The Michigan Daily - Sports Monday - October 26, 1992 - Page 5
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FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK
Michigan solves
penalty woes
by Jeni Durst
and Josh Dubow
Daily Football Writers
One of the things Michigan wanted to improve
upon coming into the game against Minnesota was a
reduction in the amount of penalties it incurred. Prior
to the game, the Wolverines led the conference in
penalties, losing an average of 73.6 yards per contest
due to the infractions.
Against Minnesota, Michigan registered only
three violations totaling 34 yards. The worst
Wolverine penalty was for 19 yards, issued for inten-
tional grounding at the end of the first half.
"You tell me what's the greatest thing we im-
proved on this weekend?" Michigan coach Gary
Moeller said. "Penalties. We didn't have near as
many penalties."
The reduction may stem from what Moeller
termed "extracurricular running" for those who
were previously involved in infractions.
ELVIS SIGHTING: After an injury and some time
to get back into the flow of things, starting
quarterback Elvis Grbac found his niche, completing
14-of-19 passes for 208 yards and no interceptions
against Minnesota. He hit wide receiver Derrick
Alexander for four touchdowns, which is the third
time Grbac has tied the Michigan record for the most
touchdown throws in a game. In the process, Grbac
passed former Wolverine quarterback Jim Harbaugh
in career passing yardage. He now has 5,614 total
yards. Harbaugh is second with 5,449 yards.
RECORD-SETTING: This year's Michigan squad
has been breaking school records left and right, and
Saturday was no exception. Besides being the
Wolverines 1,000th game, they tied the record for
most consecutive Big Ten victories at 17. The last
time Michigan dropped a conference matchup was in
1990 to Iowa, 24-23, in Ann Arbor. Alexander also
set a new Michigan mark for most touchdown
receptions in a contest with four. Last season's re-
ception phenom Desmond Howard only registered
three TD catches in a game, though he accomplished
that feat twice.
WALLACE WOES: As the clock ticked off the
final second at the end of the first half Saturday, not
every player cleared the field. Michigan cornerback
Coleman Wallace lay slumped on the ground near
the tunnel. Wallace suffered a pinched nerve in his
neck on the last play of the half and was unable to
reenter the contest. With the absence of starting
cornerback Alfie Burch due to a sprained foot, this
left the defensive backfield thinner than optimal.
THAT WACKY GUY: At least Minnesota head
coach Jim Wacker still retains his sense of humor
after getting pasted by 50 points. Wacker was the hit
of the post-game press conference with little gems
such as these:
"Alexander the Great is Alexander the Great. I'd
vote for him for emperor of Rome, Greece, wherever."
"We couldn't tackle them if we had played them
in a phone booth, much less a football field."
"I didn't show the guys the films before the game.
Maybe I should have. I'm not gonna show them these
films. We're gonna burn these suckers. We're gonna
pretend this game never happened."
"The NFL should call these guys. They shouldn't
just take Alexander the Great and Super Six (Tyrone
Wheatley). They should take the coaching staff and
the whole cotton-pickin' team. Ann Arbor needs a
professional franchise. They've got the stadium for
it."
'WRONG WAY WALTER': Wide receiver
Walter Smith provided the play of the game, maybe
the play of the week and quite possibly the play of the
year.
In the midst of the second half, Smith got the pitch
from running back Jesse Johnson on a reverse play.
Smith was running to the right when he ran smack
into a Minnesota defender. He pulled his foot out of
the grasp of the Gopher, turned around, and ran to the
left.
Smith preceded to snake through the rest of the
Minnesota defense, making a cut to the right at the 15
yard line and scampering the remainder of the 44 yards
into the endzone.
"It was a good run," Smith said. "They called my
number and it's just a great thing to get the ball, at
Michigan there are so many great players.
"Once I came around the corner and saw the de-
fender in my face and I turned around and went the
other way. Desmond (Howard) will be shocked to see
the highlights. He'll probably give me a call Monday
or Tuesday."
"I called him 'Wrong Way Walter'," Moeller
said. "I don't think he got it, but he laughed anyway.
He probably figured it was an old guy's corny humor.
He ran the reverse well. He's a strong runner and I
think he showed it."
UNHAPPY HOMECOMING: Many Michigan
fans came back to Ann Arbor for Homecoming. One
Gopher fan also came. Wacker is a Michigan native,
and while he enjoyed Ann Arbor and visiting his
family, the game did not meet his expectations.
"If they didn't have to play this stinkin' game, it
would have been great."
Lewis
Rushing
Player Att Yds Ava Lg
Carter 6 21 3.5 10
Fleetwood 9 20 2.2 10
Darkins 3 13 . 4.3 15
Douglas 1 -6 --6.0 -6
St. Sauver 1 -16 -16.0 -16
Totals 20 32 1.6 15
Passing
Player C-A Yds TD Int
Fleetwood 7-21 150 1 1
Eckers 3-7 24 0 0
St. Sauver 2-5 21 0 0
Totals 12-33 195 1 1
Receiving
Player No Yds Ava TD
Osterman 3 53 17.7 0
Douglas 3 11 3.7 0
Lewis 2 96 48.0 1
Dalen 2 21 10.5 0
Garrison 1 10 10.0 0
Darkins 1 4 4.0 0
Totals 12 195 16.2 1
Punting
Player No Yds Avg Lg
Kaufman 9 323 35.9 51
Punt Returns
Player No Yds Avg L
Garrison 3 14 4.7 6
Kickoff Returns
Player No Yds Avg Lg
Lewis 6 178 29.7 88
Darkins 1 18 18.0 18
Dean 1 8 8.0 8
Total 8 204 25.5 88
Defense
Player Tac Ast Tot
[hdown reception in the first quarter.
s emperor?
ts his vote for 'M' receiver
score.
n that in practice the
'xander said. "It was
iming down."
tchdowns, Alexander
ever covered a corner
iof a gun! It wasn't
oked like we had 11
s covering that guy?
