6B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - September 14, 1998
Syracuse 38
hh28Michigan 28
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Michigan player of the game: Walter Cross
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Although he didn't get a chance to play until after the outcome of
Saturday's game was already decided, the Fort Washington, Md.,
native scampered for a 66-yard gain, scored two touch owns and
ended up with 104 yards rushing. Not bad for a freshman who hadn't
ever carried the ball before the fourth quarter against Syracuse.
'4
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Stat line: Carries Yards Ave. Long TDs
10 104 10.4 66 2
GAME STATISTICS
PASSING
Player
Brady
Henson
Totals
RUSHING
Player
C ross
Thomas
Fargas
R. Jackson
C. Williams
Brady
Totals
RECEIVING
Player
Streets
Knight
Bryant
R. Jackson
D. Johnson
Tuman
Walker
Thomas
Totals
C-A
13-24
7-20
2044
Yds TD
104 1
92 1
196 2
Aft
10
9
3
3
2
1
28
No.
5
5
3
2
1
1
1
1
19
Yds
104
33
13
13
3
-7
166
Yds
53
42
43
13
27
16
3
-3
196
No.
6
1
Avg
10.4
3.3
4.3
4.3
.5
.7
5.9
Avg
10.6
8.4
14.3
6.5
27.0
16.0
3.0
-3.0
9.8
Yds
274
13
L9
66
9
5
7
3
0
66
Lg
20
16
16
13
27
16
3
0
27
int
1
0
1
TD
2
0
0
0
0
0
2
TD
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
McNabb topples
defense by himself
PUNTING
Player!
Vinson
Team
KICKOFF RETURNS
Player No.
C. Williams 2
Fargas 5
Totals 7
Avg Ig
45.7 55
13.0 13
Yds Avg ig
33 16.5 28
96 19.2 26
129 18.4 28
TO
0
0
0
TO
0
0
PUNTRETURNS
Player
Whitley
Totals
DEFENSE
Player
Jordan
Hendricks
Whitley
Sword
0. Jones
Weathers
Ray
Brackins
Feazel
Patmon
Kratus
Howard
McCall
Frysinger
Wilson
J. Williams
Miller
Renes
Sechler
Copenhaver
Schanski
Foote
PASS DEFENSE
Player
Howard
Totals
Team Stats
First Downs
Rushes/Yards
Passing Yards
Offensive Plays
Total Offense
Return Yards
Comp/Att/Int
Punts/Avg
Fumbles/Lost
Penalties/Yards
Time of Poss
No.
3
3
Yds
45
45
Solo
12
8
6
6
4
4
4
3
3
1
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
Avg 1,9
15.0 23
I. 23
Ast Tot
1 13
2 10
3 9
By Mark Snyder
Daily Sports Editor
Right now, there undoubtedly is a
McDonald's representative climbing the
steps of the Downtown Athletic Club in
New York City.
As the sponsor of the Heisman Trophy,
the DAC should be preparing marketing
tie-ins for Donovan McNabb and the
Heisman, which could come McNabb's
way in early December.
For McNabb, Saturday was just the
first victory for his team.
For the 111,012 fans who watched
him torch Michigan on Saturday at
Michigan Stadium, he is a man of myth-
ical proportions.
On one play in the first half, McNabb
appeared determined to prove that he
could outrun a defense - by himself.
He began by taking the snap and run-
ning to his right in the option formation
but saw no openings. So instead he cut
back to his left, in search of a hole.
Seeing no open receivers and a seeming-
ly dead play before him, he sprinted
around the left end and created his own.
Unfortunately for the Michigan faith-
ful, the lone, yet valiant, attempt at a
tackle was only partially successful.
Instead of nabbing the quarterback, all
the Michigan defense could claim on the
play was a solitary shoe.
It was a bartering lesson gone bad -
six points for a shoe.
"On that particular play, we were in a
blitz," safety Marcus Ray said. "They
blocked it pretty well and he had a lot of
time to scan the field. Nobody was open
- there was great coverage downfield.
"He just turned into Superman. He
looked around, nobody was there and he
took off running."
The only thing fictional was the idea
that Michigan could contain him.
One week after tearing apart
Tennessee in a one-point loss, McNabb
was eager to 'help' secure a victory.
