48 - The Michigan
I-!
Daily - SportsMonday - November 16, 1998
Michigan
i) Wisconsin
27
1
1
1
1
t
1
1
1
1
1
t
1
Michigan player(s) of the game: Anthony Thomas and
Clarence Williams
The Michigan ground attack took it to Wisconsin's formerly top-ranked
rush defense, compiling a total of 257 rushing yards. Senior tailback
Clarence Williams and sophomore Anthony Thomas carried the bulk of
the load, rushing for 223 yards combined.
10
Stat line:
Williams
Thomas
Attempts
22
13
Yards
121
102
Average
5.5
7.8
TDs
-0
2
Long
44
59
Williams
CAME SIAnsiDe
MICHIGAN
PASSIMG
Payr C
8 rady 15,
Dresbach
Totals 16-:
itUSHING
Playr Att
Williams 22
Thomas 13
argas 6
3rady 6
Gross 4
terrol 1
Feely 1
Tls s3
RECIVING
Ofaye No.
Shea 2
Streets 5
To~man 2
Kght 3
Miliams 2
0ampbei! 1
Bryant 1
3wtas 2.6
JNTING
Ptayer
Yeam
Vnson
Ttals
KICKOFF RETURNS
Payer No.
Fargas 1
Totals 1
PUNT RETURNS
P"myer No.
Knight 3
Totals 3
DEFENSE
Gol
Peterson
Hendricks
H~all
ones
Bay
Sword
FeazelI
Weathers
Whitley
genes
Schanski
Frysinger
Wilson
Howard
Janen
Brooks
Jordan
Totals
PASS DEFENSE
Plae int
H'adl 1
Weathers 1
Hendricks 0
whitley 0
Totals 2
Team Stats
Frst Downs
Rashes/ Yards
Passing Yards
Ofensive Plays
Total Offense
Return Yards
Comp/Att/Int
Punts/Avg
Fumbles/Lost
Penalties/Yards
Time of Poss
h24
1-1
25
vas
121
102
17
7
1
7
2
287
Yds
39
51
10
60
17
25
17
21 9
No.
1
5
6
Yds
6
6
Yds
25
25
Solo
6
1
6
4
3
2
8
3
1
2
1
2
1
0
1
1
1
1
4o
Yd
4
2
0
0
6
Yds
202
217
219
1
219
219
s TD
1
7 0
9 1
Avg '4
5.5 44
7.8 59
2.8 6
1.2 6
0.3 6
7 7
2 2
4.8 59
Avg Lg
9.5 30
>.2 15
5 6
20 32
8.5 18
25 25
17 17
3.7 32
. Avg
5 5
9 43.8
4 37.3
Avg t4
6 6
6 6
Avg 1g
8.3 13
8.3 13
Asst 1
2
0
0
3
2
0
3
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
12 !
tnt
1
0
1
TD
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
2
TD
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
5
48
48
TD
0
0
TD
0
0
Tot
8
1
6
11
3
1
2
1
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
56
TD
0
0
L0
20
10
Williams, Thomas
demolish No. 1
rushing defense
By Sharat Raju
Daily Sports Editor
During practice last week, the starting
tailback and his lineman - Clarence
Williams and Jon Jansen - looked
ahead toward the conclusion of their
careers in Michigan Stadium.
"Jon Jansen said to me, 'Clarence,
have a great game - it's our last one,"'
Williams said.
Jansen couldn't have guessed how
prophetic his words were.
Going into Saturday's game,
Wisconsin had the No. I rushing
defense in the country, having held
opponents to an average of 62.7 yards
per game.
Consider that stat outdated.
"I was shocked that they would rush
the ball on us like that," Wisconsin
coach Barry Alvarez said.
Jansen, the offensive linemen and the
running backs all had great games.
Michigan's running attack - highly
criticized for the past two weeks - ran
roughshod all over the Wisconsin defen-
sive unit. The Wolverines racked up 257
yards on the ground. On average, that's
more than what the Badgers yield over
four games.
"Any time we have two running backs
running for over 100 yards, it is a good
Michigan game," Michigan coach Lloyd
Carr said.
Tailbacks Clarence Williams and
Anthony Thomas each scampered over,
around and through the Badgers' for-
merly top-ranked defense. Williams, the
starter, finished with 121 yards on 22
carries for a 5.5 average.
Thomas compiled 102 yards on only
13 carries, averaging 7.8 per carry. The
sophomore also scored the two rushing
touchdowns of the game.
"We made some good blocks and ran
the ball well again this week," Carr said.
