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The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - September 13, 1999 - 7B
UCE
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I
y win gives freshmen chance to get experience
Editor
just his second game at
an, Brandon Williams had a
most freshmen only dream of.
d of 100,000-plus. A nationally
ed game. A live football lying
turf with nothing but a few
tween him and the end zone.
of the members of Michigan's
ecent recruiting class, Williams
chance to score his first colle-
down before his 19th birth-
emg action on the punt return
Williams was the first player to
lafter Marquise Walker blocked
punt in the third quarter.
as so excited when I saw
ise block the ball," Williams
The first thing I thought about
oring."
iams scooped up the ball, and
a break for the end zone. But
ng four yards, he was forced
bounds by a defender at the
ard line.
crowd went wild. But, at the
ime they were watching No.12
his mad dash toward the goal
ay might have been wondering,
t Scott Dreisbach graduate last
fact is, most people aren't too
with the newest crop of
es. In last week's white-
ictory over Notre Dame,
e freshman saw action - B.J.
LS
ued from Page 1B
P performances of the two may
Carr stick with his rotation fr
ekend's game at Syracuse.
Sabout a lot of things much
re than I do the QB situation,"
aid.
e his so-far impotent red-zone
dy still has yet to find the end-
The two touchdown drives he has
red this season have resulted in
g touchdowns. Henson has
4 rushing touchdown and passed
c.
ether Henson or Brady has guid-
*chigan offense hasn't seemed
atter. Both quarterbacks have
ample ability to move the ball
d their opponents' goal line.
dy has directed eleven drives this
a. In addition to the two touch-
s, he has seen four drives end in
goals, two end in missed field
two end with punts, and one end
he Wolverines failing to converta
wn. .
Lion to Henson's two TD's his
have ended in punts four times,
have ended in field goals, and one
ided on downs.
two are remarkably close in
category - and, on average, both
ce less than a field-goal's worth of
per drive.
think we're improving every
Walker said. "But we still have a
things to work on."
e onding that end zone more
Wmatter who takes the snaps.
Askew, who turned some heads with
spectacular tackles in punt coverage.
But Saturday's 37-3 win over Rice
afforded many of the new faces their
first chance to get significant playing
time, and the youngs'ters made the
most of their opportunity
"It was fun," said Williams, a 5-
foot-11, 180-pound defensive back
from Omaha, Neb. "I was a little ner-
vous at first. I didn't want to go out
there and mess up because knew the
game was on television."
With the game in hand, many of
Williams' teammates jumped at the
chance to give him a little ribbing
when he came up a few yards short of
his shot at glory.
"Everybody kept teasing me about
it because I didn't score," Williams
said. "I picked the ball up on the side-
line, and I didn't even look to see if
anybody was coming from the other
side"
As the most experienced of the
freshmen - as much of an oxymoron
as that is - Askew wasn't as nervous
against the Owls since he had a game
under his belt.
The Cincinnati native was the first
member of the freshman class to get a
carry this season, getting his chance
once Anthony Thomas came out in the
third quarter.
"Against Notre Dame, I had some
butterflies," Askew said. "Coming into
this one, I was more anxious"
Askew seemed to be, breaking free
for 13 yards on his first carry. He fin-
ished the day with six attempts for 19
yards.
"It was like a dream come true,"
Askew said. "Not many people get this
opportunity. It's the opportunity of a
lifetime."
Askew will likely remain on punt
coverage the entire season after his
standout performance against Notre
Dame.
Another freshman who made an
audition on special teams was Ronald
Bellamy, a 6-1, 175-pound wide
receiver from New Orleans. Bellamy
took over kickoff return duties for
DiAllo Johnson in the second half,
returning the opening kickoff 23
yards.
The freshman also took over punt
return duties, but dropped his only
return chance and was forced to fall on
the ball.
It's exciting to get in front of the
crowd and get to play," Bellamy said.
"I was a little nervous - those were
my first collegiate punt returns. I can't
make any mistakes like that anymore."
Walk-on kicker Phil Brabbs, once
looked at as a possible replacement for
Hayden Epstein when he was believed
to be out for the year, assumed kickoff
duties in the second half. Surprisingly,
he joined Askew as the only freshmen
to record a tackle, making the stop
after his first kickoff of the season.
tANA UNNNE/Dtal
Running back B.J. Askew got his first carries at Michigan in Saturday's game.
