The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - October 28, 1996 - 58
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CQrQgIKA
Cont nefo g
plays like a veteran now."
That is a big compliment for a 19-year-old player on a defense that includes
veterans like Jarrett Irons, William Carr and Glen Steele. It is even too big for
Bowens to take.
"No, I'm no veteran," Bowens said. "I'm still a young kid.
But Bowens' words are contradicted by his play, because he is often the dri-
ving force behind the Wolverines' highly-regarded defense. Against Minnesota.
Bowens recorded three sacks for the second time this season.
The first time the Golden Gophers touched the ball, Bowens nailed Sauter for
a five-yard loss. On the Gophers' next drive, Bowens forced a fumble by popping
the ball out of Javon Jackson's hands, and a few plays later, sacked Sauter for a
six-yard loss. In the third quarter, Bowens sacked Sauter again, this time for a
nine-yard loss.
In the end, Bowens had six tackles, two assists and four tackles for a loss to go
along with his forced fumble and three sacks. He also had the admiration of
William Carr.
"I'm happy fbr him," Carr. said. "I knew he could do it, because he works so
hard all the time. In practice, every down, you know, he gets me going. I know
that if I get frustrated, it's not going to last long. Because if somebody's getting
through, he'll be there.
"He'll kill them."
Bowens must have taken that "meet me at the ball" stuff to heart, because
sophomores don't motivate seniors very often. But then, players don't master a
new position in one season very often, either.
'In high school, Bowens had 12 sacks in two years of varsity play. Total. In his
first season at Michigan, he had one sack. Total.
Now he has 11 sacks in one season. Now he's made three sacks in one game
- twice. That's because this year, Bowens was switched from linebacker to
defensive end.
It should have been a tougher transition. After all, he had to learn football all
over again. But with players like Bowens, some things are just natural.
"He's got to work on his technique;' Michigan defensive coordinator Greg
Mattison said. "He's got to work on his pass-rush moves. I mean, geez, he's never
rushed before this season. Wait until he gets some technique."
Bowens is outstanding now, and that's just raw talent.
He is a 19-year-old who already plays like a veteran. He already leads
Michigan's defense as much as William Carr and Jarrett Irons. He already domi-
nates Big Ten offensive lines.
And do you know the scariest part ? He will get better.
But for now, Bowens' talent makes it simple - follow the directions he's
given every Saturday in the lockerroom, on the sidelines and in the game.
Meet me at the ball.
"Man, I told him that," William Carr said. "But he kept beating me to it. He's
an athlete, and athletic ability takes you a long way. Look at where it's gotten
him"
And look at how much farther it could take him.
- Nicholas . Cotsonika can be reached over e-mail at cotsonik@unich.edu.
GAME STATISTICS
PASSING
Player C-A
Sauter 23-36
Cockerham 0-1
Totals 23-37
Yds
283
0
283
RUSHING
Player
Hamner
Evans
Jackson
Sauter
Totals
Att
20
8
3
7
38
Yds
78
13
10
-25
76
Avg
3.9
1.6
3.3
-3.6
2.0
TD
0
0
0
Lg
9
4
5
3
9
Lt
13.
22
58
38
7
58
Avg
30.5
RECEIVING
Player No.
Hamner 6
Atwell 5
Thelwell 5
Nelson 5
Hutton 2
Totals 23
PUNTING
Player
Sailer
Yds Avg
42 7
57 11.4
106 21.2
66 13.2
12 6.0
283 12.3
No. Yds
4 122
mt
1
0
1
TD
0
1
0
0
1
TD
0
0
0
0
0
0
Lg
39
TD
0
0
KICKOFF RETURNS
Player No. Yds
Carter 1 16
Total 1 16
Avg
16.0
16.0
Lg
16
16
DEFENSE
Player
Smith
Davis
Williams. P.
Jordan
Heath
Carter
Cross
Grate
Scruggs
Akbar
Dalton
Williams, L.
Pearson
Early
Bailey
Dimmy
Hypolite
Rackley
Moeller
Langford
Solo
7
6
4
5
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
Asst
3
1
2
1
3
2
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
Tot
10
7
6
6
5
4
3
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
en Gopher. Bowens had three sacks, tying the Michigan single-season record in just seven games.
ury still out on Dreisbach
4after victory over Minnesota
By Nicholas J. Cotsonika
Daily Sports Editor
MINNEAPOLIS - In terms of his
quarterback situation, Michigan coach
Lloyd Carr has been quite sensitive all
season.
