Ulbe Bidbigaun &itlg

li



veryone
ex ected
too much
rom Blue
EVANSTON - No way we
should be so shocked. As we
looked at the score, we were still
in disbelief. We wondered how this
happened and what mistakes were
made. We wondered how Michigan
ld lose to Northwestern two
fight years.
We wondered. We were blind.
Somewhere along the line, we all
got caught up in the Run for
Perfection. We talked about the Run
for the Roses, but we were lying to
ourselves.
What we really wanted was unde-
feated, undisputed, unsullied perfec-
tion. We wanted it, whether we were
journalists, casu-
al fans or die-
hards. We want-
ed to see
Michigan win so
badly -
because it was a
great story,
NICHOLAS L because we
COTSONIKA ached to see the
The Greek Wolverines on
Speaks top again,
because
Nebraska lost and a national champi-
onship was possible.Just because.
We were blind.
Somewhere, we forgot how
Michigan won its first four games. We
just looked at the scores and accepted
them. We watched Michigan rise in the
rankings, and that was fine.
Never did we consider what was
really happening. The appearances
o e enough, because we wanted to
them so much. We were looking
through Rose Bowl-colored glasses.
The Wolverines' first few games
weren't an exposition of perfection.
They weren't even close.
But we praised and praised this
team. We went back on all of our pre-
season predictions. Before the opener,
we were talking about an 8-4 or a 9-3
season. We were talking about the
gh non-conference schedule and the
,ieling Big Ten. We were talking
about the Hall of Fame Bowl.
Then, Michigan. beat Colorado.
Whoa, that changed everything and
everyone. We all got so excited.
And now we're bitter.
Michigan lost to Northwestern. Our
great story is gone. Our chance to go
to Pasadena is probably gone. Our
chance to gloat is gone.
,oy. We were selfish and foolish.
were blind.
Take a step back and look. Michigan
squeaked by Illinois, 20-8. Yes,
squeaked. It wasn't a great game.
Michigan didn't play very well. Illinois
was just bad.
Then came Colorado. Big game. Big
victory. But here too, the Wolverines
beat a team that didn't play well.
Quarterback Koy Detmer had a good
but the Buffaloes' defense didn't.
nd remember, Michigan was inch-
es from disaster in that game. If Rae
Carruth had caught Detmer's Hail
Mary pass, we'd all still be crying
because of the irony. With the extra

point, the score would have been tied.
There would have been overtime.
But Chuck Winters knocked the ball
down, and instead of calling it luck, we
called it a Sign.
When the Wolverines were behind,
*7, in the fourth quarter against
oston College, we weren't worried.
The breaks were going Michigan's
way, right'? And Michigan won, 20-14.
The Wolverines were drained from
the week before, we said. We didn't
ask why they only scored 20 points for
the fourth straight game. We didn't ask
why Boston College, a mediocre foot-
ball team, nearly beat a top-10 team.
And when Michigan trounced
*LA, 38-9, we all felt justified. We
were right. Look at the defense, we
said. Look at the offense, we said.
One's great, the other's improving. We
started talking Rose Bowl, and when
Nebraska lost to Arizona State, we
started talking national title.

T Michigan run-
ning back Chris
Howard fumbles
the ball en route
to the
Wolverines' 17-
16 loss to
Northwestern on
Saturday.
Howard fumbled
on the first play
of the first drive
after
Northwestern's
touchdown cut
the Wolverines'
lead to 16-8.
Northwestern
recovered the
fumble and drove
s to the Michigan -
six-yard line set-
ting up Brian
Gowins' 23-yard
field goal, his
second of the
-:.game.
JOE WESTRATE/Daily
'M' umbles away opportuni in loss to 'Cats

By Ryan White
Daily Sports Writer
EVANSTON - For the first time since 1958-
59, Michigan lost to Northwestern two years in a
row.
And after Saturday's 17-16 loss in front of 48,

