18A - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 8,1999 1 -9 - I , 98 I- -'1 Brady's performance not 0.1 enough to sway Carr - yet r By Rick Freeman Daily Sports Editor Apparently, 58-yards under pressure is good, but not good enough for fifth- year senior quarterback Tom Brady to wrest the second quarter from Drew Henson's hands. After Saturday's game, Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said that he would start Brady, but give the second quarter to FOOTBALL Henson. Against Notebook Rice, most backups. would likely see sig- nificant action anyway (assuming the Michigan offense can produce more than field goals in the first half Saturday). But Henson is no ordinary backup, as Brady, Carr, Henson and the modern-day NCAA-record crowd of 111,523 at Saturday's game know all too well. No DOUBTING THOMAS: Anthony Thomas, who has said in the past that he's a slow starter, seemed to have little trouble on Saturday, since he outrushed his team. Thomas had 138 yards on 32 carries, while Michigan posted just 124 yards of total rushing offense. Thomas started strong, but he may have finished stronger. His two touch- downs came in the second half, including the game-winner with 1:38 left. He may have actually scored three. On second down, the officials ruled that Thomas' knee hit the ground before he crossed the goal line. Replays appeared to show his knee on another player. The one that counted also looked questionable. Before the second touchdown, full- back Evan Coleman told his teammate "We'll get you in the end zone' He did. and the final and most impor- tant yard ofThomas' opening day perfor- mance also gave him a stronger start than another Big Ten workhorse back. Wisconsin's Ron Dayne rushed for 135 yards and 3 touchdowns against Division I-AA Murray State. WHAT'S IN A NAME?: Chris Ziemann, who was listed at right guard in Michigan's depth chart Saturday, did- n't play a down. Steve Frazier started at right guard, but moved to center after Michigan's first play, after an injury to David Brandt, the starter. Brandt is nowhere to be seen on Michigan's two-deeps for the upcoming game against Rice. But what does that really mean? "You know I don't talk about injuries," Carr said Monday. Michigan's listed starters on the line for this week- end: At left tackle, Jeff Backus; at left guard, Steve Hutchinson; at center; Frazier, Ziemann at right guard; and at right tackle, Ben Mast. WAKE UP THE ECHOES: Notre Dame's marching band, proud of its tra- dition and exposed to the nation via NBC nearly every Saturday (although their game with Michigan was shown on ABC because of the Big Ten's contract with the network) showcased a new song in their repertoire Saturday. The tune - Ricky Martin's "Livin' La Vida Loca.' NYAH NYAH: Irish coach Bob Davie inspired some potential sour grapes with his scheduling of a game before Saturday's. Had Michigan lost, the Wolverines may well have trotted out the Irish's scheduled pounding of Kansas the week before as a "reason" for losing. Instead, Davie found that Michigan's rel- atively late start to the academic year may have played a role. "Every year you play (Michigan) and they don't have classes. They have plen- ty of time to focus on Notre Dame," Davie said. "I thought (Michigan) played a heck of game. I knew we'd have to hold them off early in the game" A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY: According to the Oakland Tribune, Michigan and California are in the process of setting up a series of games beginning in 2003. The Golden Bears would visit Ann Arbor in 2003, 2005, and 2007. In order to make the deal work, Cal is attempting to reschedule a date with Illinois. ..DAVID ROCHKIND/Da ily Anthony Thomas had one of the best games of his Michigan career Saturday, gaining 138 yards on 32 carries. The junior run- ning back also scored two touchdowns, including the game-winner with 1:38 left. Penn State crushes Akron, Nebraska spanks Hawkeyes STATE COLLEGE (AP) -- No. 2 Penn State's 70-24 victory over Akron turned into milestone