The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday M I C H I G A N 2 6 Substitutes step up and GAME STATISTICS PASSING Player C-A Yds T D Int Collins 21-29 224 1 0 Tot. 21-29 224 1 0 RUSHING Player Att Yds Avg Lg B'butuka 25 100 4.0 15 Hayes 1 17 17 17 Foster 1 2 3.0 3 Davis 7 9 1.3 4 Collins 6(-)13(-)2.215 Totals 40 115 2.9 17 perform in big game * RECEIVING Player 1 Toomer R'mersma Foster 'butuka Hayes S. Smith Davis Totals No. Yds 5 5 3 2 2 2 2 2 72 68 14 23- 20 18 9 274 AvgLg 14.415 13.626 4.7 7 11.520 10.022 9.0 9 4.0 4 13.742 By MICHAEL ROSENBERG Daily Football Writer Tyrone Wheatley is expected to be completely healthy when Michi- gan hosts Colorado in two weeks. If he's ready to play, will he start? Yes, yes, of course he will start. But unlike the past two years, when Michigan's record was 13-1-1 when Wheatley rushed for over 100 yards and ?? when he didn't, the season doesn't depend on the star running back being healthy. That's because backup Tshimanga Biakabutuka (insert your own name joke here) showed Saturday that the Wolverines are still one of the best teams in the country. "We were confident coming into the game," Biakabutuka said. "And the confidence carried us through." Wheatley wasn't the only key player who didn't play against the Fighting Irish. Three other seniors -- linebacker Matt Dyson, guard Joe Marinaro and wide receiver Walter Smith - missed the game. Dyson and Marinaro figure to be back in time for Iowa Oct. 1, if not earlier. "I was very proud of my team especially when you say I left four great seniors at home," Moeller said. "That makes it very, very special. Some of the character came out in ouur program today." Ed Davis started for his seco'nd consecutive game in place of Wheatley, but again he faltered. Davis carried the ball seven times for 11 yards, giving him just 52 yards on 27 attempts this season. But Biakabutuka stepped up his game for the second straight week. As he had against Boston College, Biakabutuka rushed for 100 yards. He now has 228 yards on 43 carries this year. Biakabutuka was not the only player who filled a void in the Michi- gan lineup. Sophomore linebacker Kerwin Waldroup played a solid gack in place of Dyson, recording four tac les, including one for a six-yard loss. With co-captain Walter Smith out for the season with a knee injury, Moeller didn't fret; he just changed Smiths. Redshirt freshman Seth Smith saw extensive playing time in South Bend. He returned two kicks for 63 yards, including a 43-yarder. Smith's only receiving contribu- tions could not have come at a bett* time. He caught two crucial nine-yard passes on Michigan's final plays, set- ting up Remy Hamilton's game-win- ning field goal. Of the four injured players, the one whose absence may have hurt the Wolverines the most is the least her- alded - Marinaro. The Michigan offensive line al- lowed three sacks and several pre sures of quarterback Todd Collin The unit could have used a veteran presence. The point is moot, however, be- cause Michigan won the game, and the starters are coming back. Their return could still be crucial, though. Two years ago after Michi- gan beat Notre Dame, the Wolverines. were shellacked at home by Florida State, 51-31. With the veterans r* turning, the team figures to be less likely to suffer a letdown this time. around. PUNTING Player No. Yds AvgLg Stapleton 4 157 39.347 Totals 415739.347 PUNT RETURNS Player No. Yds Avg Lg Hayes 2 18 9.0 9 Toomer 1(-)10(-)10 10 Totals 3 8 2.6 9 KICKOFF RETURNS Player No. Yds Avg Lg Hayes 2 18 9.0 9 Toomer 1(-)10(-)10 10 Totals 3 8 2.6 9 EVAN PETRIE/Daily Michigan tight end Jay Riemersma caught five passes, including one for a touchdown, for 68 yards. IRISH Continued from page 1. Collins first scrambled 15 yards to the Michigan 32. He then hit tight end Jay Riemersma for 26 yards down the middle. Ball on the Notre Dame 42. Collins rifled one to wide re- ceiver Seth Smith, down to the 33 yard line. Timeout Michigan, its last. On the following play, as the clock crept to under :10, Irish out- side linebacker Bert Berry pressured Collins to the edge of the pocket. With Berry's arms wrapped around his waist and his knee inches from the midfield turf, Collins lofted the ball to Smith again, who lunged out of bounds at the 24 yard line with :07 left. Michigan coach Gary Moeller then sent in