A Smash Hit

Like Father, Like Son

After time ran out at Michigan Stadium last Saturday, ABC broadcaster Keith Jackson and color commentator Bob Griese removed their headsets, but then Griese suddenly jammed his back on. He wanted to listen to the postgame interview of his son. Brian, who had just quarterbacked the 14th-ranked Wolverines to a resounding 27-3 victory over No. 8 Colorado.

One question on everybody's mind after Brian's performance was, Why was there a quarterback controversy during fall drills? Griese, a fifth-year senior, completed 21 of 28 passes for 258 yards and two touchdowns. His seven incompletions included two dropped passes, one spike to stop the clock, an interception off a pass tipped by a receiver and one throw to the sideline when Griese saw no one open. In other words he threw two inaccurate passes all afternoon. He also pooch-punted twice, once so deftly that his teammates downed the ball on the one-yard line. Griese's main rival for the starting quarterback's job, junior Scott Dreisbach, didn't play a down.

"I was nervous to an extent, but I knew I was prepared," said Griese, who was starting his first season opener. He was much more in control than his Colorado counterpart, senior John Hessler, who completed 15 of 40 passes for 141 yards and was intercepted four times. Hessler threw into coverage, missed open receivers and even chucked a swing pass to the left side of the field when his line and intended receiver Herchell Troutman went right. "It was frustrating," Hessler said. "I know I can throw better."

Unlike Hessler and nearly every other big-time quarterback, Griese began his career as a walk-on, turning down scholarship offers from Texas and Purdue (his father's alma mater) among others in 1993 to try to play at Michigan. He started nine games in '95 after Dreisbach severely injured his right thumb, but he was on the bench for most of last season as Dreisbach guided the Wolverines to seven wins in his first 10 starts. "Brian knew he was the backup. He still prepared each week," says Bob, a pro football Hall of Famer who quarterbacked the Dolphins between '67 and '80 and won two Super Bowls. "You can do that for five weeks. By the sixth week you start asking yourself, What the hell? But it finally paid off against Ohio State."

Griese came off the bench last Nov. 23 to lead Michigan to a 13-9 upset of the Buckeyes and then had a solid outing (21 of 37, 287 yards, one touchdown, one interception) in a 17-14 loss to Alabama in the Outback Bowl. That performance persuaded him not to enter the job market after graduating with a B.S. in environmental sciences in May—that and his desire to spend a New Year's Day in Pasadena. "If you don't go back and Michigan goes to the Rose Bowl," Bob says he told Brian, "you'll kick yourself in the butt for the rest of your life."

Brian's play against Colorado, particularly his patience in the pocket, impressed Bob. That quality, along with the improved mechanics Brian displayed over the spring and in preseason practices, helped him win the starting job. "When something wasn't there, he gave other things time to develop," said Bob. "He played like a very intelligent quarterback. That's his strength. More than anything, he makes good decisions."

None better than the one that brought him back to Michigan this fall.

All Crossed Up

It isn't often that a coach thinks he's running a third-and-short play when he's actually attempting a two-point conversion. But that's what Arkansas coach Danny Ford thought in the second quarter of the Razorbacks' game last Saturday against SMU.