The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - November 1, 1999 - 58
1ast play evokes nightmares of past seasons
'itley prevents miraculous Indiana victory
.J. Berka
Sports Editor
.OOMINGTON - As Antwaan Randle
desperation heave to the end zone on the
3lay of Saturday's game rose into the clear
ma sky, images were flashing through the
s of the Michigan players on the field.
the ball reached its apex, flashes of 1994
v) Kordell Stewart connected with
iacTWestbrook on a Hail Mary pass in the
zone to beat the Wolverines - were gain-
n strength.
'he coaches always refer back to the
rado game in 1994 in practice," corner-
James Whitley said. "They said that it
ehed because one player missed their
;nment. I wasn't going to do that."
as Randle El threw the ball from the left
mark, Whitley sprinted from the right
in@f the end zone over to the glut of
icrs'and Wolverines stationed on the other
of the field.
saw Randle El sprint toward the left and
v thd ball,' Whitley said. "In most cases, I
d stay and contain the receiver on the
:side of the field. But they lined all their
vers up on the other side, so I starting run-
as fast as I could."
t as he was sprinting, the ball was hurtling
iward toward the end zone in the direction
di a wide receiver Jerry Dorsey. Dorsey
b a thorn in Michigan's side all after-
,catching five passes for 154 yards -
ding a 70-yard touchdown reception to tie
ame at 31 with five minutes to go at the
looked as if Dorsey would get the last
again, as the ball fell from the sky and
i square in the arms.
- a split second, some Michigan players
lt that Dorsey had pulled a Westbrook
tothe game.
t&rght he caught the ball," linebacker
old said. "He had it in his hands. But then
,one of the DBs rip it out."
it DB was Whitley. As the ball hit Dorsey,
ey hit him, too. Dorsey, who was strug-
gling with safety DeWayne Patmon, saw the
ball drop from his hands on to the Memorial
Stadium turf after the Whitley hit.
"He actually had the ball," Whitley said. "I,
sort of deflected it. I was just trying to make a
play. When you have a three-point lead with
four seconds left, you have to go all out."
BLOCK SOME PUNTS, WILL YA?: Coming into
Saturday's game with Indiana, Michigan had
only blocked one punt all season. But in one
series Saturday, the Wolverines came up with
two blocked punts against Indiana's Drew
Hagan.
With Michigan up 10-0 in the second quar-
ter, Indiana faced a fourth-and-two at its own
28. As Hagan was attempting to punt, line-
backer Anthony Jordan broke through the line
and blocked the kick.
But Jordan blocked the ball into Hagan's
chest. After catching the ball, Hagan ran four
yards to the right sideline for a first down.
"I don't remember ever blocking a punt and
allowing the other team to get a first down,"
Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "I've never
seen that before."
That just delayed the inevitable, though, as
Cato June broke through the Indiana line and
blocked another Hagan punt four plays later.
June recovered the ball at the Indiana 15 and
Anthony Thomas rushed for a touchdown on
the next play to put Michigan ahead, 17-0.
But Michigan's punt blocking prowess cost
them later in the quarter. With 26 seconds left
and Indiana seeming content to run out the
clock, Michigan called a timeout - Carr
thought the Wolverines had another block in
them.
The Hoosiers, thankful for the extra time,
converted the third down and drove from their
34-yard line to the Michigan 6 during the last
seconds of the half, resulting in a 23-yard
Andy Payne field goal and a 17-10 halftime
score.
"I made the decision at the end of half to
give us a chance to flock another punt," Carr
said. "Unfortunately, we couldn't stop them on
third down."
FIRsT QUARTER:
On the game's first possession, Michigan march-
es 77 yards in 11 plays, highlighted by a 36-
yadbom fro m ready toMrus Knight.
drive and caps it off with a one-yard toucthd-
own run.
Michigan 7. Indiana 0
On the ensuing possession, Indiana fumbles at
hit Davi Terrell o 17-yard gainto the
IHoosier 1 4-yard line. Michigan's drive stalls at
the 5-yard line, so Hayden Epstein nails a 22-
yard field goa.
Michigan 10, Indiana 0
SECOND QUARTER:
|On lndiana's second possession of the second
| quarter, the Hoosiers are forced to punt. Cato
June storms through and blocks the punt. giv-
ig Michign the bal at te ndiana 15-yard
paydirt on a 1 5-yard run.
