01 Page 4 - The Michigan Daily - Sports Monday - November 18, 1991 Q r Rushing Player Att Yds Ava Lg R. Powers 26 151 5.8 21 J. Johnson 21 104 5.0 17 Wheatley 6 49 8.1 23 Howard 2 26 13.0 15 Legette 1 2 2.0 2 Grbac 1 -2 -2.0 -2 Totals 57 330 5.8 23 Passing Player C-A Yds TD lt Grbac 16-20 133 1 1 Totals 16-20 133 1 1 Receiving Player No Yds Lg TD Howard 7 80 23 1 VanDyne 4 34 1 2 0 Smith 2 11 7 0 McGee 1 4 4 0 J. Johnson 1 7 7 0 R. Powers 1 -3 -3 0 I C H I 0 A 20 FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK M' defense earns Totals 16 133 23 1 Illinois fullback Kameno Bell is tackled by the Michigan defense in Saturday's game against the Fighting Illini. Michigan won the game, 20-0, capturing its second shutout of the 1991 season. Defens Player Peoples Burch Ware Williams Brown Howard Ritter Morrison Anderson Carlson Maloney Townsend Walker Henderson Davis A hakhan Dyson Evans Powers SHERAN Continued from page 1 a e was also defiant; the defensive Tac A st Tot captain had been just that - defen- 0 1 1 sive - after a season of criticism. 2 1 3 First, he answered the media. 3 2 5 ", want to see the grade this 3 1 4 time," he said, referring to a news- 4 1 5 paper column several weeks ago that 41 1 gave Michigan a 'D+' for its defense. 1 0 1 "The bottom line is, we're winning. 0 1 1 If this doesn't prove we're an 'A' 4 1 5 defense..." 7 0 7 Next, Anderson answered Il- 1 0 1 linois quarterback Jason Verduzco, 2 0 2 who had challenged the defense the 2 1 3 entire week leading up to the game. 3 0 3 "Yeah, well some things were 1 0 1 said that we'd have to play a perfect game to beat them," Anderson said. 3 1 "I don't think that's true. I don't 3 1 2 think we needed to play a perfect 2 0 2 game. We did anyway." 3 0 3 However, the defense vindicated 2 0 2 itself more with its play than with its words. Entering the game, Illinois' strength was the short pass. Michigan's weakness was de- fending the short pass. But the Wolverine coaches had stood by their strategy. It mandated stopping the run, while giving up short passes and preventing long ones. Eventually, the logic dictated, the opponent would either fail on a third-down conversion, or get stuffed inside the 20, where the field shrinks. Marcus Walker's key fourth- ouarter intervention in the end znne confirmed this logic - unable to run the ball in, Illinois had to pass from its 11. When Verduzco dropped back on second-and-eight, he threw to his most open reccver, the triple- covered Elbert Turner. Walker snagged the tipped ball to preserve the shutout. At that point, the defense did more than es- cape criticism - it proved the critics wrong. But they needn't celebrate their vindication, they have better things praise from Illini by Matt Rennie and Jeff Sheran Daily Football Writers CHAMPAIGN - Seemingly unaware that Michigan '! >ss defense had been criticized this season, Illinois coach John Macko i lauded the Wolverines, who stifled the Illini, 20-0. "They were strong up front and were able to pressure (Illinois quar- terback) Jason (Verduzco) and force him to throw off balance," Mack- ovic said. "We could not protect the passer quite as much as we had to. They put real good pressure on us with four and five rushers." Illinois fullback Kameno Bell agreed. "Their linebackers press the line of scrimmage - their front seven is pretty physical and active," Bell said. "Our short pass protection needed to be a little tighter." Mackovic's praise extended to Michigan's secondary. "We were try- ing to mix it up with short and longer passes. But they did a good job short-dropping and playing man on longer situations. "I thought they played the best man coverage we had faced during this year." Wolverine senior cornerback Lance Dottin credited the coaching staff for preparing the defense for the shutout. "We came in with a good package. (Defensive coordinator) Lloyd Carr set us up really well," Dottin said. "All we had to do was execute pretty well, and we did." FRIENDLY REMINDER: Wolverine quarterback Elvis Grbac and wide receiver Desmond Howard went to high school together at St Joseph's in Cleveland, Ohio. For that reason, both found it funny when a reporter asked if clinching the conference title early would mean the team would forget