6 - The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - Monday, October 17, 1994 P E e .; yea. : .>: fti... ..- ,. .. , 11 :.8 y S T A T E 3r GAME STATISTICS First quarter downs BI Penn State's quick start underminds WolvA PASSING Player Collins Tot. C-A Yds TD 20-32231 3 20-32 231 3 nt 0 0 RUSHING Player Carter Engram Archie Witman Milne Collins Totals Aft Yds Avg Lg 26 165 6.3 26 1 29 29 29 4 16 4 7 4 14 3.5 11 3 6 2 3 4(-)17(-)4.3 2 42 213 5.1 29 By CHAD A. SAFRAN Daily Football Writer Certain definable moments often set the tone for a football game. These occurrences range anywhere from a big defensive stop to a player getting out of bounds at the right time. However, the key to Saturday's Michigan- Penn State game happened to be the entire first quarter. The Nittany Lions posted points on their first two possessions - a 24-yard field goal by Brett Conway and a touchdown pass from Kerry Collins to tight end Keith Olsommer. Conway's points represented the fifth time in six games this season in which the Michigan defense has allowed points in its first series. "We knew they wanted to run the ball," said Michigan linebacker Steve Morrison who led the team with 15 tackles. "We just missed too many tackles. They just ran the ball. We couldn't stop them." The Wolverines should not feel too badly about failing to halt the nation's top offense. Penn State has now outscored its opponents 99-12 in the first quarter. And for the fourth time this season, the Lions scored on their first two drives. "It looked like a tidal wave in that opening drive," Michigan coach Gary Moeller said. The tidal wave had a name - Ki-Jana Carter. The Lions tailback gained 50 of Penn State's 73 total yards on that first march down the field. He caught a pass for 11, then broke loose for 19 more. And before the fans had settled in their seats, the Lions had the ball at midfield on their way to a field goal. The big play was indeed just that as the Lions broke out to their double-digit lead - four plays each went for over 10 yards. Carter had a hand in three of those. "He's got real good feet," Michigan defen- sive back Chuck Winters said. "He's got good legs and he's real strong. He can cut back against the defense." But it was not just Carter cutting up the Wolverines. Collins connected with tight end Kyle Brady and wide outs Bobby Engram and Freddie Scott. Running back Mike Archie gained yardage while Carter rested on the side- lines. Even the fullback John Witman helped out, picking up 11 yards on a second and seven at the Lions' own 39. On the other hand, the Wolverines put no points on the board in the opening stanza, representing a continuing trend. In its six con- tests this season, Michigan has scored a total of 13 points while the opposition has totaled 39. Wide receiver Amani Toomer was at a loss for words when asked to explain the Wolver- ines' woes in the opening 15 minutes. "If I could answer that one, we wouldn't be struggling," Toomer said. or 0~ cc ar cc th 4 at or RECEIVING Player No. Yds Brady 6 63 Scott 3 56 Engram 3 40 Archie 4 36 Carter 2 24 Witman 1 9 Olsommer 1 3 Totals 20231 n -0 th Avg Lg 10.523 18.726 13.316 9.018 12.013 9.0 9 3.0 3 11.526 d PUNTING Player Kania Jurevicius Totals No. Yds Avg Lg 310033.344 2 44 22.028 514428.844 First quarter: Ki-Jana Carter catches the ball for 11 yards Carter runs for 19 yards Kerry Collins connects with Bobby Engram for 10 yards Carter gains 13 yards on a swing pass from Collins Carter runs for 12 yards around left end John Witman earns 11 yards on the ground Collins hits Freddie Scott for 18 yards over the middle Collins flips one to Mike Archie out of the backfield for 18 yards Collins hits tight e Carter gains 18 m Collins finds Brady Carter hits double PUNT RETURNS Player No. Yds Avg Lg Archie 1 7 7.0 7 Totals :1. 7 7.0 7 KICKOFF RETURNS Player No. Yds Avg Lg Fletcher 2 2814.016 Totals 2 2814.0 16 EVAN PETRIE/Daily Penn State tailback Ki-Jana Carter was a force too strong for the Wolverines to handle. He rushed for a total of 170 yards on 26 carries, for a 6.3 yards-per-carry average. Carter, who played the entire game with a soft cast protecting his dislocated thumb, became the 12th Nittany Lion to rush for over 2,000 yards. Michigan's chances for Rose Bowl nearly out of reac DEFENSE Player Yeb' h-Kodie Herring W. Smith Gelzheiser Miller J. Collins Forbes Atkins Holes Killens Mazyck Clair Ah. Collins Carlson Tate Perry Totals Tac 6 8 5 6 6 3 3 2 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 