t c r I The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - September 13, 1999 - 7B UCE . 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 . .. . 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