about next week's game with Ohio State. "You see, we're both from Ohio," Grbac informed the reporter. "Next question," Howard said. LOOK WHO'S TALKING: Howard received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for his involvement in a brief third-quarter shoving match. After the game, he had some choice words for the Illinois defen- sive backs. "There was a lot of jawing going on out there. Since I'm a student at the University of Michigan, I'm not going to use a lot of those words," Howard said. "I thought the referee threw the flag prematurely. "They're good athletes, but I think they ought to spend more time thinking about the game and less time talking." DESMOND THE GREEK: Howard bragged about his prognasticating abilities when asked about his feelings on Miami's 17-16 victory over Florida State. "I predicted Miami would win that game," he said. "They just seemed like a hungry team to me. I figured they would win a close game. What was the score?" When told, Howard grinned and replied, "See what I mean?" DESMOND THE HEISMAN CANDIDATE: Howard scored two touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving, on regional television Satur- day. Earlier in the day, Heisman candidate Casey Weldon led his team to only one touchdown in Florida State's nationally-televised loss to Mi- ami. Howard remains the frontrunner for the trophy, which will be awarded Dec. 14 in New York. BACK IN FORM: Michigan placekicker J.D. Carlson broke out of his slump by kicking field goals of 36 and 43 yards in his only two at- tempts. Carlson was responsible for the Wolverines' first score in each half. Conversely, Illinois kicker Chris Richardson missed field goals of 49 and 39 yards. Richardson's 49-yarder hit the crossbar, bounced nearly straight up in the air, and fell short. His second miss came with one sec- ond left in the first half. HUTCH OUT: Doctors informed Michigan defensive tackle Chris Hutchinson yesterday that he will not return for the Ohio State game. Hutchinson sprained a ligament in his left knee against Purdue Nov. 2. V V ' Illini quarterback Jason Verduzco fumbles a snap in Saturday's game. 0 0 NO] R 0 S E 250 Prime Non. First Come-Fir R.T. 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The defense stayed fresh all game, thanks to Michigan's ball- control attack. The Wolverines, led by the tailback tandem of Ricky Powers and Tyrone Wheatley, ground out 330 rushing yards and possessed the ball for 38:20. Powers rushed for 151 yards, while Johnson racked up 104 yards of his own. "It helps a lot to get that many carries," Powers said. "I think this game did a lot to build the confi- dence of all the tailbacks." Although Moeller employed his most conservative offensive scheme of the season, wide receiver Des- mond Howard still accounted for both Michigan touchdowns. The first capitalized on a Ver- duzco fumble that gave the Wolver- ines the ball on the Illini six with 2:47 left in the first half. On third- and-goal from the one, Grbac saw Howard with single coverage and hit him coming across the middle to give Michigan a 10-0 lead at the in- termission. Howard closed the scoring with a 15-yard run off a reverse with 8:46 left in the game. Howard initially juggled the exchange with Johnson, but recovered in time to outrun one defender and dismiss another on his way to the end zone. "He gave it to me kind of high on the pads," Howard said. "But then I got to the outside, and the King here (Grbac) just threw a hell of a block." Grbac actually abandoned his original assignment on the play. "I'm supposed to take the first guy on that play," Grbac said. "But I saw that he took a bad angle, and I knew Desmond would get by him so I headed upfield." The touchdown capped an 80- yard drive and extinguished Illi- nois' flecting hopes. "We were well prepared. We put everything we had into this game," Mackovic said. "We were prepared to go to the wall on every single thing we could, but it just wasn't enough. That's a tribute to Michigan - they're a great team." FOR JUNIOR NURSING STUDENTS A SUMMER STUDENi NURSING EXPERIENCE AT MAYO FOUNDATION HOSPITALS Here is your opportunity to work at Mayo Medical Center for the summer. 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