When was the last time,
before Saturday, the
Michigan football team tied?
(For answer see page 2)

'M' Sports Calendar 2
AP Top 25 2

Griddes
Q&A
Blame it on Niyo
Football
Cross Country

2
3
3
4-5
7

rY
'9


The Michigan Daily - Sports Monday

September 14, 1992


'Irish,

Blue

choke

in

ugly

tie

Why doesn't he learn
*from past mistakes?

'We should have won the game.'

Wasted
chances
tell story,
17-17

;f

- Elvis Grbac

NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Ah, Elvis. Michigan didn't give the game to
Notre Dame; Elvis literally threw it away. Any time you are fortunate
enough to cause three fumbles against a team the caliber of the Irish, you
had better make sure you capitalize - which the Wolverines did, scoring 10
points off two of the miscues - and that you also limit your own follies.
But Elvis ... he just couldn't resist. Derrick
Alexander, Walter Smith, and then somebody. All were Albert
covered like blankets. (Except maybe for that Lin
somebody, because we still don't know who Elvis was
aiming for on that last drive). But the quarterback who
thought he had a cannon arm decided to show it off,
only to discover - again and again and again - that it
wasn't there.
Grbac tried to find Alexander in the end zone on
third-and-seven from the Notre Dame 17. Smith was
wide open - we're talking the proverbial five-yard
distance - at the 10 for a first down, but Elvis saw
* Alexander running stride by stride with Irish defender
Tom Carter. What the heck, he must have thought, I'll
just gun it in there.
"I tried to bait him into throwing it," said Carter, who maybe took too
much credit for foible No. 1. "When you're close to the end zone, you can't
throw the ball long, because then you're out of bounds. So I had the end
zone helping me out. He just tried to put the ball the only place you could
throw it," and it snuggled comfortably into Carter's arms.
So that's one INT. We think Elvis has learned his lesson. But he seems
to have a hard time with these details. Remember the throw against Florida
State last year, when Terrell Buckley was already running for the end zone
* when Elvis released the ball? Obviously Elvis didn't.
Because when Michigan got the ball with 7:38 left and a chance to use
up some clock before punching in (or booting) the winning score, Elvis
struck again. On second-and-12, he saw Walter Smith floating across the
middle as if he was a decoy - with linebacker Brian Ratigan on his hip -
and perhaps feeling bad that he had missed Smith on that earlier intercep-
tion, decided to throw the ball his way. Ratigan took one step and the ball
was his.
Elvis said a lineman was screening the defender.
OK, we'll give him that one. But what about the final interception,
thrown on first down at the Notre Dame 30 with 1:05 remaining? This is the
one that most puzzled onlookers. Why did he throw the ball? Who was he
throwing to? Did getting hit at about the moment of his release affect the
toss?
"I think he was feeling the pressure and was just trying to get the ball
away," said free safety Jeff Burris, the only receiver in the vicinity (keep in
mind that he is not a Wolverine) and the beneficiary of the throw. "I was
shocked, because the tight end was the closest. I guess he was trying to get it
to him. No one else was in the area."
See LIN, Page 5

by Josh Dubow
Daily Football Writer
NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The last
two times Michigan went to Notre
Dame, it tossed chances to win out
the window. Yesterday, Wolverine
quarterback Elvis Grbac threw his
team's chances for victory into the
hands of Irish free safety Jeff
Burs.
Michigan (0-0-1 overall) did
have chances to beat Notre Dame (1-
0-1). Plenty of them. But the
Wolverines settled with a 17-17 tie
in their season opener.
"I had very high expectations
coming into today," Michigan coach
Gary Moeller said. "In no way did I
expect to lose, and in no way am I
happy with the tie."
The biggest chance the
Wolverines blew came in the game's
final minutes.. Michigan took over
the ball with 5:28 remaining at its
own 20-yard line and the score tied
at 17.
Michigan moved the ball behind
a Jesse Johnson 8-yard run, an Elvis
Grbac 16-yard pass to Derrick
Alexander and a Tyrone Wheatley
16-yard run up the middle.
Wheatley's run set the Wolverines
up with a first down from the Irish
30 with 1:23 remaining.
On the next play, Grbac faked to
Johnson and made a half roll to his
right.
"Weran the play action, but they
didn't bite," Grbac said. "Their
safety stayed back. They were play-
ing screen and draw defense all
game."
Cornerback Greg Lane blitzed
Grbac and forced him to throw
early, and Grbac's pass sailed well
past tight end Tony McGee and into
Burris' waiting hands at the Irish 11.
"I saw the tight end was covered
and I wanted to throw the ball
away," Grbac said. "After I thr
the ball I saw their defensive b
and I was hoping, 'Come on, die.
the ground.' But it stayed up
him."
Notre Dame ran out the remain-
ing 1:05 in four plays to end the
camne in a deadlock.
The Irish were also not without
their opportunities earlier in the
game. Fumbles killed three drives,
and a blocked field goal thwarted
another. The third fumble almost
ended Notre Dame's chances.
With the Irish down 10-7 late in
the third quarter, they mounted a
drive from their 23 into Michigan
territory. Then quarterback Rick
Mirer handed off to fullback Jerome
Bettis who burst through the middle.
See IRISH, Page 4