He has been sensitive about sopho-
&ore Scott Dreisbach's shortcomings,
and he has been sensitive about criti-
cism against Dreisbach. Saturday
against Minnesota, Carr may have taken
steps to smooth out both by limiting
Dreisbach's pass attempts.
While Minnesota quarterback Cory
Sauter threw the ball 36 times,
Dreisbach threw it only 11. And while
Sauter completed 23 passes for 283
yards, Dreisbach was more productive
both percentage and scoring. He
'rew for 184 yards and a touchdown.
"Scott is coming along," Michigan
tight end Jerame Tuman said. "He threw
very well, even though he didn't throw a
lot of passes. He's doing a good job."
Michigan was not expected to throw
the ball much against the Golden
Gophers, because running the ball takes
up time, and the Gophers' potent
'offense had to be kept off the field. But
1 pass attempts still seemed low for
reisbach. And when Carr was asked if
that was an indication of Dreisbach's
confidence, he was very clear that it was
not.
"Scott Dreisbach has never lost any
confidence," Carr said. "He has been
very good for us, and he will continue to
bevery good for us."
Questions persisted, however. Of
Dreisbach's eight completions, only two
were on truly long passes. In the first
quarter, Dreisbach went over the middle
to Tai Streets for 36 yards and a touch-
down. In the fourth quarter, Dreisbach
hit Tuman for 63 yards, setting up a one-
yard touchdown run by John Anes.
Both were nice passes, yes. But on
the first, Streets was wide open, and on
the second, the defensive back assigned
to Tuman slipped and fell.
The two times Dreisbach threw long
passes into tight coverage, he threw
incomplete, and the other long passing
plays he was credited for were due more
to the receivers' running than his pass-
ing. For example, Dreisbach's first pass
of the game didn't come until
Michigan's ninth offensive play, and the
five-yard toss to Mark Campbell
became a 27-yard reception only after
Campbell's run. Later, the same thing
seemed to happen again. Dreisbach
threw a short pass to Tuman that became
a 33-yard catch after the run.
It wasn't surprising, because often,
Dreisbach looks like an option quarter-
back without options. He rolls out, tak-
ing several precious seconds to find a
receiver, and when he finds one, he
either throws too late or too high.
Dropping back and firing never
seems to happen. In fact, when fresh-
man Tom Brady and junior Brian Griese
rotated at quarterback at the end of the
game, both looked sharper than
Dreisbach.
Brady dropped back and rifled six-
and seven-yard passes to Aaron Shea,
and both were quicker than anything
Dreisbach had thrown. Jn addition,
Griese hit Marcus Knight for a 40-yard
touchdown, having been 1 warmed up
only by holding the ball for the kicker
much of the game. i
So considering Dreisbach's poor per-
formance last week against Indiana -
I 7-for-35 for 218 yards, on touchdown
and two interceptions - ome asked
whether the few short sses were
planned to help his psyche.
Carr denied it strongly. citing the
many facts on his side. Through all of
the criticism, Dreisbach wins. He was
10-1 in both his junior and.enior sea-
sons in high school, and he j 10-1 as a
starter at Michigan. And until Saturday,
Dreisbach had a streak of foir consecu-
tive 200-yard games, which included his
so-called disappointing outing against
Indiana.
"He has played extremely well," Carr
said. "Remember, he's a young quarter-
back. Many young quarterbacks have
bumps in the road. Some people want to
treat him like he's a 10-year veteran -
'nd he isn't. It's not fair"
Tuman defended DreisbacM as well.
"Not everything is the quarterback's
fault," Tuman said. "Against Indiana, I
didn't look soon enough on one play,
and our timing was off. A lot of it is
communication problems, little things.
People should give him a chance. It'll all
come together."
