Page 4 -The Michigan Daily- Sports Monday - October 5, 1992
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*'' " Davis shines in
FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK iniured backfield
Walker
Rushing
Player Att Yds Avg La
Wheatley 19 224 11.8 82
Davis 10 84 8.4 33
Powers 10 71 7.1 35
Foster 2 51 25.5 50
Johnson 6 40 6.7 15
Leg ette 4 10 2.5 4
Buff 1 0 .0 0
Total 52 480 9.2 82
Passing
Player C-A Yds TD 1nt
Grbac 11-17 101 1 2
Collins 4-4 7 0 0
Total 15-21 108 1 2
Receiving
Player No Yds La TD
McGee 3 41 23 1
Alexander 3 18 15 0
Davis 3 11 9 0
Johnson 1 15 15 0
Malveaux 1 8 8 0
Smith 1 7 7 0
Foster 1 7 7 0
Burkholder 1 2 2 0
Wheatley 1 -1 -1 0
Totals 15 108 23 1
Punting
Player No Yds Ava La
Stapleton 4 141 35.3 51
Punt Returns
Player No Yds Avg La
Alexander 5 61 12.2 39
Kickoff Returns
Player No Yds Avg Lg
Hayes 4 81 20.3 25
Defense
Player Tac Ast Tot
by Jeni Durst
and John Niyo
Daily Football Writers
Due to injuries to running backs Ricky Powers
and Jesse Johnson, and fullback Burnie Legette
during Saturday's contest, fourth-string tailback Ed
Davis was again able to get some quality playing
time.
Davis has come out of nowhere this season to
prove Michigan's running game is just as deep as it
is touted to be. Davis has seen action in every one of
the Wolverines' matchups so far this season, rushing
for 206 total yards, including a 108-yard
performance against Houston in the fourth quarter.
"At one point I looked around and Legette's hurt,
Powers is hurt, Johnson is hurt and I look out there
and I have Ch6 Foster and Ed Davis," Michigan
coach Gary Moeller said. "And thank God for that
Eddie Davis. He's a real spunky guy; you have to
really give him credit for sticking in there.
Gentleman, and ladies, that takes a lot of character."
SWEET REVENGE: There was plenty of
celebration by Michigan fans after the Wolverines
52-28 romp of the Iowa Hawkeyes. Two years ago
at Michigan Stadium, though, it was a different
story.
Even though 24 months have passed since the
Wolverines last dropped a conference game to the
same Hawkeyes, the memories and the bad feelings
were definitely alive Saturday afternoon.
Many Michigan players didn't just want to claim
victory in their first conference contest, they also
wanted revenge.
"It was a whole lot of motivation," Michigan
tight end Tony McGee said. "I mean for a team to
come into Michigan Stadium and beat us. We were
embarrassed; we rallied after that loss."
SPECIAL TEAMS: Michigan has experienced
one game with an outstanding passing performance,
one with an exceptional defensive display, and now
one with a great running game. All the components
have been displayed except a solid kicking game.
Floridian Remy Hamilton was supposed to be
the Wolverines kicking salvation. But the true
freshman injured a hamstring in practice earlier this
year and has yet to see action. Instead, Michigan has
exploited the services of junior Pete Elezovic.
Elezovic has missed on three of his five field goal
attempts in Michigan's four games, including a 32-
yarder in the fourth quarter against Iowa.
The punting game seems to be mired in just as
much inconsistency. Junior Chris Stapleton has re-
placed regular Eddie Azcona in the last two
contests, averaging almost 42 yards per kick.
Stapleton lofted his longest punt of 55 against
Houston and also had 51-yarder against the
Hawkeyes.
BEST OF THE BEST: Michigan and Iowa peren-
nially field two of the Big Ten's and the nation's
best offensive lines. Saturday's game seemed to
provide evidence that the Wolverines' front five is
superior this time around.
"Coach Moeller in practice made a comment
about how good Iowa's line was," said Michigan's
Doug Skene, who made the switch rom left tackle
to left guard Saturday. "We wafted to prove to the
Big Ten and the nation that we w'Ner better."
The switch of Skene to guard, enabled Trezelle
Jenkins to move into the tackle spot, a move which
appeared to strengthen an already tough line. The
line opened gaping holes all afternoon especially on
the left side.
"It was just a matter of the running backs getting
an attitude and the line getting that same attitude,"
Skene said.
Dyson
Walker
Peoples
Ware
Burch
Wallace
Morrison
Stanley
Law
Brown
Holdren
B. Powers
S. Collins
B. Foster
Hutchinson
Maloney
Smith
Henderson
Buff
Blankenship
Charles
M. Davis
Doherty
Elezovic
Horn
Zenkewicz
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Michigan center Steve Everitt (#51) celebrates one of Michigan's seven touchdowns on the
day with teammates Derrick Alexander and Doug Skene.
Scoring Summary
Michigan
First Quarter:
Legette 1-yd run (Elezovic
kick), 11:23
Michigan 7, Iowa 0
Wheatley 29-yd run (Elezovic
kick), 6:12
Michigan 14, Iowa 0
Powers 2-yd run (Elezovic
kick), 3:47
Michigan 21, Iowa 0
Second Quarter:
Elezovic 20-yd FG, 9:18
Michigan 24, Iowa 0
Wheatley 18-yd run, (Elezovic
kick), 2:46
Michigan 31, Iowa 0
RENNIE
Continued from page 1
This is the demoralizing effect a
successful running attack can have
on an opponent. Passing is a random
science - its success and failure of-
ten depends more on individual
matchups than on overall team
strength. A struggling team can
break a big play after an opponent
blows one coverage assignment.
Rushing is different. One missed
blocking assignment, and the play
could be a bust. A running game is
designed to be relentless, punishing
- not a quick fix. The Wolverines
did not beat Iowa on Tyrone
Wheatley's 82-yard run. They beat
the Hawkeyes with Wheatley's
eight- and nine-yard plays.
Luck is rarely an issue in a run-
ning game. You either do it or you
don't. Michigan did. And the
Hawkeyes had no choice but to con-
cede that they were beaten by a bet-
ter team.
"We tried everything in the world
to stop them, but we just couldn't do
it," Fry said. "Every time we'd
wn.P thsvd iet.r. an.. h-, s nn
Oklahoma State and Houston
loaded up against the Wolverine
tailbacks, sticking seven or eight
defensive players on the line of
scrimmage. Michigan responded by
throwing the ball, and the system is
so sound that a backup quarterback
didn't make a difference.
After watching those game films,
Iowa responded by lining up its
safeties deep in an effort to cover the
whole field.
"I think they played the back be-
cause the deep passes weren't
there," Michigan coach Gary
Moeller said. "They didn't give us
the long pass at all."
And a week ago, Houston didn't
give the Wolverines the running
game at all. Nonetheless, Michigan
has scored 113 points in the last two
weeks. This versatility is what
makes the Wolverines so dangerous.
And don't kid yourself - the
running game would never be nearly
as successful without the threat of
the deep pass. Both aspects of the
offense comnlement each other. And
i p