4 - The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - Monday, November 21, 1994
"
0
H
I
0
S
T
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2
GAME STATISTICS
PASSING
Player C-A
Hoying 11-18
Totals 11-18
CHAD A. SAFRAN
Safrancisco Treat
Blue defense shows up,
but offense fizzles
IV-
Yds
125
125
TD Int
0 0
0 0
I
L
1
RUSHING
Player Att Yds Avg LgTD
George 27 71 2.6 11 1
Sualua 2 14 7.0 13 0
Pearson 4 12 3.0 6 0
Jackson 1 (-)1(-)1.0 0 0
Hoying 11(-)11(-)1.0 9 1
Totals 45 85 1.913 2
RECEIVING
Player No. Yds
Galloway 4 46
Sanders 4 38
xSualua 2 35.
Tillman 1 6
-Totals 11125
Avg
11.5
9.5
17.0
6.0
11.4
LgTD
18 0
15 0
21 0
60
210
Cf OLUMBUS - It was the one part of
the Michigan football team that coach
Gary Moeller could count on - the
offense.
The defense had been lousy for the good part
of 1994. So why wouldn't Moeller figure on his
big guns - Tyrone Wheatley, Todd Collins and
Amani Toomer - to help the Wolverines put
points on the board?
After all, Wheatley had just become the
school's all-time leading scorer while Collins to
Toomer was becoming as fine a connection as
Elvis Grbac to Desmond Howard. Michigan had
failed only once this season to score more than 24
points.
But in the biggest game of the season, the
offense made like Little Bo Peep. The Wolverines
did not lose any sheep but they did lose their
offense somewhere along the way at Ohio State.
The defense showed up for the first time all
season, allowing the Buckeyes a mere 210 total
yards.
And the offense? An all-points bulletin just
went out asking all concerned parties to check
into its sudden disappearance. If you find it
before the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 30, let Moeller
know, because he'll need Collins and Co. to
return should the Wolverines want to avoid their
worst season since 1984.
"Our offense was just terrible, bad, bad, bad,"
Moeller said. "We just did not get the execution
we needed."
How bad was it? Try only 271 total yards. Try
less than four yards per rushing attempt.
The Wolverines appeared to be on their way
to a terrific scoring day after receiving the
opening kickoff. They were all over the
Buckeyes, marching to the Ohio State 30-yard
line in six plays.
It was all Moeller and the Michigan offensive
staff could ask for. However, something was
looming in the distance. It was red, friendly to
some but intimidating to others.
No, it wasn't the hairy monster with tennis
shoes from the Warner Bros. cartoons. Nor was it
the Buckeye defense.
It was - THE RED ZONE.
That infamous piece of territory between the
20-yard line and the goal line in which success
means touchdowns and a fine season. Failure is
having to kick field goals and ending up like the
Michigan football team of 1994.
"A good, powerful offense gets the ball in the
end zone consistently," Collins said.
The Wolverines did not pass the 20 on this
occasion, failing on fourth-and-one from the Ohio
State 21-yard line. But they did get there several
other times.
And they didn't get a single touchdown.
Throughout the year, something always
happened on the way to six points, like ridiculous
penalties, and nothing changed Saturday.
Sure enough, the Wolverines had the ball on
the Ohio State 13-yard line, and as a Collins pass
attempt to Toomer was in the air, two penalty
flags fell to the ground. One was for an illegal
receiver downfield. The other was for holding.
"We always get the holding call inside the
20," Moeller said. "We know that."
If Moeller had a dime for every Michigan
miscue inside the red zone this year, he could
retire today.
The Wolverines ended up turning the ball over
on downs that series, sealing the loss as the
Buckeyes took possession for good.
What happened the other times Michigan
came near the end zone? If you guessed field-goal
attempts, you win an all-expenses-paid trip to San
Diego.
As has been the case throughout this lost
season, Remy Hamilton trotted out on the field
because the offense could not cross the goal line.
In the second quarter, the Wolverines had the ball
first-and-10 at the Ohio State 11.
They proceeded to gain a grand total of six
yards on the next three plays, forcing Hamilton to
kick a 22-yard field goal. Oh, the majesty of it all.
On its first possession of the second half, the
mighty Michigan offense made like a Xerox
machine and duplicated its other foray inside the
20 - a Hamilton 22-yard field goal. Instead of
being up 14-12, the Wolverines trailed, 12-6.
And the next time Michigan saw the red zone
the outcome typified the season. A Collins
completion to Mercury Hayes from the Ohio
State 19-yard line resulted in no gain. Ed Davis
ran for four yards. Third down ended with an
incompletion, which meant, "Come on down,
Remy Hamilton."
But the ensuing high snap resulted in a
blocked kick. No touchdown. No field goals. No
points. No season.
And you wonder why"the Wolverines will be
landing at a California airport other than Los
Angeles International in late December.
[ 4 N
PUNTING
Player
Terma
Totals
No. Yds AvgLg
5 220 44.0 59
5 220 44.0 59
PUNT RETURNS
Player No. Yds Avg LgTD
Galloway 1 13 13.013 0
Totals 1 1313.013 0
KICKOFF RETURNS
Player No.Yds Avg Lg TD
Springs 3 71 23.7 30 0
Galloway 1 19 19.0 19 0
Totals 4 90 22.5 30 0
F -- - -
Michigan quarterback Todd Collin
.''defens lmits Off
sWolverines allow just 210 yards In best ei
Oral
By CHAD A. SAFRAN
Daily Football Writer
COLUMBUS - Some things, like wine
and cheese, take a while to reach a point of
excellence. The grapes need to ferment and
the milk needs to curdle before either of the
two products is ready for sale.
