The Michigan Daily - Sports Monday - October 28, 1990 - Page 5
HOOSIERS
Continued from page 1
Most impressive was Michigan's
defense - a defense that has come
under recent fire for allowing long
touchdown drives late in the game.
Saturday, however, Michigan's
front seven dominated Indiana's of-
fensive line and shut down a Hoosier
offense that had been averaging 34.8
points a game.
Other than a 15-yard pass com-
pletion on Indiana's first play,
Michigan did not give up a first
down until there was under three
minutes left in the first half. During
one first quarter stretch, the Wolver-
ine defense sacked Indiana quarter-
back Trent Green on three consecu-
tive third downs, forcing the Ho-
osiers to punt.
Where did the Gang-Green defense
come from?
"Coach (Lloyd) Carr (defensive
coordinator) said we weren't getting
a good pass rush lately, so we put
the emphasis on the pass rush,"
middle guard T.J Osman said. "The
whole first half, we were sending
three players up and those three
sacks really helped our defense out
with momentum."
As the defense pinned the
Hoosiers down, the Wolverine of-
fense was left with excellent field
position. Howard consistently found.
seams in the Indiana secondary, fin-
ishing the day with 9 catches for 117
yards. His most impressive catch,
however, was the one that put
Michigan up 7-0.
On first down from the Indiana
three yard line, Howard headed for
the corner of the endzone. Quarter-
back Elvis Grbac's pass was over
Howard's wrong shoulder so he spun
completely around and caught the
ball with one hand as he fell to the
ground.
"It was a regular fade pattern,"
Howard said. "All the credit goes to
Grbac because if it (the throw) was
any harder, I couldn't have caught it.
It gave me time to adjust and I did a
180 and caught it with my left-
FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK,
Blue defense wakens
to answer criticism
by Eric Lemont
Daily Football Writer
Even with defensive end Chris Hutchinson missing Saturday's game
with a back injury, the Michigan defense did not miss a beat. In fact, the
beat of Wolverine footsteps was the only thing Indiana quarterbacks:Trent
Green and Chris Dyer heard all day.
Michigan recorded 5 sacks and created mass confusion all day long in the
Indiana backfield. Green started only a few series before Indiana coach Bill
Mallory replaced him with Dyer.
"I decided to go to Dyer because we needed some mobility and movement
back there," Mallory said. "When they got us in third and long, they really
put some good pressure on us."
Defensive tackle Steve Rekowski did an excellent job replacing
Hutchinson and received big doses of help from Mike Evans, who recorded
his fifth sack of the season, and linebackers Brian Townsend and Martin
Davis, who each recorded two sacks.
"Our front line did a great job putting pressure on the quarterback, from
the start of the game," linebacker Erick Anderson said. "At Michigan,,when
somebody goes down (Hutchinson), the next guy up is expected to
perform."
Anderson had a simple explanation for the defense's success in quelling
recent criticism of it being lax.
"It's not an X's and O's thing, it's just an attitude," he said. "We had no
idea what was going on outside of practice."
HOME SWEET HOME?: Indiana's loss to Michigan was only its
fourth at home in the last four years. In those four seasons, the Hoosiers
have won 16 of 20 games (16-3-1) at Memorial Stadium, also known as
"The House."
WHAT'S YOUR NUMBER?: The Wolverines definitely seem to have
the Hoosiers' number. Michigan has now won 19 of the last 21 meetings
between the two schools including a 38-10 victory in Ann Arbor last year.
MILESTONES: Jon Vaughn, who entered Saturday's contest as the
nation's leading rusher (153.3 yards per game), became the 11th Michigan
running back to run for 1000 yards in a season.
THIS IS A PRESS CONFERENCE?: Believe it or not, Gary Moeller
gave his post-game press conference in the dank, ill-lit, asbestos- filled
caverns of Memorial Stadium's boiler room. Yes, a boiler room.
A reporter from the Indiana Daily Student said it was normal operating
procedure to hold the visiting coach's press conference in the room.
He recalled the impression the room left on one Mid-American
Conference coach:
"Eastern Michigan's Jim Harkeman came in here earlier this year and
said, 'We're having it (the press conference) in here? In the Big Ten? We
have nicer places in the MAC!'
