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The coach and the quarterback

MARQUETTE -- To say that the 1955 NMC (Northern Michigan College, now Northern Michigan University) football season had been dreary would be an understatement. By the time it finally wheezed to a close against microscopic Mission House College, the Wildcats had lost all seven games and been outscored 227-51. It was so bad that no one was named Most Valuable Player.

Dr. Edgar Hardin became president of Northern Michigan College in 1956 with a student body of less than 1000. His plans to expand and publicize the school included open admissions, and enhanced football and basketball programs. Consequently, Lloyd Eaton from Alma College was hired as head coach, and athletic grants-in-aid were awarded for the first time.

The results were immediate. The '56 squad had an undefeated 7-0-1 record. Eaton quickly moved on but was replaced by Frosty Ferzacca, former head coach of Marquette University, who guided the Wildcats for nine seasons. His crowning achievement was in 1960, when the team went 8-1, and had earned a berth in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics' semi-final playoff game. The game ended in a tie but with no overtime. After accumulative offensive yardages were compared, Northern was declared the loser.

In 1966 Rollie Dotsch was hired as head coach. A native from Garden (Delta County), he had played his college ball at Michigan State, where he was a member of the 1952 National Championship team. He had previously been a line coach at NMC then had moved on to Colorado and Missouri. When he returned to NMC he brought a transfer quarter back with him. Dotsch's first year was promising: a 6-3-1 season, against an increasingly beefed-up schedule.

Spring practice in '67 saw ’66's starting quarterback injured. He was replaced by Lloyd Carr, the transfer, who would play as a senior redshirt (a fifth-year undergraduate student using a fourth year of eligibility). Dotsch had originally recruited Carr from downstate Riverview to Missouri, where he had played both football and basketball for three years. As for the tone of the practices, Dotsch was to say, "I wasn't at all satisfied with last week's performance. The lack of sharp hitting was so serious that not a drop of blood was spilled."

The rest of the team included ten UP Players on the starting twenty-two, a place kicker who was a former member of the Iranian Olympic Soccer team and All-American guard Curt Marker, a second-round draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys, and participant in the 1967 College All Star Game.

The season began with a second half come from behind 7-3 victory at Northern Iowa.

The next Saturday, Band Day, against Akron, over 6,000 people watched as 600 musicians from the Northern Band and eight high school bands covered Memorial Field. They also saw NMC whip the Zips 34-17.

The following week at Bemidji State, the Beavers head coach characterized Northern, "If Northern has a weakness, it's their pass defense and lack of a strong passing attack. Of course, with their power, they don't need to pass." Northern didn't and won 33-3.

The last weekend in September was another road trip to Saginaw, for the charity Red Feather Game against Central Michigan. Northern won 21-15.

The team returned to Marquette for homecoming against Hillsdale. Friday night, freshmen wearing beanies lit a bonfire and then snake-danced around campus. Saturday morning's parage saw eighteen floats and six marching bands. That afternoon the Wildcats marched past the Dales, 35-8.

The Quantico Marine Corps Schools were next. The Oct. 21, 1967, game day program featured a collection of somber-faced, short-haired, uniformed Marines. The 250 students who protested the Vietnam War at halftime were anything but somber. However, the Wildcats were unfazed and won, 27-0.

Northern nearly stumbled the next week in De Pere against an underdog St. Norbert squad. behind most of the game, the Cats twice over came nine-point deficits with a fourth quarter field goal to win 24-23. Afterwards, Dotsch said, "Carr had a great game. I just found out that he played the last ¾ with a shoulder separation and wouldn't tell anyone. I asked Lloyd to run a sweep...and he told me he would run it but could not block because his shoulder was really hurting him."

Carr was sidelined for the next game against Mankato State, a 45-0 victory, but he played well in the 25-6 win at North Dakota.

Northern finished the regular season 9-0, ranked number nine nationally and number one in the NAIA's poll. It was the team's twelfth straight non-losing season.

The NAIA semi-final playoff game was at West Virginia's Fairmont State. Carr went into the game as Northern's leading passer, with 35 of 63, for 480 yards and five TDs. The game was played on a muddy field, and the Cats went down 7-21. Dotsch commented, "Both teams had to play on the same field. They just did a better job of it. They didn't make a single mistake out there. We fumbled once and lost the ball three times on interceptions.

Dotsch would later coach on two Pittsburg Steeler Super Bowl championship teams. While Lloyd Carr went on to become the University of Michigan head coach for 13 seasons, from 1995-2007. His record was 122-40, including Rose and Orange Bowl wins, and the 1997 National Championship.