* Michigan 17, Indiana 0
aIndiana rebounds immediately on the next posses-
asion. Antwaan Randle El connects on two long
I
seven yards for the kidiana touchdown.
Michigan 17. Indiana 7
After a Michigan punt pins Indiana at their own
15, the Hoosiers move downfield again. Randle-
1 l it Jrr Drsey tice in a rofirst fo 39
Michigan 6-yard line with 10 seconds left.
Aftr a timeout, Randle-EI throws incomplete, so
the Hoosiers settle for a 23-yard field goal.
* Michigan 17, Indiana 10
ITHIRD QUARTER:
IFrom their own 25-yard line, the Hoosiers
Isteaddly move downfield. Randle El repeatedly
for 14 to put the ball at Michigan's 14-yard lne.
calls a timeout with eight seconds left in the
Iquarter, but Randle-EI is only able to pick up a
yard on first-and-goa, and the quarter ends.
* Michigan 17, Indiana 10
FOURTH QUARTER:
I
SThe Hoosiers waste little time in scoring. After
Jonsn Rand Elis Johnson on furh
Sand-goal with a one-yard touchdown pass.
I
| Michigan 17. Indiana 17
SOn the ensuing kickoff, Thomas fumbles at the
1 Michigan 9-yard line, and Indiana recovers.
After a false-start penalty pushes the Hoosiers
I back to the 14, Randle El runs twice down to
, the 4-yard line. On the next play, Randle El con-
Snctswit Dosona -yrd touchdown pass,
a ~Michigan 17, Indiana 24
The Wolverines immediately respond to
*Indiana's touchdown. Brady hits Thomas for 16
*yards, up to the Indiana 49-yard line. Two plays
te Hsers 8. O n seodand-gal Brdyhits
aBennie Joppru for a 7-yard touchdown.
Michigan 24.,Indiana 24
Michigan continues their attack on the Indiana
I d fe se T ree Thom as rush sfr2 yad
line. A Brady-to-Cross 16-yard pass places the
Wolverines in the red zone, and is followed by
",,,of whihri fora touchdown
MIchigan 31. Indiana 24
IThe Hoosiers respond on the next dnive. A 70-
yard pass from Randle El to Dorsey ties the
game.
Michigan 31, Indiana 31
a On the following Michigan drive, Brady com-
pletes to Terrell and Knight for 13 and 14 yard
a passes. Two Indiana personal fouls move the
a Wolverines to the Indiana 28-yard line. On sec-
and down Thomas runs for 23 yards to the 5-
yard line. After three failed attempts to punch it
in, Epstein~s attempt from 20 yards with 18 sec-
onds remaining is good.
Michigan 34, Indiana 31
r .....................................................
DANA INNANE/Daily
Anthony Thomas had a career day for himself, rushing 42 times for 197 yards and helping to prevent a
third straight loss.
STAFF PICKS:
I picks made against
e spread.
ome teams in CAPS.
TJ. Berka
lichigan (-17) vs. INDIANA Indiana
enn State (-16.5) vs.ILLINOIS Penn State
/isconsin (-22) vs NORTHWESTERN' Wiscoisin"
JrW(-2.5) vs MINNESOTA Purdue
Ho STATE (-22) vs. owa Ohio State
orida (-14) vs. Georgia* Georgia
orida'State (-13,5) vs.; VIRGINIA Florida State
irginia Tech (-22) vs. PITTSBURGH Pittsburgh
ENNESSEE (-33) vs. South Carolina Tennessee
OTRE DAME (-27) vs. Navy Navy
m -
Rick Freeman.
Michigan
Penn State
Josh Kleinbaum Andy Latack
Indiana Michigan
Penn State Penn State
Wisconsin
Purdue
Ohio State
Georgia
Virginia
Virginia Tech
Tennessee
Navy
Rice.
Boston College
NC.State
Washington
Navy
6-8 (0-1)
5564-3(44)
Wisconsin.
Purdue
Ohio State
Florida
Florida State
Pittsburgh
South Carolina
Navy
Rice'
Syracuse
NC. State
Stanford
Ohio State
9-5 (1-0)
54-55-3 (3-5)
Wisconsin
.Purdue
Ohio State
Florida
Florida State
Pittsburgh
South Carolina
Navy
SMU
Syracuse
N.C. State
Washington
Purdue
104 (1-0)
59-50-3(4.4)
HOOSIERS
Continued from Page 18
trashing his two-quarterback rotation and
opting to play the senior the entire game
with Drew Henson remaining on the
sidelines. Brady completed 17 of his 29
passes for 226 yards and a touchdown.
