The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday -- November 15, 1999 - 58
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Lions offense? 0.3 yards
AndyLatack But after Brady continued his season-long (
Dai y Sps Editor trend of engineering late-game heroics -- this
STATE COLLEGE -- With just under a minute time scrambling for a touchdown with 3:26 E
left, the Michigan defense had Penn State right remaining to cut the Penn State lead to 27-24 -
where it wanted it. With the ball past midfield, things were up to the defense.
driving for the potential game-winning score. The same defense that had surrendered 100
Sound strange? Sure. But with all the heat points during a three-game stretch earlier in the
Michigan's defense has taken this season, it was season. The same defense that had been picked
out to prove something against the Nittany Lions' apart by Illinois.
potent offense. The defense had been saying all But two incomplete passes, one failed rush play
ason how it wants to be on the field with the and 28 seconds later, Michigan had the ball again.e
ne on the line, and it got ita chance on Brady led Michigan on another scoring doive,
Saturday. finding Marcus Knight for a touchdown to give
With the game - and a BCS bowl bid - on Michigan the 31-27 lead with just under two min-
the line, Michigan's defense answered the call. utes left.
The Wolverines thwarted Penn State's attempt at a Again, the game was in the defens 's hands.
game-winning drive, forcing quarterback Kevin Thompson was facing a second-and-10 from the
Thompson to fumble and recovering it to seal the Michigan 34-yard line, and Penn State was look
31-27 victory. ing to answer Michigan's improbable comeback
But this was nothing new. Michigan had been with one of its own.
stopping Penn State all day, giving up just 13 Michigan, meanwhile, was looking to force
ints to the Lions' offense. Penn State scored its three more Penn State incompletions and a
er 14 points on a punt return and an intercep- turnover on downs. As it turns out, the Wolverines
tion return that both went for touchdowns. needed only one more play.
Let the numbers speak for themselves. With Thompson searching for a rece iver,
Michigan held Penn State to an anemic seven Michigan's Ian Gold came around the right side
yards on the ground for the game - an average of on a blitz from his inside linebacker position.
0.3 per carry - which was a full 200 yards under Gold got to Thompson just as he was cocking his
the Lions' average. That's the lowest total in the arm and knocked the football away. Linebacker
Joe Paterno era at Penn State. Larry Foote fell on it seconds later, capping the
If you haven't been keeping track of Penn game and the defense's best performance of the
State's history, the Paterno era is only slightly season.
shorter than the Mesozoic Era. As far as numbers "I saw the ball come out of his hand, but I did-
those don't speak. They holler. n't know if he got it back or not," Gold said.
',If you would've told me that we would come in "When I got up, I saw all my teammates jumping
against ateam that's averaging 200 yards (rushing) around and celebrating. What better way to end
per game and have that much success, I wouldn't such a great game?"
have believed you," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr But this wasn't the first time Gold and the rest ,
said. "But that's to our defense's credit." of the defense introduced themselves to Y
Michigan didn't allow its only touchdown of Thompson. Michigan defensive coordinator Jim
the day until the third quarter, when Thompson Hermann's plan was to blitz often, and the defense
found wide receiver Eddie Drummond from 38 punished the Penn State quarterback all game.
yards out. Two Travis Forney field goals was the "A lot of the credit goes to coach Hermann,"
only other scoring the Lions could muster against Gold said. "He had an awesome gameplan. We
and a cloud of dust
#Wolverines' defense.
But despite being unyielding the entire game,
the defense still found itself with some work to do
in the fourth quarter. After Penn State cornerback
Ahawoh Jue picked off a Tom Brady pass and
returned it 46 yards for a score, Michigan was
down 27-17 and things looked bleak.
love to come and he sent us a lot."
Gold and the rest of the defense have heard all
too often how they were the difference in
Michigan's losses to Michigan State and Illinois.
On Saturday, they were still the deciding factor.
But this time, they were the reason why Michigan
won the game.
GAME RECAP
FIRT QUARTER
r 'e
Oththrd pa ftegame, Liebacker lan
iialdhowosd alopay arlem telias
last play, recovers Penn State quarterback Kevi
Thompson's fumble at the Penn State 22.
After Michigan quarterback Tom Brady's fies
two passes fall incomplete, Hayden Epstein"
kicks a 33-yard field goal.
Michigan 3, Penn State 0
On Penn State's next drive, Michigan safety
CatoJune pops the ball loose from tailback Erie
McCoo's grasp. Michigan defensive tackle Eric
wilson recovers.
Brady, who was sacked a play before his com-
pon to Terrell, leaves the game and begs
Sexamining his left leg. rHnsncmsi
o ap rentiy iniar Brayand prs
throws what appears to be a wde-recever.-_
toiAlo erhgh-
quarterback. Johnsn immediately turnsadJ,
fires back to Henson, who streaks down the
rigt sdeine for 23 yards before he is shoed
st of bs.
