6B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - September 13, 2000
GAME STATISTICS
Team Stats
First Downs
Rushes/Yards
Passing Yards
Offensive Plays
Total Offense
Return Yards
Comp/Att/Int
Punts/Avg
Fumbles/Lost
Penalties/Yards
Time of Poss
RICE
11
46/164
107
57
271
93
5/11/0
7/37.4
2/2
7/52
31:13
R I CE
MICH
21
49/230
166
68
396
137
13/19/0
4/43.0
1/0
2/15
28:47
Early strikes ma
right call for Blue
PASSING
Player
Hvans
Wulf
Totals
RUSHING
Player
Wulf
Bradley
Sadler
*'Tyler
Beck
E:vans
Griff in
Hawkins
Totals
RECEIVING
Player
Okoronko
T Thompson
Sadler
Totals
C-A Yds TD Int
3-7 33 0 0
2-4 74 1 0
5-11 107 1 0
At
6
4
4
6
5
13
4
4
46
No.
2
2
1
5
Yds
43
33
21
18
16
14
10
9
164
Yds
22
17
68
107
Avg
7.2
8.3
53
3.0
3.2
1.1
25
2.3
3.6
Avg
11.0
8.5
680
21.4
Lg
32
12
9
6
10
14
7
4
32
Lg
12
11
68
68
TD
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
TD
0
0
1
t
By David DenHerder
Daily Sports Writer
PUNTING
Player
Hale
Totals
KICKOFF RETURNS
Player No.
S. White 3
K. Smith 1
Totals 4
PUNT RETURNS
Player No.
S. White 1
Hebert1
Totals 2
DEFENSE
Player
McMillan
Gatlin
Pittman
Engler
Ortega
K. Smith
Green
Chism
Oawson
Shell
J. White
Erwin
Hebert
Jackson
1. Brown
Lassley
Vanover
Johnson
Huffman
Dendy
J. Thompson
Haleo
Pontbriand
No. Yds Avg Lg
7 262 37.4 48
7 262 37.4 48
Yds
60
14
74
Yds
11
8
19
Solo
6
4
4
3
2
4
3
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
Lg
0
0
Avg Lg
0.0 24
4.0 14
8.5 24
Avg Lg
1.0 11
8.0 8
9.5 11
Asst 1
2
3
3
3
4
0
0
2
0
0.
1
1
1
0
0
0
O
0
Brk-up
1
1
TO
0
0
0
TO
0
0
0
Tot
8
7
7
6
6
S
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
TO
0
0
Coming from coach Lloyd Carr on
it was simply the way to beat thev
"Jump on them early,' he said.
After Michigan elected to kickoffs
Rice actually had the first chance to'
Of course, it didn't matter. After
and a stumble, Michigan was on thet
ludicrous 13 seconds. In fact, by thec
first quarter the Wolverines were o
score 112 points. Things had to slow
and they did, but only because Michi
ed them to.
Still, what Carr sees as a good w
the option (the best defense is a goo
etc.) may become Michigan's best s
they kick the cupcake diet in the wee
Although Michigan's starting de
allowed zero points in the first two
has yet to silence the critics of its ine
The trickiest question followi
Michigan consistently hold back thet
With that in mind, don't be surpris
the Wolverines looking for early poin
strikes, not long, dominating drives, r
best wayto counter the vet-to-be-prov
"If we can continue to throw the1
Carr, "we're going to be a very good
football team."
Does that mean Michigan migh
elect to receive at the beginning o
instead of "deferring their decision t
ond half?"
It is difficult to recall an instance w
has opted for the former. But it's notc
realm. This season, the sooner Mich
the ball, the better.
Michigan's first score was a little silly, but
the second scoring drive showed that Michigan
is content to pull out the playbook in the first
Saturday, quarter, then spend the rest of the game pound-
wishbone. ing it up and dropping it short, to force future
opponents to "respect the ground game.
the game, On that second drive, the first play from
jump. scrimmage was a 29-yard sling to David
a fumble Terrell, which (after a 1-yard Thomas carry)
board in a was followed by a slant to Marquise Walker for
end of the the score.
n pace to The third drive began with another 20-yard
vdown - flip to Terrell, and the fourth drive mixeu two
gan want- 15-yard Thomas runs with another John
Navarre touchdown pass.
ay around It was surgical.
d offense, And certainly rushing was a large part of the
trategy as early touchdown fiasco, but of the 255 rushing
ks ahead. yards that UCLA will be fretting over, 166
fense has were acquired after Michigan had amassed a
games, it four-touchdown lead.