JOSE JUAREZ/Daily
Michigan receiver Desmond Howard races around two Indiana defenders after hauling one of his nine
receptions in Saturday's game. Howard, who finished with 117 yards and one touchdown, was able to find
openings in the Hoosier defense all afternoon. Howard came into the game second in the Big Ten in receiving
yards per game, averaging 81.3 a contest.
hand."
Howard, who came into the game
as the Big Ten's number two re-
ceiver and the nation's number three
kickoff returner, has answered any
questions about his ability to replace
the departed Greg McMurtry.
"I think Desmond is a good foot-
ball player and once he gets the ball
he can do something with it. He
works hard and he deserves it,"
Moeller said."
Howard, though, was only part of
an almost flawless offensive out-
burst. Grbac completed 14 of 18
passes for 166 yards and three touch-
downs, and three Michigan backs ran
for more than 60 yards - Jon
Vaughn (91), Jarrod Bunch (78) and
Ricky Powers (65).
Michigan outgained the Hoosiers
on the ground by 182 yards, 295-
113, in part because its offensive
line outweighed Indiana's defensive
line by an average of 60 pounds per
player. The Wolverine ground attack
was also aided by a balanced offense
and poor Indiana tackling.
"If your defense plays well and
gets the ball back to us, then offen-
sively you can play a much different
game," Moeller said.
With five games remaining, the
Wolverines showed Indiana, a na-
tional audience, and the 11 bowl rep-
resentatives in attendance a glimpse
of what they can look like on a good
day.
Players, however, feel this type
of performance will have to be re-
peated each and every week to meet
their goal - five straight wins.
Safety Tripp Welborne, for one,
feels Saturday's winning recipe
shouldn't be too hard to concoct in,
the future.
"We played hard, played long,
played strong," he said. "That's all
you have to do to be victorious."
HYMAN
Continued from page 1
"Michigan is a great, great1
team," he said. "Michigan is
and tradition."
bowl
class
Other bowls would love to have
Michigan as well.
"They have great fan support and.
a big TV market," said Nelson
Hendry, representative for the Hall of
Fame Bowl. "We're probably more
interested in a team that has less
than four losses, but we loved them
when we hid them (in 1988).
Michigan helped put us on the map
in terms of bowls."
Tommy Thompson, representa-
tive for the Florida Citrus Bowl
agreed. "We see Michigan as one of
the best bowl teams in the country.
A name that has been synonymous
with great football names for many
years.
"We require a team with a good
ranking. We're very interested, un-
fortunately, they have to win the rest
of their games. You have a team that
is 4-3, and is going to be favored in
all their games."
Thus, the stage is set for the
Wolverines. If they win their final
four games, they will be playing
somewhere on New Year's Day. Yet,
neither the team, nor coach Gary
Moeller is looking ahead.
The team is approaching the rest
of the season one game at a time and
is not worried about where or when
they may play a bowl game. When
asked where do you (the team) go
from here, Michigan receiver
Desmond Howard responded,.
"Purdue."
"It was real important to reestab-
lish what it's like to win," Michigan
fullback Jarrod Bunch said. "The
main focus is to win each game and
if that's the case (a bowl appear-
ance), that'll be fine."
If the season continues as the
game went Saturday, the Wolverines
will reach their goal of winning their
remaining games - and one of the
bowls will be rewarded with the op-
portunity to host Michigan.
-- - A-- - - - -
Vaughn's longest carry of the day came on a 47-yard touchdown scamper in the third
quarter.
Vaughn's per game rushing average fell to 144.3 yards, but he became the 11th runner
in Michigan history to surpass the 1,000 yard mark for a season.
nPiONTAT
All'
AVG
T
LONG
l/11 11 \l'd\1 A[ 1 111 L1U ASV 1L. Ll il\\l
Notre Dame
UCLA
Maryland
Wisconsin
Michigan St.
Iowa
Indiana
Totals
22
32
22
15
26
18
201
288
89
94
162
93
91
9.1
9.0
4.0
6.3
6.2
4.8
T6,
0
3
2
1
0
1
1
24
63
26
35
42
13
47
1 G 71 .V It
147
1011
6.9
8
63
DAILY
CLASSIFIEDS
Vaughn JOSE JUAREZ/Daily
I
1980
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
RECREATIONAL SPORTS
::,
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See the visions and concepts of General Motors:
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DATE:
PLACE:
TIME:
October 30 and 31, 1990
Central Campus Recreational Building
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9:00 AM to 3:00 PM
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