Michigan

16

The drive culminated in a three-yard Chris
Howard touchdown run and a 16-point Michigan
lead.
Then the game blew up in the Wolverines'
faces. And they pushed the detonator.
The Wolverines gained just 28 yards in the
game's final quarter, while giving up 172 to the
Wildcats.
As a result, No. 22 Northwestern (2-0, 4-1)
charged back into the game, and junior kicker
Brian Gowins nailed a 39-yard game-winning
field goal with just 13 seconds left.
"We couldn't get any offense going after the
first drive of the second half," Michigan coach
Lloyd Carr said. "Our defense was on the field too
long, and it came down to too many mistakes."
Northwestern coach Gary Barnett said, it was
the biggest win of his career.
"I've coached a lot of big games, but right now
there doesn't seem like there's one that's bigger,

better or sweeter than this one," he said.
In many ways, the game followed the same
story line as Northwestern's 19-13 win at
Michigan Stadium last year.
The Wildcats simply hung around until
Michigan made a mistake. Last season, it was two
interceptions and a late fumble.
This season, it was two fumbles and a myriad of
missed opportunities.
The Wolverines were forced to settle for field
goals on their first two drives after pushing the
ball to Northwestern's 20- and 14-yard lines,
respectively.
Michigan's first drive actually went deeper than
the 14 after a roughing the passer penalty on
Northwestern had given Michigan the ball on the
Wildcats' 12-yard line.
However, Michigan was flagged for a false start
on the very next play, and a holding penalty
moved the ball back further two plays later.

Still, the game ran smoothly for Michigan into
the third quarter. And then it fell apart.
The Wolverines were forced to use their first
time out of the half when Northwestern looked
like it would go for a first down on fourth-and-
three from the Michigan 41 with 7:47 left in the
third quarter.
The Wildcats punted after the time out, and the
Wolverines used their final two time outs on the
ensuing drive.
Michigan looked to be back in good shape
when Northwestern punter Paul Burton downed
the ball at his own 42-yard line after a low snap.
The Wolverines picked up a first down, but on
second-and-10 from the Wildcats' 31-yard line,
receiver Tai Streets fumbled a completed pass and
gave the ball back to Northwestern.
The turnover led to the Wildcats' first score, a
See WILDCATS, Page 4B

Northwestern 17
187 sold-out Dyche Stadium, the sixth-ranked
Wolverines (1-1 Big Ten, 4-1 overall) have nobody
to blame but themselves.
Leading, 9-0, at the beginning of the second
half, Michigan marched 80 yards on its first pos-
session.

Icers cool down at Ice Cube in annual Blue-White game

By James Goldstein
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan hockey team stared
itself in the face on Saturday night in
the Blue-White intrasquad game.
And then came the cross check.
The Blue squad, led by John
Madden, Warren Luhning and Mike
Legg, took it to the White team, win-
ning, 6-2, in front of 1,145 at the Ann
Arbor Ice Cube.
The line of Madden, Luhning and
Greg Crozier racked up three goals and
four assists. And Legg contributed with
two dazzling scores of his own. Right
wing Sean Ritchlin, who returned for
his first game since February after suf-

of his three-assist night. Left wing Matt
Herr added a goal and an assist.
The Blue team made the White squad
black-and-blue with tough forecheck-
ing from the opening faceoff.
Blue defenseman Blake Sloan cross-
checked Brendan Morrison, and the
other Blue teammates stuck to the cen-
ter closely. Crozier tangled with White
defenseman Harold Schock several
times. And White center Bobby Hayes
got sandwiched by Warren Luhning and
Kevin Magnuson.
Morrison wasn't completely con-
tained, as he and Botterill hooked up
for a pretty two-on-one play, resulting
in an easy poke-in for Morrison to

While the goals started to pile up
thereafter, the game remained physical.
But that's what the coaches wanted to
see.
"You are better off to play a physical
game than a non-physical game,
because that's when you get hurt,"
Michigan coach Red Berenson said.
"When the team is not playing physical,
that's when you run into more injuries."
Nobody got injured, but the White
team's goaltender, Marty Turco, may
feel a little sore tomorrow after stop-
ping 35 shots.
Turco felt he had all his teammates'
moves down pat.
"It's difficult in games because you

what he is going to do," Turco said. "He
might come down and you say, he goes
glove all the time,' but you have to stay
focused."
On the other hand, Blue's goalie tan-
dem of Gregg Malicke and Greg
Daddario stopped 22 of 26 shots on
goal. White's low shot output happened
largely in part to the constant pressure
the Blue offense put on Turco.
Consider the line of Madden,
Luhning and Crozier. The threesome
wove through the White defense and
charged the net often. When Madden
wasn't stick-handling through the
White defense, Luhning and Crozier
were causing havoc in front of Turco.

This week
Who: Waterloo and Lake Superior
State
Where: Ice Cube and Sault Ste.
Marie
When: Tomorrow, 7 p.m. and
Saturday, 7 p.m.
Notable: The game against Waterloo
will be the Wolverines' first game of
the season. It will count toward the
regular season record, but the NCAA
will not count the game for the post-
season ... Saturday's game against
Lake Superior State will count as a
non-conference game.

i