"We have a lot of guys who work hard
and my reward to that is to give them the
ball," McNabb said.
Just two weeks into the seas
McNabb is already in midseasW
Heisman form, deflecting attention about
the award and its impact.
"I'm not worried about the Heisman,"
he said. "I'm just doing what is best for
the team."
What's best for the team has turned
into what's best for McNabb. With his
21-of-27, 233-yard passing performance,
his numbers stack up well with the non-
Tim Couch portion of the country.*
In addition to his suddenly-accurate
arm, McNabb has been known to dance
his way to a few first downs as well.
When he left the game with seven
minutes remained in the fourth quarter
and the outcome securely in hand, he led
all rushers - on either team - with 19
carries for 60 yards.
"He's almost impossible to sack with a
four-man scheme," Lloyd Carr said.
This game took on added importance
for McNabb with its proximity to3
hometown in a Chicago suburb. Fifteen
of McNabb's relatives came to Ann
Arbor to watch a live showing of the
powerful Syracuse offense.
While McNabb certainly held his own
on Saturday, the entire concept of the
option baffles the Wolverines.
"I think the option causes us some
problems," Ray said. "The past two quar-
terbacks we played hurt us a little bit
actually a lot. If Eastern runs the opti
next week, we'll have to find a way to
stop it."
McNabb's proficiency at running the
option offense has developed over four
years at the helm of the Orangemen.
"Donovan McNabb is one of the great
quarterbacks we've seen;" Carr said. "I
hope we don't have to see him again."
The next time Michigan may see him
is when it comes time for a McNabb
burger at McDonald's - which,*
course, comes with a little shake.
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7
5
3
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3
2
2
2
1
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TD
0
0
IMt
0
0
Lg
0
0
Bmp
1
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NUCH
16
28/154
196
72
350
174
20/44/1
7/41.0
0/0
10/78
21:57
Syr
27
55/190
243
83
433
32
22/28/0
5/38.4
4/1
4/50
38:03
Photos by WARREN ZINN/Daily
ABOVE: Syracuse quarterback Donovan McNabb left members of the Michigan defense in the dust all afternoon on Saturday,
racking up 60 yards rushing and 233 yards passing,
BELOW RIGHT: Wide receiver David Terrell looks back as a pass sails uncaught.
PASSING
Mcabb
M. Williams
Totals
RUSHING
Player
McNabb
Mungro
McIntosh
K. Johnson
Brown
Konrad
M. Jackson
Sudano
M. Williams
Totals
RECEIVING
Player
K. Johnson
Konrad
Spotwood
Brominski
M. Jackson
Woodcock
Daniel
Totals
C-A
21-27
1-1
2228
Yds TO
233 3
10 0
243 3
lt
0
0
0
TD
1
0
0
1
Syracuse offense
tears through Blue
Att
19
11
3
5
5
1
1
2
55
No.
6
5
4
3
2
1
I
22
Yds
60
41
31
21
Avg
3.2
5.1
2.8
7.0
L9
17
13
9
9
By Sharat Raju
Daily Sports Editor
PUNTING
Player
Dunkin
KICKOFF RETURNS
Player No.
K. Johnson 1
McIntosh I
Total 2
DEFENSE
Player
Bullock
Gibbs
Poles
Greenwood
McIntosh
Byrd
Nash
Coleman
Dinkins
Simpkins
O'Neil
Klaus
Pettijohn
Banks
J.R. Johnson
PASS DEFENSE
Player Int
TD
Byrd 1
Poles 0
McIntosh 0
Nash 0
16 12 5 0 Michigan and Syracuse are as differ-
8 8.0 8 0 ent in offensive ideologies as two sides
6 6.0 6 0
-11 .5 1 0 . of a coin.
190 3.5 17 0 And when that coin fell during the
opening toss and Syracuse chose cor-
Yds Avg Lg TO rectly, the Orangemen didn't hesitate.
78 1. 37 1
59 11.8 26 2 They knew they wanted the ball. Why
26 6.5 10 0 defer until the second half when they
21 10.5 14 0 could go ahead and score right away?
10 10.0 10 0 That's just what they did. They scored
243 I 37 3 right away - a touchdown following a
4:56 drive. And they scored. And scored.