One pay after knocking Penn State's Bhawoh
ue st of the game (temorarily Anthony.:..
Thomas slides into the end zne ts give
Michigan a 10-0 lead against Penn State for the
third year insa row.
Michigan 10, Penn State 0
SECOND QUARTER:
After Charles Drake is whisted twice for inter-
ring with ther eer on toconsecutive
psnts, Brc Branhbans Drake and the1
other Michigan players on the field when he
retains one of Hayden Epsteins pnts 7 yards
for a touchdwn- the first return Michigan
has allowed this season.
Michigan 10, Penn State 7
A potential touchdown answering drive is
snuffed when Derek Fox steps in front of a Brady
pass inteited for tight end Shawn Thompson.
THIRD QUARTER:
Brady finds Marcus Knight over the middl, d
Knight outraces Fox to the end zone.
Michigan 17, Penn State 7
OvDep in his own end. Hayden Esen has a
Spant partialybocked b Eddie rurmod,Sad
it sails 21 yards to the Michigan 30. PennStat
converts the turnover into a 39-yard Travis
Forney field goal.
Michigan,17, Penn State 10
,Thompson finds Orummond deep in the end
zone for a 38-yard touchdown pass. James
Whitley matches Orummondstride-for-stride on
the pattern, but somehow, the ball eludes him.
Michigan 17, Penn State 17
FOURTH QUARTER:
iPenn State tkes t lead for the first time.weFonykcsa2yrdrftrMhins
en Fney kcs a 8 ya rfter Micia'
defense holds Penn State to no gain on three
plays from the Michigan 1.
Penn State 20, Michigan 17
Attempting to regain the lead, Brady is inter-
Scepted by Penn State safety Bhawoh Jay at te=
SMichigan 46 yard line. He retrns the intercet
tion for a touchdown and Penn StateS biggest
lead of the day -10 points.
Penn State 27, Michigan 17
Brady leads a drive that lasts 8:10, has two penal
ties and a sack, butit ends when Brady stretches
the ball across the goal line with 326 left.
Penn State 27, Michigan 24
Thompson, needing to bur the clock, get ony
28 secon . He fires incomplete, McCoy loses
Sthree yards. and after Michigans timeut,
i whitley exacts some revenge for Drummond's
touchdown by breaking up a third-and-13 pass
intended for him. The Lions are forced to punt.
Johnson retuns Pat Pidgeon's punt 24 yards to the
+ Penn State 35. After tin inc p te passes. Brady
S finds Knight oe for a 17-yard gain and a first
idown. After Anthony Thomas ran for a seven-yard
gain, Brady found Knight open again in the end
zone for the game-winning touchdown.
Michigan 31, Penn State 27
Penn State mounts a threatening drive, as
Thompson begins picking apart Michigan's pre-
vent defense, despite several well-defended
rpasses. On the Michigan 38 an Govd strips
Thmpsvvn and Larry Fote recovers. Aftertw
Anthony Thomas rns, inclding one fo ais
down, Brady takes a knee and the Wolvenres
begin slapping five with the fans
Final Score: Michigan 31 Penn State 27
BIG TEN STANDINGS
LOUIS BROWN/Da
Tommy Hendricks and the Michigan defense bottled up Eric McCoo and the Penn State rushing attack
all day. The Lions rushed for a scant seven yards, the lowest total in the Joe Paterno era.
STAFF
PICKS
All picks made against
the spread.
Home teams in CAPS.
Correct picks in bold.
ENN STATE (-6)vs. Michigan
WISCONSIN (-31.5) vs. Iowa
Michigan State (-19) vs. Northwestern
'MINNESOTA (-14) vs. Indiana
OHIO STATE (-10.5) vs. Illinois
VIRGINIA TECH (-9 5) vs. Miami (Fla)
NEBRASKA (-8.5) vs. Kansas State;
FLORIDA STATE (-33) vs. Maryland
Forida (-28) vs. South Carolina
Tennessee (-8.5) vs. ARKANSAS
Notre Dame (-9) vs. PITTSBURGH
RICE (-8.5) vs. Texas-El Paso
* yracuse (-29.5) vs. RUTGERS
TEXAS (-15.5) vs. Texas Tech
Best Bet
Last week
Overall
Michigan
Wisconsin
Michigan State
Indiana
Illinois
Virginia Tech
Kansas State
Maryland
Florida
Tennessee
Pittsburgh
Rice
Syracuse
Texas
Maryland
7-7 (0-1)
74-63-3 (1 9)'
Michigan
Wisconsin
Michigan State
Minnesota
Ohio State
Virginia Tech
Nebraska
Maryland
Florida
Arkansas
Pittsburgh=
Rice
Syracuse
Texas
Ohio State
9-5 (0-1)
71-66-3(5-5)
osh Kleinbaum Andy Latack
Penn State Michigan
Wisconsin Iowa
Michigan State Michigan State
Indiana Minnesota
Illinois Ohio State
Virginia Tech Miami (Fla.)
