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The great
game that
shouldn't
%ave been
r the moment, forget the ugli-
ness. Forget the seven fumbles
and the six penalties. Forget the
two missed field goals and the two
blocked kicks. Forget the offense that
wasn't generated and the defense that
good but could've been better.
forget the downpour and the near-
loss that almost dampened everything
the Wolverines had accomplished seven
days before.
Forget it.
Those mistakes
will be examined
all week. Now, for
the moment, con-
sider what this ho-
Jm1 game
ame. NICHOLAS J.
This was a COTSONIKA
game Michigan The Greek
should've won Speaks
big, something
like 49-0 or 35-3 or 26-6. This was a
game that an eighth-ranked team
should've relished like a packed, hot,
cheering section relishes a cool rain.
This was a game where criticism
I uld've been washed away and hesi-
y replaced by boldness --big,
intimidating boldness that makes noise.
This game wasn't like that.
But a great game it was.
For the moment, try to understand
what it's like to be down, 14-7, in the
third quarter. Try to imagine it happen-
ing in your place, in front of 105,219 of
your fans, at the hands of a team no
one respected, a week after one of the
bi est wins of your life.
or the moment, consider the driving
rain, the fumbles that weren't caused by
wetness, just hands that weren't strong
enough. Consider the fear of letting
progress disappear into more doubts
and more questions about what is
wrong with your team.
And then, for the moment, consider
that Michigan faced all of those things
Saturday and won. It doesn't matter
how bad Boston College was. It doesn't
er whether it's Florida or Purdue.
When you beat yourselves, as the
Wolverines did much of the game, you
lose your confidence.
This was a game in which that
should've happened. But it didn't.
"When you're down, and you fight
back like that, that's encouraging,"
Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "Our
kids showed a lot of fight and a lot of
heart to come back."
The quarterback who seemed like he
& dn't complete a long pass, Scott
Dreisbach, hit Jerame Tuman for 58
yards and a touchdown.
The defense that was mostly strong
- but soft enough to allow two touch-
downs - stopped Boston College's
final four drives. Co-captain Jarrett
Irons came up with the game-clinching
interception with 41 seconds remain-
ing, cradling the ball like a child he
't want to lose, cradling the ball
:ause he didn't want to lose.
But with all of the heart and desire
the Wolverines showed while overcom-
ing poor play, it was confidence and
composure that allowed them to win.
For the moment, remember the
Wolverines traveled to Boulder, Colo.,
with nothing to lose and beat the No. S
team in the nation.
That was a game they should've lost.
But they didn't.
*nd then, consider how much it
must have taken to beat Boston College
with so much to lose. Consider how
hard it is to nearly "self-destruct," as
Carr put it, and then come back.
Sometimes it takes more composure to
survive when you struggle against the
weak than it does to beat the strong.
This was a game that shouldn't have
been more difficult to win than the try-
*Colorado game. But it was.
We were on a high after Colorado,
and we needed this game to bring us
down to earth," said Clarence Williams,
who fumbled twice and still ran for 133
yards. "But coach has instilled in us
that we're Michigan, we're special.
We're confident"
I
.I
Wolverines
don't fumble
away victory
By Ryan White
Daily Sports Writer
Eleven fumbles. Six turnovers. Four missed field goals.
One missed extra-point attempt. Twelve penalties for 108
yards.
What a game.
If you're Michigan, it was a victory.
If you're Boston College, it stank.
"We feel lower than whale crap right now," Boston College
quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said after No. 8 Michigan (1-0
Big Ten, 3-0 overall) came from behind Saturday to beat the
Eagles (0-1 Big East, 1-2 overall), 20-14.
The analogy was appropriate since many of the 105, 219
fans who sat
[ .-7through a third-
Michigan 20 quarter monsoon
were as wet as.
Ie mwolAA
whales.
4A
t ie14ve never
played in a game
where I really
couldn't see the coaches on the sideline, said Michigan
quarterback Scott Dreisbach, who had his best game of the
season, completing 19 of 28 passes for 292 yards and two
touchdowns.
