There are...
...days until Lawrence Ricks (RB 1979-1982) sees Michigan work hard to have some explosive plays on offense, and even develop a running game that is quite unknown currently to keep the defense guessing between the Speed in Space.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Ricks
Go Blue!
Today we get not one, not two, but THREE videos to show off #46's speed:
Thanks Dr. Sap and enjoy as always!
That pic of Ricks is from the 1980 shellacking of the Boilermakers, who came into town at #16 with a 7-2 record. Senior PU QB and Heisman candidate Mark Herrmann was throwing the ball all over the place, setting all-time NCAA records for passing yardage and total offense, and most observers thought that #11 and 7-2 Michigan was in for a tough contest.
Uncharacteristically for Michigan football, the Michigan coaching staff actually decided to do something radically different for a specific opponent: DC Bill McCartney employed six DBs in zone coverage on second and third downs, which induced a confused and rattled Herrmann into throwing four interceptions, and the already stout Michigan defense didn't allow a single first down in the entire second half. Herrmann was limited to a total of 129 yds passing, far below his usual output, and passed for a total of 24 yds in that second half.
Sophomore Ricks rushed 16 times for 45 yards, but the M workhorse that day was Stan Edwards, who rushed for a career-high 164 yds on 29 carries.
Why do I give a shit about this game? The 1980 team is my second-favorite Michigan team I personally watched, and more directly, I was at that game with my brother, who at the time was a Purdue professor and had gloated over the Michigan loss down in W. Lafayette in 1979 that we attended.
That 1980 team was one of Bo's best.
By the end of the season, nobody was playing better football than Michigan. I think we could have matched up well with eventual National Champs Georgia, although Herschel Walker would have been a nice challenge, to say the least.
That first video clip from the ‘82 game brings back memories. It was the first game I attended (cold as hell) and I kind of idolized Ricks as I played rb and liked how hard he hit the holes. Interesting that it mentions Diorio opening up one of those holes as he’s the head coach at my kid’s high school.