Saturday for the Nittany Lions. Rashard Casey scored his first col- lege touchdowns, one rushing and one passing. John Gilmore, Eddie Drummond and Bryant Johnson each caught their first touchdown passes at Penn State, Mick Blosser ran for his first score and Askari Adams returned an interception for his first touchdown. The Lions (2-0) put up 70 points for the first time since beating Maryland 70-7 in 1993. Akron (0-1), a 45-point underdog, remained winless in 10 games against Top 25 teams since joining Division I-A in 1987. No. 5 NEBRASKA 42, IowA 7 Bobby Newcombe atoned for three first-half turnovers by running for two touchdowns and passing for one as No. 5 Nebraska opened the season with a 42-7 victory over Iowa. Leading just 7-0 after a mistake- laden first half, Nebraska (1-0) gradual- ly asserted control behind Newcombe and No. 2 quarterback Eric Crouch to spoil the debut of Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz. Crouch, who lost a highly publicized battle with Newcombe for the starting job, ran for three touchdowns. Newcombe threw a 47-yard touch- down pass to Sean Applegate to get the Cornhuskers going early in the third quarter, then had scoring runs of I and 5 yards to stretch the lead to 28-0. No.9 WiscoNsiN 49, MURRAY ST. 10 Ron Dayne rushed for 135 yards and three touchdowns despite sitting out the second half as No. 9 Wisconsin pound- ed Division I-AA Murray State 49-10 Saturday. The Badgers' senior tailback got 20 carries as Wisconsin's starters scored on their first six possessions against the undermanned Racers (0-1). Wisconsin (1-0) led 42-7 at halftime, and coach Barry Alvarez elected to hold Dayne out of the second half. MINNESOTA 33, OHIo 7 Billy Cockerham threw a career-long 89-yard touchdown pass and scored on a 35-yard bootleg as Minnesota opened a season of high expectations with a 33- 7 rout of Ohio. Cockerman drove the Gophers (1-0) to four TDs against a small Bobcats (0- 1) team that had to replace most of its front seven. He was erratic much of the day but made up for it with big plays, including his long TD toss to Antoine Henderson. It was the second-longest touchdown in school history. MIAMI,OHIo 28, NORTHWESTERN 3 Randy Walker's old school showed his new one how to play solid, funda- mental football Saturday. Travis Prentice ran for two scores to move into third place on the NCAA career rushing touchdown list and Mike Bath threw two second-half TD passes to Sly Johnson as Miami (Ohio) (1-0) routed Northwestern 28-3, ruining Walker's debut as coach of the Wildcats (0-1). Most of Miami's players were Walker recruits. He coached at Miami for nine years, compiling a 59-35-5 record before moving to Northwestern last January to replace Gary Barnett, who went to Colorado. ILLINOIS 41, ARKANSAS STATE 3 Kurt Kittner passed for 217 yards and two touchdowns as Illinois beat Arkansas State 41-3, only the fourth Illini victory in the last 26 games. The Illini (1-0) also scored on a punt return, two field goals and Rocky Harvey's two TD runs. Illinois committed no turnovers and had only one penalty in winning its first opener since 1992. Arkansas State (0-1) has lost its last four openers. No. 22 PURDUE 47, CENTRAL FLORIDA 13 Drew Brees threw for 273 yards and four touchdowns as No. 22 Purdue matched its longest winning streak in 20 years with a season-opening 47-13 rout of Central Florida. The victory was the seventh straight for the Boilermakers (1-0), who won six in a row each of the past two seasons. Brees took up where he left off in a record-breaking sophomore year with TD passes of 27 yards to Chris Daniels, 18 to Tim Stratton, two to Randali Lane and 22 to Vinny Sutherland. Safety Adrian Beasley set up touch- downs with two of Purdue's four inter- ceptions off Vic Penn, a junior college transfer making his debut as Daunte Culpepper's successor for Central Florida (0-1). Big Ten Standings Purdue's winning streak is longest since the Boilermakers seven straight in 1979. the won Team Penn State Illinois Indiana Michigan Michigan State Minnesota Purdue