0
SYR
Howard
gets all
kinds of
attention
By Josh Kleinbaum
Daly Sports Editor
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- For a defensive back, attention
is sometimes good, sometimes bad, and sometimes, it's
best just to not have any. Saturday, Todd H loward saw a
St Gf everythng.
For the first twenty minutes of the game, Howard
was spectacular. The least-heralded memeber of
*ichigan's starting secondary - and the only one
who didn't start last season - Howard was assigned
to cover Syracuse's explosive Quinton Spotwood.
And for a quarter and a half, he covered Spotwood
better than the Carrier Dome's roof.
Howard dominated the highly-touted receiver, lay-
ng into Spotwood with battering-ram hits, twice
knocking the ball out of Spotwood's hands and turn-
Ziug apparent catches into incompletions.
-Everyone thinks, with my size, that I'm a cover
corner," I loward said. "But I like to hit, too."
But after a little bit of good attention, I loward sud-
Only got plenty of bad, too.
With the ball on his own 42-yard line, Syracuse
quarterback Madei Willaims unleashed a bomb to Pat
-Woodcock. I loward, who was covering Woodcock on
I-1 play, thought he had the interception. Both play-
ers went up for the ball, inside the five yard line.
Woodcock came down with it on the three.
"I don't want to make any excuses," Howard said,
" but I lost it in the lights."
Tlhen, two plays later, Williams found Spotwood,
ward's man, wide open in the end zone.
'I read run and it was a pass," Howard explained.
Suddenly, Michigan was trailing, 7-6.
in the second half, howard and his defensive back-
mates got virtually no attention, and that's just the
way lie likes it, thank you very much.
With the exception of one more long pass, the
Michigan secondary, which had been under scrutiny
of late, clamped down on the Orangmen's explosive
receivers, letting the offense eke out the victory.
"We showed today that we're a tough secondary,"
oward said. "We. can play with these types of'
eivers."
STATUs Quo: Michigan coach Lloyd Carr revealed
that Tom Brady will start against Wisconsin next
week.
After loss, Bad,
are what they
Penn State stays alive in Miam
r siaffand wire reports
After Fielc
CINCINNATI - That cupcake-filled and raced in
diet finally caught up with the Badgers players ran c
on Saturday. Ron Dayne fumbled into thrusting the
*'Cincinnati end zone in the fourth rain-soaked
quArter and his new Big Ten rushing stunned. Ju
record meant next to nothing in the were cheer
wake of No. 9 Wisconsin's 17-12 loss would be M
to the Bearcats. coach Butc
Cincinnati's Robert Cooper ran for years ago.
143 yards and a touchdown, and "We had
Deontey Kenner scored on a 5-yard Miami corn
run. said, "and th
Dayne rushed for 231 yards on 28 Penn St
c-rries to pass Archie Griffin and Arrington, w
tome the Big Ten's career rushing incident with
leader with 5,615 yards, including his team coul
bowl games. turned, "it w
Dayne also moved into sixth place the world. I
on the NCAA career rushing lst, This was
which does not include bowl games. hoped would
:He has 5,087 regular-season yards, lege football
. 193 shy of breaking Ricky Williams' after Miami
NCAA career mark. deficit and
I don't care about the numbers. I'm Jackson's 39
looking for the win. That's all I was left.
ng for," Dayne said. MICHIGAN
ayne fumbled into the Cincinnati DAME 13: N
end :zone midway through the final one in the la
period and the Bearcats recovered. got the chan
Later in the period, Wisconsin's Bill Burke
Nick Davis fumbled a punt and yard, touchd
Carlton Sykes recovered for Cincinnati to run away
at the Wisconsin 25, setting up a 41- dropped the
yard field goal by Jonathan Ruffin that 1-3 start in t
put the Bearcats ahead 17-12 with 5:01 gave Michig
left. start in the pa
#It was just a lack of concentra- "It just to
tion," Davis said. "It was completely right there be
my fault. We just have to put this game have some in
behind us and prepare for Michigan." coach Bob D
Dayne was held out of several series was going to
in the first half because of a sprained play of the g
ankle, and his absence was felt most Jarious Jac
on the drive that ended with Pisetsky's for 245 yard
second field oal. tions on the
SYRACUSE
Decisions
costly to
Syracuse
in the end
BERKA
Continued from Page 1B
Imagine what a Syracuse defender
must have been feeling. The
Orangemen held the Wolverines to
298 yards - including only 66 in the
second half- but had to watch help-
lessly as the offense and coaching
staff fumbled around as if they had
spent the afternoon stumbling around
at one of the local bars.