While the Michigan defense did not need
to be aged for several years before being
ready, it took 10 games to put forth its best
effort of the season.
"We just haven't been playing as a team a
lot of the times," Wolverine linebacker Jarett
Irons said. "I just don't think it should take all
season to play (like this). We've been lacking
executions."
Michigan defense was not lacking much
Saturday as it surrendered a season-low 210
yards in a 22-6 loss to Ohio State, holding the
Buckeyes to their lowest offensive total since
a 13-7 loss to Michigan State. In that game,
Ohio State managed to rack up a paltry 147
total yards against the Spartans.
The 22 points the Wolverines allowed
was the second-fewest given up this year,
following the 14 points Iowa scored in
Michigan's 29-14 victory over the Hawkeyes.
Although all the points count against the
defense, it should not be faulted for the two
points the Buckeyes earned as a result of a
safety against Wolverine quarterback Todd
Collins.
"The defense gave us- every opportunity
to win the game," Michigan coach Gary'.
Moeller said. "They hung in there and always
seemed to give us a chance."
That was certainly true as the Wolverines
held Ohio State to a meager 80 yards in the
second half-the time when they really need}
to step up and give Michigan any chance it
had to rally for a win.
The Buckeyes first three posessions of the
second stanza consisted of 12 plays and 10*
total yards. During that trifecta of defensive {
stops the Wolverines managed to come up
with a sack on each drive, including two by
Trent Zenkewicz.
"We made a few adjustments," said
Zenkewicz, who leads the team with 4 sacks.
"By bringing in Glenn Steele we were able to
be more aggressive."ri
Steele and Zenkewicz combined for 17 t
tackles, including six tackles for losses which "
resulted in -33 yards. The duo also totalled all (
of Michigan's four sacks of Buckeye quarter- (
back Bobby Hoying.
A more aggressive secondary helped out*
the Wolverines' defensive front in making i
life difficult for Hoying. The defensive backs,
in particular safeties Clarence Thompson and 7
Deon Johnson, blitzed regularly in the sec- (
ond half, forcing Hoying to scramble or mis-
fire on his passes.
"We thought we could throw the foot- t
Cooper
DEFENSE
Player
Styles
Bellisari
Paul
Kerner
Patillo
Finkes
Powell
Fickell
Vrabel
Maag
Springs
Brown
Howard
Louis
Beckman
Bonhaus
Solo
9
7
4
6
3
2
3
1
1
3
3
2
1
1
0
0
Ast
3
4
4
1
3
3
1
3
3
0
0
1
0
0
I
1
Tot
12
11
8
7
6
5
4
4
4
3
3
3
1
1
I
1
The Michigan defense held Ohio State tailback Eddie George to 2.6 yards per carry.
Wisconsim beats Illinois, 19-13, to
Fame berth; Penn State rolls overP
INTERCEPTIONS
Player No. Yds TD
Fickell 1 0 0
Totals 1 0 0
OHIO STATE SCHEDULE
A29
S10
S17
S24
01
08
015
022
029
N5
N12
Fresno St.
Washington
PITTSBURGH
HOUSTON
Northwestern
ILLINOIS
Michigan St.
PURDUE
Penn St.
WISCONSIN
Indiana
34-10
16-25
27-3
52-0
17-15
24-10
23-7
48-14
14-63
24-3
24-3
Associated Press
Senior tailback Terrell Fletcher ran
for a career-high 192 yards Saturday
as Wisconsin beat Illinois 19-13, sal-
vaging a season soiled by bad breaks,
dashed hopes and drug busts.
Darrell Bevell threw for two sec-
ond-half touchdowns as Wisconsin (4-
3-1 Big Ten, 6-4-1 overall) earned its
second straight bowl berth.
The Badgers, last year's Rose Bowl
champions, earned a bid to the Hall of
Fame Bowl in Tampa, Fla., on Jan. 2,
where they will face a team from the
Atlantic Coast Conference - Duke,
North Carolina, North Carolina State
or Virginia.
Illinois (4-4,6-5) settled for a trip to
the Liberty Bowl to face East Carolina
(7-4) on Dec. 31 in Memphis, Tenn.
Penn State 45. Northwestern 17
Ten freshman rushing records for a
game and a season in Indiana's 33-29
victory over Purdue.
Smith, a redshirt freshman tailback,
scored on a 66-yard run in the first
quarter, then added the winning touch-
down on a 1-yarder early in the fourth
quarter, three plays after a Purdue
fumble.
After the Hoosiers (3-5, 6-5) took
over at the Boiermakers 24, Smith lost
a yard, ran 24 yards to the 1 and scored
on the next play.
Purdue (2-4-2, 4-5-2), using third-
string quarterback Brian Goehl after
starter Billy Dicken was injured, threat-
ened on its final two possessions.
Iowa 49, Minnesota 42
Matt Sherman threw two touch-
downs and caught one in a 49-42 sea-
son-ending victory over Minnesota.
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