. ........................
SPORTSMonday Trivia
What are the only teams to defeat
the Michigan men's basketball
team over the past two seasons
without losing to the Wolverines?
(Answer, page 2)
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Inside SPORTSMonday
AP Top 25 2
'M' Sports Calendar 2
WMEB Hockey Poll 2
Men's and Women's Cross Country 2
Close but no Sugiura 3
Q&A 3
Football 4-5
Hockey 7
Crew 7
Men's and Women's Swimming 8
Volleyball 8
Blue gives Hall of Fame perfor.mance
VWolverines look to Tampa while
_. .. Bucks' future left in doubt, 28-0
By ADAM MILLER
DAILY FOOTBALL WRITER
Try again, John Cooper.
The Ohio State football coach re-
mained winless against the Wolver-
ines as coach of the Buckeyes Satur-
day as Michigan shocked the then-
No. 5 Bucks, 28-0, at Michigan Sta-
dium. It was Michigan's first shutout
of Ohio State since 1976 and the Buck-
eyes' first scoreless game since 1982.
"It is quite obvious that the best
team won today," Cooper said& "This
is one of the most embarrassing losses
in my coaching career. We were
outplayed in every way."
Indeed. The Wolverines (5-3 Big
Ten, 7-4 overall) dominated the con-
test from start to finish, and led, 21-0,
at halftime. They accumulated more
total yards (421-212), more first
downs (22-14), maintained posses-
sion longer (36:01-23:59) and inter-
cepted four Ohio State passes, com-
pared to one Buckeye interception.
The victory probably landed
Michigan a berth in the Hall of Fame
Bowl, played New Year's Day at
11:30 a.m. in Tampa, Fla., though
bids will not be made official until
today at the earliest.
"Obviously I am very happy with
this team," said Michigan coach Gary
Moeller, who rode off the field on his
players' shoulders. "We played like
we should have all season, with emo-
tion.
"We wanted our respect. We had
our chance at Penn State and got it and
he we had another one today."
On a cold, windy afternoon in front
of an NCAA-record 106,867 specta-
tors, and sparked by a Thursday pep
talk from former coach Bo
Schembechler and former safety
Corwin Brown, the Wolverines earned
their respect from the game's first
series on. The Michigan defense
stifled Ohio State's opening drive in
five plays, and forced punts in each of
the first three Buckeye series.
Meanwhile, the Michigan ground
game was showing the vulnerability
of its opponent's defense. Behind the
running of Tyrone Wheatley and Ed
Davis, Michigan drove from its own
19 to the Ohio State 25, where it had
third and five with just over one minute
left in the first quarter. On the ensuing
play, Todd Collins threw a deep fade
that sophomore receiver Mercury
Hayes made a diving, outstretched
catch on to open the scoring and pro-
vide what proved to be the winning
points.
"The (catch) by Mercury Hayes
was unbelievable," Moeller said.
Two series later, Buckeye quar-
terback Bret Powers threw the first of
his three interceptions, square into
the arms of senior cornerback Alfie
Burch at the Michigan 45.
While the ensuing drive ended in
a diving interception of a Collins pass
by Mark Williams at the Buckeye 13-
yard line, the drive established two of
the day's trends, as Michigan held the
ball for nearly six minutes and found
success converting third and fourth
downs.
For the day, Michigan converted
seven of 16 third downs (43.7 per-
cent) compared to 2-for-12 for Ohio
State (16.6 percent) and would have
been a perfect three of three in fourth-
down conversions had sophomore
fullback Ch6 Foster not dropped a
pass in the flat in the fourth quarter.
It looked as though Ohio State (6-
1-1, 9-1-1) would take advantage of
the Michigan mistake as it embarked
on a 10-play, three-minute drive, but
Powers threw his second interception
on a 50-yard floater intended for Joey
Galloway that sophomore cornerback
Ty Law hauled in at the goal line.
