Page 4 - The Michigan Daily - Sports Monday - November 20, 1989 Thompson trounces through 'M' defense for over 100 yrds. by Adam Schrager Daily Football Writer MINNEAPOLIS - When Michigan coach Bo Schembechler talks about the Thompson tailbacks of the Big Ten, he approaches them in a different way. Indiana's Anthony Thompson, who is in contention for college football's greatest honor, The Heisman Trophy, receives numerous accolades from Schembechler as being "durable, with tremendous resiliency." Minnesota's Darrell Thompson, who became the first back all season to gain over 100 yards rushing against the Wolverines in the Golden Gophers' 49-15 loss Saturday, was jokingly labelled a "dirty rat." While initially done in jest, Schembechler's further comments on the latter Thompson were issued with respect. "He's afine back, very talented. He's got great speed and power. He's a great player." In Thompson's four years in Minneapolis, he has numerous accomplishments to substantiate Schembechler-like comments from everyone around the conference. Saturday, Thompson not gnly rushed for 128 yards on 27 carries against the Wolverines in his last home game, but also went over 1000 yards on the season for the third time in his Gopher career. ugly way to end a home career," said Thompson, who added to his school record for touchdowns (43) with a one-yard plunge in the first quarter. "Michigan's got a great team and they deserve to go to the Rose Bowl. I'm flattered that I am the only back to get over 100 yards against them." Flattery is something that the fourth all-time Big Ten rusher will have to deal with considering the upcoming NFL draft. At 6-foot-1, 220 pounds and able to run a 4.4 40-meter dash, Thompson will be. very appealing to professional scouts. "He's a great talent," said Minnesota head coach John Gutekunst. "As you saw today, he can get yards anyway. He is both powerful and fast and would be a great asset to any pro club." Currently, Thompson is the Gophers' greatest offensive asset, averaging nearly 120 yards per game rushing and that did not go unnoticed by the Wolverines. After Thompson's 200-yard plus rushing effort against Michigan two years ago including a 98- yard touchdown run, the Michigan defense was geared to stop him. "He's the kind of back that demands attention," said Michigan strong safety Tripp Welborne. "Wherever he is on the field, you always have to keep an eye out for him because he can hurt you. He is a fantastic player." JUSE ZJUMI1ILJLDIIy Wolverine defensive lineman Mike Evans puts pressure on Minnesota quarterback Scott Schaffner. Evans had one of Michigan's three sacks as the Wolverine defense held the Gophers to 185 passing yards. Trojans fail under pressure, tie Bruins "The statistics"are nice and all, but this was an by Jonathan Samnick Daily Sports Writer LOS ANGELES - In a game which was to showcase the dom- inance of USC over UCLA, the 10- 10 tie Saturday between the Rose Bowl bound Trojans and the wait- till-next-year Bruins was an exercise in how not to win a football game. As the last two seconds ticked off the clock, Alfredo Velasco's kick was descending towards the north goalpost in an effort to break the tie and give UCLA a win. When the ball bounced off the crossbar all it broke was the hearts of UCLA players and fans and saved USC from an inexplicable loss. "I thought it was going in," USC safety Mark Carrier said. "It didn't, it was a tie; there was no excitement." Oh, but there was excitement. USC, which was favored by 16 and a half points going into the game, technically had nothing to play for. But as the game marched on, it became more apparent that both teams were playing for Los Angeles bragging rights, not for places in the standings. The sloppily played game feat- ured 10 fumbles and four inter- ceptions, three by USC first-year quarterback Todd Marinovich. "Like they say, a tie is like kissing your sister," Marinovich said after the game. "It's no fun." USC took the early lead on the strength of Marinovich completing four-of-six passes for 67 yards. USC marched down the field quickly and capped the drive on a controversial touchdown catch by junior flanker Gary Wellman. Replays later showed that Well- man was out of bounds on the catch, but the officials ruled it good and the Trojans led. 7-0. UCLA answered with a second quarter touchdown of their own on a Kevin Williams three-yard run. As the half ran out, USC's Quin Rodriguez put the Trojans up 10-7 on a seasonal best 40-yard field goal which bounced off the right up- right. The second half produced only three points on a Velasco seasonal- best 49-yard field goal. However, the half belonged to USC, as they held the ball for 18 of 30 minutes. Marinovich completed only two passes in the second half, but Southern Cal tailback Rickey Er- vins ran for 123 of his game-high 173 yards in the final half. "Ricky Ervins was running well," USC coach Larry Smith said. "But the problem is you can't just run, run, run." But USC couldn't pass, pass, pass, either. Marinovich, who threw for 2,000 yards this year, repeatedly overthrew