Askew had his first six carries as a Wolverines fact, including his first 13-yard run.
KLEINBAUM
Continued from Page 18
Tom Brady (left)
and Drew Henson
both saw snaps
under center in
Saturday's romp
over Rice. Even
third-stringer
Jason Kapsner got
into the act in the
37-3 vctory
DANA UNNANt/tarty
have to get deeper in the red zone as
they get deeper into their schedule.
Henson won round two of The
Great QB Race of 1999, but Brady is
still winning the war. Henson showed
flashes of what he can do. His pass to
David Terrell on a crossing pattern in
the second quarter was beautiful. But
he made a few poor passes and ques-
tionable decisions. I might change my
mind as Henson gets more seasoned,
but right now, if it came down to a final
drive to win the game, I'd want the
maturity and poise of Brady leading the
team.
Michigan linebacker James Hall said
that this game - and Rice's triple
option offense - was the mid-term,
with the final exam coming next week
at Syracuse. Actually, this was more
like a pop quiz, but without the pop.
The real test was last week, against
Notre Dame, and both teams delivered,
turning in a game for the ages.
Saturday's game was for the ice age.
The Big Ten always has belonged to
the running back. Bo Schembechler
and Woody Hayes would have been the
first to tell you that the bread and but-
ter comes on the ground. But Hatfield's
triple option, with halfbacks, fullbacks
and God-knows-what backs running
this way and that, makes them look
more daring than a skydiver in a thun-
derstorm.
Without the talent to pass or catch
the ball, Hatfield doesn't have much
choice. The Owls can't run the ball,
either, but at least they can avoid turn-
ing the ball over.
The old Big Ten adage is three yards.
and a cloud of dust. The. new Rice
adage is one yard and a bruised running
back.
The result? Michigan's defense
played with a newfound confidence.
Overheard in the Wolverine's defen-
sive huddle:
Linebacker: They call this the
option? It's just three guys running
around the backfield, practically wait-
ing for us to tackle them. They don 't
even know where they're going!
Defensive back: I'm bored. Anyone
want to go to K-Mart?
Lineman: Uh-oh, that guy sitting in
section 32 looks like Donovan
McNabb. Let's get out of here!
Speaking of getting out of here,
rumor has it that the Owls, afraid of
anything in the air, are going to run all
the way back to Houston. Maybe you
should grab a bottle of No-Doz.
- Josh Kleinbaum hasn't woken up
from the game yet, but you can e-mail
him at jkbaum@umich.edu, and he'll'
get back to you when he does.
GAME RECAP
FIRST QuARTER:
down on the Rice 22, ending a Mrrhrgan scar-
a eat
tom trady adus Mau go watker ar a 2 yvard
pass rothe Sr 36. thel ovues eenta ly
I24'ya d hield qoal by let Oei verne
Michigan 3, Rice 0
O2rewv Henson hits D.vid terrell tar 3d yards onsa
corner yattern an the Si glay at a drive A
Ithree-vard run by A\nthery ihamas leanes the
waoveraes at the Sire 21/ when the quarter
SECOND QUARTER:
Thomas takes the waiverines on hrs back, ran
nigstar cansecuse Siv t dx e a three
trng ststt'd on the first try, Hensan sneaks the
Iball anto the end zoae
Michigan 10, Rice 0
pas trm ha Rcharso o Rpaphael tiyard
Iit was the oaly pass that would he caught by a
member at the Owls.
Sichardsan thraws his secand pass at the game.
which is also caught - by Michig n satety
Oew0ayne Patin.
OiAlo tahnsan retarns a pant t17 yards ta the
Rice 25, helping set op a a8-yard Oe Verne
rid goal.
Michigan 13, Rice S
walker catches a pass in the nift fhat ton Hensan
anddances t8 yards ta theic 2. Ons thter
for te tochdon wih 1:4 net in the Iirst
Michigan 20, Rico 0
1THIRD QUARTER:
I esu ackadsh williams helts ascram
lase the bail. Michigan linebacker Grady Branks
recovers the ball at the Rice dh.
Thomas makes sate that Rice pays tar the
Richardson tumble, as he carries the last ttosr
plays at Michigan's drive. Thomas gains 24
yards on the drioe, including an t1'yard touch-
down run with 9:04 neft in the guarter.