Didown came on the
he second half. Grbac
pass in the right flat.
eking up a key block
rin ted down the left
or the 32-yard score.
" to answer any ques-
1about how much the
aoward. In his first
as 721 total yards as
avhis time last year.
d 411 touchdowns to
ers were better, this
been involved in only
:limited Alexander's
Voeller has been ex-
unior wide receiver's
season, Moeller was
ing a replacement for
son could replace
t ave to come from
Alexander has come
ln't have confidence,"
e has it, you can see
till needs to keep fo-
ing Alexander com-
w he was going to re-
spond to the knee surgery that sidelined him for
all but one game last season.
"There's always some kind of doubt with
knee surgery," Alexander said earlier this season.
"There's always the chance that you won't come
back. But the doctors and coaches assured me I'd
be fine."
He says he is now at 100 percent and the knee
does not affect his play.
"This season has definitely been a dream
come true," Alexander said. "Last year was a.
long year to sit out. Sitting on the sideline watch-
ing my teammates was tough. It was a long year.
I'm thrilled to be back out there again."
One of the most difficult things for Alexander
last season was watching the success of Howard.
Going into the 1991 season, big things were ex-
pected from both of Michigan's receivers, and af-
ter Alexander's injury Howard took over imme-
diately. He caught three second-half touchdowns
to lead the Wolverines to victory against Boston
College and start his Heisman Trophy run.
"I was gonna have a good year last year, too,"
Alexander said. "I had a new attitude and was
practicing harder. I was more into football. But I
got hurt and Desmond wins the Heisman. He
picked up the slack.
"I don't think one person would have gotten
all that publicity with both of us there."
Alexander has almost made a complete re-
turn. Moeller does not hesitate using him as a re-
ceiver, runner or punt returner. However,
Alexander has yet to return a kickoff this year. In
1990, Alexander was one of the top kick re-
turners in the nation, and it was on a kickoff re-
turn last season that he tore up his knee.
"Anything I can do to help this team win, I'll
do," Alexander said. "I want to run kickoffs, but
Coach won't let me. I love being in the game. I
love to play."
Team
Michigan
Ohio State
Indiana
Wisconsin
Purdue
Iowa
Michigan State
Northwestern
Illinois
Minnesota
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1.000
.500
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THIS WEEK'S RESULTS
Michigan 63, Minnesota 13
Ohio St. 27, Michigan State 17
Northwestern 27, Illinois 26
Purdue 27, Iowa 16
Indiana 10, Wisconsin 3
TOP PERFORMERS
Northwestern quarterback Len
Williams threw for 242 yards and
three fourth-quarter touchdowns
in Northwestern's 27-26 win at
Illinois.
Purdue quarterback Eric Hunter
ran for 78 yards in his first start of.
the season. The Boilermakers
broke a nine-game losing streak to
the Hawkeyes.
NEXT WEEK'S GAMES
Michigan at Purdue, 12:30 p.m.
(ESPN)
Michigan St. at Northwestern
Indiana at Minnesota
Illinois at Wisconsin
Ohio State at Iowa
Se bree
Mays
Cappella
Veit
Conzemius
Hawthorne
Mathis
Li Santi
L. Wolkow
Davis
Hoefer
Cunningham
Heath
Cockrell
Hypolite
Carter
T. Wolkow
Fisher
Kratochvil
Peterson
Darkins
Ehrich
Layton
N arci sse
Williams
H unter
Reem
T: Walker
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Y9
anyway?
e 1920s. It was a live wolverine
lasted only two games before
f his cage late one night.
wy the school hasn't since had a
g the field is because there has
and for one.
f:the letters we've received about'
st them," Madej said. "I don't
aving a mascot. We've created
GOPHER
Continued from page 1
in Milwaukee.
At the camp, which was visited
by dozens of other Division I
schools, mascots congregated to plan
staged fights at upcoming games,
exchange tips, and watch cartoons.
"Old cartoons like Scooby Doo
are Emmy Award winners as far as
suit," he said. However, there are
female mascots, such as Ralphie the
Buffalo from the University of
Colorado.
What is the allure, for men and
women alike, to don a furry costume
in front of thousands of people and
dodge marshmallows?
"It's fun to be the center of
attention," Dave said. "I've met a
few people who are very shy, but
they get in the costume and they just
athletic function no questions asked,
and gets to say he is 6' 3" tall, or
with the Gopher head, 6' 9", like
Chevy Chase as a Los Angeles
Laker in Fletch.
"When I go around campus and
see Goldie on posters in restaurants,
on homecoming floats, and
everywhere else, I take a lot of pride
in it," he said. "I represent the
university."
Minnesota's long-standing
with the crowd. He makes it fun for
everybody."
The majority of Dave's job is
fun, with a few exceptions.
"When I was in Pittsburgh the
students spit tobacco on me," he
said. At Michigan, a front-row fan
tried to rip his head off.
Overall, though, Dave stressed
that the pluses of leading a second
life as a gilded rodent outweigh the
minuses.
Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER:
Lewis 88-yd kickoff return,
(Piepkorn kick), 12:56.
Michigan 7, Minnesota 7
SECOND QUARTER:
no scoring
THIRD QUARTER:
Lewis 94-yd reception from
Fleetwood, (kick failed),
14:44.
Michigan 35
Minnesota 13
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