No. Yds Avg Lg And scored again.
5 192 38.4 46 The Orangemen threw an amazing
amount of offensive packages up to the
Yds Avg g TD line - never the same one twice during
20 20.0 20 0 that first drive. They lined up four wide
28 14.0 20 0 receivers on one down, and put three
backs in the backfield on the next.
Solo Asst Tot Sometimes Syracuse would run the
9 2 19 option. Other times, Donovan McNabb
6 0 6 would drop back to pass.
3 3 6 Contrast this with Michigan's offense
4 0 4 - never known for much diversity or
3 0 3 risk-taking in play calling - which did-
2 1 3 n't score until 46 seconds left in the first
2 0 2. half.
1 1 2 hl
1 0 1 During one series at the beginning of
1 0 1 the second quarter, the Wolverines hand-
1 0 1 ed the ball off to tailback Anthony
Thomas four consecutive times and
Yds Liw 5rk passed to him the fifth time. The
0 0 0 Wolverines punted shortly thereafter.
0 0 2 "We're not a good offensive team,"
0 0 1 Michigan coach Lloyd Carr admitted.
"We can't run the ball."
Again in the fourth quarter, Michigan
tailback Walter Cross rushed three
straight times, resulting in a punt.
After a subsequent Syracuse punt, the
Wolverines gave the ball to Cross six
consecutive times. This time, the logic
prevailed thanks in part to Cross' 66-
yard gallop to the five yard line.
But that was an exception to the rule
Saturday. Essentially, Michigan's
unimaginative offense was a big part of
the entire team collapse.
Syracuse, on the other hand marched
up and down the field against the first-
string defense, dragging along Michigan
as if it were a rag doll tied to the back of
a moving truck.
"The offense did a tremendous job of
controlling the ball and putting points on
the board," Syracuse assistant George
DeLeone said.
The final line on McNabb was 22 for
27 with 233 yards passing and 60 yards
rushing. But the biggest lift McNabb got
was from his receivers. Dropped passes
were few and far between. They made
sure they caught the wide-open ones -
which were in abundance.
"I just tried to spread the wealth
amongst the receivers," McNabb said.
McNabb passed to seven people, hit-
ting fullback Rob Konrad with two
touchdown strikes.
Michigan's numbers, inflated by the
fourth quarter's offensive explosion,
looked pretty bad midway through the
game. Fans looked up at the new score-
boards and saw that Michigan had fewer
yards rushing than Syracuse had points,
at one juncture of the game.
I
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THRASHED
Continued from Page 18
they carried a 4-4 record.
Combined with last week's loss to Notre Dame, Michigan's
slippery slope began with an 0-2 record, the first time since the
1988 season, when a 31-30 loss to No. 1 Miami (Fla.) created
the same scenario.
In this game, Michigan scored three touchdowns in the fourth
quarter - garbage time as far as this outing was concerned -
to make the final tally appear respectable.
But respectable hardly covers the first three quarters, as the
'talented' Michigan offense mustered just one touchdown. com-
blocked and tossing an interception. The offense's ineptitude
troubled Carr to no end.
"We're not a good offense," Carr said. "We can't run the
ball."
Obviously, Carr is speaking from experience.
Michigan finished the first half with 37 yards rushing -
total - with 25 coming from Anthony Thomas. The running
attack's lack of production was hampered as Clarence Williams
left early in the game with a bruised back.
At quarterback, the only bruises may be to the leader's confi-
dence.
Carr played quarterback roulette in the game, pulling starter
Tom Brady twice - the first instance coming halfway through
Minor signs of life came with Carr's decision to insert
Henson for the second time, with less than two minutes to play
in the third quarter.
Henson led three scoring drives in the final quarter - albeit
mostly against second-string Syracuse defenders - to close the
gap on the Orangemen and the final margin.
In that final flurry, freshman Walter Cross broke out r
Michigan's first long run of the season, scampering 66 yards to
set up one of the scores. Cross ended the game as Michigan's
leading rusher with 10 carries for 104 yards - an impressive
statistic considering he didn't even touch the ball until -the
fourth quarter.
Despite praise for Cross and the late-minutes offense, Carr
.