But despite Thomas' Ironman-like
effort, Michigan's offense couldn't pro-
duce points when it needed them most.
Michigan built a 17-0 first-half cush-
ion behind two Thomas touchdowns, but
then proceeded to take a two-quarter
nap. After Thomas' 15-yard touchdown
run with 7:44 left in the second quarter,
the Wolverines were kept off the board
until they began their furious come-
from-behind rally in the fourth quarter.
But while Michigan was keeping
Epstein's punting leg busy - he took
over all punting and field goal duties in
the game - Randle El was driving the
Michigan defense crazy.
Randle El threw for four touchdowns
on the day, including two within ninety
seconds of each other in the fourth quar-
ter. After Randle El found fullback Jeremi
Johnson on a play-action pass on a
fourth-and-goal from the one, Thomas
fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Indiana
recovered at the Michigan nine. Four
plays later, Randle El's lob to wide receiv-
er Jerry Dorsey put Indiana up, 24-17.
Just as the situation appeared haunt-
ingly like the disaster against the Illini,
Brady led the Wolverines back. He
marched Michigan on a methodical
four-play scoring drive, eventually find-
ing tight end Bennie Joppru for a seven-
yard touchdown pass, ending the
Wolverines' 27-minute scoring draught
and tying the score at 24.
But after Thomas leaped into the end
zone four minutes later to give Michigan
a 31-24 lead, Randle El started a scoring
drive of his own. Four plays later, he
found Dorsey on a 70-yard touchdown
strike, making the score 31-31.
But after the Wolverines got the ball
back with 1:28 remaining, Indiana shot
itself in the foot.
On a first-and-ten at the Michigan 48,
Indiana defensive tackle Jason Czap
drew a 15-yard personal foul penalty for
pulling Brady down by his face mask
after he released a pass.
Two plays later, Indiana cornerback
O.J. Spencer dragged wide receiver
David Terrell down from behind as
Terrell was chasing a Brady pass. The
ten-yard holding penalty gave Michigan
a first-and-10 at the Indiana 28 -
already in range for one of Epstein's
booming field goals. But Thomas sealed
the game by scampering 23 yards down
to the five, setting up Epstein's second -
and most crucial -- field goal of the day.
Ce (-11) vs. SMU
t'RACUSE (-19) vs. Boston College
E1 TECH-7.5) vs. N.C. State
A~ NGTON (-3) vs. Stanford
est Bet
his week
verall
at Jacksonville
Rice
Boston College
N.C.State
Stanford
Rice
8-6 (0-1)
62-47-3 (1-7)
--- «.-
Top 25
konda State, Virginia Tech survive scares, stay perfect
HARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) -
Winke shook off three first-half
rceptions and hit Marvin Minnis for
go-ahead 20-yard touchdown in the
d quarter as Florida State beat
inia 35-10.
he Seminoles continue to start slow
nsively, relying on their defense to
ti -m in the game. They trailed at
f .e second consecutive game.
einke's pass to Minnis with 3:16
in the quarter was the second scor-
hookup for the pair and gave the
inoles (7-0 ACC, 9-0 overall) a 14-
lead. They padded that 2:46 later
n Travis Minor scored on a 6-yard
t up the middle.
irginia (3-3, 4-4), which led 10-7 at
ime lost quarterback Dan Ellis
n was hit hard on consecutive
s .the end of the first half. Ellis
dhed the second half from the side-
as junior David Rivers took over.
o. 3 VIRGINIA TECH 30, PITT. 17:
inialTech rode its running game to
-point lead, then held on for a vic-
r over Pittsburgh even as Pitt quar-
year, 20-17.
No. 4 TENNESSEE 30, S. CAROLINA
7: Tennessee didn't play its best against
South Carolina, but it hardly mattered.
The Volunteers were good enough to
extend the Gamecocks' losing streak to
19 games, longest in the nation.
"We played like the game was against
an 0-8 team sandwiched between
Alabama and Notre Dame" Tennessee
coach Phillip Fulmer said.
Jamal Lewis led the Volunteers (4-1
SEC, 6-1 overall) with 146 yards rush-
ing, including a 70-yard touchdown, the
longest of his career.