Wisconsin Iowa Northwestern Ohio State Overall Record 2-0 1-0 1-0 1-0 1-0 1-0 1-0 1-0 0-1 0-1 0-1 , INDIANA 21, BALL ST. 9 Antwaan Randle El passed for 154 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 118 yards and a TD as Indiana (1-0) started the season with a 21-9 victory over Ball State (0-1). Randle El, the only quarterback in Indiana football history with at least 100 yards rushing in five games, used his speed to slip past, spin through and around the slower Ball State defenders in the first half, but all were completed. After a Ball State punt with under two minutes left in the half, Randle El threw to Franklin for a one-yard loss, then passed to Verise Gaddis, who raced 81 yards for a 21-0 lead at halftime. Last Week's Results Michigan 26, Notre Dame 22 Illinois 41, Arkansas State 3 Purdue 47, Central Florida 13 Indiana 21, Bail State 9 Minnesota 33, Ohio 7 Penn State 70, Akron 24 Wisconsin 49, Murray State 10 Nebraska 42, Iowa 7 Miami (Ohio) 28, Northwestern 3 Late penalties handicap Irish it th ewSt.rie Amazon.com $104.00 4.4 VarsityBooks.com 4szs AA Microeconomic Theory by Walter Nicholson List Price: $94.50 IRISH Continued from Page 13A played as sharp as ever. Brady complet- ed 71 percent of his passes, his second- best mark in games he started. And they weren't Nebraska-esque, in length either - he hit three for over 20 yards. Just minutes after scoring the game- winning touchdown, Thomas was in the Michigan lockerroom, suffering from dehydration. His 32 carries demolished his career high of 21, and his 142 yards was the second-most in his career. Simply put, Thomas was a workhorse. The only other Michigan tailback to touch the ball was Walter Cross, who lost two yards on his only carry. Making just the second start of his career, sophomore Terrell showed why he was the top-rated high-school wide- out two years ago. He darted all over the field, frequently giving Brady an open target and constantly giving the Notre Dame secondary fits. Setting career highs in receptions (eight) and receiving yards (115), he quickly made Michigan fans forget all about Tai Streets. But the three were barely enough to put Michigan ahead of the Irish. Led by the slippery quarterback Jarious Jackson and an option offense that might make the Michigan coaching staff consider the suicide option, the Irish pushed Michigan to the limit in a splendid dis- play of college football at it's best. Like George Constanza playing Frogger, Jackson dodged and weaved his way around would-be tacklers in the backfield, setting himself up for preci- sion passes. And he did it the best when it counted Bar s&Noble.com $94*50 DANA LINNANE/Daily Dhani Jones and the Michigan defense held the Notre Dame rushing attack under wraps, limiting the Irish to less than 100 yards on the ground. the most - four times in the fourth quarter, Jackson converted on third or fourth-down situations. Midway through that quarter, he hit four straight passes totalling 49 yards before completing the drive with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Jabari Holloway, staking Notre Dame to a 22-19 lead. After converting the two-point con- version, the Notre Dame's Bobby Brown flagged for excessive celebration, a 15- yard penalty that gave Michigan great field position and helped set up the late- I OR V %. '0-Er', ___.. game heroics by Brady & Co. Throw in a 15-yard penalty for a late hit, and Michigan had to move the ball just 43 yards for the victory. But Jackson wouldn't let the Irish go down quietly. With just 1:38 left, he marched the Irish offense 68 yards to the Michigan 12, including a 36-yard pass on third-and-10. "It was a sick feeling," Carr said W watching the final Irish drive. "I've seen a lot of bad things happen at the end of a football game.: But this time, Tommy, Hendricks wouldn't let anything bad happen. With the clock running down to the final 15 seconds, Jackson stepped back to pass on third-and-20 from the Michigan 31. We found it for $54.75!* 'Paces as of July 20, 1999 I g . nee ± I ro .........