October 19, 1998 - SportsMonday - The Michigan Daily - 5B Quotable: "We were real excited to be out there like pigs rolling around - espe- cially the linemen." - Michigan nose tackle Rob Renes on the conditions at Ryan Field. I I I I I I I I I I I I I By the way ... The last time that Michigan recorded a safety was October 3, 1998, in a 12-9 victory at Iowa. I I 1 1 1 t 1 1 Michigan 12E3 N 'western 6 Barnett utilizes wideout Bates in option role Game progression 1st Quarter EY Jim Rose aily Sports Editor EVANSTON - As a legitimate threat to win the Biletnikoff Award as the nation's top receiver, everyone knew D'Wayne Bates could catch passes. Not many people knew he could throw them. -But Bates had no doubt, and against Michigan, he showed off his considerable ath- leticism from a surprising position - quarter- Vck. "I was a quarterback coming in here," said Bates, who called signals when he played for Silver Bluff High School in South Carolina. "I still have the talent." Bates attempted just one pass, but he creat- ed some excitement simply by lining up behind center. Northwestern coach Gary Barnett caused a commotion when he moved Bates to quarter- back at the start of the second half, surprising Michigan's defense in the process. And not ily did Bates play quarterback - he ran the option. The Wolverines, of course, have been less than successful against the option. It was a daring move by Barnett. It put the ball in the hands of his best athlete, which was the goal, but it also effectively nullified the Wildcats' passing attack. Bates couldn't exact- ly throw to himself. With no game-breaker in the open field, the Wolverines stacked the line and concentrated *eir efforts on Bates. It paid off. Bates carried four times, all on options, but gained a net total of just six yards. His one pass attempt was badly off the mark, and the experiment was effectively ended when a Bates option was turned by the swarming Michigan defense into a Bates fumble. Northwestern recovered to retain possession, but after one more snap on the next series, Bates went back to his normal spot. It was a short-lived experiment, then, but one that was fully endorsed by Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, who admittedly was taken by surprise. "I thought it was a very, very good move on his part," Carr said in reference to Barnett. "They put the ball in their best player's hands, and in those conditions - I thought it was a tremendous move on their part." Carr's opinion, one would guess, might have been at least partially influenced by his defense's success with Bates at the helm. And, perhaps, by its closely related lack of success with Bates lining up in his regular position. The fifth-year senior caught eight passes for 112 yards, and with his performance moved into fifth place in Big Ten history in terms of career receptions. With 22 more catches -just three games of work, at his current pace - Bates would tie Richard Buchanan for the conference's No. I all-time spot. "He's a tremendous athlete," Michigan nose tackle Rob Renes said. And if anyone would know, Renes would - he spent all afternoon chasing Bates around. 8 ~ As the game begins, it was pours in Evanston. Brian Gowins boots 29-yard field goal. When the quarter ends, it's still raining. 2nd Quarter Michigan QB Tom Brady is sacked. Michigan's Jay Feely misses 30- yard field goal. Feely misses again, this time from 35 yards. Gowins makes another field goal, this one from 40. Michigan's Tai Streets catches TD pass. 3rd Quarter M -13:36 NW -12:58 NW 3, M 0 NW - 5:49 NW 3, M 0 NW -:59 NW 6, M 0 M -:35 M 7, NW 6 M 7, NW 6 Pregame NW - 3:57 NW 3, M 0 0:00 3I MARGARET MYERS/Daily Northwestern coach Gary Barnett tried to capitalize on Michigan's inadequacies against the option by using top wide receiver and speedster D'Wayne Bates at quarterback. His mere presence gave the Wildcats a chance, despite an offense that managed just 191 total yards..But in the fourth quarter, the Wolverines put the clamps on. Bates didn't catch a pass in the game's final 15 minutes. But his stats are nonetheless