Hamilton for a 42-yard field goal attempt. Before Saturday's game, the sophomore had just one field goal attempt under his collegiate belt. One attempt. And that was against Minne- sota. Notre Dame is not Minnesota. "After Notre Dame scored, I didn't think we had enough time to come back," Hamilton said. "But the guys on the sidelines told me we had :52 and to get ready for a field goal." As he stepped into position with the play clock in single digits, it seemed as if Hamilton may have to rush the play. But the Irish called a timeout. Trying to psyche out the kid? "We got fouled up on thinking that we had 12 men on the field," Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz said. "It was not an attempt to ice (Hamilton)." After being pumped up by injured wide receiver Walter Smith and former Michigan kicker Mike Gillette, Hamilton walked on to the field and readied for the most charged moment of his life. The timeout appeared to calm things down for Michigan, allowing the unit to prepare. "(Notre Dame) did us a favor (by calling the timeout)," Hamilton said. "Thanks Lou (Holtz)." With Riemersma holding, Hamilton booted the ball through the uprights for his fourth field goal of the day with room and height to spare. There were just :02 on the clock. "I'm sure I won't appreciate this until I'm older," Hamilton said fol- lowing the game. Following a mobbing of the field by Wolverine fans, Hamilton squibbed the kickoff to Notre Dame tight end Pete Chryplewicz and the game was in the books. Michigan placed itself in dire straits prior to Hamilton's heroics.Thanks to a Powlus fumbled snap that was recovered by Michigan linebacker Steve Morrison, the Wol- verines had the ball at the Notre Dame 34 with 4:35 to go in the fourth quar- ter. Up by three points, Michigan tried to pound the ball into the endzone on the ground and put the game out of reach, running tailback Tshimanga Biakabutuka on five suc- cessive plays. On third down and five at the Irish 13, the sophomore was stuffed and Hamilton put his team up six. That set the stage for Powlus, who, six plays after benefiting from Michael Miller's 55-yard kickoff return, found wideout Derrick Mayes in the back of the endzone for six points. The game's outcome haqj to be considered a surprise, given the fact that Moeller was forced to play with- out four of his top players. Tailback Tyrone Wheatley, re- ceiver Walter Smith, linebacker Matt Dyson and offensive lineman Ed Marinaro all had to sit and watch Michigan's last game against Notre Dame until 1997. Sophomore tailback Tshimanga Biakabutuka rotated with starter Ed Davis and racked up 100 yards rush- ing, 23 yards receiving and one touch- down. "The yards came a lot tougher this week than they did last week," Biakabutuka said, referring to the sea- son opener against Boston College. "Notre Dame's defense is a lot tougher and they hit harder. I had to fight hard for the extra yards." Like last week, Michigan's of- fense started slowly, gaining just 90 total yards - to Notre Dame's 183- in the first half. But the teams were ,tied, 10-10 at the half. In the third quarter Michigan's defensive front seven began to exert solid pressure on Powlus, sacking him six times for the game. Irish tailback Lee Becton's lost two key fumbles, his first in 233 carries. Last season Notre Dame fumbled more than one time in a game only once, fumbling twice against Michi- gan State. The three Irish turnovers were key for Michigan The Wolverines lost the ball just once, when Collins was sacked by linebacker Jeremy Nau and coughed it up late in the fourth quarter. But Powlus flubbed the snap two plays later (revcovered by Tony Henderson, setting up Hamilton's third field goal of the day and the game's astounding finish. Morrison DEFENSE Player Tac Morrison 7 Irons 6 Zenkewicz 4 Winters 6 Horn 2 Johnson 5 Pryce 4 Henderson 2 Law 2 Waldroup 3 Noble 2 Thompson 2 Hankins 2 Anderson 1 Foster 1 Swett 1 Evans 0 Ast 5 2 4 1 5 1 2 3 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 Tot 12 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 3 3 2 1 1 1 1 Northern Illinois at Illinois Indiana at Kentucky kowa at Penn State Notre Dame at Michigan St. San Diego St. at Minnesota Northwestern at Air Force Pittsburgh at Ohio State SACKS Player Pryce Morrison Zenkewicz No. Yds 2 -15 1 -8 1 -2 TI" A i - ---9rA7l@ 7!. i