But Michigan did its best to give
Syracuse all the opportunities it need-
ed to pull the game out. Yes, the
Wolverines scored when they had to,
but once again, they settled for Jeff
Del Verne field goals more often then
not.
Michigan got into Syracuse territo-
ry nine times -- including on all
seven possessions in the first half. But
all the Wolverines had to show for it
were Jeff Del Verne's three field goals
and an Aaron Shea touchdown.
When the Wolverines had a chance
to put the game away, bad things
would happen. A false-start penalty
on third-and-short. A dropped pass by
Evan Coleman inside the Syracuse 10.
A running play for a loss.
Michigan was the better team. It
could move the ball between its 30
and the Syracuse 30 with the best of
them. But the Wolverines, like Felix
Trinidad, just couldn't find that
knockout punch that Syracuse would
ofder up to them.
Finally, the Wolverines avoided the
last-gasp Syracuse swing and escaped
from the Carrier Dome 3-0. But
Michigan could have easily hit the
deck on Saturday night.
They didn't need to. Pasqualoni and
the Orangemen did a fine job of slug-
ging themselves.
T.J. HeruA can be ,ctached via
entail wt berkat(owniclixedu.
LOUIS BROWN/Daily
Michigan coach Uoyd Carr insists that he'll stick with his two-quarterback system, despite allowing sophomore.
Drew Henson to take the lion's share of the snaps against Syracuse.
When asked why, Carr elaborated by saying, "I like
them both."
Does that mean he'll stick with his two-quarter-
back system?
"Sure," Carr said.
Brady started, but played just one quarter.
Sophomore Drew Ilenson played the final three.
Henson engineered an 88-yard touchdown drive in
the final minutes of the first half that likely won him
the second-half job, but, along with the rest of the
Michigan offense, was flaccid in the second half.
"'T'om played well in the first quarter, but Drew
played his best quarter of football at Michigan in the
second quarter," Carr said.
I lenson completed 16 of' 28 passes for 151 yards
and one touchdown, but also threw an interception,
Michigan's first turnover of the season. Brady was
five-of-10 for 26 yards.
SAV WIHAT?: Marquise Walker tried to warn his
teammates, but apparently, they didn't believe him.
Now they know - the Carrier Dome is loud.
"When they scream, it just comes back down,'
Michigan receiver David Terrell said, pointing to the
Dome's roof, trying to say the sound reverberated
around the dome. But he had some trouble getting it
out.
"I got a headache, I can't even talk straight."
Walker, a Syracuse native who grew up watching
the Orange, said he told his teammates how loud it
was, but some didn't understand until they experi-
enced it.
It wasn't a major problem for Michigan. The
Wolverines suffered just five penalties for 30 yards,
and not all were a result ofthe noise.
"There comes a point where you just can't hear,"
Carr said. "But it affected both teams. Syracuse had
some motion penalties, too."
In fact, the Orangemen appeared to be more affect-
ed by the noise. Throughout the game, the Syracuse
offense signalled to the crowd to quiet down, so the
players could hear each other. On their final drive,
with the game on the line, the Orangemen drew an
illegal procedure penalty on third-and-eight on the
Michigan 13-yard line. Syracuse players again sig-
naled the crowd to quiet down, which it did, but the
damage was already done. Now 13 yards shy of the
first down and 18 shy of the end zone, Williams threw
two incomplete passes on third and fourth downs.
GAME RECAP
FIRST QUARTER:
After the firs't play of the grnno' I d,u mrunby
Anthony ThosMicia niWM1; u
whis'tledi for off'>ttnq per onail loaf',
Hayden Epstein comes on totiv t 5yrd fiekj
goa, bit has iS kik Blocked o syri tikes over
on Michigan's 45 yard line, it l , sz 0 yards on
the ensuing dive, and punt.