impressive. He continues to move up in the Big Ten record books, and is tops in several categories: recep- tions, receiving yardage, 100-yard receiving games, consecutive games with a catch (28) - in Northwestern history. "Anytime he has the ball in his hands, he's dangerous," Renes said. "He's always a threat to break a big play. He almost broke a few against us. You always have to be careful with him." No. 9 Wisconsin, No. 1 Ohio State remain undefeated CHAMPAIGN (AP) - Ron Dayne rushed for 190 yards and three touchdowns as No. 9 Wisconsin defeated Illinois 37-3 *turday to remain unbeaten in the Big Ten. It was Dayne's sixth straight 100- yard game this year, and the mas- sive tailback I . N proved nearly CONFERENCE unstoppable for the Roundup Illini (1-3 Big Ten, 2-5 overall), often dragging two or Aree defenders. Wisconsin's dominant running game also allowed the Badgers (4-0, 7-0 ) to wear down the Illini defense by controlling the ball almost twice as long. Dayne, who ran for 207 yards and two touchdowns in the Badgers' 31- 7 win over Illinois last year, rushed 39 times for an average of 4.9 yards a play. No. 1 OHIO ST. 45, MINNESOTA : Joe Germaine passed for two chdowns and 339 yards and David Boston had 10 receptions for 191 yards as No. 1 Ohio State beat up on Minnesota and the record book with a 45-15 victory Saturday. Michael Wiley added 119 yards on 12 rushes, including a 1-yard touch- down run, and Central McClellion picked off a fourth-quarter pass and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown for the Buckeyes (3-0, 6-0). Minnesota (0-3, 3-3) hasn't won at Ohio Stadium since 1949. Ohio State, which occasionally came out with a four-receiver set, amassed 586 yards, 350 passing. Germaine's fifth career 300-yard game set an Ohio State record, and marked the first time that a Buckeyes quarterback has had back- to-back 300-yard passing games. He threw for 307 yards last week in a 41-0 beating of Illinois. He completed 27-of-39 passes with two interceptions. His touch- down throws to Boston covered 6 and 53 yards. No. 12 PENN STATE 31, PURDUE 13: Freshman tailback Eric McCoo rushed for 163 yards and one touch- down and Aaron Harris scored twice as No. 12 Penn State turned in its first solid offensive showing in four games and beat Purdue 31-13. McCoo's 77-yard run set up Harris' 1-yard touchdown, giving Penn State (2-1, 5-1) a 28-13 lead just after Purdue's Drew Brees had engineered a touchdown to cut Penn State's lead to eight points. The Nittany Lions' relentless pass rush pressured Brees throughout, but he still managed 39-of-57 for 361 yards with one interception. After passing for 1,116 yards and eight TDs in his last two games, he only had one touchdown pass against a defense that sacked him five times and harassed him into several bad passes. Penn State's offense, which had sputtered for three games, turned in four steady touchdown drives against the Boilermakers (1-2, 3-4). Indiana 14, Iowa 7: Antwaan Randle El's eight-yard touchdown run with 41 seconds to go lifted Indiana to a 14-7 victory over Iowa. The Hoosiers (1-2, 3-4) drove 75 yards in six plays, with a 31-yard pass to Tyrone Browning taking them to the Iowa 9. Frankie Franklin, who rushed for a career-high 146 yards in his first start, gained one yard, then Randle El faked a handoff and ran to his right for the touchdown. Levron Williams' two-point conver- sion catch provided the final margin. Iowa (2-2, 3-4) had one more chance, but a long pass by Randy Reiners was intercepted by Greg Yeldell at the Indiana 21 with one second to go. For the game, Randle El rushed 16 times for 84 yards and was 8-for-18 for 114 yards. Browning had four catches for 74 yards. Hawkeyes freshman Ladell Betts had a season-high 151 yards on 31 carries. ., : , .4 o , , , Michigan's NW - 9:42 Water cross fum- bles bal._______ ____ Bates takes over NW - 9:42 at quarterback for a short while. M -6:20 Michigan's Rob Renes recovers N'western fumble. 