In the third quarter, Law inter-
cepted a similar pass from quarter-
back Bobby Hoying, stifling another
Buckeye drive that had been smoothly
executed.
"I had a pretty good read on the
receivers because I watched a lot of
film," Law said. "I pretty much knew
what route they were going to run and
I just played the ball when they threw
it."
See SHUTOUT, Page 2
DOUGLAS KANTER/Daily
Defensive back Chuck Winters sacks Ohio State's Bobby Hoying in Saturday's 28-0 Wolverine victory. The win all but
clinched a Hall of Fame Bowl berth for Michigan and stopped the Buckeyes from clinching a spot in the Rose Bowl.
Burel, secondary finally live
B efore Michigan ever mounted its
first drive in this surreal 1993
football season, Alfie Burch had
thoughts of days like Saturday in Ann
Arbor.
Only three months
earlier Burch dreamed
of games where
interceptions would
come in bunches
bigger than any
Chiquitas in your local
Meijer. And the
Wolverines always
seem to be on the side
of the victors.
Burch's goals
exemplified the lofty
*aspirations that the
entire Wolverine squad
RYAN
HERRINGTON
The R.H.
Factor
collectively held.
team goal, as far as the secondary, I want to
be recognized probably as the best
secondary in the nation."
But that was before the madness, before
the mental letdowns, missed tackles and
blown coverages. That was before a 28-0
victory over Ohio State meant little more
than finishing in fourth place in the Big
Ten.
In between that far-gone time and today
the Michigan secondary has possibly been
the largest enigma in an extremely
mysterious 10-game stretch. With defensive
backs like Burch, Ty Law, Shonte Peoples,
Chuck Winters, and the rest of the self-
proclaimed "Lynch Mob," it seemed that
opposing teams would have a tougher time
beating the Wolverines in the air than
President Clinton had getting NAFTA
passed by Congress. Michigan had finally
countered what had previously been its
most glaring weakness - speed. Move
over Big Ten titles. On to the national
championship.
e uptoloftyp
Yet as Michigan fans so painfully
realized in 1993, what one sees on paper
isn't necessarily what one gets on the field.
The much heralded Wolverine secondary
did not live up to the advanced billing,
allowing many a wide out to pick through
the field to the dismay of all who followed
the Maize and Blue. On more than a few
occasions, the exploits of Burch and Co.,
made one wonder where all the talent went.
But Saturday against arch-rival Ohio
State, something happened. Something
missing from every other game this season
appeared as if to say, "Remember me? I'm
your potential." The numbers speak for
themselves.
Four interceptions. Four break-ups. Zero
points.
In the process, the Wolverines held
Buckeye All-American candidate Joey
Galloway to just three catches, covering the
receiver like the Wall Street Journal details
the stock market. By the middle of the
second quarter, one half-expected that every
I
reseason expectations
Ohio State play-action pass would fall into against Notre Dame? C
Wolverine hands. The four interceptions Or Wisconsin? Or Illin
were almost half as many as Michigan had Moeller, these are ques
all season. in him for quite some t
For Burch it was vindication. After a "We played those d
season of struggles, headaches and second- defensive secondary th
guessing, he wanted to prove to all that he Moeller, with the emot
still had the talent to be the best. The had shed a great deal o
challenge of going up against Galloway minutes of shut out foo
helped set the stage for Burch's farewell. That's what we wanted
"I said that today I was going to have defensive secondary pl
one of my best games ever because, one, But this is not the ti
it's my last game in the Big House,' and "what if's," nor the tim
two, just to show John Cooper that he let what might have been.
two gems (Buster Stanley and he) get done.
away," Burch said in the postgame press In actuality, it's tim
conference. and the rest of the seni
"The final couple minutes were really the field in Michigan S
emotional for me. I got a little teary-eyed time to cherish the mon
out there and I'm trying to hold it back right that feeling of invincibi
now." a while.
r Michigan State?
ois? For coach Gary
stions that will burn
time.
eep balls with a
at played," said
ion of a coach who
f torment with 60-
)tball. "They played.