SECOND QUARTER:
James Whitley ntercepts troy Nunes' pas at the
Michigan 42, endnthe ionranerens third dve
out of the past four on whi h the mo votYarae
Their one drive that went li iposvitie yanrdage
netted one yard
Jeff [)eIVerne makes the lknJest fi'd yol of Iris
career, a 41 -yarder
Michigan 3, Syracuse 0
Nunes throw, his s'cOnd intweption, this one to
safety DeWayne Patmon, who returiir, it oihit
yards to tin' Syrc use 21.
Michigan (gain 20 yards, but the Wlvrln=,
drive sputters when Henson fires innomplete o
Aaron Shea. Del Verne kirks 24 yadei to put
Michigan up 6-0.
Michigan 6, Syracuse 0
Madei Wi lliam 'ives a pas toward the Corw r
Dome roof. Michlanornerhark and s PS < am
eras hothi lose 'sight of the hall Syiiacusi'e 'rec'eir
Pat Wooducok doesn't, and hauls in a 54yard
recepticn
After a detay of gaie all, William,find'>Quinton,
spotwoodi n the e'r zone for a 51/.yrd scoriig
pa'>s, Despite a hisl>thalf in whichlthe O,iiieiiii'
literally went hac kward for mo't of te' ine, they
lead 7-6 over Miian'toothlss''offeii'>-
Michigan 6, Syracuse 7
M''i(higan striru4'>togethier six firs clowsir'>ciu hd-
Irn one handed to them hv av sya(urn'cof 'ie"
penally. With es than a miiute left i tre half,
rthree syraui'e defenders brak into tin' Mchiigan
h ac kfie(ld. Henson duisisa' ,',fe(tyv lv(pas'>t
fulback Aaron Shea, who ann mer' 22 y.rd'>for
a toucihrdown.
Michigan 13, Syracuse 7
tAfter the kxckof, :h'e ' rangeqerien mhu t the rest
1of the first-half (ctock, drawingmo£osfo~,lne thr
Carrier Dome crowd.
THIRD QUARTER:
syraUseP narn he', down the feld to stir t tie al
1Aided by a 40 -yard ornrpk troi to Spotwood,
Nunes ind ames Mun pin tie end zone Nte
front', point after attemrpt i'> deflected y Jam">
Hall, breaking hi streak at /2 consecutive pinis-
,aftr made
Michigan 13, Syracuse 13
AfterHenson throws an interception to a wide-
open an Macintosh (Michican's first tirno'ver this
season), the stage is set for the werdest piav of
the game, f not the season so far.
Taking over at the Syracuse 22, Nunes drops back
to pass on second-and-10 Under pressure from
Michigan's front sever he drops back, way back.
After scrambing back-and-forth, he finally throws
the ball harmlessly out of bounds.
Only problem, he was in his own end zone.
Mchigan gets a safety. They get the bal back
with excellent field position, but punt.
Michigan 15, Syracuse 13
FOURTH QUARTER:
The Wclverines get only one first down in the
quarter. They get just 28 yards of offense. And
they get an insurance feld goal - by Del Verne
from 31 yards out - to seal their third victory of
the season
Michigan 18, Syracuse 13
After the k ckoff, Williams takes the Orrgernen
62 yards to the Michigan nne. On fourth-and-
four, Williams fires incomplete. and Henson
comes on to run out the clock.
FINAL: Michigan 18, Syracuse 13
BIG TEN STANDINGS
BIG TEN
Igers
ate
ii, 27-23
ds shook off two tacklers
to the end zone, Penn State
cnto the field, jumping and
'ir helmets into the air. The
crowd of 74,427 was
st seconds earlier, they
ing what they thought
liami's biggest win since
h Davis took over five
the taste in our mouths,"
nerback Leonard Myers
en it was gone."
ate linebacker LaVar
who had another shoving
h a punter, said he thought
ld lose but when the game
was the greatest feeling in
love Miami!"
