The Michigan Daily-Sports Monday- November 4, 1991- Page 5
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FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK
'M' defense makes
the grade vs. Purdue
by Theodore Cox
Daily Football Writer
While Michigan is rolling through the weaker part of its schedule, the
Wolverines are using outside sources to keep them motivated. A local
newspaper gave out midseason grades recently, and the defense was awarded
a D+.
"We use that to our advantage," Michigan free safety Corwin Brown
said. "We'll have meetings and talk about that."
"It motivated us," inside linebacker Marcus Walker said. "(Defensive)
coach (Lloyd) Carr said that our defense has got to get a little tougher.... I
think today we earned an A."
The defensive secondary was criticized earlier in the year when teams
such as Florida State appeared to be throwing at will. Saturday, the
Boilermakers gained only 84 passing yards.
A rejuvenated pass rush has also contributed to the lower totals.
Michigan sacked Purdue quarterbacks three times.
MAGIC MARKS: Michigan wide receiver Desmond Howard
continued to shatter scoring records Saturday. His two touchdowns gave
him at least one TD catch in eight straight games this season, tying the
NCAA record for most consecutive games with a TD catch in a season.
Auburn's Terry Beasley accomplished the same feat in 1971. Dating back
to last year, Howard has caught a TD pass in 11 straight games. But the
NCAA doesn't count bowl games, so his mark of 10 tied Brigham Young's
Mike Chronister's standard set in 1976-77. Howard's season total of 19
touchdowns tied Ron Johnson's 1968 Michigan record.
For the ninth consecutive game, Howard accumulated over 100 all-
purpose yards. He totaled 169 Saturday - seven catches for 108 yards, one
rush for eight yards, and two punt returns for 53 yards.
UNIMPRESSED: Purdue cornerback Jimmy Young is not sold on the
idea that Howard is the best receiver in the country. "I thought he looked
better on film," Young said after facing Howard much of the day. "He had
some good moves on the screen pass (that went for a 47-yard touchdown).
But I didn't see anything overall that impressed me. I think that what helps
him a lot is his reputation. Guys think about who they're covering and they
take too deep a drop."
ELVIS' SCORING TOUCH: Michigan quarterback Elvis Grbac's two
touchdown passes gave him 22 on the year, breaking the Michigan single
season TD passing record. He set the record last year with 21. Grbac has not
thrown an interception in his last five games.
CARLSON BOOTS RECORD: With his six successful extra points
Saturday. J.D. Carlson broke the Big Ten record for consecutive PATs.
Rushing
Player Att Yds Ava La
Hunter 13 22 1.7 9
Canners 9 28 3.1 8
Rogers 8 40 5.0 23
J. Hill 8 29 3.6 9
Pike 3 -9 -3.0 6
Smikle 1 3 3.0 3
Malden 1 0 0.0 0
Tea m 1 -9 -9.0 0
Totals 44 104 2.3 23
Receiving
Player No Yds La TD
J. Hill 4 29 10 0
Dennis 3 34 18 0
Calloway 1 8 8 0
Conners 1 13 13 0
Totals 9 84 18 0
Passing
Player C-A Yds TD Int
Hunter 8-16 66 0 0
Pike 1-6 18 0 1
Totals 9-22 84 0 1
Defense
Player Tac Ast Tot
Smith 7 1 8
Johnson 3 5 8
Schwantz 6 0 6
Beatty 6 0 6
Young 4 1 5
Adams 2 2 4
Delvy 2 2 4
Decatur 2 1 3
Thurman 2 1 3
Minter 2 1 3
Hardin 2 0 2
Wilson 2 0 2
Strickland 2 0 2
Gray 2 0 2
Kingsbury 1 1 2
Zgonia 1 1 2
Brekke 1 0 1
M. Walker 1 0 1
Batten 1 0 1
Bruun 1 0 1
Cole 1 0 1
Krabbe 1 0 1
Walden 0 1 1
Wolverine defensive tackle Mike Evans closes in on Purdue quarterback Eric Hunter during Michigan's 42-0
victory Saturday. Evans and the Michigan defense recorded its first shutout since 1989.
Pass rush hurries Purdue Into shutout
by Jeff Sheran
Daily Football Writer
The most impressive aspect of
Michigan's 42-0 victory over Pur-
due Saturday was the zero that
adorned the Boilermakers' half of
the scoreboard.
The second most impressive as-
pect was the Wolverine pass rush,
which had been inconsistent all sea-
son. Saturday, Michigan accumu-
lated three sacks, eight tackles for
losses, and countless hurries in its
best performance this year.
Overall, the defense allowed 84
passing yards to quarterbacks Eric
Hunter and Matt Pike. Hunter,
whose scrambling ability had con-
cerned Michigan heading into the
game, rushed for 22 net yards.
"I think they did a lot better,"
Michigan coach Gary Moeller said.
"The key was not to go in there,
stop and wait, and see if he scram-
bles. They consistently put the heat
on.
The defensive line, comprised of
tackles Mike Evans and Chris
Hutchinson and guard Buster Stan-
ley, penetrated into the Purdue
backfield all game.
"Our defensive line takes pride if
nobody can move us off the ball,"
said Evans, who sacked Hunter for a
10-yard loss in the third quarter.
"It'd been a long, long... I can't be-
lieve I'd been without a sack for so
long. To me, it was like an ice-
breaker."
