter back, Troy Aikman.. Coach Gary Gibbs will call on his run ning game to lead the Sooners to the top of the Big 8. 9. Florida-There is potential for Florida to struggle defensively in 1991. The Gators lost six starters on D, includ ing Linebacker extraordinaire Huey Richardson. In con trast, the Gators should have little dif ficulty scoring points thanks to the SEC Player of the Year, QB Shane Matthews. 10. Tennessee—The Vols will fight it out with Florida to represent the SEC in the Sugar Bowl. This could be Tennessee's best defense since 1985, since it returns ten start ers. Offensively, the Vols won't be as explo sive as last season due to key losses of Antone Davis, Tony Thompson, and Chuck Webb. QB Andy Kelly and game-breaker Wide Receiver Carl Pickens must pick up the slack. 11. Colorado—The Big 8' s "New Kids on the Block." The Co-National Champs could be in trouble if QB Darian Hagan doesn't recover from last season's knee injury. Compared to last season , the Buffs play a light non-conference schedule. Much to Oklahoma and Nebraska's chagrin, Colo rado is on the block to stay. 12. Clemson-TheTigers open with "pow erhouses" Appalachian SLandTemple. Let's face it, Clemson should rip through the ACC, with the exception of Georgia Tech. The Tigers better enjoy their ACC cupcakes while they can, because Florida St. is on the way. Anyhow, Clemson should win nine games plus a bowl game thanks to play making QB DeChane Cameron. 13. Nebraska-Due to their annual Mickey Mouse schedule, Tom Osborne's Huskers will finish in the Top 20 this year. Match ups with Oklahoma and Washington are at home in Lincoln. Nebraska must settle on a QB to spaik an offense loaded at the skilled positions. 14. Houston —TheCougars' run and shoot offense can look as impressive as the Hous ton Oilers at times. All-American QB David Klingler will plague SWC secondaries all season. The nation will get a chance to see if Houston's conference schedule makes it a big fish in a little pond when they travel to Miami (FL) and Illinois. 15. Auburn—Last year's freshman sensa tion QB Stan White gives Tiger fans reasons foroptimismin 1991. IfWhitesuffers from the Sophomore Jinx, Coach Pat Dye will have to rely on a running attack that was Sports JP " 'II J l ,'. M 11.f/ 1 ly " 1,1 '*' """ *** File photo Guilford's offensive line will try to push the Quakers over the top during the 1991 season. unusually below-par last season. The de fensive front returns only one starter, 300- pound Walter Tate. People have to keep in mind that Auburn is still Auburn until proven otherwise. 16. lowa—Coach Hayden Fry fooled ev eryone last season by stealing a Rose Bowl birth from a more-talented Michigan team. The loss of running back Nick Bell will force QB Matt Rodgers to enhance last season's All-Big Ten performance. Lucky for Hayden his defense returns nine starters from last season's squad that turned up roses. 17. Southern Cal—Coach Larry Smith will have to fill the void left by Todd Marinovich. The top candidates are Reggie Perry and Chris Conway. Both QBs will have the luxury of handing off to super sophomore Tailback Mario Royster. The Trojan defense is talented, but inexperi enced. Southern Cal is a year away. 18. Michigan St.-Coach George Perles has done a fine job of rebuilding the Spar tans. Although their success hasn't made anyone in East Lansing forget about Bubba Smith, George Webster, or Gene Washing ton, Spartan fans have reasons to smile. If only one thing could change: the Spartans cannot afford to sleep through the month of September like in recent years past. Run- Sports quote of the year "Guilford may want to before this year is over. —Jock Lobotamata, in the September 1990 edition of Sportscene (referring to the Quaker football team, which promptly put together a 7-3 season). THE GUILFORDIAN ning back Tico Duckett hopefully can awaken the Spartans from early hibernation. 19. B YU--The Cougars have Florida SL, UCLA, and Penn St in consecutive weeks. If Ty Detmer can turn these games into a basketball-style shoot out, BYU could steal some victories. But don't count on iL BYU will be exciting to watch, especially during WAC games. Coach LaVelle Edwards' Cougars look more like Sid Gillman's San Diego Chargers of the AFL. 20. Guilford College— Coach Mike Ketchum's Quakers look to open things up this year. QB Calvin Hunter will be relied upon heavily to lead the attack. Plow horse Jay Derby will run behind an offensive line anchored by Center John Lambert and Tackle Jeff Herndon. Speedy Wide Receiver Chip Hester is expected to toast opposing second aries all season long. Defensively, the Quak ers will be exceptionally daring. The line is led by Rodney Alexander and Virginia Tech transfer Max Appleby. The linebacker corps is anchored by characters Andy Ragan and Shannon Manire. Free Safety Drew "Fayette- Nam" Baker spearheads the Quaker second ary. Guilford also fashions the oldest fresh man in the country, a six-year red-shirt fresh man, to be exact. The stiffest opponent for the Quakers will be Ferrum. 7
The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.)
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Aug. 26, 1991, edition 1
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