I all year. That
ayed."
ime to wonder about
e ,to contemplate
What's done is
e for Alfie Burch
ors who walked off
tadium for the final
ment, to hold on to
ility and enjoy it for
at you were the best
at least for one day.
i.
"Personally, by the end of the season I
want to be recognized as one of the premier
corners to come out this year," said Burch
prior to the season opener. "Speaking of a
After seeing the fantastic play of a unit
working in sync, one has to wonder. What
if Michigan had played up to this potential
It's time to know th
corner in the country, a
And oh, what a day
Icers squeak by Ohio
State, stay unbeaten
Oh capt-,.lnVmy captain
By ANTOINE PITTS
DAILY HOCKEY WRITER
Coming into this weekend's games
the Michigan hockey team had reason
to be wary about playing Ohio State.
The first home game in three weeks,
along with the fact that it was parents
weekend for the players, made for a
lot of distractions.
The Buckeyes nearly capitalized
on that Friday night. Michigan (7-0-1
CCHA, 9-0-1 overall) came from be-
hind to prevail, 4-3, over Ohio State (1-
6-1, 2-6-1) . The Wolverines had less
trouble Saturday, handing the Buck-
eyes a 5-1 loss.
However, Saturday's game turned
out to be a test for Michigan, as the
Wolverines struggled for two periods
before winning Friday, and captain
Brian Wiseman did not play due to a
knee injury he sustained Friday.
"We were really concerned going
into the game without Wiseman,"
Stone's contribution to the team
will be expanded depending on how
long Wiseman sits out.
"I'll be expected to play a more
offensive role than I've played in the
past," Stone said. "I'm going to have to
pick up my offensive abilities so Oliver
and Botterill don't lose a step. That's
my biggest concern."
That wasn't a problem Saturday.
Oliver notched his sixth goal of the
year on the power-play in the second
period on a slapshot from the blue line.
Itwas Michigan's lone power-play goal
in seven attempts. Botterill also tallied
his tenth of the year on assists from
Stone and Harold Schock to make the
score, 3-0, going into the third period.
Botterill may be leading the team in
goals, but he is also high on penalty
minutes. That is attributed to the fact
that the other teams try to go after him
and Botterill will not take it.
"He's a marked man already,"
By KEN SUGIURA
DAILY FOOTBALL WRITER
Theodora Stanley remembers
how her sister Charlotte
complained. Their boys played
football together, and Charlotte did
not like the way Theodora's only
son, Buster, tackled other players.
The Adams Junior High team in
Youngstown, Ohio, represented his
first experience with organized
football. Previously, Buster's only
opportunity to play was with Pee-
Wee league teams, but he had
always exceeded the weight limit.
It wasn't until seventh grade on
the Adams team that the parents of
this northeastern Ohio town felt
comfortable with the notion of
allowing Buster to block and tackle
their children.
Or, perhaps more accurately, it
was the first time they were legally
bound to it. Unlike Pee-Wee
fnt1o1 OA nnt- Ir -I'Ma A ,
Buster Stanley laughs off
the field, leads 'M' on it
'You tackle the player and then you
step on him. You don't help him
up.
Nine years later, Damon Denson
was one of the most hotly-recruited
high school prospects in the
country. As are all players of his
size and talent, Denson was
bombarded with letters and phone
calls from coaches begging him to
play for their school.
On his visit to Ann Arbor,
Denson was introduced to the same
Buster Stanley, by then a prominent
member of the reigning Big Ten
champion Wolverines.
"I was like, 'This dude's
supposed to be one of the best
players on the team, and he's all
smiling and laughing and joking?"
Denson said.
Denson later decided to enroll at
Michigan and now understands why
this dude was all smiling and
laughing and ioking - and one of
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