Nebraska Neraska
Florida State Maryland
Florida Florid
Tennessee Tennesee
Pittsburgh Notre Dame
Rice hire
Rutgers Rutgees
Texas Texas
Michigan State Tennessee
9-51-0) &()-0)
70-67-3(5-5) 69-63 (5-5)
BERKA
Continued from Page 16
love to climb back to the peak of
their game. For some reason, it seems
Michigan plays better with its back
up against the wall.
Saturday was another great exam-
ple of that. Brady, playing one of the
worst games of his career through the
first 50 minutes, was unconscious
during the last 10.
Brady -- the one quarterback that
might lose to Bernie Kosar in a foot
race - decided to impersonate
Antwaan Randle El during the wan-
ing moments of the game, scram-
bling 15 yards for a key first down
and rumbling five yards for a touch-
down to put Michigan within reach,
27-24.
Brady also killed Penn State with
his arm in the clutch, tossing an I1I-
yard pass to Knight for the winning
touchdown.
Upset marks the peak of
Blue's roller coaster season
The defense also came up big in
the end, holding the Nittany Lions
scoreless at crunch time. Linebacker
Ian Gold played a huge role, strip-
ping Thompson of the ball with 53
seconds remaining to kill Penn
State's hopes.
While Michigan got the victory, it
showed the same things that killed it
against Michigan State and Illinois.
With such a schizophrenic pattern,
what can we conclude about these
Wolverines?
All we know is that the Wolverines
are inconsistent - sometimes good,
sometimes sorry. After 10 games, the
Jekyll-and-Hyde nature of this team
looks permanent.
So Michigan fans should buckle
up and prepare for a wild ride during
the last two games. And, oh yeah,
keep your hands inside the car at all
times.
- TJ. Berka can be reached via
email at berkat@iimich.edu.
ToP 25
Arkansas stuns Tennessee, Virginia Tech stomps Miami
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - After
weeks of inconsistent performances,
top-ranked Florida State looked deserv-
ing of its ranking Saturday.
Chris Weinke threw six touchdown
passes - three to Peter Warrick - as
the Seminoles clobbered Maryland 49-
10, reaching 10 victories for the 13th
straight season.
The Seminoles (8-0 Atlantic Coast
*onference, 10-0 overall) need to
defeat archrival Florida (9-1) next
Saturday at Gainesville to guarantee a
second straight trip to the national
championship game.
"This is what we needed," Florida
State coach Bobby Bowden said of his
team's dominating performance against
Maryland. "I'd have been pretty disap-
pointed if we hadn't played good."
Florida State trailed at one point in
Bach of its previous four victories, bare-
ly escaping once - 17-14 at Clemson,
Oct. 23.
Bowden admitted much ofthe season
has been a tuneup for the showdown
with No. 4 Florida.
"Now the rest comes next week,"
Bowden said. "I doubt if anything we
could do would intimidate them."
No. 2 VIRGINIA TECH 43, No. 19
MIAt 10: VirginiaTech plans to Hokie
okie right into the national champi-
nship game. ,
Led by a defense that forced six
turnovers, including three interceptions
by cornerback Anthony Midget, and
two touchdown runs by Shyrone Stith,
No. 2 Virginia Tech sidestepped No. 19
Miami 43-10 Saturday night and kept
alive its drive to the Sugar Bowl and a
national title.
ARKANSAS 28, No.3 TENNESSEE 24:
With one perfect pass, Arkansas' Clint
Stoerner erased a year-old demon and
ended Tennessee's chances of repeating
as national champion.
Stoerner threw a 23-yard touchdown
pass to Anthony Lucas with 3:44 to play
Saturday and gave Arkansas a 28-24
victory over the third-ranked
Volunteers.
It was Stoerner who fumbled in the
final two minutes last year with
Arkansas leading Tennessee 24-22. The
Vols turned that gift into a 28-24 victo-
ry that was vital in their march to the
national title.
Saturday's outcome knocked the Vols
(4-2 SEC, 7-2) out of a chance to
defend that championship and put
Arkansas (3-3, 6-3) in position for a
bowl game.
No. 10 TEXAs 58, TExAs TECH 7:
Major Applewhite became No. 10
Texas' first 3,000-yard passer Saturday
night and the Longhorns earned a berth
in the Big 12 title game with a 58-7 rout
of Texas Tech.
Applewhite was 22-of-34 for 241
yards against Tech.