Minnesota
Sept. 7 NE Louisiana W 30-3
Sept. 14 BALL ST. W 26-22
Sept. 28 SYRACUSE W 35-33
Oct. 5 Purdue L 27-30
Oct. 12 Northwestern L 24-26
Oct. 19 MICHIGAN STATE L 9-27
Oct. 26 MICHIGAN L 10-44
Nov. 2 Ohio State
Nov. 9 Wisconsin
Nov. 16 ILLINOIS
Nov. 23 IOWA
HOME GAMES IN CAPS
JOENETRA'TE/M~IDily
Michigan tailback Chris Howard was ready to take a handoff from quarterback
Scott Dreisbach on this play. Dreisbach handed the ball off often against the
Golden Gophers. As for passing, well, he only put the ball up 11 times, completing
eight of those. He also hit receiver Tai Streets for a 36-yard touchdown.
Key Performers
For Michigan, quarterback Scott
lDreisbach rebounded from a'hI
outing a week ago, comlieting 1 14
passes for 184 yards and a toueW
down. Tight end Jerarne Tu Enr had
his best day ever receiving at
Michigan, catching three balls fir
1.01. yards.
For Minnesota, junior iquarterbck
;Cory Sauter completed 23-of--36
:passes for 283 yards. Receiver Ryar :
Thelwell caught five passes fir 1 ;.
yards.
KeyPly
*Wifth Michigan leading,~ 27-4, early'
An the fourth quarter, Minnesota's
Adam Bailey roissed a 53-yard field:>
goal On the very next play,
,Michigan's Scott Dreisbach hit fight'
end. Jeramfe Tuman in stride for a 3
yard pass play to the Mi nne5>ota ne.a
The:Wolverines then went in for the;=.:
td~ucdowrr to ice the game.
BigTen Standings
To am Coif, overal
Northwestern 5-0 7-1.
;Ohio State 4-0 7-0
Michigan State 4,1. 5-3
Michigan 3 1 63
Iowa 3-1. 5-2
Penn State 3-2 7-2
Ilf Ihnis 1-3 2-
Purdue 1-3 2-
M innesota 0-4 3-4
Wisconsin 0-4 3-4
Indiana 0-5 2-6
Illinois latest team to blow lead against Wildcats
EVANSTON (AP) - Adrian Autry, starting
for injured Darnell Autry, scored on a one-yard
run with 1:02 left Saturday, and No. 11
Northwestern continued its string of remarkable
last-minute finishes, rallying past Illinois, 27-24.
The Wildcats (5-0 Big Ten, 7-1 overall) won
their I3th straight Big Ten game over two sea-
:sons, a come-from-behind victory that all but
' aranteed a second straight bowl bid for the
efending conference champions.
Northwestern has won seven straight and the
last four have all been decided in the final min-
utes - victories over Michigan, Minnesota,
Wisconsin and now the Illini.
The Wildcats have won those four games by a
the ground and led. 20-10. at the break. But the
Nittany Lions (3-2. 7-2) stopped the Hoosiers
cold the rest of the way and scored more than
twice as many points in the second half as in their
first four conference games combined.
The loss was Indiana's 13th straight in the Big
Ten over two seasons.
No. 2 OHIO STATE 38, No. 20 Iown p26
Stanley Jackson threw two touchdown passes
and Damon Moore intercepted three passes as
No. 2 Ohio State built a big lead and hung on to
defeat No. 20 Iowa, 38-26.
The Buckeyes (4-0, 7-0) spotted Iowa (3-1, 5-
2) an early field goal, tied it with one of their own
and then scored three touchdowns during an
error-filled, five-minute span to grab a big lead
for the sfcond straight year.
A year ago, the Buckeyes held a 56-0 halftime
lead. On Saturday, it was 31-6 as the Hawkeyes,
who shared the conference lead with Ohio State
in turnover margin, had four passes intercepted, a
punt blocked for a touchdown and a kickoff
botched, all in the second quarter.
Sedrick Shaw also fumbled on Iowa's first pos-
session of the second half and the Buckeyes took
advantage, with Pepe Pearson bulling in from the
four to expand Ohio State's lead to 38-6.
m
-_
Michigan State whips Wisconsin, ready for trip to Michigan Stadium
EAST LANSING (AP) - It was billed as a bat-
tie between the Big Ten's two best true freshmen
running backs. Instead. it became a showcase for
I100-plus yards on the ground.
In thei previous three games, the Badgers -
favored to contend for the conference champi-
kfrP t ,pcpncn.,t t..i - Inct toNo I a
yard touchdown passto Duane Goulbourne in
addition to the TD toss to Irvin. Chris Gardner
kicked three field goals for the Spartans.
The three victories in the Snartans' current