4th Quarter M 7, NW 6 12-play Michiga M - 9:13 drive culminates M 10, NW 6 in Jay Feely 32- ___________ yard field goal. Trapped deep, - 4:12 N'western inten- M 12, NW 6 tionally takes a _____ _______ safety. An offsides penalty gives M - :51 Michigan 3rd- and-2. Michigan's Justin M -:36 Fargas converts the first down. FINAL SCORE M 12, NW 6 The Former Top 25 How the top 25 teams in The Associated Press' college foot- ball poll fared this week: No. 1 Ohio State (6-0) beat Minnesota 45-15. No. 2 UCLA (5-0) beat No. 11 Oregon 41-38, OT. No. 3 Tennessee (5-0) did not play. No. 4 Kansas State (6-0) beat Oklahoma State 52-20. No. 5 Florida (6-1) beat Auburn 24-3. No. 6 Florida State (6-1) beat Clemson 480. No. 7 Virginia (5-1) lost to No. 25 Georgia Tech 41-38. No. 8 Nebraska (6-1) beat Kansas 41-0. . No. 9 Wisconsin (7-0) beat Illinois 37-3. No. 10 Texas A&M (6-1) beat Baylor 35-14. No. 11 Oregon (5-1) lost to No. 2 UCLA 41-38, OT. No. 12 Penn State (5-1) beat Purdue 31413. No. 13 Georgia (5-1) beat Vanderbilt 31-6. No. 14 Virginia Tech (5-1) lost to Temple 28-24. No. 15 West Virginia (4-1) did not play. No. 16 Arizona (6-1) beaten State 28-7. No. 17 Arkansas (6-0) beat South Carolina 41-28. No. 18 Notre Dame (4-1) did not play. No. 19 Colorado (6-1) beat No. 22 Texas Tech 19-17. No. 20 Missouri (5-1) beat Oklahoma 20-6. No. 21 LSU (3-2) vs. Kentucky. No. 22 Texas Tech (6-1) lost to No. 19 Colorado 19-17. No. 23 Syracuse (4-2) beat Boston College 42-25. No. 24 Tulane (5-0) beat Louisville 28-22. No. 25 Georgia Tech (5-1) beat No. 7 Virginia 41-38. The schedule I ,I - - - -- AP PHOTO After taking a slim 10-0 lead into the locker room, No. 9 Wisconsin roared in the second half, knocking out illinois 37-3. Despite overtime scare, UCLA championship chase continues PASADENA, Calif. (AP) - Chris Sailer made the most of a second chance Saturday, and No. 2 UCLA is still in the national title chase. Sailer, who missed a 21-yard field goal on the final play of the fourth quarter, hit a 24-yarder in overtime to lift No. 2 UCLA to a wild 41-38 vic- tory over No. I1 Oregon. UCLA (3-0 Pac-10, 5-0 overall) extended its school-record winning streak to 15 games -- longest in the nation - but had some anxious moments after Oregon (2-1, 5-1) scored 24 consecutive points to pull ahead 31-24 early in the fourth quar- ter. The Bruins tied the game on a 2- yard touchdown run by Jermaine Lewis with 10:13 remaining, and went ahead 38-31 on a 60-yard touchdown pass from Cade McNown to Danny Farmer with 2:36 left. short pass for a 54-yard touchdown with 4:40 remaining Saturday, giving No. 25 Georgia Tech a stunning 41- 38 victory over seventh-ranked Virginia. The Yellow Jackets (4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference, 5-1 overall) took over first place in the league stand- ings, beating the Cavaliers (3-1, 5-1) by the same score as they did eight years earlier when Virginia was ranked No. 1. Tech went on the claim a share of the national title in 1990. While that's still a farfetched goal, the Yellow Jackets can take another major step toward the ACC championship with a victory over No. 6 Florida State next Saturday. White scored on half of his six pass receptions, which covered 243 yards to break the school record of 223 set last year by Derrick Steagall, also Wildcats (3-0 Big 12, 6-0 overall) erased the school record for consecu- tive wins established in 1909-10. Bishop also became Kansas State's all-time career rushing leader for a quarterback with 820 yards. Oklahoma State (1-3, 2-4) playing away from home for the fifth time in its six games, lost its seventh in a row to Kansas State, which has beaten 44 straight unranked opponents at home. No. 5 FLORIDA 24, AUBURN 3: For at least one half, football was fun again for No. 5 Florida. The Gators used a variety of reverses, fancy formations and big plays to score all their points in the first half Saturday in a 24-3 victory over struggling Auburn. Doug Johnson passed for 198 yards and two touchdowns. Receiver Travis McGriff ran for a score on an end-around and caught a 15-yard AP PHOTO UCLA vaulted itself even higher into the national championship race with a 4138 overtime victory over Oregon in Pasadena, Calif. I 1 Up Next: