The Michigan Daily - Monday, November 17, 1986 -Page 11
Jug headed for Minnesota"i BS
ARBS
By Barb McQuaae
C By ADAM MARTIN
The "Battle for the Little Brown
Jug" appears to mean much more in
Minnesota than it does here.
Last Friday night the Gophers
heard about the importance of the
Brown Jug in their pre-game pep
talk.
"THAT WAS the most
inspiring pre-game talk I've ever
heard," said senior defensive
lineman Anthony Burke.
Burke spoke for his team.
Minnesota hasn't captured the Jug
since 1977 when it upset the top-
ranked Wolverines, 16-0. The
Gophers have been ridiculed since,
at least in these parts.
Before Saturday's 20-17 loss,
Michigan held a 47-20-2 advantage
in Brown Jug contests. So most
people expected the second-ranked
Wolverines to remain undefeated
Saturday and keep hopes of a
national title alive. The Jug was
just one of "The Victors"' many
spoils.
BUT NOT in Minnesota.
"You've got to spend time in
Minnesota to appreciate (the Brown
Jug)," said Gopher coach John
Gutekunst, who took over last
December when Lou Holtz saw the
Irish light and took the job at Notre
Dame.
The Gophers did more than
appreciate the Jug. Despite big
wins in the recent past, including a
20-13 Independence Bowl victory
last year against Clemson, the
Gophers may have scored their
biggest victory in beating number-
two Michigan on its home turf.
"THIS IS the best win ever,
the greatest win of my career," said
Burke. "If we don't go to a Bowl
with this (win), this was good
enough. Beating the number-two
team in the country - I'll take
that."
Burke, a native of Minnetonka,
Minn., remembered the last time
the Gophers earned the rights to the
Brown Jug. He was 14-year-old
football fan attending the Notre
Dame-USC game, but he didn't
want to be in South Bend.
"That was the game when Notre
Dame brought out their green
helmets for the first time," Burke
recalled."They announced the score
of the Minnesota game, and I
wanted to be there so bad."
NINE YEARS later Burke got
what he had so desperately wanted.
Now he and the Gophers plan to
keep the little trophy, and savor it.
"We got the Brown Jug now,
and hopefully it will stay in
Minnesota for awhile," said an
elated quarterback Rickey Foggie.
"This is the biggest win at
Minnesota since 1977. This beats
the Bowl game last year."
Foggie, a junior from Waterloo,
S.C., led all Gopher runners with
78 yards on 12 carries - including
a gargantuan 31-yard scramble that
set up the game-winning field goal.
JUNIOR Chip Lohmiller
finished the job. His 30-yard field
goal secured the Brown Jug and
wrote a good bit of personal
history.
"This is the biggest kick I've
made in my career," said Lohmiller,
"and this is definitely the biggest
win of the year for us. Getting the
Jug back was key."
Returning the Jug to
Minneapolis was not Minnesota's
primary goal this season, but now
that the Gophers have it, they have
their pride.
AND WHAT of the
dumbstruck Wolverines? Well... the
Gophers, who have not won at
Michigan since 1962, couldn't care
less.
When told that Michigan had not
lost all season until Saturday,
Gophers tailback Darrell Thompson
couldn't believe it. He said he didn't
have much time to"read the paper
during the season.
M' plans on hold...
,,,but title hopes alive
I t was supposed to be Bo Schembechler's 166th coaching victory at
Michigan to surpass Fielding Yost's all-time record.
It was supposed to be a tribute to the Wolverine seniors, playing in
their last game at Michigan Stadium.
INSTEAD, it was a gut-wrenching loss that cost Michigan a
chance for an outright Big Ten title and perhaps a national
championship.
"I would never guess in my wildest dreams that we would play like
that," Schembechler said. The 18-year head coach was obviously
disappointed with the sloppy execution of his offense, which turned the
ball over four times.
But while the best the Wolverines can now hope for is a share of the
Big Ten crown with Ohio State, their season is far from over. A Rose
Bowl bid is still within reach. And those are the two jewels
Schembechler wants most.
"I WANT to make it clear," the Wolverine head coach said of the
national championship. "That is a vote. I've had national championship
teams that were not voted that. I'm not going to worry about it."
His priorities were apparent after Michigan's fourth-quarter
touchdown Saturday, when he had his team kick the extra point to tie
the game at 17-17 instead of risking a two-point conversion. A tie
would have meant the chance for sole possession of the Big Ten title. A
loss would have meant a co-championship at best.
The decision didn't matter after Minnesota charged back to win, 20-
17, on Chip Lohmiller's 30-yard field goal. Michigan must now beat
Ohio State (7-0 in the Big Ten) next week in Columbus to gain a share
of the conference championship.
Life after losing
BUT A Wolverine victory in that game is a ticket to Pasadena.
Saturday's loss was disappointing, but it's not the end of life as we
know it.
"It doesn't ruin a season," said Michigan linebacker Andy -Moeller.
"My God, we're 9-1."
A loss somewhere along the line should not come as a shocker. The
Wolverines came close to succumbing to Notre Dame in the season's
first game, and barely eeked out a victory over Iowa. Michigan is not
invincible. But it is good enough to be in contention for a conference
title.
Finale flop
PART OF the disappointment for many Saturday was losing in the
last game they will ever play at Michigan Stadium. The culmination of
four years in a Wolverine uniform wasn't supposed to happen this way.
"We wanted to go out in style," said Michigan senior quarterback
Jim Harbaugh. "We wanted to play a great game, and it didn't happen."
Harbaugh stood alone after the game and watched as Minnesota
equipment managers loaded the Little Brown Jug onto a truck.
Michigan has held the rotating trophy for the past eight years.
"I FEEL sick," a dejected Harbaugh had said moments before.
"What can I say? I'll probably feel this way for the next 12 hours, go
home, and then a new week's going to start. We'll be back. We'll
salvage this season in Columbus."
Schembechler still has plenty of shots at Yost's record, and the
seniors have three games left. After Ohio State, they travel to Hawaii
and then to a bowl game.
The loss certainly won't help the team in any way. If anything, it
could create self doubts. But you can bet some grueling work will be
going on behind that red brick wall this week. And if Michigan has, the
character to keep from crumbling in Columbus, it will have achieved
plenty.
Detroit boots Eagles
on Murray FG, 13-11
Daily Photo by SCOTT LITUCHY
Minnesota's Rickey Foggie scrambles away from Michigan's Dave Folkertsma during Minnesota's 20-17 up- "But," Thompson added, "I'll
set win last Saturday. Foggie and his teammates regained the Little Brown Jug for the first time since the have to read it tomorrow."
Gohper's 16-0 win over the Wolverines in 1977.
TURNOVERS DOOM WOLVERINES
(Continued from Page N o
score scarcely two minutes earlier at
17 on a one-yard touchdown plunge
by Gerald White to cap a 75-yard
trive. The drive was punctuated by
key passes, including a fourth and
nine conversion by Harbaugh to
flanker Greg McMurtry. Instead of
hying for two to take the lead,
Schembechler elected to have Mike
Gillette kick a tying extra point.
i "EVEN IF we tie, we can still
win the (Big Ten) championship
outright," Schembechler reasoned
Afterwards. "I did debate it though,
and at one point I decided to go for
two.
The point was moot, however,
as Minnesota took the ensuing
kickoff down the field for the
winning score.
What hurt most about
Michigan's turnovers wasn't
necessarily their frequency, but
instead their location. Michigan's
first encounter with bad logistics
was Tony Gant's fumbled punt that
gave Minnesota the ball on the
Michigan 13-yard line. Three plays
later Foggie hit Mel Anderson in
the end zone for the game's first
A score.
,. AFTER HARBAUG H'S
1 dream shattered
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -
Detroit turned a fumble into Eddie
Murray's 41-yard field goal with 12
seconds remaining for a 13-11
victory over the Philadelphia Eagles
yesterday, snapping the Lions' four-
game losing streak.
The Lions trailed 11-8 with 1:44
left when Eagles' quarterback
Randall Cunningham dropped the
ball and linebacker Mike Cofer
recovered it at the Philadelphia 37.
WITH THE help of a penalty
that gave Detroit a first down at the
32, the Lions ran the clock down to
15 seconds and Murray came into
kick the game-winning field goal,
which gave the Lions their fourth
victory against seven losses and
saddled the Eagles with their fifth
loss in the last six games and a 3-8
record.
The Lions took a 7-0 lead in the
first quarter on a 72-yard touchdown
pass play from quarterback Joe
Ferguson to wide receiver Jeff
Chadwick, who caught five passes
for a career-high 139 yards.
The Eagles came back to make it
7-5 at halftime on Paul McFadden's
33-yard field goal and a safety when
defensive end Greg Brown tackled
Ferguson in the end zone.
Philadelphia took an 8-7 lead
3:08 into the fourth quarter on a 28-
yard field goal by McFadden. But
Detroit went on top again, 10-8,
with 7:07 left on a 38-yard field
goal by Murray.
Philadelphia took the kickoff at
the seven and drove for a first down
at the Lions' 13, where Detroit
held. McFadden kicked a 25-yard
with 7-4 records. The Raiders have
won seven of their last eight games
while the Browns lost for only the
second time in their last eight
contests.
PLUNKETT, who turns 39
next month and is the NFL's oldest
quarterback, gave the Raiders the
lead for good by throwing a 46-yard
touchdown pass to Williams after
just 2:30 of play.
Patriots 30, Rams 28
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -
Irving Fryar pulled down a tipped
pass from Tony Eason in the back
of the end zone as time expired
Sunday to give the New England
Patriots a 30-28 victory over Los
Angeles and spoil what had been a
memorable debut by the Rams' Jimn
Everett.
Fryar, who had caught a six-yard
touchdown pass to pull the Patriots
to within 28-23 with 7:06 to play,
came down with the winning score
in a crowd in the Rams end zone.
A.P. Preseason
Basketball Poll
Team (First Place) Record Pts
1. N. Carolina (35) 28-6 1215
2. Louisville (22) 32-7 1196
3. Indiana (2) 21-8 956
4. Purdue (2) 22-10 935
5. UNLV (2) 33-5 901
6. Georgia Tech (1) 27-7 770
7. Oklahoma 26-9 684
8. Kansas 35-4 645
9. Navy 30-5' 560
10. Iowa 20-12 531
11. Kentucky 32-4 500
12. Auburn 22-11 498,
interception and Minnesota's
subsequent score, Jamie Morris
fumbled on the first play from
scrimmage on the next drive. That
gave the Gophers the ball on the
Wolverines' 26, which set up a
Lohmiller field goal to put
Minnesota ahead 17-10.
"I didn't see a fumble,"
Schembechler contended. "I didn't
even see the ball loose."
Michigan did benefit from a rare
Minnesota miscue, recovering a
short kickoff in the second quarter.
The Wolverines scored a touchdown
on Thomas Wilcher's eight-yard
touchdown run off right tackle.
That gave Michigan its only lead of
the game at 10-7.
Although the loss knocks
Michigan's Gerald White goes airborne to score the Wolverine's only second-half touchdown in last Satur-
day's shocking loss to Minnesota. White and the Wolverines will try to get their feet back on the ground when
they play Ohio State on Saturday.
"We're going to come back and
do everything we can to beat OSU
next week," Schembechler said.
"We're going to pull out all the
stops. I promise you that."
Just be sure that it doesn't
include turnovers. Christmas
IOSU UPS
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -
Whatever the outcome is of the
Ohio State-Michigan football game
security
of High Street, where students and
other revelers come to celebrate or
drown their sorrows in any of a