The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MICHIGAN FOOTBALL Dufek contributing to the 1948 squad as a backup. Even when greats such as Bob Chappuis and Alvin Wistert graduated, the Wolverines continued to win conference titles. "There was a little decline each year. Those two years [1947 and 1948], it was outstanding," Dufek recalled in a 2004 interview. "Then 1949 was good, but a little less than '48, and our 1950 team finished 5-3-1 on the nine-game schedule, but we fortunately played Ohio State in the snow." The roses bloomed for Michigan even in near-blizzard conditions, with Michigan earning a trip to the Rose Bowl after a 9-3 win. "It was a huge snowfall, and cold — below 10 degrees — and with that snow, that's a nasty day," Dufek recalled. "What you were doing on offense was trying to avoid fum- bling the ball and giving them pos- session in your own territory. You'd run two plays, like bucks into the line or dive plays, and you wouldn't go anywhere … then you'd punt on third down, because if something happened on the punt you could hopefully recoup to punt again on fourth." Dufek did his part to hang on to the ball that game, then shined weeks later in the 1951 Rose Bowl. He led the team in rushing, galloping for 113 yards and Michigan's only two touchdowns from his fullback posi- tion, and also in receiving, racking up 61 yards mostly on screen passes. He was the player of the game in the 14-6 upset win over Cal, and capped his career by earning U-M's annual team MVP award. "It was like a first-half, second- half type deal," Dufek recalled. "We couldn't get it all together in the first half, but in the second half we did. But we didn't score until there were about five minutes left to go in the game. "Our coaches discovered we could screen 'em pretty well, so we ran some of that — we moved that way. By passing we got down to the 4-yard line, then ran what looked like the same play four times, but it was really not the same play. We ran about a yard each time and it was fourth-and-goal at about the 1. We ran a wedge play … I think it was close." So close that when they showed the replay several years later dur- ing another Michigan Rose Bowl, his kids — just old enough at the time to understand the game — weren't 2015 MICHIGAN FOOTBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent Sept. 3 at Utah Sept. 12 Oregon State Sept. 19 UNLV Sept. 26 BYU Oct. 3 at Maryland Oct. 10 Northwestern Oct. 17 Michigan State Oct. 31 at Minnesota Nov. 7 Rutgers Nov. 14 at Indiana Nov. 21 at Penn State Nov. 28 Ohio State