In particular, Thomas took advantage
of the gaping holes provided by the
offensive line. On his first carry of the
game early in the second quarter,
Thomas took advantage of a truck-sized
hole on the left side of the line.
After hitting the hole, Thomas threw
it into fifth gear and raced untouched to
end zone 59 yards away.
"It's been a long time since we had a
long touchdown run like that," Thomas
said. "It was supposed to be a sweep, but
Wisconsin over-pursued so I cut inside.
The line made a lot of good things hap-
pen."
Michigan's offensive line and block-
ing back dominated the Badgers up
front. Williams was not dropped for a
loss a single time on Saturday, and
Thomas only lost three yards.
That's a far cry from two weeks ago
when the running game finished with
minus-23 yards against Minnesota.
A big part of the running game's suc-
cess was Aaron Shea. The junior full-
back sprung the running backs on
numerous occasions, including blocking
three guys on one play at the end of the
first half. Thomas waltzed 15 yards into
the end zone.
"I've never blocked three guys at once
before" Shea said. "But that's my job, to
go out there and to block a linebacker or
whoever."
Shea didn't carry the ball once on
Saturday, so essentially he was relegated
to the role of lineman. And because he is
a converted tight end, Shea's 249 pounds
gave Michigan a formidable blocking
advantage.
"The offensive line did a great job,"
Williams said. "That is a great defense.
You can't judge them on one perfor-
mance."
WARREN ZINN/Daily
Michigan's ground game - led by Clarence Williams and Anthony Thomas - ran all over the nation's top defense against the
sun, rushing for 257 yards.
L9
4
2
0
0
4
Brk-up
0
0
2
3
Williams is no stranger to being
judged too quickly. After seeing signifi-
cant playing time two seasons ago as a
sophomore and last season before suf-
fering a groin injury, Williams was writ-
ten off early this season. The senior tail-
back suffered from a serious case of the
fumbles.
But following the debacle against the
Golden Gophers, Carr turned to his
senior tailback against Penn State.
Although he fumbled once in that game,
Carr stuck with Williams.
Against Wisconsin, the move paid
huge dividends. Not only did Williams
hold on to the ball, he also romped for a
44-yard gain. The run was the longest of
his career.
Sitting out three games "was a tough
moment of my life, to tell you the truth,"
Williams said. "I'm happy becaus1
believe in myself and I prayed. I was
happy for hanging in and having my
teammates believe in me."
MICH
21
53/257
219
78
476
31
16/25/1
6/37.3
1/0
2/20
33:46
Wisc.
9
31/58
132
54
190
50
9/23/2
10/44.5
0/0
3/20
26:14
Sword, Michigan defense slice through Dayne
WISCONSIN
PASSING
Player
Samuel
Kavanagh
Totals
RUSHING
Player
Dayne
Kavanagh
Faulkner
Samuel
Totals
RECEIVING
Player
Dayne
Grams
Martin
Faulkner
Chambers
Totals
C-A
7-17
26
9.23
j
7
AK
16
1
1
13
31
No.
3
2
2
1
1
9
PUNTING
Player
Stemke
Totals
KICKOFF RETURNS
Player No.
Faulkner 1
Davis 2
Total. 3
DEFENSE
Player
Thompson
Adamov
Echols
Greisen
Fletcher
Doeing
Mahlik
Burke
Kolodziej
Favret
Lisowski
Knight
Taylor
Bryant
Herbert
Merritt
chambers
Mueller
Totals
Yds
53
15
1
-11
58
Yds
14
17
11
10
80
132
No.
10
10 4
Yds
22
26
48
Solo
8
4
6
6
6
6
5
5
3
4
4
3
2
2
1
1
1
1
68
Yds
126
6
132
Avg
3.3
15
1
-0.8
1.9
Avg
4.7
8.5
5.5
10
80
14.7
TO
1
0
1
4
10
15
1
24
24
L9
9
11
9
10
80
80
lat
1
1
2
TO
0
0
0
0
0
TD
0
0
0
0
1
1
By Mark Snyder
Daily Sports Editor
Despite standing 6-foot-2 and weighing over
225 pounds, Sam Sword matching up with Ron
Dayne was sure to be a mismatch.
But Dayne, the Big Ten rushing leader enter-
ing the game, was less than his dominating
self. In fact, it was Dayne who was dominated.
Consistently this season, Sword has led the
Wolverines in tackles. The Wisconsin game
was no different - especially with Dayne as a
primary focus.
As the signal caller from his linebacker posi-
tion, Sword serves as a Mike Singletary-type,
constantly surveying the defense and audibling
if necessary.
