The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - Monday, October 25, 1993 - 5 M I C H I (a, r, . k + . i-,. .: ,i , : A, , n . , ,, . ; 1 FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK espite I ss, records GAME) fail in recrd quantities PASSING Player perimeter plays." Saturday could have featured a cel- TALKSc : Before Ricky Pow- ebrationof the 500th home victorybut Collins 1 ers' fateful fourth-quartcrfumble lli- that will have to wait at least until the Tot.I STATISTICS ifichigan Stadium since 1966. I4 hopes ophers career high with 118 yards rushing, scored on runs of 11 and 3 yards in the Stquarter, helping the Buckeyes build a 5-0 advantage. Minnesota 28, Wisconsin 21 Scott Eckers passed for 267 yards and two touchdowns and Chris Darkins scored twice Saturday night as Minne- sota defeated previously unbeaten Wis- consin 28-21. The Gophers (3-2, 4-4) won their third straight game for the first time ce 1990 while foiling a bid by Wis- ,sin (3-1, 6-1) for its best start ever. Wisconsin's Darrell Bevell, who had four interceptions entering the game, was picked off five times by Minne- sota, the last by Craig Sauerwith 2:18 to play. He was 31-of-48 for 423 yards. Indiana 24, Northwestern 0 Thomas Lewis ran back a punt 58 yards for a touchdown in the fourth carter Saturday to cap a 24-0 victory r Northwestern. Indianaturned two Wildcat fumbles into touchdowns on an 11-yard run by Brett Law and a nine-yard pass from John Paci to Eddie Baety. The Hoosiers (3-1,6-1) are off to their best start since 1987. Northwestern(0-4,2- 5) suffered its fourth straight defeat. Three times the Wildcats moved inside the Indiana 15 but lost the ball on rmble, an interception and once on owns. By ADAM MILLER and KEN SUGIURA DAILY FOOTBALL WRITERS The Michigan football team saw records and streaks fall like autumn leaves during Saturday's 24-21 loss to Illinois. Only leaves don't fall so fast. Derrick Alexander's 90-yard touchdown reception in the third quar- ter, which gave the Wolverines a seem- ingly comfortable 21-10 lead, was the longest pass play in Michigan history. It eclipsed an 83-yard strike from Rick Leach to Jim Smith in the 1975 game against Purdue. The completion was also the third- longest play from scrimmage in Michi- gan history and the 13th-longest touch- down in Wolverine history. Alexander's 188 receiving yards earned him the second spot on Michigan's single game-receiving list behind Jack Clancy's 197. Clancy set the markin a41-Owhitewashof Oregon State in 1966. Alexander's 114 career receptions are fifth-best for a Wolverine, five be- hind Jim Mandich, who played from 1967-69. Quarterback Todd Collins made his mark as well. His 286 passing yards are the third highest in Michigan his- tory, and his three touchdowns gave him 19 for hiscareer, good forseventh in the Michigan record books. Additionally, his 13 TD strikes this season move him into a 10th-place tie on that list, his 2,422 career passing yards are ninth most at Michigan, and his'1,591 this season are ninth best on that list. The 106,385 homecoming crowd was the fifth-largest crowd in Michigan Stadium history. Additionally, the total put Michi- gan Stadium over the 30million mark in attendance, with 30,045,887 hav- ing passed through the gates since the Stadium opened in 1927. Over 403 games, the average attendance is 74,556. The loss snapped a 26-year streak ofhome-fielddominanceoverthelllini at the stadium. Before yesterday, Illi- nois' last victory in Ann Arbor was a 28-21 decision in 1966. "I thought itwasgoingtobe like last year when we got close but didn't win the game," Illinois coach Lou Tepper said, in reference to last season's 22-22 deadlock. "It's great to end that losing streak against them." FLAG ON THE PLAY: Michigan and Illinois combined for 144 yards in pen- alties, and the Illini took 104 of them. The 10 penalties often came at the worst times for Illinois. Two came on a first quarter Michigan drive on plays that would have forced the Wolverines to give the ball back to the Illini The flags eventually led to Michigan's first touchdown. In the third quarter, Illinois had marched, with relative ease, from its 31 to the Wolverine 40-yard line, where it had first and 10. A false start penalty snapped the momentum, and four plays later Illinois punted. Also consider the two offensive pen- alties the Illini incurred that Michigan declined, and you get an idea of the amount of mistakes Illinois overcame in its victory. TwoTHUmBs up: Speaking of 1966, the Illinois coaching staff spliced in footage of the Illini's last victory in Michigan Stadium as the team went over game film. Reportedly, tears welled up in players' eyes as they watched the film. "It was emotional. It was an emo- tional game," said Tepper of the film review. "A guy picked off a pass on the 2-yard line and ran it in and dove into a big ol' snow bank he was so happy. It was emotional." j NOTRE ILLINOIS: Their