Missouri Puts 'Man In Motion' To Good Use

MISSOURI PUTS ‘MAN IN MOTION’ TO GOOD USE
GAMBLES ON DEFENSE PAY OFF
By Bill Anderson

Although the “man in motion” may be an old tactic, it proved to be a useful trick for Missouri in a 40-17 victory over Michigan.
The man in motion consists of one of the halfbacks moving from one side of the field to the other while the quarterback calls the signals. It can be unsettling on the defense.
Missouri Coach Dan Devine put this old football tactic into the Tiger offensive play book just for the Michigan game, and he figured it partially accounted for the victory.
“We used a man in motion for two reasons,” Devine said. “One was to get over the short side. Secondly, Michigan is a dig-in-and-come-hard defensive team.
“The Michigan defense hadn’t seen a man in motion in the first two games. We wanted to get over on the other side of the five-four defense. We wanted to get away from that Wolfman or monster.”
Just how much it contributed to upsetting the Michigan defense may never be known but the Tigers picked up 238 yards in 56 rushing attempts.
In the second game of the season, the Wolverines yielded 258 yards to Washington and still won, 45-7. In the opener, Vanderbilt was held to a small 109 yards on the ground. Neither team had a man in motion.
Defensively, Missouri took some chances and the gambles paid off.
On early-down situations, the Tigers gambled that Michigan would try to run. They came up with a seven-man line and a linebacker lined up just a step off the defensive front. The safeties played within five or six yards of the line of scrimmage.
In obvious passing situations, Missouri pulled its secondary back a little farther. Also a linebacker or two was pulled back to help out on pass defense.
“We always have our ends play that wide,” the coach said. “Michigan got outside of us more than any other team. Glenn Doughty would dip in like he was going off tackle. Then he cut back to the outside and just leave our end standing there.”
There were plenty of questions about what was the turning point, and Devine fielded all of them.
“As the years go by, I get worse on picking turning points. I was happy to see Joe Moore running down the field for that touchdown.”
Of course, one of the big plays of the game was the blocked punt in the fourth quarter. It eventually led to a 24-yard field goal by Henry Brown.
The Tigers weren’t even trying to block the punt, but defensive end Mike Bennett rammed around Michigan’s end to block the punt.
“We had a punt return on, but we always send three or four in there anyway,” said Devine of the situation where several Tiger rushers were pulled back to set up blocking interference for the punt return.
Missouri quarterback Terry McMillan came into Michigan Stadium with quite a reputation. He may not have dazzled the 64,000 or so spectators, but there was a good reason.
Devine explained that McMillan was playing with an injured foot which hindered his running and passing. He only had four carries and picked up seven yards. However in the passing department, he completed seven of 12 for 120 yards.
It was a little off last winter’s performance in the Gator Bowl where he was named the Most Valuable Player after directing the Tigers to a 35-10 upset win over Alabama.

PHOTO CAPTION 1: Hard Landing: Missouri halfback Jon Staggers braces for a second shock after being upended by Michigan’s Bob Baumgartner following a Wolverine punt. This action developed early in the fourth quarter. Three plays later Joe Moore went 62 yards for the Tigers’ sixth touchdown. (Ann Arbor News photo by Jack Stubbs)

PHOTO CAPTION 2: Long Return: Michigan safety Barry Pierson (29) gallops away from four Missouri tacklers in the third quarter on his way to a 48-yard punt return. The Wolverine has just eluded Tigers Tom Shryock (93), Dan Kelley (62) and Laron Jackson (75), and he was eventually tackled on the Missouri 10-yard line. (Ann Arbor News photo by Jack Stubbs)