Page 4-The Michigan Daily/New Student Edition-Sports - Thursday, September 10, 1992 FLASHY 'M' FOILED IN TINSEL TOWN No roses for 8-0 Blue by Jeff Sheran Daily Football Writer Like in the three seasons before, Michigan won the Big Ten Championship in 1991. And like in two of those three seasons, Michigan played in the Rose Bowl. But 1991 was remarkably differ- ent for Michigan. It was a high- profile season, which saw Michigan on the cover of Sports Illustrated twice in three months, and a deadly quarterback-receiver tandem shatter- ing NCAA passing records. Whether America was abuzz about Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard, or about the flamboyant Wolverines' Rose Bowl clash with Washington for the na- tional title, Michigan was always at the center of attention in college football. The team had its own goals heading into the season, like aveng- ing its 1990 losses to Notre Dame, Iowa, and Michigan State, and re- turning to the Rose Bowl after missing out on the New Year's Day classic that season. The Wolverines accomplished all of those goals. In fact, they played so well that they elevated their ex- pectations toward goals like winning a national championship. This they did not accomplish. Entering the Rose Bowl, Michigan's title hopes were legiti- mate. A victory over Washington coupled with a Miami loss in the Orange Bowl meant the Wolverines would earn, in all probability, the championship. Miami thrashed Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. But that's not why Michigan lost the title. The Wolverines (10-2) played their worst game of the year in Pasadena, losing 34-14. They fin- Action SportsWear THE ANN ARBOR HEADQUARTERS FOR ROLLERBLAOES (TO BUY 08 RENT), SNERKERS, AND LL YOUR SPORTSWEAR NEEDS. V y ished sixth in all three major polls, and watched 12-0 Washington earn its share of the championship. "We lost to as good a football team as I've ever seen," Michigan coach Gary Moeller said after the game. "We're a better team than we showed, but I can't envision a better football team than Washington." It was Michigan's second loss, both of which came at the hands of No. 1-ranked teams. At home against Florida State Sept. 28, Michigan offered its second-worst performance of the season, dropping the much-heralded contest, 51-31. The Florida State game, which drew top national billing as a No. 1 vs. No. 3 contest, was a free-for-all filled with rapidfire scoring, trick plays, and one-on-one showdowns. The showdown of the game, per- haps of the year, was between Howard and Seminole cornerback Terrell Buckley - the Heisman winner against the Thorpe Award winner. Buckley struck first, intercepting an Elvis Grbac screen attempt to Howard on the game's second play from scrimmage for a 40-yard touchdown. Howard retaliated later in the first half, burning Buckley for two touchdowns before Michigan collapsed in the second half. Part of the reason the loss was so disappointing for Michigan was that the Wolverines had played so well the game before. That performance, a 24-14 win over Notre Dame, was the game that catapulted Michigan into the na- tional limelight. Not only did the team avenge losses in the four previ- ous meetings with the Irish by play- ing what Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz called a "perfect" game, but Howard made the country gasp with a fourth-quarter, fourth-and-one, 25- yard horizontal touchdown snag that secured the victory. Grbac shined that day, too, com- pleting 20 of 22 passes, including the gutsy fourth-down bomb which he thought he had overthrown. "After I threw that pass, I was almost crying," Grbac said. "We wanted to play our best game, and that's what we did today." Michigan's first two Big Ten matchups in 1991 offered two more chances for revenge - consecutive games at Iowa and Michigan State. Michigan took advantage of both, beating Iowa, 43-24 and Michigan State, 45-28. Five games into the season, the Wolverines had already beaten its three 1990 nemeses. The winning continued for a long time. For the rest of the season, as a matter of fact. Michigan went 8-0 in the Big Ten, and rarely even broke a sweat. Indiana was Michigan's closest call. With four minutes left in the game and the Hoosiers trailing by eight, Indiana drove to the 1-yard line, before losing a yard on third and goal. On fourth and goal from the two, linebacker Erick Anderson stuffed fullback Corey Taylor and preserved the win. It was neither the first nor the last big play for Anderson, who each week made a stronger case in his bid for the Butkus Award. Howard was also strengthening his stock in the Heisman race with games like Indiana, in which he caught three touchdown passes. And each week, the Michigan team looked more dominant. After the Indiana game, the Wolverines recorded a 52-6 rout of Minnesota, a 42-0 shutout of Purdue, and a 59-14 thrashing of Northwestern. That set up an opportunity to clinch the conference title at Illinois. Michigan's defense, which had been criticized for its vulnerability to the short pass, faced a tough test against the Illini and quarterback Jason Verduzco. Michigan shut out Illinois, 20-0, after Marcus Walker picked off Verduzco in the end zone with min- utes remaining "Some things were said that we'd have to play a perfect game to beat them," Anderson said, referring to some inflammatory pregame re- marks by Verduzco. "I don't think that's true. I don't think we needed to play a perfect game. We did anyway." Having already clinched the Big Ten title, Michigan used its next game to punctuate the season on both team and individual levels. The annual hard-nosed clash between the Wolverines and Ohio State turned into a showcase for Michigan, which it won 31-3. Michigan beat the Buckeyes for the fourth straight year, and com- pleted its Big Ten sweep. Howard returned a punt 93 yards for a touchdown, after which he struck his soon-to-be-justified Heis- man pose. And Anderson capped his fourth straight season as Michigan's lead- ing tackler with 17 stops against the Buckeyes, which propelled him to win the Butkus two weeks later. 0 KRISTOFFER GILLETTE/Day Michigan's Desmond Howard runs after his only catch in the Rose Bowl. Washington defeated the Wolverines, 34- 14, for the Rose Bowl trophy, but Howard had already been awarded the Heisman. How Sweet It s Ho ward caps spectacular season withHeisman, OTBL ::SCHE 0I.LE-M Oct 17 t niai NMI at:N::ett0: 14Hfnois 22 I tOho Stat ~'scI~odued to strt t1p. by Theodore Cox Daily Football Writer About this time last year, Mich- igan wide receiver Desmond How- ard was having trouble convincing a woman that he was a football player. She looked at his 5-foot-9, 176 pound frame and said to him, "You're just too small. You'd get killed out there." By the end of the season - and 23 touchdowns later - Howard didn't have to convince anyone who he was, let alone that he was a foot- ball player. He was Michigan's first Heisman winner since Tom Harmon in 1940. But Howard's stardom didn't come overnight. After he gained over 1500 yards during the 1990 season, there was little question that Howard was onino to bi In the season's first game, against Boston College, Michigan tried to run for several plays. But the Wolverines' ground attack couldn't push the ball over the goal line. So quarterback Elvis Grbac dropped back and found Howard in the end zone. He repeated this pat- tern two more times before the con- test was over. But Howard's most spectacular play was a 93-yard kick- off return to open the second half. With four touchdowns after just one game, Howard became a dark- horse candidate to win the Heisman. But even the Michigan faithful had doubts that Howard could shine consistently enough to be named the country's best college football player. Many of those doubts were erased during the Michigan-Notre Dame oame On fourth and one tory over Notre Dame in five years.. The catch also amazed the nag tional media. Suddenly, Howard was the front-runner in the Heismar Trophy race. He never relinquished that spot. He made acrobatic catch after acrobatic catch each week, scor- ing in every regular-season game. By the time the Heisman Trophy winner was to be announced, it was q lock for Howard, who won by the highest percentage of votes of ali time. At the end of his award-winning season, Howard was still eligible to play one more year at Michigan. He would receive his degree in May and knew he could earn millions of dol- lars by leaving to play professional football. A committed student; Howard was torn between going orL to graduate education immediately; dnt nernin f rhE ~ dfwit vit 663-6771 419 E. Liberty, 2 blocks west of State Street. 14 I1 U . , ., ~ -- ., .. , r . a s .. x.. .\ " r . s.: fforalde 44 a'' .. .4 .4 w" 4. the hc~t pizza around Or even quare. 1985-Best in Ann Arb 1986-Best in Ann Arb 1987-Best in Ann Arb 1988-Best in Ann Arb 1989-Best in Ann Arb 1990-Best in Ann Arb 1991-Best in Ann Arb 1992-Best in Ann Arb *Michigan Daily "Best of Ann Arbor" readers' polls. gwv111g 4.43 e11 g.. .4 . 111 .'.V11 I*1.1 451. 1Il., anu postoning urt er stui es untl Michigan's top receiver in 1991. But Grbac threw the ball 30 yards after his professional career. After a even the top receiver can have a downfield to the corner of the end month of debating, Howard finall} tough time gaining exposure with zone. As the ball sailed through the decided in January that he had done" the conservative Michigan offense. air, most fans thought, "Grbac over- all he could at Michigan and it was Coach Gary Moeller said he wanted threw it." But Howard put on a time to move on. to increase the Wolverines' passing burst of speed, stretched out, and In April, the Washington Red- plays in 1991, but he insisted made a spectacular diving catch in skins selected him fourth in the Michigan would still be primarily a the back of the end zone. The touch- NFL draft. A week later he gradu running team. down sealed Michigan's first vic- ated from Michigan. SC' Your Food Store Coming Soon to North Campus Area Plymouth Green NOW OPEN 24 HOURS Come for the variety - Stay for the prices Always Fresh! Always Friendly! Always Open! 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