4B - The Michigan Daily - SPORTSWednesday - January 8, 1997 GAME STATISTICS Floyd heals, reveals his potential PASSING Player Kitchens Totals RUSHING Player Alexander Riddle Foust West Kitchens Totals C-A 9-18 9-18 Yds 65 65 Att 9 13 5 1 7 35 Yds Avg 99 11.0 58 4.4 29 5.8 4 4.0 -8 -.2 182 5.2 TD 0 0 Lg 46 19 11 4 2 46 Lg 14 13 12 6 4 14 RECEIVING Player No. Vaughn 2 Rutledge 1 Hape 1 Riddle 1 Alexander 3 Totals 9 PUNTING Player Stockton Yds 27 13 12 6 4 65 13.5 13.0 12.7 6.0 1.3 7.22' Int 1 TD 1 0 0 0 0 1 TD 0 0 0 0 0 0 Lg 60 TD 0 0 No. Yds Avg 6 279 46.5 KICKOFF RETURNS Player No. Yds Vaughn 1 9 Totals 1 9 910 940 L9 9 9 DEFENSE Player Samuel. Myers Staten Jackson Bryant Feagin Chandler Short Sigler Buckner Powell Rudd Townsend Harris Hood Moore Rutledge Smith Stanley Stockton Watts Solo 7 8 8 5 4 4 4 4 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Asst 2 0 0 1 1 1 10 1 0- 0 1 0_ 0 0 0. 0. 0 0 0 Tot 9 8 8 6 5 5 4 4 4 3 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Alabama native helps M; Hamilton, Bowens set records By Nicholas J. Cotsonika Daily Sports Editor TAMPA, Fla. - Chris Floyd had the ball, and even though it had been a long time since he'd been healthy, he knew what to do. Tuck the ball in. Charge straight ahead. Decapitate anyone in the way. It wasn't hard to remember. "You can't coach what he does," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "Some things you're born with." During one play in the second quarter of the Outback Bowl, Floyd made national highlight films by being natural He used his 6-foot-1, 0 222-pound body to Notebook run straight up the middle against a tough Alabama defense, knock off strong safety Andre Short's helmet, gain 13 yards, and give the Wolverines a first down. Floyd, Michigan's junior fullback, carried six times for 35 yards on New Year's Day. They were modest numbers, of course, but runs of 12 and,13 yards -T-; including the annihilation of Short - flashed hints of power unseen from Floyd this season. A shoulder injury suffered against Boston College on Sept. 21 limited Floyd's ability to run. He was able to block, but he finished the regular season with 24 carries for 66 yards. In 1995, he had 48 :carries for 182 yards. His shoulder didn't have time to heal until the five-week break between the Ohio State game and the bowl. "I thought Chris Floyd would be the All-Big Ten fp.llback this year," Carr said after the game. "That shoulder hurt him all year. It hurt him so bad, we couldn't use him the way we wanted to." The injury hurt Michigan's offen- sive game plan. Without a healthy, quality fullback, Carr was forced to use a one-back offense more than he would have liked. "With (Floyd) healthy, we have a better balanced offense," Carr said. "Hopefully, he'll be a big part of our offense next year." Floyd scored his first career points on a two-point conversion rush in the fourth quarter. RIVAL KNIGHT: The only Wolverine from Alabama made an impact. Marcus Knight, a freshman wide receiver, collected career highs with three receptions for 41 yards. Alabama flanker Marcell West gained just four yards before he was stopped here by Michigan safety Marcus Ray. The Crimson Tide had 182 yards rushing. PASS DEFENSE Player Int Yds Rudd 1 88 Bryant 0 0 Staten 0 0 Townsend 0 0 Totals 1 88 Lg 88 0 0 0 88 Brktp 2 1. 5 "He is going to be a tremendous football player," Carr said. Alabama coach Gene Stallings recruited Knight out of his home in Sylacauga, Ala., and couldn't under- stand why Knight would want to leave the South. After all, in Alabama, most good football players suit up for the Crimson Tide or the Auburn Tigers. Knight's brother, Damiean Jefferies, plays for the New Orleans Saints. And then there is, of course, the weather. "I told him it was going to get cold up there," Stallings said. SACK ATTACK: After a long wait, sophomore defensive end David Bowens broke Michigan's single- season sack record. He brought down Freddie Kitchens to end the first half and picked up his 12th sack. Bowens