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Page 4 - The MichiganI
Daily- Sports Monday- November 16, 1992
.s
:,
by Jeni Durst
Daily Football Writer
C
H
I
G
A
2
2
turns
game over to
Johnson
* Passing
Player C-A Yds TD 1 n t
lGrbac 21-29 278 1 2
Rushing
Player Att Yds Avg _La
'Johnson
SWheatley
Legette
Powers
G rbac
23
14
6
2
2
121
86
23
11
4
5.3
6.1
3.8
5.5
2.0
18
22
7
9
5
Total 47 245 5.2 22
Receiving
Player No Yds Avg TD
Alexander 7 114 16.3 0
aMcGee 5 27 5.4 0
Smith 4 47 11.8 0
{Toomer 3 35 11.7 0
* Wheatley 2 55 27.5 1
Tota l 21 278 13.2 1
Punting
Player No Yds Avg La
Stapleton 1 57 57.0 57
Punt Returns
Player No Yds Avg Lag
Alexander 1 1 1.0 1
Kickoff Returns
Player No Yds Avg Lg
Wheatley 2 30 15.0 16
Alexander 1 13 13.0 13
McGee 1 7 7.0 7
H ayes 1 2 2.0 2
Total 5 52 10.4 16
hDefense
Player Tac Ast Tot
Well, they're going to the Rose
Bowl. They're the outright Big Ten
champs. But the way there wasn't
easy. And it definitely wasn't pretty.
The word floating around after the
Michigan Wolverines' 22-22 tie
with Illinois was self-destruction.
Michigan fumbled the ball 11 times
losing possession to the Illini four
of those 11 times, and also threw
two interceptions.
"Well, it's a sad way to get your-
self into a big party," Michigan
coach Gary Moeller said. "The kids
go out and play hard and we just go
out and self-destruct offensively. We
should have been way ahead but I
know these things come back to
haunt you and they did."
The haunting began early on for
the Wolverines, actually on the first
play from scrimmage. After
Michigan took over at its own 35,
quarterback Elvis Grbac threw an 18-
yarder to wideout Derrick Alexander.
Illinois strong safety Tyrone
Washington hit Alexander - and the
football hit the ground. Walter
Smith jumped onto the loose ball,
recovering possession for the
Wolverines. Alexander's was the
first of nine mishandles plaguing
Michigan in the first half, three of
those muffs coming on kickoff re-
turns.
"I've never been in a game like
that," Grbac said. "I don't know if it
was the cold or what it was. Illinois
played well and you have to give
them credit."
Whether to place the blame on
the temperature or the Illini remains
an open question, but it wasn't a
case of Michigan playing abom-
inably. The Wolverine registered 309
yards of offense in the first half, yet
a turnover would stop their progress
when they came close to the goal.
Michigan churned out yardage but
the mistakes hindered its point pro-
duction.
Three of the four times the
Wolverines lost possession of fum-
Illinois
Mocller said. "1hat's sad. What did
we fumble - 11 times? Why'd we
fumble? I don't know why."
Moeller also couldn't say why
his starting tailback and one of
Michigan's rushing sensations so far
this season, Wheatley, participated
in five of the Wolverines' 11 fum-
bles, two of which came on kickoff
return muffs. The mishandle on the
kickoff at the end of the third quarter
was his last action of the day.
"I really don't know what was
going on there," Moeller said.
"(Wheatley) was just having one of
those days, where he was not hang-
ing onto the ball. He said everything
was OK but it was one of those days
you go to Jesse."
It seemed to be one of those days
for everybody. After Michigan's hin-
dered first half in its last game at
Michigan Stadium this season, tle
Wolverine fans lambasted theirteamn
with yells and boos as it headed into
the tunnel for the break. Some of the
Michigan players weren't surprised
or disappointed with the fans reac-
tion.
"When you turn the ball over that
many times you deserve to get
a"7 booed," McGee said. "It served as-a
wake up call. We were putting our-
The selves in a no win situation by turn-
ing the ball over. (At halftime) they
stressed not just hanging onto the
ball, but squeezing the ball."
nes entered
a Tyrone The Wolverines did seem to wake
Michigan up a little and heed their coaches ad-
r recovered. vice, fumbling only twice and also
heir time in throwing one interception. Yet the
t play when entire game marked a low moment
fumbled af- for the Michigan seniors for which it
1 pass from was the last time they would per-
ngton again form in front of their home crowd
g the loss of and on their home turf.
*k Fred Cox
Illini. "It's something that I can't ex-
plain," senior free safety Corwin
s we did in Brown said. "It's something that
e out with happens and unfortunately it's som -
coach Gary thing that happened (Saturday)."
Sophomore tailback Tyrone Wheatley loses the handle on the ball as split end Mercury Hayes looks on.
Wolverines had a case of butterfingers Saturday as evidenced by the 11 fumbles on the day.
bled balls, they were within striking
distance of the goalline. In the midst
of the first quarter, with Michigan at
the Illinois 23, Grbac passed to tight
end Tony McGee for six yards. As
McGee turned toward the goal the
ball popped from his hands to the
ground, and into the hands of Illini
free safety Jeff Arneson.
"It was just a case, myself per-
sonally, that I just didn't have the
ball secured," McGee said. "You
start to think about (the fumbles) ...
it becomes contagious. We're lucky
we had the tie we turned the ball
over so many times."
Michigan seemed to rebound
from McGee's mishap, holding
Illinois within its 25-yard line and
forcing it to punt after only three
plays from scrimmage. The
Wolverines took control on their 48
and drove the ball to the Illini seven.
Tailback Jesse Johnson rushed the
seven yards to the goalline, but,
again, the ball was dropped. Illinois
outside linebacker Kevin Hardy re-
covered giving the Illini the touch-
back and fouling the Wolverines'
scoring hopes.
The second quarter didn't form it-
self much differently. On Michigan's
first drive, the Wolveri
Illinois territory with
Wheatley muff which
tight end Marc Burkholde
The Wolverines ended t
that territory on the nex
split end Amani Toomer
ter receiving a 19-yard
Grbac. Illinois' Washin
made the hit perpetuating
control, while cornerbac
gained possession for the
"To do all the thing;
the first half and com
seven points," Michigan
Morrison
Brown
B. Powers
Peoples
Ware
Henderson
Law
Dyson
M.rDavis
Horn
Hutchinson
'Maloney
McThomas
tBlankenship
?Elezovic
L-egette
Ste uk
Smith
Scoring
15
7
7
5
5
4
4
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
17
8
8
7
6
6
5
4
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
Summary
FIRST QUARTER:
Wheatley 50-yd pass from
Grbac (Elezovic PAT),
13:51.
Michigan 7, Illinois 0
SECOND QUARTER:
No scoring
THIRD QUARTER:
Johnson 15-yd run (kick
failed), 6:00.
Michigan 13, Illinois 6
FOURTH QUARTER:
Johnson 11-yd run (pass
failed), 6:56.
Michigan 19, Illinois 15
Elezovic 39-yd FG, 0:16.
Michigan 22, Illinois 22
LIN
Continued from page 1
onship race and sent the soon-to-be
graduates away from Michigan
Stadium on a sour note.
"You always want the last game
at home to be a win; you wanna go
out in style," senior ti-captain Chris
Hutchinson said. "This memory -
the way we clinched the Rose Bowl
and the outright (conference) cham-
pionship - is not ideal."
Elezovic, at least, now has a
positive memory to file away - he
drilled the most crucial kick of the
year. He has had a few comparable
moments, connecting on three or
four game-winners in high school,
by his count. But it's been a long
quadrennium between Farmington
Hills Catholic Central and Ann
Arbor.
The only action he saw at
Michigan before this season was two
years ago against UCLA, kicking
off. His previous long field goal as a
Wolverine was a 33-yarder against
Indiana five weeks ago, the only one
he had made from beyond 28 yards.
Yet coach Gary Moeller
continued to express confidence in
Elezovic's leg. But what Moeller
frequently chooses to dohon fourth
down says more than his words
about how he really feels. There is
some hesitation there.
And with good reason. Elezovic
has been near horrible on kickoffs -
it's an accomplishment when the
other team starts at the 35. His extra
points keep everyone on the edge of
their seats. Earlier in this very game,
he nubbed a PAT off the right
upright.
"(My confidence) has been up
and down. I'm kind of strange that
way," Elezovic said. "I feel that
every time I go out I should make it.
But even if I make it, I feel I should
do better. So I put a lot of pressure
mind of many a fan when Moeller
summoned Elezovic at the end of the
game - only in their heads, he was
the one missing.
And the media? That bastion of
impartiality?
Overheard in the press elevator
following the game: When Michigan
was setting up for that field goal, did
anyone else get the feeling that (long
snapper) Marc Elliott would be in
desperate need of a proctologist?
The entire stadium may have
doubted, but Moeller showed faith in
Elezovic, and his kicker came
through.
"I don't think I would be out
there if he had no confidence in me,"
Elezovic said. "The way I see it,
when I'm told to go out and kick a
field goal, my job is to go out and hit
it. I may not hit every one, but I still
have to go out when I'm asked to. I
gotta do my job."
Saturday was a good time to do
it.
0
0
Wolverine quarterback Elvis Grbac runs a little play action pass with tailback Jesse Johnson. Grbac completed 215
of 29 passes for 278 yards and one touchdown in the Wolverines 22-22 tie against Illinois.
Spartans run by Boilermakers
Michigan State wins fourth game out of lastfive, 35-13
0
Associated Press
After last year's 3-8 mark and
a 1-4 start this season, Michigan
State has rediscovered its winning
formula and coach George Perles
couldn't be happier.
"It's like the old days again.
That was our best game of the
year," Perles said at East Lansing.
Tailback Craig Thomas scored
from 1 and 2 yards out and set up
the second touchdown with an 82-
yard run against Purdue.
"We couldn't throw the ball
too much. We knew we would
have to move the ball on the
ground. We talked to the offensive
line and they did a great job and
they moved them off the ball, and
all we had to do was run," Thomas
"I really can't say enough how
much I love these guys. It's just so
much fun to play with them," said
Smith, the 1990 Big Ten freshman
of the year who quit the team after
questioning his own desire.
Smith "is a constant threat to
you with his speed," Indiana
coach Bill Mallory said. "On his
touchdown run, he was able to
catch that crease and go all the
way."
With the victory, the Buckeyes
clinched a berth in the Citrus
Bowl against the second-place
team in the Southeastern Confer-
ence.
Iowa 56, Northwestern 14
In Iowa City, Hawkeye quar-
to play for than we showed today.
This is the worst defeat I've ever
suffered," said Barnett.
Wisconsin 34, Minnesota 6
A scout from the Holiday Bowl
watched Saturday's game at
Madison, the Badgers' most one-
sided victory since beating Michi-
gan State 32-0 in 1983.
"This keeps us alive," said
coach Barry Alvarez after his
team broke a three-game losing
streak and improved to 3-4 in the
Big Ten, the school's most con-
ference victories since five in
1984 when Wisconsin last had at
winning season.
Wisconsin Quarterback Darrell
Bevell completed 11 of 15 passes
,_r 1 _7 s ,_..irph ti.T..
Smith
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