0 50 Ast 3 0 3 1 0 1 1 2 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 15 Tot 9 8 8 7 6 4 4 4 3 3 2 2 2 1 1 1 65 By MICHAEL ROSENBERG Daily Football Writer Well, at least one of the teams left the field Saturday in the hunt for the National Championship. Unfortunately for Michigan fans, the team with the chance was the one with the plain helmets. With the win over the Wolverines, Penn State established itself as the favorite for not only a Big Ten title but a national title as well. Unless the Nittany Lions lose at least two Big Ten games - or suffer a loss and a tie - they will likely be headed to the Rose Bowl for the first time ever. Penn State could miss out on a trip to Pasadena if it loses to a team which only loses one Big Ten game. How- ever, Ohio State and Illinois are the only teams remaining on Penn State's schedule who have lost only one con- ference game. The Lions also seem primed to be the first Big Ten team to win a na- tional title since 1968. They are cur- rently ranked No. 1 in the nation, just ahead of Colorado and Nebraska. But the Cornhuskers must face the Buffa- loes, while only the Buckeyes, of Penn State's remaining opponents are ranked. "Before we were in a conference, we focused on the national champi- onship," Lion tailback Ki-Jana Ca* said. "Now we want two-in-one. .1 think Penn State is going to bring that attitude to the Big Ten." But Lions coach Joe Paterno isn't too concerned with his team's ranking just yet. "I don't worry about polls right now," Paterno said. "We've got five tough games to play. We'll worry about what the polls say after five game@ There isn't much reason for Michi- gan to worry about the polls, either. The Wolverines, who likely would have jumped up to No. 3 in the polls with a win, instead fell to No. 11 in the Associated Press poll and No. 12 in the USA Today/CNN Coaches' Poll. Michigan is stuck as an observer of the national title race. But the Wolverines are still c sidered one of the nation's best tea and they have a strong chance of end- ing up in a bowl Jan. 2. The conference's top three teams are coma mitted to play in bowls that day. The champion, of course, will play in the Rose Bowl, while the team's finishing second and fourth participate in the Citrus Bowl and Hall of Fame Bowl; respectively. The third-place team plays in Holiday Bowl, the only game tie-in with the Big Ten that is not played on INTERCEPTION Player Miller No. Yds 1 0 Amani Toomer missed a bomb from Todd Collins late in the fourth quarter that would have put the Wolverines inside the Penn State 10-yard line. Toomer caught seven pass, including three on Michigan's opening drive, for 157 yards. REMAINING SCHEDULE 10/22 Idle 10/29 Ohio State 11/5 at Indiana 11/12 11/19 11/26 at Illinois Northwestern Michigan St. Associated Press No.23 Wisconsin 27, Purdue 27 Kevin McGrew's 47-yard fumble return set up Brad Bobich's 32-yard field goal with 47 seconds left, giving Purdue a 27-27 tie with No. 23 Wis- consin. Wisconsin's John Hall, who missed a 50-yard field goal just before half- time, was wide left from 53 yards with two seconds left. The tie almost certainly killed any hope that Wisconsin (2-1 -1 Big Ten, 3-2-1 overall) had of returning to the Rose Bowl. The Badgers capped a 10- U Urude ties Wisconsin on last-minute ROUNAftA YEWYD OCT l, O41hm crushes injury-riddled Hawkey ern beat Minnesota, 37-31, snapping and completed just 7-of-17 passes for its 10-game conference losing streak. 55 yards before being replaced in the It was the Wildcats' most explo- final seven minutes. Illinois has a 478- sive Big Ten road game in 51 years. 255 advantage in yardage. Lundy, a senior who entered the Ohio State 23, Michigan State7 game as the Big Ten's leading rusher, Michigan State wrapped up its., scored on a 71-yard run in the second three-game journey through the val- quarter, the longest run of his career. It ley of the Big Ten title contenders snapped a 10-10 tie and started the with a 23-7 loss to Ohio State.}As Wildcats (1-2, 2-3-1) on a 17-point Eddie George rushed for 219 yards .4. burst the Gophers (0-4, 2-5) could not on 29 carries, including a 76-yard.. overcome. touchdown run, to lead the Buckeyes, x ::, Minnesota, which got 110 yards and linebacker Greg Bellisari returned and two touchdowns from tailback, a Tony Banks interception 35 yards Chris Darkins, lost its fourth straight for another Ohio State score." game and its seventh conference game Michigan State coach George ' ... Xx: x''a