No.S FLORIDA 30, No. 10 GEORGIA
14: Florida's offense wasn't always in
gear in the hard rain that plagued "the
world's largest outdoor cocktail party,"
in Jacksonville, but the defense closed
the door on Georgia's chances.
Spurrier earned his 100th victory as
Florida coach in the most fitting way
imaginable. Not only did the win come
against Georgia, the team Spurrier
loves to beat most, but it came in the
same manner the Bulldogs used to stick
touchdowns as the Wildcats remained
unbeaten and inched closer to their Nov.
13 showdown with Nebraska.
No. 7 GEORGIA TECH 48, N.C.
STATE 21: After winning two straight
squeakers, Georgia Tech avoided anoth-
er tense ending.
Joe Hamilton passed for 212 yards
and three touchdowns and added 83
yards on the ground before sitting out
the final quarter as the Yellow Jackets
cruised past North Carolina State.
No. 8 NEBRASKA 24, KANSAS 17:
Despite a surprisingly tough fight, Eric
Crouch's 49-yard touchdown pass to
Bobby Newcombe with 3:24 left lifted
Nebraska over Kansas. It was the
Cornhuskers 31st consecutive victory
over the Jayhawks.
The fourth-quarter victory allowed
Nebraska (4-1 Big 12, 7-1 overall) to
stay in Big 12 North contention. They
are currently tied with Colorado for
second place behind Kansas State in the
North.
No. 12 TEXAS 44, IowA STATE 41:
Texas kicker Kris Stockton kicked an
Marshall improved its winning
streaks to 12 games overall and 29
straight-at home, both tops in Division
I-A. The Thundering Herd is off to an 8-
0 start for the second straight season.
No. 14 ALABAMA 35, No. 20
SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI 14: Alabama
had a surprisingly easy win against
Southern Mississippi considering they
were without their two biggest stars on
offense, Shaun Alexander and Andrew
Zow.
Shaun Bohanon ran for two touch-
downs, Reggie Myles returned one of
his two interceptions for a score and
Freddie Milons had a 65-yard punt
return for a touchdown to spoils the
Golden Eagles' upset hopes.
No. 16 BRIGHAM YOUNG 27, AIR
FORCE 20: A pre-game inspirational
speech by long time Brigham Young
coach Lavell Edwards motivated his
team to top Air Force.
Edwards, in his 28th year, improved
his career record to 250-92-3. He needs
five victories to tie former Nebraska
coach Tom Osborne for sixth place on
despite being outgained 363 yards to
223, but couldn't close out Houston
until Adams snared Jason McKinley's
pass, eluded traffic and stumbled into
the end zone as three Houston defend-
ers met him there.
No. 22 TEXAS A&M 21 OKLAHOMA
STATE 3: Randy McCown, playing
despite a separated shoulder to his non-
throwing arm, threw touchdown passes
of I1 and 14 yards to Matt Bumgardner
as Texas A&M held off Oklahoma State.
One week after an embarrassing 51-6
loss to Oklahoma, the Aggies (3-2 Big
12, 6-2 overall) won the 600th game in
school history, the 17th Division I-A
school to reach the milestone.
No. 23 MIAMI 28, WEST VIRGINIA
20: Kenny Kelly limped his way to
completing 21 of 34 passes for 268'
yards and two second-half touchdowns
as Miami nipped West Virginia, the
Hurricanes' second come-from-behind
victory in as many weeks.
Miami (2-0 Big East, 4-3 overall)
trailed 13-0 at halftime, the first time it
had been scoreless at home at halftime
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BIG TEN STANDINGS
Team
Penn State
Wisconsin
Michigan
Michigan State
Ohio State
Purdue
Indiana
Minnesota
Illinois
Northwestern
Iowa
Big Ten
5 0
5 1
3 2
3 2
3 3
3 3
2 3
1 4
14
0 5
Overall
9 0
7 2
,6 2
6 2
6 3
6 3
4 5.
5 3
4 4
3 5
1 7
THIS WEEKEND'S RESULTS
Michigan 34, Indiana 31
Penn State 27, Illinois 7
Ohio State 41, Iowa 11
Purdue 33, Minnesota 28
Wisconsin 35,.Northwestern 14
NEXT WEEKEND'S GAMES
Northwestern at Michigan, 12:10
Illinois at Iowa
Ohio State at Michigan State
Minnesota at Penn State
Wisconsin at Purdue