KR-~T-ti GILLE TTE/Daiy
Michigan quarterback Elvis Grbac completed 17 of 28 passes for 242yards and a pair of touchdowns, but was also
intercepted three times as the Wolverines tied Notre Dame, 17-17, in their season opener Saturday.


New Blue 'D' scheme ended
Irish thoughts of big finish

by Albert Lin
Daily Football Writer
It may have gone unnoticed to the casual
viewer because of the emotion involved in a
frustrating tie, but the new and improved
version of the Michigan defense made an im-
pressive debut Saturday.
The Wolverines performed admirably
against Notre Dame's many all-America
caliber skill players. Irish quarterback Rick
Mirer completed only 14 of 26 passes for 161
yards, and both tailback Reggie Brooks and
fullback Jerome Bettis were held under 100
yards, although the team had 237 rushing.
Michigan threw unexpected formations at
the Irish offense, and that ability offset any
first-game experience Notre Dame may have
gained last week.
"I'll tell you now I would rather Michigan

have played and us see what they were doing,"
Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz said. "They
played us completely different than they've
played us most of the time. Usually they
eagled down, brought the end up, put him on
the slot, rode the cornerback to the short side
- they didn't do that the whole game.
Michigan's never played us in man coverage,
and they did that an awful lot (Saturday).
"I thought we reacted and adjusted fairly
well, but Michigan did not play us the way we
expected."
Holtz's Heisman-contending quarterback
agreed.
"They didn't run what we thought they
were gonna run," Mirer said. "They did a lot of
different things - playing man, disguising
their coverage in the secondary well. It was
See DEFENSE, Page 4

KRIST1I jRr , ILL , TT
Michigan defensive backs Corwin Brown (20) and Shonte Peoples gang tackle Notre Dame
fullback Jerome Bettis, who gained 82 yards on 15 carries during Saturday's 17-17 tie.

4

Spikers finish seventh
 in UCSB tournament
Gi. ^L JA ,... :naa7i cnd 'WP nlvd with

Stickers open season
with weekend split

iA

by Chad A. Safran
Daily Sports Writer
After two consecutive losses at
the University of California-Santa
Barbara Volleyball Classic, the
Michigan women's volleyball team
rebounded to capture seventh place
in the 12-team tournament.
Behind the fine hitting perfor-
mances of outside hitters Michelle
Horrigan and JoAnna Collias,
Michigan (6-2 overall) defeated

vovanazzi saiu .W piayeU wu a
lot more passion and determination
in tonight's match than we did in the
morning.
"I am extremely pleased to have
gotten wins over two California
teams in the tournament."
In addition to her team high in
kills, Collias had a match-best 19
digs to complete a fine all-around
performance. The junior was named
to the all-tournament team, the only

by Tim Rardin
Daily Sports Writer
For the Michigan field hockey
team, the word for the day is poten-
tial. With a promising blend of
young talent and veteran experi-
ence, the Wolverines are gearing
for an improvement of their 9-9'
record of a year ago.
However, Michigan coach Patti
Smith knows that with potential

spent a majority of the game com-
ing from behind. Villanova scored
on its first attempt to take an early
lead into the half, but Wolverine
co-captain Katie Thomas, the lead-
ing scorer from 1991, did what she
does best, tying the score off a dual
assist from Lelli Hose and Katie
Vignevic.
The Wildcats took the lead again
with 15 minutes left in the match,



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