xperience. "There are better defenses in front of us,'
ng: Can Carr said. And that is a point well taken. But
rush? students deciding to blow off the first quarter in
ed to find exchange for an extra hour of sleep - be
nts. Quick warned, you'll probably miss the best stuff
nay be the MANY HANDs: The Michigan running backs
en D-line. were certainly not doing light work on
ball," said Saturday, but they shared the work load.
offensive Michigan captain and offensive lineman
Steve Hutchinson, always quick to defer credit
t actually for the Wolverines' strong rush attack, said that
f a game Rice's need to prepare for so many different
o the sec- runners - primarily Thomas, Justin Fargas
and Chris Perry - helped with Michigan's
vhen Carr success on the ground.
out of the Carr offered another possibility: Each
iigan gets Wolverine got more rest.
"The ability to rotate," Carr said, "is helpful.:
Q BWATC H
Navarre will likely start at UCLA, as
Carr hinted when he told reporters how
much of a different impact a road game
will have on the redshirt freshman
quarterback.
But will the coach pullia trick and
insert injured starter Drew Henson in
the lineup come the end of the week?
As for Henson's condition, the junior
looked healthy on the sidelines, giving
signals to Navarre and playing catch
with the quarterbacks.
"It's coming a long well," Henson said
after the game. "There's no pain when I
walk. I've been doing a little jogging
the last couple days."
Henson was still unsure as to whether
he would make the trip to UCLA.
"I haven't been given a timetable,"
Henson said. "It's when I can play
without pain."
Henson also was impressed with
Navarre's play thus far.
"He done well," Henson said. "He's
done what he needs to do."
- Arwk Francescutti
0
DAVID KATZ/D..y
Defensive line coach Brady Hoke gives DeWayne Patmon a
congratulatory hug on Saturday.
PASS DEFENSE
Player
Ortega
Totals
Int
0
0
Yds
0
0
Thomas becomig
invaluable to Blue
MICHIGAN
PASSING
Player
Navarre
Mignery
Totals
RUSHING
Player
Thomas
Perry
Cross
Beard
Fargas
Askew
Navarre
Totals
RECEIVING
Player
Terrell
Walker
Bell
Joppru
Totals
C-A
10-15
3-4
13.19
At
14
12
8
4
6
3
2
49
No.
5
4
3
13
Yds
131
69
23
11
7
6
-17
230
Yds
93
31
37
166
Yds
129
37
166
Avg
9.4
5.B
29
2.8
1.2
20
-8 ,
4.7
Avg
18.6
78
12.3
5.0
12.8
TD
3
0
3
Lg
32
11
11
6
8
3
0
32
Lq
29
11
24
29
Int
0
0
0
To
TD
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
TD
2
0
0
3
DUPREY
Continued from Page 11B
his way.
The typical Thomas carry went:
Handoff, speed burst, initial hit,
defender down, Thomas still stand-
ing, second speed burst.
As a result, six ofThonas' 14 car-
ries either went for first downs or
touchdowns. He finished with 131
yards, not a record-breaking day, but
an impressive one considering he
only played the betfer part of two
quarters.
And for a team that obsesses with
establishing the running game first
and foremost, that's a very positiv C
sigtl.
At least in part a motivator for
Thomas was a conversation he had
with running backs coach [red
Jackson this week in practice.
.ackson told Thomas that he was-
n't being as physical as he was sup-
posed to be.
Other running backs could relax
after accomplishing as mu chas
Thomas has in over three years at
Michigan.
Lloyd Carr has said that his great-
est fear each season is complacency.
So Jackson refused to let Thomas be
satisfied with his career to date. ie
wanted his tailback to stav hungry.
"ie just told me that, 'There's a
reason why you came back,"
Thomas said. "It was something for
me to take inside and get me going
well. Obviously, it worked."
The implications of a more power-
ful Train are unrestrained. With
Thomas running the way he did
against Rice, the Wolverines now
have all cylinders firing at every
skill position on offense. Drew
Henson's return from a broken foot
will complete the picture.
On defense, Michigan has yet to
face a true measuring stick. One will
come this Saturday at UCLA. A
w eck from now, a clearer assessment
of Michigan's role in the BCS chase
will be given.
For now, the Wolverines can take
comfort in howv this season has start-
ed. They have proven what everyone
already knew -- they can put up
points.
They also have a back to ride.
-( i-is DupreY can he reached at
ccdlrpre)( a anuich. edu-.
PUNTING
Playerf
Epstein
Totals
KICKOFF RETURNS
Player No.
