The Michigan Daily-- Sports Monday - September 14, 1992 - Page 5 I C H I 0 A N 177 FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK Score elicits plenty of mixed emotions by Josh Dubow Daily Football Writer NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Both Notre Dame and Michigan were un- happy with Saturday's 17-17 tie. Both teams left the field yesterday feeling the game had not ended. "It's been a long time since I've been in a tie," Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz said. "It just doesn't seem like the game should be over, and I don't know how you are supposed to feel. It was a crazy game that has left me with an empty feeling." While Holtz did not know how he was supposed to feel, Michigan coach Gary Moeller knew what his emotions were. . "We came in here to win," Moeller said. "I'm very disappointed we didn't, and so is my team." Another group of people was very adamant about its opposition to the tie. After Irish free safety Jeff Burris intercepted Elvis Grbac at the Notre Dame 12-yard line with 1:05 remaining, Holtz called runs on the next two plays, the second of which was called back by a penalty. The Irish then let 15 seconds run off the clock before throwing an incompletion. Then Cor- win Brown broke up a "Hail Mary" attempt in the game's final seconds. As the Irish left the field the Notre Dame faithful greeted them with a chorus of boos. However, Holtz claims he was not playing for a tie. "We had the ball and we were backed up," Holtz said. "Michigan did a good job of mixing up their coverages. We wanted to find out what cover- age they would be in, so we ran the ball. I thought we would spring it loose and we almost did." While Moeller refused to second guess Holtz's strategy, Michigan tight end Tony McGee did not hold back. "If that had been us, we would have gone for the win," McGee said. BREAKING THE LAW: Michigan freshman cornerback Ty Law saw his first action as a collegian Saturday. Law played on special teams and as a nickel back for the Wolverine defense. Law's biggest play came early in the fourth quarter with Michigan ahead, 17-7. The Irish drove down the field to the Michigan 12 and faced a third and seven. Irish quarterback Rick Mirer faked a hand off and threw a quick slant to Lake Dawson. Law came around Dawson and appeared to knock the ball away cleanly, however, the referee flagged him for pass interfer- ence setting up Notre Dame's second touchdown. "I thought I made a great play," Law said. "I read the play and the ball hit him first. I came down on his arms after I heard the ball hit his chest. I think the call should have gone my way. But on their home field, they are going to get the breaks on such a close call." Moeller would not outwardly criticize the officials but he did question the call. "I can't comment," Moeller said. "My hands are tied. If I say anything, 4 can't coach next week, and I want to coach next week. All I can do is DEBUTS: Six Michigan rookies saw action in Saturday's game. Four true freshman and two redshirt freshmen competed in their first collegiate game action. Of the true frosh, Law saw the most extensive playing time. Jean Agnus-Charles was the first rookie to take the field and played on special teams. Also, receivers Amani Toomer and Mercury Hayes received lim- ited playing time but did not have the ball thrown their way. Redshirt freshmen Ed Davis and Ce Foster both saw limited time. COIN TOSS: Michigan botched up what is usually one of football's easiest plays - the coin toss. Moeller sent out his three captains - Grbac, Brown and Chris Hutchinson - for the toss. Notre Dame won the toss and deferred its choice to the second half. Michigan then chose to defend the south goal and kickoff in the first half. Notre Dame then chose to re- ceive in the second half and started both halves with the ball. "I told them that the wind and sun meant a lot," Moeller said. "I said, 'If we win the toss, defer and defend the south goal. If they win the toss take the ball.' But I told them if (Notre Dame) won the toss they would want to start on offense and we should defend the south goal. I'm the head coach. I've got to take that blunder. It makes some difference, but not that much." ALEXANDER'S RETURN: Michigan receiver Derrick Alexander saw his first action since suffering a season-ending knee injury against Boston College in last year's opener. Alexander caught six passes for 92 yards including a 30-yard touch- down reception in the fourth quarter. However, he dropped a potential touchdown from Grbac in the third quarter and in the second quarter, a Grbac pass to Alexander was picked off in the end zone by Tom Carter. "I should have had that ball but I just misread it," Alexander said. "The interception was my fault too. I should have looked in better. It was my play. The touchdown was nice, but I shouldn't have had to make up for anything." INJURY UPDATE: Michigan fullback Dennis Washington suffered a 4islocated knee in the third quarter. Washington is out indefinitely. RECORD SETTER: In Saturday's first half, Grbac broke yet another Michigan passing record. With his 28 attempts against Notre Dame, Grbac now has 664 career passing attempts. That puts him 16 ahead of Steve Smith, who played for the Wolverines from 1980-83. Grbac also moved past Smith and into second place in career passing yards. Grbac trails Jim Harbaugh who has 5,449 yards. Rushing Player Aft 1 s AvI La Powers 8 Wheatley 6 Grbac 2 J. Johnson 15 Alexander 1 Leaette 3 30 27 4 62t 1 12_ 4 . 5 2.0 4.1 1.0 .40 16 16 22 .i Total 35 136 3,9 22 Passing Pr C-A Yds TD 1t Grbac 17-28 242 2 3 Totals 17-28 242 2 3 Receiving Player No Yds La TD Alexander 6 92 30.1 Smith 4 70 21 0 McGee 4 39 16 0 Wheatley 1 27 27 1 Legette 1 14 14 0 J Johnson. 1 0 0 0 Totals 17 242 30 2 Punting Player No Yds Ava a Azcona 3 87 29.0 36 Punt Returns Player, No Yds Ava La Alexander 1 5 5.0 5 Kickoff Returns Player No Yds Avg Lg Wheatley 2 41 20.5 24 Defense Player Tac Ast Tot Notre Dame cornerback Tom Carter intercepts an Elvis Grbac pass iintended for Michigan wide receiver Derrick Alexander in the end zone during the second quarter. The interception was the first of three for Grbac on the day. LIN Continued from page 1 McGee did come across the mid- dle on that play, and Elvis was look- ing in his direction. But he appar- ently thought McGee too well cov- ered - maybe he did learn some- thing - and decided to throw one away. But over the middle? You throw the ball at the ground or to the sideline if you're giving up on the play. You don't throw it into the teeth of the defense. To his credit, Grbac took respon- sibility for the play. He accepted the blame, but what he said even when not searching for an excuse raised questions about his thought process. "I didn't take the defensive player into account," was his expla- nation. You didn't take the defender into account?!? You throw a ball up for. grabs and you don't care if someone is there to pick it off?!? Isn't it your job to assess the situation and throw the ball where the defender is least likely to interfere? How can you not care whether or not someone is wait- ing there? We will give Elvis his due as a solid college quarterback. A guy with very limited mobility (even though he ran the option in high school - can you imagine that?) and an OK arm. He had his moments Saturday, including a perfectly thrown deep ball that Alexander ab- solutely should have caught. But that does not explain why he continues to puzzle us with some of his choices. After three years at the helm of this offense, we think Elvis should be better. That he should understand his mistakes and try to correct them. Learn how and when to make certain passes. Elvis spends countless hours por- ing over game film, analyzing him- self and his game. Yet sound deci- sions in the clutch continue to elude him. Maybe he just has some fun- damental weaknesses. "I question his ability to make quick reads," NFL Draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. said. "He didn't sense de- fensive pressure well (last year). He telegraphs his passes and his deliv- ery takes a little too long." Every year we expect him to come into fall practice a smarter quarterback, a better quarterback. Maybe we're expecting too much. 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