While receiving help from
linebackers Erick Anderson and
Randy Stark, who each recorded a
sack, the line provided help for
Michigan's defensive backs.
"We wanted to come out and
play a complete game," free safety
Corwin Brown said. "The pass rush
gave us a tremendous boost. The
first time I saw Hunter, he got a
chance to show some things. This
time, we didn't let him get started;
it's a tribute to the pass rush.".
Brown also attributed his third-
quarter interception to the rush.
"We were in a man coverage, and
there was a lot of pressure, so he
threw a bad ball," Brown said. "It
made them less accurate."
Outside linebacker Brian
Townsend agreed that the pass rush
and the secondary enhanced each oth-
ers performance.
"The pass rush along with the
defensive backs breaking to the ball
really keyed the shutout,"
Townsend said. "The quarterback
never had a chance to set his feet -
only on a rollout, and then he
couldn't throw downfield.
"Our run defense has shown it
could play all year," Townsend
added. "Our pass defense had to
show itself. And today, with the
pass rush and breaking on the ball,
we did."
The line's strong performance
wasn't without its negatives,
though. Hutchinson suffered a sec-
ond-degree sprain of the medial col-
lateral ligament in his left knee at
the end of the third quarter; he may
miss two weeks.
"Of course, we can't afford to
lose Hutch," Moeller said. "We did
that last year and we didn't do so
well without him."
Brown echoed Moeller's con-
cern. "That would be a big loss," he
said. "When he's on the field, he'll,
not only do his job, but come up
with the big play. "
OTHER INJURIES: Moeller
said center Steve Everitt (ankle) and
tailback Burnie Legette (ankle) will
resume practice this week.
Linebacker Steve Morrison
(fractured leg) should also return
this week, but Moeller could not
comment for sure.
Michigan place kicker J.D. Carlson made history Saturday, connecting on
his 108th straight extra point, a Big Ten record.
Carlson now has made 110 straight, passing the old record held by
Indiana's Pete Stoyanovich who had 107 from 1986-88. For his career,
Carlson has kicked 121 out of 123 PAT attempts. Former Michigan kicker
Mike Gillete remains ahead of Carlson with 130 successful PATs out of
133.
NO COMMENT?: Purdue coach Jim Colletto was forced to bite his
tongue when asked about the officiating. This comes after Indiana coach
Bill Mallory was suspended for a game a week ago, because he criticized
calls made during the Indiana-Michigan game.
The play in question Saturday occurred during the fourth quarter.
Purdue was moving the ball successfully and had the ball at the Michigan
9-yard line. Quarterback Matt Pike threw the ball into the hands of
Rodney Dennis, but he dropped it after Michigan defensive back Alfie
Burch broke up the play. A flag was thrown, but pass interference was
-° waved off after the referees deemed the ball "uncatchable."
"Well, I better not say," Colletto said after the subject was brought
up. "Let's just say that some things are beyond my amazement."
MESSY TURF: The new Prescription Athletic Turf presented some
problems for the ground crew before the game. The computer that controls
.the field drains malfunctioned Friday night, resulting in a huge puddle of
water on the Michigan sideline. But the crew acted quickly, manually
opening the drains and then vacuuming up the water before kickoff.
Michigan tailback Ricky Powers said the turf was in reasonably good
shape considering the conditions.
"I made one cut and half the field came up. But for the most part, it was
* better than I thought it would be," Powers said.
ADVENTURE
Continued from page 1
Moeller didn't place any more
importance on beating the
Seminoles than he did on defeating
Indiana. And that attitude was
picked up by the team.
"Our goal is not to win a na-
tional championship, but to win ev-
ery game," co-captain Greg Skrepe-
nak said before playing the Semi-
noles. -
But when Michigan prepared for
Iowa, Moeller said a victory would
count as "a win and a half." Mean-
ing if Iowa and Michigan tied in the
conference standings, Michigan
would go to the Rose Bowl over the
Hawkeyes.
But while this is true, and I re-
spect the pride Moeller has in the
Big Ten, with the talent this team
has, he shouldn't shy away from be-
ing the best team in the country.
Michigan receiver Desmond
Howard is the perfect example of
how far lofty goals can get you.
Howard's first goal all year has
been to be the best college football
player. Not the best Michigan
player, not the best Big Ten player,
but the best player in the country.
Now with three weeks left in the
season, he is the clear favorite for
the Heisman Trophy.
This doesn't mean that Michigan
should shoot for an Associated
Press national championship, or
even one from UPI. These are media
awards and I understand why
Moeller doesn't want to get caught
up in the hype.
But that doesn't mean he can't
strive for being the best team in the
Young
Punting
Player No Yds Avg Lg
Bruun 4 179 44.8 53
Team 1 18 18.0 18
Totals 5 197 39.4 53
Punt Returns
Player No Yds Avg Lg
Kickoff Returns
Player No Yds Avg Lg
Conners 1 9 9.0 9
Rogers 1 14 14.0 14
Calloway 2 42 21.0 25
Totals 4 65 16.2 25
Scoring Summary
None
GEN
STN.IG
Michigan split end Desmond Howard!
Howard caught seven passes for 108
will require the squad to play its
best football. Michigan should face
Washington on New Year's Day. By
then- the Husgkies~ will be. ranked ei-
looks back for the ball Saturday.
yards and a touchdown.
year. Quarterback Elvis Grbac, along
with the entire Wolverine defense,
had a terrible day against the Semi-
noles. Grbac has made few mistakes