The mere threat of trying to tackle a 260-
pound tailback is intimidating enough, let
alone someone as large as Dayne.
"He is a very strong back," rush linebacker
James Hall said. "He starts slow in the back-
field and then when he gets going he is tough
to bring down. We just tried to get penetration
and not allow him to get past the line of scrim-
mage."
Though Dayne pushed his large frame
through a couple holes for moderate gains, his
day - 53 yards rushing - was his lowest out-
put of the season and Sword, with his 11 tack-
les, led the containment.
"Anytime a man's got a ball, you can't fear
(any) man," Sword said. "We had no fear of
4S Avg '
445 44.5 69
445 44.5 69
Avg
22
13
16
L1
22
15
22
TD
0
0
0
Dayne. No matter who he is, if you've got the
ball it's our mission to stop him."
As a defensive leader, Sword had to be
pleased with the effort.
For the eighth straight week, the clamps
came down in the second half, as Michigan's
defense allowed only three points, eliciting a
remarkable statistic.
In Michigan's seven conference games, the
Wolverines have recorded three safeties - all
in the second half.
And as a defense, only two field goals have
penetrated the scoring wall after halftime.
Thus, the Michigan defense is tied with oppos-
ing offenses in the second half of Big Ten
games, 6-6.
The difference between the Wolverines and
Badgers on Saturday was evident on the stat
sheet as well. Wisconsin amassed just nine
first downs - compared to Michigan's 21 -
while gaining just 190 yards of total offense
compared to the 476 rolled up by Lloyd Carr
team.
"We're getting I I guys to the ball;' Sword
said. "Our offense did a great job with posses-
sion of the ball. That was just a great effort."
As a senior, Sword said the game held spq
cial feelings for him and his senior teammates.
"It's a great feeling," he said..."We came out
with a big win for our last game in Michigan
Stadium. I want to thank the rest of the team
for sending us out on such a positive note."
ROSE
Continued from Page 1B
And the defense! Time after
time, series after series, the
defense responded with pressure,
pressure and more pressure.
Poor Mike Samuel looked an
awful lot like Mike McQueary
did last November in Happy
Valley, if you ask me. With equal
passing skills.
The Wolverines, though, did
everything right. And Dayne
could only watch from the bench.
Or the ground.
Two weeks ago, it was hard to
tell how much Michigan 'had
improved since the beginning of
the season.
But after two stirring victorieS
over top 10 teams, it's clear that
Penn State and Wisconsin were
Asst Tot
3 11
6 10
1 7
0 6
0 6
0 6
0 5
0 5
2 5
o 4
0 4
0 3
1 3
0 2
0 1
0 1
0 1
0 1
Is 81
WARREN ZINN/DAILY
Michigan safety Marcus Ray and the Michigan defense harassed Wisconsin quarterback Mike Samuel
and running back Ron Dayne all game long.
Freshman Fargas dislocates knee in win
Big Ten Standings
Team Conf. Overall
Michigan 7-0 8-2
Ohio State 61 91
Wisconsin 6-1 9-1
Purdue 5-2 7-4
Penn State 4-2 7-2
Michigan State 3-3 5-5
Indiana 2-5 4-6
Iowa 2-5 3-7
Illinois 2.5 3.7
Minnesota 1-6 4-6
K n" - 4nn -Q )-Q
By JAm Rose
Daily Sports Editor
Lost in the celebration of Saturday's
convincing win was an ugly knee injury,
and lost, perhaps, as a result of that
injury might be Michigan freshman tail-
back Justin Fargas.
Coach Lloyd Carr said Fargas dislo-
cated his right knee when he was tackled
in the final minutes of the game. Fargas
was taken to the hospital to be evaluated,
and Carr said the freshman's status was
not immediately clear.
"The loss of Fargas at the end is a big
blow" Carr said. "Anytime you have an
injury it is a concern. We hope it is not
too serious."
Fargas had his knee immobilized and
wa carted off the field.
the fact that Lloyd Carr, with his team's
past two wins, has improved his career
record at Michigan to 9-0 against top 10
teams. All things considered, it's a statis-
tic that is nothing short of astounding.
"Coach Carr and the rest of the coach-
es do an outstanding job getting us pre-
pared every week," linebacker James
Hall said. "We're always ready for any-
thing the other team has.'
Say what you will about his play-call-
ing against middle of the pack Big Ten
teams, but Carr's success against the
nation's best teams - nine wins, zero
losses - is beyond question.
SHEA WHAT YOU WILL: While
Michigan's backfield was firing on all
cylinders this past Saturday, one back
.';
I