and underthrew receivers. Bret Johnson, UCLA's frosh quarterback, scrambled on his pass attempts, but could not avoid being sacked five times. Johnson saved his biggest pass of the day for the final two minutes. After USC fullback Leroy Holt fumbled on the UCLA 15 yard line, Johnson rolled out to his left and wobbled a 52-yard toss into the hands of flanker Scott Miller. That play set up Velasco's game-ending 54-yard attempt. When the ball bounced back on the field and the game ended, players fell to the ground in joy and disbelief. "I'm happy our season isn't over," Marinovich said. "I'm excited about playing another game. I'm glad we get another shot." FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK by Adam Schrager Daily Football Writer MINNEAPOLIS - When Michigan tailback/fullback Leroy Hoard went out with a rib injury on the third quarter's second play of Michigan's 49-15 victory over Minnesota Saturday, Wolverine coach Bo Schembechler turned his head 30-degrees to spot backup Allen Jefferson. Jefferson, the Wolverines third-string tailback behind Hoard and Tony Boles, who suffered a twisted knee in the4irst quarter, ran for 86 yards in exclusively second-half action. "I figured I always had the potential to be a good running back, it's just good to get the opportunity to show myself," said Jefferson, who was hurt all last season. "If one of us goes down, we all feel that we can go in and do really well. "Hopefully, Tony and Leroy will be back next week, but if I'm called upon again, I'll be there again.." Schembechler listed the two tailbacks as "touch and go" for next week's final conference game against Ohio State, but both players said they would be ready to play. -Michigan wide receiver Desmond Howard, who caught his second career touchdown in the fourth quarter against Minnesota, was named the Honda Scholar/Athlete-of-the-Week on ABC-TV Saturday. Howard is majoring in Physical Education and has a 3.0 grade-point-average. -When sophomore Michigan kicker J.D. Carlson missed on a 42-yard field goal with 2:11 left in the first quarter, it was his first career miss. Carlson, who won the kicking job this year, had made 12 straight before the miss. -With the victory, the Wolverines maintained possession of the Little Brown Jug for the third straight year. In the competition for the Jug, which dates back to 1903, Michigan holds a 52-23-3 advantage over the Gophers and have won 10 of the last 11. -Michigan free safety Tripp Welborne made both the Kodak and The Sporting News first team All-American teams, while running back Tony Boles and place kicker J.D. Carlson made The Sporting News second team. Wolverine running back Allen Jefferson rushes the ball into the Gopher defense. ~IG #Q) JUG continued from page 1 Coming into the game, Minnesota's pass defense was ranked ninth in the Big Ten giving up nearly 230 yards per game through the air. The Gophers' problems in the secondary were apparent against Ohio State when they lost a 31- point lead and against the Wolverines Saturday as well. "Our pass coverage and our secondary was terrible," said Minnesota head coach John Gutekunst. "(The secondary) looked disoriented to me. We have some kids who are young and banged up back there, but the people who played just didn't play very well." The disorientation began after the Gophers stormed out to a 7-0 first- quarter advantage. After scoring on their first drive, the Gophers held the Wolverines through the quarter before the onslaught began. "We seem to always get off to a slow start," said Wolverine strong safety Tripp Welborne, who added an interception to pre-game first-team All-America honors from Kodak and The Sporting News. "It's not because of a lack of intensity or anything, we just made some mistakes early and they capitalized on it." school. "He ran really good routes," said first-year Gopher safety Morris Lolar. "They mixed up the run with the pass really well, which made it even harder for us to do our job. I'm just glad (McMurtry) is graduating." With four months and two games left before graduation, McMurtry has already placed his name all over the Michigan record book. His 15-yard grab in the second quarter before his scoring outburst made him second on the Wolverine all-time list of reception yardage behind Carter and affirmed head coach Bo Schembechler's feelings of his ability. "He's a great receiver - that's why he wears No. 1," said Schembechler who has now won or shared 13 conference titles in 21 seasons, a mark held only by his coaching idol and former Ohio State coach Woody Hayes. "(McMurtry) is like the old No. 1 (in scoring) who you got here. "(McMurtry) is a talent, a great kid. He deserved -it...And he'll be a great pro like Anthony." McMurtry didn't play much during the second half when he could have tied the conference record of touchdown catches with four, but this didn't bother him at all. "We've got other receivers who practice just as hard as I do," said McMurtry, who now has caught a nnve a i n i...tt ...a knhtram'.an ti n A~ Ohio St. 42, Wisconsin 22 COLUMBUS - Scottie Graham ran