Michigan 27, Rice S
Iwalker charges thraugh the line and blacks a
Spunt by Rice's Traois Hale. Freshman defensian
I bach trandan williams picks op the ball on the
I Rice i2 and runs it eight yards to the tosur
IOn the trrst play after the blocked punt, Thamas
runs the ball tour yards tot his second touch-
down ott thre guarter and game.
Michigan 34, RiceSo
Freshman 53. Askew makes his running hack
debut with a 1t-yard run ooer right guard.
Walk00 then completes a sir-yard pass to
Riceer on third-and-ten, but personal fnul on
iFOURTH QUARTER:
0e Verne kicks his third lipid goal al th day -
Ia 3tt-yarder - an the tirst play ot the quarter
Michigan 37, Rice S
Rcardson throws hs thid pass ot the game, a
dnm thekusidelines tor 55 yardsEoathe Michigan
148, tar the Owls' tirst penetration nI Michigan
territory
koans attempts Rice's tourth pass at the game,
an end zone heave to Gilbert Ohoronkwo. Tate
Ischanski broke up the pass, and Rice settled for
ia 33-ytard field gnal by Derek Crabtree
Michigan 37. Rice 3
IBIG TEN STANDINGS
M
IMichigan 2 . 0
Michigan State 2 0
M nnesota 2 0
Pude1
Wisconsin 2 0
Indiana 1 1
Northwestern 1 1
Ohio State 1 1
Iowa 0 2
THIS WEEKEND'S RESULTS
Michigan 37, Rice 3
Illinois 38, San Diego State 10
Michigan State 51, E. Michigan 7
Minnesota 35, Louisiana-Monroe 0
Purdue 28, Notre Dame 23
Wisconsin 50, Ball State 10
North Carolina 42, Indiana 30
Northwestern 17, TCU 7
Ohio State 42, UCLA 20
Iowa State 17, Iowa 10
NEXT WEEKEND'S GAMES
Michigan at Syracuse, 8
Northwestern at Duke, noon
Northern Illinois at Iowa, 2:05
Illinois State at Minnesota, 2:30
Wisconsin at Cincinnati, 3:15
Ohio at Ohio State, 3:30
Penn State at Miami (Fla), 3:30
Illinois at Louisville, 7
Central Michigan at Purdue, TBA
Kentucky at Indiana, TBA
Michigan State at Notre Dame, TBA
SCHEDULE
SEPT. 4 NOTRE DAME W, 26-22
Sept. 11 AT RICE W, 37-3
SEPT. 18 AT SYRAcUSE
SEPT. 25 AT WiscoNsIN
OCT. 2 PURDUE
i OCT. 9 AT Mics. STATE
OcT. 23 ILLINOIs
I OcT. 30 AT INDIANA
Nov. 6 NORTHWESTERN
No.v 13 AT PENN STATE
Nov. 20 OHIo STATE
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.. .
AROUND THE CouTRY
I
yracuse downs Chips to tune up for M'
CUSE, N.Y. (AP) - Quinton
is back at last.
ley a severe knee injury last year
"ept him out of Syracuse's final
games, Spotwood returned with a
ance Saturday night. The star
er, who attracted national attention
7 by returning four punts for
downs to tie an NCAA record,
t scoring passes of 56 and 43 yards
Troy Nunes to help lead the
emen to 47-7 win over Central
igan (1-1).
rvery pleased," said a tired
ood, who finished with six catches
35 yards. "I haven't done that in a
twood, who did not catch a pass in
n-opening 35-12 win overToledo,
cornerback Tedaro France for his
score, adjusting nicely to the ball
a seball center fielder for a 56-
seoring play and a 17-0 lead late in
first quarter. It was his first TD
tO since a game-winning catch
st Pittsburgh in November 1997.
twood electrified the Carrier
crowd again with his second
,catching a short pass from Nunes
the middle at the Central Michigan
nd breaking outside for a touchdown
vay through the second period.
don't think I've ever done that,"
Spotwood, whose 12-yard reception
tp Nate Trout's 34-yard field goal
t e seconds left in the first half
g Syracuse a 34-7 lead. "It felt
but I didn't think I had it in me.
doing it for a while, you're just not
to it. Now I'm pretty much falling
a rhythm."
ines also took another step in his
: with Madei Williams to succeed
svan McNabb as the Syracuse
r. He threw for 170 yards and three
touchdowns and has yet to throw an
interception in the young season as
Syracuse (2-0) braces for Michigan in a
week.