had not recorded a sack in over two months. At Minnesota on Oct. 26, he had three sacks. Junior defensive end Glen Steele had two sacks, giving him 17 for his career and tying him for fifth all- time at Michigan. A BEVY FOR REMY: An impressive streak ended for senior placekicker Remy Hamilton. After hitting his 13th and 14th cdnsecutive field goals, he missed a 48-yard attempt in the fourth quarter - the final attempt of his college career. Hamilton's streak covered nine games. He finished with Michigan's career record for field goals with 63 and attempts with 82. His 282 career points placed him third all time at Michigan. ANOTHER MILESTONE: Junior wide receiver Russell Shaw had his best game as a Wolverine, catching six passes for 84 yards. His six receptions tied Desmond Howard, Tony McGee and Anthony Carter for second best in bowl play. The school record is eight, held by Jim Mandich for his play in the 1970 Rose Bowl against Southern Cal. ROLLING TIDE: Alabama's victory over Michigan gave it five straight bowl victories for the first time in 15 years. The last time the Tide won at least five bowls in a row was from 1975- 81 under coach Bear Bryant, a peri- od in which Alabama won two national championships. Alabama's all-time bowl record now stands at 28-17-3. The Tide, which finished 10-3, now holds NCAA records for bowl victories and 10-victory seasons (25). Michigan leads college football in all-time victories with 764, but the Wolverines are now 13-15 in bowl games. They haven't had a 10-victo- ry season since 1991, when they won the Big Ten. SUN AND FUN: Both teams were treated to extensive entertainment the week before the game. Trips to Busch Gardens and Clearwater (Fla.) Beach highlighted a list of activities that included everything from lun- cheons to jai-alai. A sign in the stands on game day highlighted the warm temperatures - "Wind Chill: 86 degrees." TD 1 0 0 0 1. Team Stats Mich First Downs: 22 Rushes/Yards 41/124 Passing Yards 291 Offensive Plays 79 Total Offense 415 Return Yards 90 Comp/Att/Int 22/38/1 Punts/Avg 7/24 Fumbles/Lost 3/0 Penalties/Yards 6/47 Time of Poss 34:32 Ala 13 35/182 65 53 247 9! ; 9/18/- 6/46a5! 2/1 8/42 25:26, ALABAMA SCHEDULE Aug. 31 BOWLING GREENW 21.7 Sept. 7 S. MISS W 2040 Sept. 14 VANDERBILT W 36-26, Sept. 21 Arkansas W 17-7 Oct. 5 KENTUCKY W235,7 Oct. 12 NC State W 24-19 Oct. 19 MISSISSIPPI W 37-0 Oct. 26 Tennessee L 13-20 Nov. 9 Louisiana State W 26-0 Nov. 16 Mississippi StateL 16-17 Nov. 23 AUBURN W 24-23 Nov. 30 Florida A L 30-45 Jan. 1 Michigan* W 17-14 A SEC Championship Game, Georgia Dome, Atlanta *Outback Bowl, Houlihan's Stadium, Tampa, Fla. HOME GAMES IN CAPS Scoring summary First Quarter Ala - Brock, 43-yard field goal, 11:18 Second Quarter Mich - Hamilton, 44-yard field goal, 8:03 Mich - Hamilton, 22-yard field goal, .20 Third Quarter No Scoring Fourth Quarter Ala - Rudd, 88-yard interception return (Brock kick), 12:13 Ala - Alexander, 46-yard run (Brock kick), 2:15 Mich - Shaw, nine-yard pass from Griese (two-point conver- After being thrust into a starting role for the first time this season, quarterback ,B possible Michigan quarterback controversy. If he returns for a fifth year, he will fti sit DeiCsbachr pn Quarterback controversy likely ignited by JOE WESTRATE/Daily He can catch. Clarence Williams, a running back, had 113 yards receiving to go with his 58 rushing yards. He can rush.I TIDE ROLL Continued from Page lB Charles Woodson picked off Alabama quarterback Freddie Kitchens with 2:54 left in the first half, and Michigan took over at the Crimson Tide 35. way. Griese was hit for a loss of three yards on third down and Michigan had to settle for a 22-yard Hamilton field goal that made the score 6-3. Another missed opportunity was the result of a little trickery. Midway late in the game. However, when the Wolverines need- ed it most, the defense couldn't come up with a stop. Alabama took possession with 4:24 left in the game, still leading, 10-6. That's when senior running back Shaun