His three touchdown passes, two to
Montrell Flowers, gave him a school
record of 21.
No. 11 ALABAMA 19, No. 8
MIssissippi ST. 7: Mississippi State
finally ran out of miracles and out of
the national title chase.
Andrew Zow threw a 37-yard touch-
down pass to Shamari Buchanan with
6:04 to play Saturday and gave No. I I
Alabama a 19-7 victory over No. 8
Mississippi State.
With Shaun Alexander and Zow back
in the lineup, the Tide took control of
the defensive game late in the fourth
quarter.
No. 12 M ARsH tt.i 31, WEST RN
MIcHIGAN 17: To Marshall coach Bob
Pruett, it was like playing golf agamst a
buddy.
In this case, however, his bddy's dri-
ver wasn't clicking.
Marshall remained undefeated and
clinched its third straght Mid-
American Conference East title
Saturday ,ith a 31-1/ wino er Western
Michigan, coached by Gary Darnell,
one of PruetI's best fiends.
No. 14 GcoiciA 38, AtsuN 21:
Ben Leard had quite a homecoming.
The Auburn quarterback, playing less
that an hour's drive from his hometown,
set a school record by passing For 416
yards and tied anotc mark with four
touchdown passes as the Tigers stunned
No. 14 Georgia 38-21 Saturday night.
Auburn led 31-0 at halftime and 38-
0 early in the third quarter
"This is a dream come true for me,"
said Leard, a native of artwell Ga.
who was cheered on by some 40 family
members and friends. "I can't say how
good this feels.
WYOMNG 31, No, 15 BaRSHAN
Youc 17: Brian Van Em :rk kew
an outstanding defensive effort was
needed if Wyoming was to beat BYU
and Kevin Feterik, the nation's seventh-
ranked passer.
BYU, playing in Laramie for the first
time since 1992, was averaging 33
points and 440 yards. Wyoming (3-2
Mountain West, 6) limited the
Cougars 10 391 y ards an d helid Feterik
to one touchdown pass in a-31-17 upset.
No. 21 SOUT H RN MIsIssIPIP 48,
LousIANA-LAFAYE TL0: Jeff Kelly
had an almost-perfees game for
Team
Wisconsin
Penn State
Michigan
Michigan State
Minnesota
Illinois
Purdue
Ohio State
Indiana
Northwestern
Iowa
Big Ten
7 1
5 2
5 2
5 2
4 3
3 4
3 4
3 4
3 4
1 6
07
Overall
9 2
9 2
8. 2
7 3
6 4
6 4,
6 a5
4 6
3 7
1 9
THIS WEEKEND'S RESULTS
Michigan 31, Penn State 27
iVisconsin 41, Iowa 3
Michign State 34, Nlorthwestern 0
linois48, Ohio State 20
Minnesota 44 Indiana 20
NEXT WEEKEND'S GAMES
Ohio State at Michigan, noon, ABC
Penn State at Michigan State, TBD
Purdue at indiana, 12:10, ESPN
Minnesota at Iowa
Northwestern at Illinois
SCHEDULE
Travis Henry might Volunteer to play in the Sugar Bowl, but after Tennessee lost to
Arkansas, the Bowl Championship Series isn't interested.
Southern Mississippi.
Kelly completed 12 of 14 passes,
including three touchdowns to Todd
Pinkston, and led the Golden Eagles to
touchdowns in all six series he played in
a 48-0 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette
on Saturday.
Southern Miss (7-3) scored touch-
downs on its first seven possessions,
including the first one after freshman
Bobby Garner replaced Garner.
UCLA 23, No. 23 WASHINGTON 20:
Much to his chagrin, Washington coach
Rick Neuheisel turned out to be an
excellent prognosticator.
A former UCLA quarterback and
assistant coach, Neuheisel said he
expected the Bruins to play their best
game of the season against his Huskies.
They did just that.
No. 24 EAST CAROLINA 48,
CINCINNATI 34: Cincinnati used to have
the stingiest punt return defense in the
nation. That was before the Bearcats (0-
5 Conference USA, 3-7) met East
Carolina's Keith Stokes.
SEPT. 4
SEPT. 11
SEPT. 18
SEPT. 25
OcT. 2
OcT. 9
OcT. 23
Ocr. 30
Nov. 6
Nov. 13
Nov. 20
NOTRE DAME
AT RICE
AT SYRACUSE
AT WISCONSIN
PURDUE
AT MICH. STATE
ILLINOIS
AT INDIANA
NORTHWESTERN
AT PENN STrE
OHIo STATE
W, 26-22
W, 37;3
W, 18-13
W, 21 16
W, 38-12
L, 34-:1
L, 35-29
W, 34-31
W, 37-3
1, 31,27
i