for 152 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries Saturday to power the No. 22 Buckeyes (8-2 overall, 6-1 in the Big Ten) to their sixth straight conference win. Ohio St., finishing 6-0 at home, won despite Lionell Crawford's 104 yards on only 16 carries. However, an interception thrown by Crawford helped turn the game around. Wisconsin (2-7, 1-5) took a 13- 7 lead midway through the second quarter. But the Buckeyes regained the lead with a 66-yard touchdown drive, culminating in a 9-yard scoring strike from Greg Frey to Jim Palmer. Ohio St. forced the Badgers to punt on their next possession, and rookie Dane Lee's 18-yard scoring run gave the Buckeyes a 21-13 lead. On the game's next play David Brown intercepted Crawford's pass over the middle intended for Tony Spaeth. Brown raced 43 yards to the endzone, giving Ohio St. a 28-13 halftime lead. Illinois 41, Indiana 28 CHAMPAIGN - Jeff George completed 18 of 27 passes for 259 yards and five touchdowns as the No. 12 Illini (8-2, 6-1) rebounded from last week's loss to Michigan. George's performance, which included scoring passes of 38, 30, 21, 18, and 4 yards, spoiled another record-setting day by Hoosier running back Anthony Thompson. Thompson, who rushed for 182 recorded a team-record nine sac] shutting out Purdue (2-8, 1-6). Iowa (5-5, 3-4) registered t: first shutout since a 59-0 vicl over Illinois in 1985 by stop the Boilermakers at the 2-yard midway through the final quarter The Hawkeyes were led off ively by sophomore quarterb Matt Rodgers, who passed for score and ran for another. The Iowa defense set anol record as they held Purdue to astounding -73 yards rushing. Mich. St. 76, Northwestern 14 EAST LANSING - Nor western blew an early first quaf 7-0 lead as Michigan St. came fr behind for the victory. Senior tailback Blake I scored a record six touchdowns rushed for 228 yards on 41 ca, while leading the Spartans (6-4 2) to their highest scor conference victory ever. previous high was also versus Wildcats as Michigan St. tallied points in 1981. Northwestern (0-10, ( committed five second half ti overs to fuel the Spartans'e victory. Sophomore wide rece Courtney Hawkins contribute record breaking performance of own, as he hauled in eight pa for 135 yards and one touchdown He now has 58 receptions 1,057 yards this season. Hawk broke the old record set in 198 AIR BO continued from page 1 All that was missing were four stars, thumbs up, and Academy Award predictions. Instead of hearing, "Run, don't walk to see it," I expected to hear, "Pass, don't run to see it." Formulated to take advantage of the Gopher pass defense, ranked ninth in the conference with an inexperienced secondary including two first-year safeties, Michigan quarterback Michael Taylor completed 12-of-16 passes for 231 yards and four touchdowns for the game. In the first half, he was 9-of- 13 for 188 yards and three touchdowns. Thefirst half. "We felt we could throw on them to tell the truth," said Schembechler, who once responded to the question of his favorite play by emphasizing the 'Fullback up the middle' play. That's not to say that the Wolverine fullbacks didn't run their fair share up the middle (Michigan had 266 rushing yards Saturday), but it illustrates how the Wolverines, for the first time this season, utilized their wide receiver threats. "Our receivers are some of the best in the country, so there's no reason we shouldn't throw them the ball," said Taylor, a staunch advocate of Air Bo. "They were trying to feel us out for draws and other running plays, which opened it up for our receivers and they don't need much of an opening." Specific application of Air Bo was directed toward senior wide receiver Greg McMurtry, who moved into second place on the all-time Michigan receiving yardage list with seven catches for 165 yards and three touchdowns. McMurtry caught all three touchdowns in the second quarter on plays of 25 yards or longer. Air Bo at its finest. Backup Elvis Grbac also received a taste of the new Wolverine phenomenon by being sent in a pass play with a little more than three minutes to play and Michigan ahead by 27 points. He proceeded to hit Desmond Howard with a 19-yard touchdown to end the scoring and put the final stamp of approval on Michigan's new offense. 0 0 "They're such a good running team that we didn't expect this kind of passing barrage," said Miles. "They have great wideouts that they just haven't used much before. For their sake, it's a great addition to their offense." With Michigan's potent running game, including breakaway threat Tony Boles, power back Leroy Hoard, and tremendous blocker Jarrod Bunch, Air Bo was a guaranteed success. In fact, it made some former offensive players aggravated that they ever switched sides. "I try not to think about what might have been," said former wide receiver and current All-America strong safety Tripp Welborne. "I try to put those thoughts out of my mind. They only make me sad." If the game plan is the same for Ohio State next week, Welborne won't have the only long face. . a. s ..1 .... }zj,S.. I nire :......