"We just wanted to come out and play
more consistently," said Nunes, who hit
Pat Woodcock with a 15-yard touch-
down pass to give Syracuse a 7-0 lead
early in the game. "It was great for the
offense to get some confidence going
into next week."
It was the first meeting between the
schools, and the Chippewas probably
would be happy if it was the last, at least
for a while. Even the home-opener jinx
of the Orangemen - they had lost the
previous five - didn't help.
"It was a night where we probably
gave up too many big plays and didn't
take advantage of a couple of opportuni-
ties we had," coach Dick Flynn said.
"Our defense is predicated on getting
some pressure to the passer. Early on, we
couldn't get it."
Central Michigan, which opened its
season with a 33-17 win over Division I-
AA Eastern Illinois, punted the first four
times it had the ball and the Orangemen
took advantage repeatedly.
A muffed punt by Central Michigan's
Jake Kemp set up Nate Trout's 39-yard
field goal with 4:49 left in the first.
The Chippewas scored their only
touchdown early in the second quarter.
Pete Shepherd hit tailback Eric Flowers
for a 17-yard gain to get a 10-play, 84-
yard drive going, then finished it by hit-
ting Jammarl O'Neal with a 3-yard
touchdown pass.
Flowers, the team's leading rusher,
was hurt on the previous play and did not
return. Syracuse's Dee Brown, who led
the Orangemen with 69 yards on seven
carries, also was hurt in the second quar-
ter and did not play again.
Keeon Walker blocked a punt by
Kemp and Will Allen recovered it in the
end zone to put Syracuse ahead 31-7 just
over two minutes later.
Williams hit Malik Campbell with a
46-yard bomb, then scored two plays
later on a six-yard run to give Syracuse a
40-7 lead late in the third. Kyle Johnson
added a 6-yard TD run in the fourth to
finish it.
Williams, still suffering from a finger
injury on his non-throwing hand, was 5-
of-6 for 91 yards.
Shepherd was 16-of-29 for 165 yards,
and Vince Webber had 62 yards rushing
on 16 carries for the Chippewas.
Syracuse middle linebacker Keith
Bulluck, one of the team's five captains,
did not play. He was suspended for the
game by head coach Paul Pasqualoni for
violating team rules.
No. 1 FLORIDA ST 41, No. 10
GEORGIA TECH 35: Florida State's Peter
Warrick and Georgia Tech's Joe
Hamilton lived up to their billing
Saturday. So, too, did top-ranked Florida
State, which had too many weapons in a
41-35 victory over the 10th-ranked
Yellow Jackets.
Hamilton threw a 22-yard touchdown
pass to Kelly Campbell with 1:35 left as
the Yellow Jackets (1-1) closed to 41-35
in the final minute. An onside kick was
fielded by Florida State's Travis Minor
and the Seminoles (2-0) ran out the clock
to win the Atlantic Coast Conference
opener.
Hamilton, who was knocked out of
the last two games against Florida State,
was 22-of-25 for 387 yards and four
touchdowns, completing his final 14
passes of the game.
Warrick caught a touchdown pass, ran
for a TD and finished with 167 yards as
Florida State extended its home unbeat-
en streak to 42 games.
The teams combined for 595 yards in
the first half and Florida State scored last
to take a 28-21 halftime lead. The game
was tied three times in the half.
No. 4 FLORIDA 58, CENTRAL
FLORIDA 27: In a big turnaround from
opening week, No, 4 Florida played a
game to be proud of. More importantly,
the Gators gave Tennessee something to
think about.
Doug Johnson connected with Travis
Taylor for three of his four touchdown
passes and the Gators scored seven
touchdowns before halftime Saturday in
a 58-27 victory over Central Florida.
For more college football
coverage, please see page 98.
WHO'S NEXT:
O R A N G E M E N
satuday th carer ome syrcus, ny"8p m. CB'
THE OPPONENT:
Syracuse is 2-0 after destroying Central
Michigan 47-7, on Saturday. The Orang emen
also spanked Michigan last season, 38-28, at
Michigan Stadium.
THE OUTLOOK:
The Wolverines are looking for retribution
against the Orangemen, wiho have TroyNue
a quarterback instead of Donovan McNabb.
THE SKINNY:
Sracuse is the third in a
string of four straight option
opponents for Michigan., N
4