a game the Hurricanes
d mark their return to col-
's elite. It looked that way
roared back from a 17-3
led 23-20 on James
9-yard TD run with 7:42
STATE 23, No.24 NOTRE
otre Dame didn't lose this
st minute. The Irish never
ce.
e hit Gari Scott for an 80-
own in the fourth quarter
with the victory. The loss
host Irish to their second
he last three seasons, and
gan State its second 3-0
ast three.
ook the wind out of you
because you felt like you
nomentum," Notre Dame
avie said. "You felt like it
o come down to the last
ame."
ickson, who was 15-of-26
Is, now has six intercep-
vear, matching his total of
Team
Penn State
Illinois
Michigan
Michigan State
Minnesota
Purdue
Northwestern
Ohio State
Wisconsin
Indiana
Iowa
Big
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Ten
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Overall
4 0
3 0
3 0
3 0
3 0
3 0
2 1
2 1
2 1
1 2
1 2
AP PHOTO
Although the Nittany Lions didn't quite decapitate Miami, as Penn State's David Macklin is doing to Santana Moss here. But
down 23-20 in the fourth quarter, the Lions kept their heads and rallied to beat the Hurricanes.
yardage in a game. Sutherland fin-
ished with 142 on five returns. The
record of 138 was set by Ken Gorgal
on seven returns against Pittsburgh in
1948.
"I ran fast. Coach (Scott) Downing
made some adjustments on the punt
return team in practice this week," said
Drew Brees was 25-of-39 for 320
yards and two TDs before getting the
rest of the day off.
IOwA 24, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 0:
First-year Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz
wanted quarterback Randy Reiners to
give his team an offensive spark, but
for a while Reiners and the Hawkeyes
barely flickered.
Reiners finally got on track in the
second half and led host Iowa on a
long touchdown drive, scoring on a 2-
yard keeper, while Ladell Betts ran for
a career-best 174 yards and a TD.
13th-ranked Buckeyes stormed back in
the second half.
"I was shocked at halftime. I really
couldn't believe it," said Buckeyes
linebacker Na'il Diggs after the game.
It was shocking, considering that
Ohio State hasn't lost to an in-state
opponent since 1921.
But the host Buckeyes took over in
the third quarter as Michael Wiley ran
for two touchdowns and Steve
Bellisari threw a 68-yard TD pass to
Ken-Yon Rambo.
"The longer you let a team live like
we did in the first half, the tougher job
you've got," said Ohio State coach
John Cooper.
KENTUCKY 44, INDIANA 35: Dusty
Bonner made Indiana forget about Tim
Couch in a hurry.
Bonner, who became Kentucky's
starter when Couch left early for the
over host Duke.
Duke (0-2) had taken a 12-9 lead in
the extra period on Sims Lenhardt's
fourth field goal of the game when
Kreiink pump-faked the Duke defense
and connected with Simmons on the
Wildcats' second play of overtime.
The Blue Devils tied it on a 37-
yarder by Lenhardt with 1:14 left after
fumbling at the Northwestern 20 a
series earlier.
MINNESOTA 55, ILLINOIs STATE 7:
One week after getting benched for his
miserable passing, Billy Cockerham
threw for a career-high 218 yards, ran
for career-best 156 and accounted for
four touchdowns.
Cockerham, replaced by backup
Andy Persby last week after a 4-for-15
performance against Louisiana-
Monroe, completed 18-of-22 against
Illinois State in the Metrodome. He
THIS WEEKEND'S RESULTS
Iliois 41, Locsv e36
Northwestern 15, Duke 12 OT)
Kentucky 44, Indiana 35
Iowa 24, Northern Ilnois 0
Michigan 18, Syracuse 13
Michigan St. 23, Notre Dame 13
Minnesota 55, Iilinois State 7
Ohio St. 40, Ohio 16
Penn St. 27, Miami 23
Purdue 58, Central M chgan 16
C incinnati 17, Wsconsn 12
NEXT WEEKEND'S GAMES
Michigan State at Illinois
Northwestern at Purdue ESPN2
Indiana at Penn State 12:10 ESPN
Michigan at Wisconsin 3:30 ABC
Cincinnati at Ohio State 12:10 ESPN+
WHO'S NEXT: