4B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - November 6, 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 NU 31 50/360 322 90 654 0 27/40/0 3/42.0 1/0 10/93 30.53 MICH 33 44/250 318 81 535 20 24/37/0 2/40 0 2/2 9/90 29.07 4 Records fall in a new offensive world RECORD-BREAKING The offensive explosion on Saturday broke just a few Michigan records. Here are five of the biggest: N O R T H W E S T E R N PASSING Player Kustok Totals RUSHING Player Ander son Kustok S mmons Lawrence Patrick Totals RECEIVING Player Simmons Schweighardt Johnsen Patrick Jordan Anderson Farman Totals C-A 27-40 27.40 Yds TO 322 2 322 2 Att 31 16 1 50 No. 12 3 2 2 2 27 Yds 268 55 0 -2 332 Yds 124 54 72 50 14 3.5 1 322 Avg 86 3.4 11.0 0 -2.0 6.6 Avg 10.3 10.8 24 25 7 11.5 11 11.9 Lg 45 21 11 0 0 45 Lg 24 25 36 30 10 5 36 Int O TO TD 2 2 0 0 0 4 TD 1 O 0 0 0 1 2 By Mark Francescutti Dally Sports Ehior PUNTING Player Star dri n Totals KICKOFF RETURNS Player No. Johnson 3 Ayeni 3 Totals 6 PUNT RETURNS Player No. Totals 0 DEFENSE Player Silva Wieber Blackmrron Wheeler Covington Emmerich Harris Bentley Chapman Durr Collins Missouri Brown Konopka Stuckey Lawrence Simon Lezi Ayenr No. Yds 3 126 3 126 Yds A 51 93: 144 Yds A 0 Solo s 6 6 6 5 4 2 2 1 1 0 2 2 2 2 0 0 Avg Lg 42.0 50 42.0 50 Avg Lg 17 20 31 54 24 54 TD 0 0 0 Avg Lg TD 0 0 0 Asst 9 2 1 0 1 2 4 2 2 2 3 0 0 0 1 2 0 Tot 14 8 7 6 6 6 6 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 PASS DEFENSE Player Covington Totals mt 0 0 Yds 0 0 Ig 0 0 1rk-up 1 T> 0 0 M I C H I G A N PASSING Player Henson Epstein Walker Totals RUSHING Player Thomas Bellamy Henson Totals RECEIVING Player Walker Terrell Bellamy Thomas Seymour Askew Joppru Coleman Totals C-A 23/35 1/1 0/1 24/37 Att 37 3 4 44 No. 9 9 1 1 1 1 24 Yds 199 30 -12 217 Yds 134 117 18 16 11 10 6 6 318 Yds 312 6 0 318 Avg 5.4 10.0 -3.0 4.9 Avg 14.9 13 18 16 11 10 6 6 13.25 TO 4 0 0 4 Ig 54 28 7 54 Lg 21 25 18 16 11 10 6 6 25 int 0 0 0 O TO 3 0 3 TO 0 3 O 1 4 EVANSTON - lWhen the score is 54-51 and both teams combine to rack up more than 1,000) yards of total offense, a few records shatter in the process Northwestern's 64 total yards werc the most against IMichi+!an -ever But is it that inipres iin the new age of foot- ball? After alI' Purdue broke the same Mlichigan record just a f eC weeks ao. Were in a bral\C new world." Northwestern coach Rand\ Walker said. "It's a different g1ame. Kids are FOOTBALL more athletic. The mindset has changed a great deal 'Notebook The offensive liiinds have -- __ outmustered the Bo Schembechler idea that defense wins championships. All of a sudden, a crazy Northwestern olense. whether a gimmick or not, along \ ith a Purdue passing attack that's among the tops in the country. ha e ruled the Big Ten. And Michigan. a team historically known for its defense. is just trving to keep up with the latest craze. Despite an ofFcnsive line anchored with NFL draft picks, potential Al-Americans at the wide receiver, quarterback and running back positions, the Wolverines tried to outshoot the two high-pow- ered gangsters of the con fcrence and failed. Purdue outgained Michigan 530-430, and Northwestern did the same 654-535. "And I thought Purdue was pretty bad,' said offensive lineman Steve Hutchinson of the close loss. WHERE'S THiED :': After defensive coordinator Jim Herrmann and the Michigan defense had two WILDCATS Continued from Page 1B get a first down and run out the clock. And Anthony Thomas did in fact run past the first-down marker. Unfortunately for Michigan, after he gained the yardage needed to run out the clock, he dropped the football. "All I had in my mind was trying to get the first down," Thomas said. "I saw something open up and I tried to take a little too much and then some bad things happened." Those bad things resulted in the Wolverines'. second turnover of the game --- the one that would cost them the victory. Sophomore Raheem Coington fell on the ball at the Michigan 30-yard line. And it took Kustok just three plays to score the winning touchdown on a pass to Teddy Johnson. The Wolverines seemed to still be in shock after the fumble. But to no one's surprise, the game didn't end there. Walter Cross returned the kickoff to Michigan's 36-yard line. Fifteen seconds were left on the clock - enough for two plays before Michigan had to try a field goal that would send the two teams into overtime. Two complete passes and 25 yards later, Hayden Epstein was lining up to kick a 57-yard field goal. Epstein holds Michigans record for longest field goal with a 56-varder last season at Michigan State. ie was confident he could do it again. Carr "asked if I could make it and I said yes," Epstein said. But the game took a weird turn once agan. John Navarre couldn't handle the snap and Epstein was forced to throw a six-yad pass to Evan Coleman instead of attempting the kick. This was just the last of many Odd twists taken on Saturday. Each team racked up almost 100 penalty yards - -nine calls were made against the Wolverines, 10 acainst the Wildcats. Northwestern also staved consistent with its spread offense, no-huddle style of pla and bag of tricks. With I1Iminutes left in the first half. trailin 28-17, Northwestern converted an onside kick after an Anderson touchdown. The onside kick turned into a field goal- helping Northwestern et within five at the half. The second half was highligited by more odd turns and crucial penalties. In the third quarter, a holding call, a late hit and a face-mask penalty called against Michigan helped Northwestern to only a 45-43 deficit at the beginning of the fourt h quarter. And that's when it all slipped through their fin- gers. With two Big Fen losses, the Wolverines' Rose Bowl hopes vanished. "The championship was on the line and we let that slip away," Carr said. weeks to prepare for Walker's offense, the Wolverines responded with poor tackling and bro- ken coverage. The 238 yards given up to Damien Anderson was a record-worst for a Michigan defense that hasn't struggled in this fashion in a long time. "When you play in November and the champi- onship is on the line you have to play good defense, and we obviously didn't play that way today" Carr said. "Right from the very beginning the tackling was shoddy. We didn't get the right people on the ball and you ended up with a lot of one-on-one tackles." LAST SECOND TRY: Michigan kicker/punter Hayden Epstein had one last chance to send the game into overtime with four seconds left in the game. The challenge - a 57-yard field goal, one yard more than the 3-pointer Epstein banged home at Michigan State last season, and a kick that tied Mike Gillette's school record. Carr "had confidence in me," said Epstein, who earlier this season was replaced on short-range field goals by Jeff Del Verne. Epstein didn't end up putting his foot on the ball, as John Navarre mishandled the snap. The ball ricocheted off Navarre's hands into Epstein's. Epstein threw a complete pass to Evan Coleman, but Michigan had no shot of reaching the end zone. Fit.Nmtivc THE GAME A N,: After Zak Kustok's pass flickered off off the hands of Anderson with 1:38 remaining, wide receiver David Terrell thought that the proverbial Fat Lady was chirping her song. "I thought the game was won," Terrell said. "He dropped the pass and we had one minute to waste. We could do it. We can get a first down, which we did." All Anthony Thomas had to do was fall down after he broke free and gained first-down yardage. Instead, as he spurted towards the endzone, Sean Wieber knocked the ball loose and Raheemn Covington recovered. "A-Train just tried to get extra yards. What can you say? It was just a mistake," Terrell said. A mistake, or a prayer answered for Northwestern? "I thought the A-Train was gone," Wieber said. "We are a spiritual team and we needed a play. I got one hand on the ball and it came down tonight. I don't think he saw me. He probably saw that he had 80 yards of paydirt ahead of him and was swinging his arms out too much." CwosE cutes: Carr wouldn't respond to ques- tions about the other questionable calls - includ- ing a late hit call against Eric Brackins in the third quarter - until he saw game film. "I can't get into that because it would cost me a S50,000," said Carr of the Big Ten penalty for neg- ative postgame thrashing of referees. WILD CELEBRAION: The goalposts wouldn't come down in Evanston, despite a raucous group of student bouncing wildly. Before he left for Colorado, coach Gary Barnett had the posts dug in deeper to prevent the college kids from taking it down after victories. Northwestern students used to tear the post down after every win. Still, the players and fans had plenty of cheerful time after the game in Northwestern's first sellout of the season. "I was tackling people,"Covington said. "People were saying Good game' and here I am running them over." Most Net Yards Team at Northwestern Illinois Ohio State Colorado Most Points (by Team Cornell Cornell Northwestern .,. I I ,, 1982 1961 1994 opponents) Year Points 1891 58 1889 56 1958 55 I I Most Rushing Yards (by opponent) Team Year Yds Andersen, NW 2000 268 Thompson, MINN 1987 201 Davis, ARMY 1945 188 Francis, OSU 1962 186 Emery, WISC 1984 185 Most Total Plays (by opponent) Team Year Plays Maryland 1990 91 at Northwestern 2000 90 Michigan State 1968 90 Most Points (both teams) Team Year Points West Virginia 1904 130 Buffalo 1901 128 Michigan Agric. 1902 119 Iowa 1902 107 at Northwestern 2000 105 (by opponents) Year Yds 2000 654 515 512 511 at Northwestern 2000 54 6 I PUNTING Player Epstein Totals KICKOFF RETURNS Player No. Cross 3 Beard1 Orr 3 Total 7 PUNT RETURNS Player No. Sellamy 1 Totals t DEFENSE Player Patmon Foote Brackins Whialey Orr Curry B. Williams Drake Rumishek LeSueur Lazarus Wilson Howard Petruziello Casseus Sechier Hobson Diggs D. Williams Jordan Stevens Del Verne Spytek Fargas Coleman No. Yds Avg Lg 2 80 40.0 45 2 80 40.0 45 Yds 38 27 13 78 Yds 20 20 Solo 7 7 s 4 3 4 4 2 3 3 1 1 1 1 1 ,1 0 Avg 127 27 0 4.3 14.1 Lg 19 27 7 27 Avg Lg 20 20 20 20 Asst 9 7 3 2 3 1 0 2 0 0 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 TD 0 0 0 0 TD 0 O Tot 16 14 8 6 6 5 4 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 PETER CORNUE/ Daily David Terrell's expression says it all: With even decent defense, the 51-point outburst by himself and the rest of the Wolverines would have been more than enough to win. THE BIG TEN BOWL PICTURE The Rose Bowl: Purdue controls its own destiny in this spot. If the Boilermakers win out then they will head to Pasadena. If they lose to either Michigan St. or Indiana and Northwestern wins out, then the Wildcats will be California-bound. The Citrus Bowl: If Purdue heads to the Rose Bowl then Northwestern will claim the second spot in the Big Ten. The Citrus Bowl is slated to take the No. 2 team in the conference. But the Citrus Bowl committee is free to chose who they would like. If his- tory stays intact the Wildcats will go to the No. 2 Big Ten bowl. The Outback Bowl: This is where the Wolverines will head if 4 tthey win the rest of their games. But that includes a game at Ohio State. If Michigan loses to the Buckeyes, Ohio State will probably head to Tampa. It is possible Ohio State could also get a BCS bid. The Alamo Bowl: If Michigan losses to the Buckeyes the V4'm . Wolverines will not play on New Year's Day for the first time since 11995. The Alamo Bowl takes place on Dec. 30 and is for the No. 4 team in the Big Ten. But if the Wolverines win out. Ohio State will be the ones to spend New Years back home - again. The Sun Bowl is another possibility for the Wolverines if they lose their next two games. The sixth-place Big Ten team will go to the Micron/PC.Com Bowl. DEN HERDER Continued from Page 1B silently on the turf. He is staring at a legacy slipping silently into history. Nobody can really explain why Michigan dropped the ball Saturday. There are those who claim that - as with the forward pass years ago -- Michigan has failed to adapt soon enough. Purdue and Northwestern have created an ofrense that Michigan and Ohio State can't handle. Others claim scholarship limitations and widespread market exposure have leveled the playing field in the Big Ten. And there is, of course, the immediate explanation. That Michigan's defensive game plan was so inadequate it could not protect a 51-point offensive performance. That's the most truth you'll probably find sifting through the fallout of Saturday's dis- aster. Except perhaps one thing. That those who live through the birth and death of a legacy are affected most. It helps explain how a 300-pound lineman can be reduced to weeping, doubled over on a lock- erroom table. And maybe it can explain why a columnist would ask him to explain noth- ing -- trading his recorder for a solemn slap on the shoulder. Maybe this is just a down year for Michigan. Maybe it is a trend. Either way, the Wolverines are headed for a third-tier bowl game and a four-loss season. The Rose Bowl trophy has probably tar- nished slightly by now. And the newspapers proclaiming perfection have all but yel- lowed. Tales are still told with chest-bursting pride about those Michigan Wolverines. The character, the comebacks, the emotional energy and marvelous magic - all are the things of legacy. All compose another page in the history of this university, turned over Saturday night. - Dave Den Herder can be reached at dden(W umwch.edu 0 0 PASS DEFENSE Player int Yds Ing Brk-up TD Howard 0 0 0 2 O Foote O 0 0 1 0 Whitley 0 0 O 1 0 Orr 0 0 0 1 0 Wilson 0 0 0 1 0 Totals 0 0 0 6 0 PL YE......E...... PLAYER OF THE GAME. i, Fe miCK S STAFF PICS WEEK 9 SELECTIONS ALL PICKS MADE AGAINST THE SPREAD. HOME TEAMS IN CAPS. Michigan (-7.5) vs. NORTHWESTERN OHIO STATE (-14) vs. Michigan State ILLINOIS (-8) vs. Indiana WISCONSIN (-5) vs. Minnesota PENN STATE (-17) vs. Iowa EASTERN MICHIGAN (-7.5) vs. Central Michigan KANSAS STATE (-18.5) vs. Iowa State FLORIDA STATE (-18.5) vs. Clemson David Den Herder Michigan Ohio State Illinois Wisconsin lowa Central Michigan Kansas State Clemson Chris Duprey Michigan Michigan State Illinois. Minnesota Iowa Central Michigan Iowa State Clemson . -ii in n ( +est Northwestern Ohio State Illinois Wisconsin Penn State Eastern Michigan Iowa State Florida State I iciano eagt Michigan Ohio State Illinois Minnesota Iowa Eastern Michigan Iowa State Florida State Ahama Mark Stephanie Francescutti Offen This week's results: NORTHWESTERN 54, Michigan 51 OHIO STATE 27, Michigan State 13 ILLINoIS 42, Indiana 35 WIScONSIN 41, Minnesota 20 Iowa 26, PENN STATE 23 (OT) EASTERN MICHIGAN 31, Central Michigan 15 Kansas State 56, IowA STATE 10 FLORIDA STATE 54, Clemson 7 LouISIANA STATE 30, Alabama 28 Missssppi State 35, KENTUCY 17 Florida 43, VANDERBILT 20 Oregon State 38, CALIFORNIA 32 WASHINGTON 35, Arizona 32 Southem Cal 44, ARIZONA STATE 38 (OT) OREGON 27, Washington State 24 (OT) Fine. Maybe we don't know much about Pac-10 football - we were a combined 2-1 04 . Mavhe we should just make our 9l 6 ,s F)amiPn An(lprgnn niSha(l fnr 968 1