Still, the weather wasn't nearly as sloppy as the football
game.
Thanks mainly to mistakes and missed opportunities, the
Wolverines entered the fourth qua-ter trailing the Eagles, 14-
7.
On the second play of the final stanza, however, Dreisbach
hit receiver Tai Streets for 20 yards to the Boston College
one-yard line on third-and-10. Dreisbach dove into the end
zone on the next play.
Michigan took over its next possession at its own 29 after
Boston College kicker John Matich missed on a 46-yard field
goal attempt.
Four plays later, Dreisbach hit tight end Jerame Tuman
with a lob over the middle, and Tuman did the rest of the
work en route to a 58-yard touchdown.
Remy Hamilton's extra-point attempt, however, was
blocked. This wasn't a surprise since Hamilton had already
missed three field goals.
So once again the game came down to Michigan's defense.
And once again the defense came through for the
Wolverines.
Boston College drove the ball to the Michigan 40 on its
next possession, but on third-and-seven, Hasselbeck was
sacked by Juaquin Feazell. Hasselbeck fumbled and David
Bowens recovered the ball for the Wolverines on the Eagles'
36.
After three offensive plays and a Brian Griese punt, the
defense was back on the field.
Again Boston College drove into Michigan territory, but
again the Eagles were stopped this time when
Hasselbeck's fourth-down pass to receiver Steve Everson fell
incomplete, and Michigan took over on its own 38.
After three offensive plays and a Griese punt, the defense
was back on the field - with 59 seconds left on the clock
and only a six-point lead.
See EAGLES, Page 4B
MARK FRIEDMAN/Daily
Russell Shaw celebrates with Zach Adami, Thomas Guynes and Jon Jansen after his first-quarter touchdown broke a scoreless tie. The 23-yard
reception wasn't an easy one. Quarterback Scott Dreisbach lofted the ball high, and Shaw caught it over his shoulder in the corner of the end zone.
Charging to the
Former 'U' student amid pennan
By James Goldstein Derek Jeter never ended up playing college contract with
Daily Sports Writer baseball. Freehan sa
n 18-year-old stepped onto the Ann The teenager, who started throwing the ball "could turn a
Arbor scene four years ago, ready to around at age 5, knew when he moved to Ann Judging fr
mbark on his freshman year. Arbor that he wouldn't stay long. Freehan's stal
He did all the things that first-year students College would be but a short stop on the Jeter woul
at the University tend to do. He lived in a dor- shortstop's path to his ultimate goal - the and could ha
mitory with a roommate. He enrolled in intro- majors. program to on
ductory courses. And he was one of the Michigan's baseball coach at the time, Bill But that'ss
106,000 screaming fans at Michigan football Freehan, wished he could have had Jeter play for The facts a
games. his squad in the spring of 1993. But he knew stop for theA
The kid from Kalamazoo knew early that he that the baseball phenom had one thing different Yankees, hea
wanted to come to Michigan. His 3.82 grade- from any of his other players. regular seas
point average at Kalamazoo Central High Jeter was already a member of a major league capture thep
School could have gotten him into many acade- baseball team. The New York Yankees has Year Award.
mic institutions, signed him to a minor-league contract in 1992 .318, has sev
But not only did he come to Ann Arbor with and the Yankees agreed to pay for his education. 75 runs.
a brain in his head, he came with a strong arm, Unfortunately for Freehan, the shortstop was Not only ai
as well, too good, and the possibility of Jeter playing he gets the h
A. baseball arm. college baseball evaporated when Jeter dotted in the clutcha
to-p
it race
the Yankees in June 1992.
aid that Jeter was someone who
program around."
om what Jeter has done since then,
tement looks to be correct.
d have graduated this past spring
ave raised the Michigan baseball
ne of the best in the country.
speculation.
ire that Jeter is the everyday short-
American League East first-place
ading into the final week of the
on. He is the odds-on favorite to
American League Rookie of the
As of Saturday, Jeter is batting
en home runs and has knocked in
re his numbers strong, but it's when
its that counts. Jeter came through
as usual in a crucial game with the
OF .", ESTAT1 l):l
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