Beardt
Cross 1
Total 2
PUNT RETURNS
Player No.
Bellamy 2
Whitley 1
Totals 3
DEFENSE
Player
Patmon
83 Williams
Wilson
Diggs
Foote
Drake
LeSueur
Hobsoni
Curry
Bowman
FRurni shek
Whitley
Howard
Jordan
Spytek
E. Brackins
Stevens
D. Willams
Casseus
Boebet
Pearson
Orr
Coleman
Shaw
P irackiiv.
No. Yds Avg Lg
4 172 430 48
4 172 43.0 48
Yds Avg Ig
53 530 S3
24 240 24
77 3$.5 53
TD
TO
TD
TO
0
0
0
0
Yds
56
4
60
Solo
3
3
3
3
2
3
3
21
1
2
2
2
O
2
1)
Yds
0
0
Avg
280O
40
20.0
Lg
48
4
48
Asst
2
2
0
0
1
2
2
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
G
0
Ui
G
Tot
6
4
4
4
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
2
DAVID KATZ/Daily
With Anthony Thomas running as hard as he did against Rice, Michigan is in great shape offensively.
Continued from Page AB
TIo minutes later, receiver David
Terrell moved the team 20 vards
down the middle of the field oi)
another overthrown pass by Navarre.
And as the quarter wound down
with Walker's second touchdown of
the game, and a scoreboard readine a
record-setting 28 points in the first
fifteen minutes, it was hard for the
Wolverines to keep their focus.
But one not-so-distant memory
stood out in their minds.
"Illinois," Terrell said.
Last season's Illini comeback was
hard to forget. Michigan led 27-7 in
the third quarter but ended up losing
35-29.
"We always know in the back of'
our minds what Illinois did to us."
Terrell added. "We can't come out
thinking that the game is over"
Thev didn't.
The second quarter showed com-
plete focus from the Wolverines.
But this time the defense was racking
up the highlights.
After a 15-play, 14-minute drive by
the Owls, Michigan's defense stopped
the Rice attack on a fourth-down con-
version on Michigan's 3-yard line.
That stop turned into a long drive by
Michigan that Terrell took into the end-
zone.
"Our defense did such a good job
considering we had so little time against
an (wishbone) offense that we don't
usually see," Carr said.
And that's when Carr shut down his
offense, doing Rice a favor
It was no surprise that the Owls,
known for exclusively running the ball,
completed just five passes for the game.
But the Wolverines also tools the
game to the ground as soon as the team
took the 38-7 lead on Hayden Epstein's
field goal.
With backup quarterback Andy
Mignery leading Michigan's second-
string offense in the fourth quarter, Rice
avoided the shutout.
The Rice highlight of the afternoon
was a 68-yard touchdown pass to from
fourth-stringer Ben Wulf to wide-open
running back Adrian Sadler, giving the
Owls their only points of the afternoon.
"It looked like Brandon Williams'
fault," Carr said. "Fm sure there were
people back there thinking 'What is he
doing?' but it wasn't his assignment.
someone else blew their assignment.
With the exception of that play, we had
a good game plan."
0
PASS DEFENSE
Player
I. trackins
Totals
- - --------------
Int
(0
Lng
0
Brk-up TO
; O
0 0
PLAYErW OF THE GAME:
ANTHONY THOMAS ran like he's capa-
ble on Saturday against Rice. He was
a powerful force and flat-out intimidat-
ed a smaller
Rice defensive
unit.
His 131
yards and two
touchdowns
were a signifi-
an7
STAFF PICKS
WEEK 1 SELECTIONS, WINNERS IN BOLD
ALL PICKS MADE AGAINST THE SPREAD.
HOME TEAMS IN CAPS.
MICHIGAN (-27.5) vs Rice
PENN STATE (-16) vs Louisiana Tech
MICHIGAN STATE (-8.5) vs Marshall
NORTHWESTERN (-12.5) vs Duke
PURDUE (-43) vs Kent
AI NNIPCf'OTA om tic
Scores
Michigan (38-7)
Penn State (67-7)
Michigan State (34-24)
Northwestern (38-5)
Purdue (45-10)
Oin ,I') _171
David
Den Herder
Rice
Penn State
Michigan State
Duke
Kent
Minnoccnta
Chris
Duprey
Michigan
Penn State
Michigan State
Northwestern
Kent
Ohin
Mark.
Francescutti
Michigan
Penn State
Marshall
Northwestern
Kent
Minnesota
Stephanie
Offen
r - ----- --
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