helmets weren't gold, and they didn't come from South Bend, but a few Illinois players seemed to think that the win noislinebacker Sirneon Rice received a verbal joust fr m across the line of scrimmage. ""On that particular play, (Michi- gan right tackle)Trezelle Jenkins said, Hey, man, if you're big time, you're gonna make a big-timeplay,' or some- thing of that essence," Rice said. Rice made a big-time play. strip- ping Poers of the ball an 0 then recov- ering it. Rice said he w as too happy to reply to Jenkins after the pl ay. Mo's HOMECOMING WO s: Former Michigan coach Bo Schembeckler Nov. 6 contest against Purdue. GOING DEEP: The upset loss put a damper on a pair of exceptional Michi- gan receptions. Alexander's 90-yard grab and Amani Toomer's 56-yard TD reception increased Michigan's sea- son total of scoring plays from over 50 yards to three. Furthermore, the Wolverines have 43 plays of over 20 yards (seven scor- ing), four of over 50 yards. BAND CORNER: Michigan Marching Band conductor Gary Lewis must think this is Tallahassee, Fla. Moeller RUSHIN( Player Wheatley Powers Davis Foster Collins Alexander Totals RECEIVING Player I Alexander W.Smith Foster Toomer Cooper R.Powers Totals PUNTING Player I Stapleton Totals No. 7 2 2 1 1 1 14 Yds 188 16 13 56 9 4 286 Avg Lg 26.9 90 8.0 9 6.5 8 56.056 9.0 9 4.0 4 20.490 C-A Yds TD Int 14-23 286 3 1 14-23 286 3 1 Att Yds Avg Lg 15 56 3.7 25 14 31 2.2 7 4 14 3.5 6 2 5 2.5 3 2(-)27(-)13.5 0 1 (-)3(-)3.0 0 38 76 2.0 25 No. Yds Avg Lg 7 306 43.756 7 30643.756 PUNT RETURNS MICHELLE GUY/Daily Derrick Alexander was on the receiving end of the longest pass play in Michigan history Saturday. Player Alexander Totals KICKOFF Player Alexander Hayes Foster Totals No. 2 2 Yds Avg 3 1.5 3 1.5 Lg 3 3 was a matter of divine intervention. "Iwas screaming on the sidelines (to the defense), 'Give us the ball back,' and a miracle came," Illini right tackle Randy Bierman said. "God gave us the ball back. And as soon as that hap- pened, I said, 'God wants us to win. Someone wants us to win.' So I knew that we could do it." WHEATLEY GROUNDED: For the second time in three games, Michi- gan tailback Tyrone Wheatley was held in check. On 15 carries, he net- ted 56 yards on the ground, with a long of 25. Tepper said that his defense de- served credit for keeping Wheatley and the other Michigan backs from turning the corner on runs to the outside. "We did not feel that they could just run the inside play against us and bloody our nose consistently," he said. "We were fearful of the never lost a homecoming game in his 21-year teire. Saturday's defeat marked the second such loss for Wol- verine coach Gary MoeIler. "It's one of the most disappointing losses we've had "said Moeler, who saw his homecoming record slip to 2-2. Moeiler also lost to Iowa, 24-23, in the homecoming contest of his debut season of 199(1. DERRICK'S DOMINAN E: In addition to Michigam records, Alex ander also set personal bets Saturday afternoon. H is seven receptions tied a career high, and his 218 all-purpose yards (188 receiv- ing, 30 on kickoff returns) set a career best. WArtING FOR ...: Since their first home game in 1879, a scoreless tie in Detroit against Thronto, the Wolver- ines have won 499 home games, going 499-114-21 for a just over .800 winning percentage. After a particularly big defen- sive series in the third quarter Satur- day, Lewis led the band in "Tempta- tion," a Wolverine stable that you traditionally "can't have" without the "Hawaiian War Chant," and led the crowd in an arm motion that suspiciously resembled Florida State's Tomahawk Chop. About 200 students behind the band followed his lead, though some rhyth- mically bowed to the defense, instead. Will it catch on? Only time will tell, but one can't help but think this some- how relates to the foam Michigan toma- hawk/hammers being sold at the souve- nir stands. ON THE TUBE: Saturday's game at Wisconsin has been picked up by ESPN and will start at 12:30 p.m. EDT. The game against the Boilermakers and the Nov. 13 visit to Minnesota remain untelevised. RETURNS No. Yds Avg 2 3015.0 2 3417.0 1 1212.0 5 7615.2 Lg 17 22 12 22 silence that engulfed Michigan Stadium following the game. With the costly turnover and the ensuing Illini touchdown, not only did the Wolverines drop all hope of a third-straight appearance in Pasadena, but also much of a chance to salvage *lready nightmarish season. On the other sideline, however, Klein'sjoyful emotions equaled Powers' despair. The events that transpired in the final ticks of the clock were almost too good to be true, as if scripted for a movie. Celebrated his 22nd birthday last Tuesday, the junior who was given a scholarship only this past summer, #ived the present of a lifetime -his fst touchdown reception at Illinois. Yet this catch, coming where and when it did, was what makes this ,Disney-esque story extra special. 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