4B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - November 20, 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
Te of Poss
MICH
16
43/88
303
68
391
86
14/25/1
6/38.3
1/O
6/59
oSu
22
34/149
251
82
400
198
21/48/3
5/33.4
2/0
28:36
-AN C3,
M i C H I G A N
PASNG
Player
Player
Thomas
Bellamy.
Perry
Navarre
Askew
Total"
RECEIVING
Player
Terrel
Thomas
Waler
C-A Yds
14-25 303
14-25 303
Att Yds Avg
29 60 2.1
1 13 1 .
1 5 5.0
1 3 3.0
43 88 2.
TD
3
3
Lg
8
13
7
5
3
1
13
Lg
32
70
25
40
5
70
No.
5
1
Player I
Epstein
Totals
KICKOFF RETURNS
Player No.
Perny 1
Orr 1
Tota's 5
PUNT RETURNS
Player No.
Belamoy 1
Totals 2
DEFENSE
Player
Diggs
Curry
Patmon
Whitley
Hobson
Spytdk
Howam
Rumishek
Wilson
Dubuc
Seymour
Hutchinson
Carr
LeSueur
!Stevens
PASS DEFENSE
Yds
99
89
70
40
5
230
No.
6
6
Yds
58
17
13
se
Yds
O
-2
-2
Salo
8
6
6
7
4
4
4
2
2
3
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
Avg
19.8
40.0
23s 3N
230 38
Avg
13.0
17.6
Avg
"1.0
Asst
2
0
0
0
0
O
O
O
8.3
;.3
Lg
13
24
Lg
0
0
Int
1
t
TD
0
0
TD
2
0
0
3TD
3 0
7 0
4 0
t 0
3 T
20
0
0
To
9
1
8
1
THE NAKED BOOTLEG
PHOTOS BY DAVID KATZ
M Y
By David Den Herder
Daily Sports Editor
COLUMBUS - Michigan coach
Lloyd Carr called Saturday's battle
with Ohio State "a typical, hard-
fought, hard-hitting football game."
Hard-hitting it was. But typical it
was not - at least in terms of play-
calling. Both Carr and Ohio State
coach John Cooper brought their bag
of tricks into the newly-renovated
Horseshoe, and both had the occa-
sion to use them.
Trickery was put to its usual task in
several key play-action passing plays
as well as the game-ending bootleg to
Drew Henson.
"When I'm laying on the ground, I
look over and I see Drew crossing the
goal line," Michigan offensive line-
man Steve Hutchinson said of the
roll-out. "It is a great feeling."
But' true gimmicks on special
teams - especially two fake field
goals and one fake punt -- may have
ultimately decided the outcome.
Ohio State got the drop early when
Nate Clements faked a reverse on the
opening kickoff, returning the ball to
the Michigan 20 and setting up Ohio
State's first touchdown.
But after two Michigan touch-
downs, the Buckeyes were down 14-9
and forced to answer in the second
quarter. Facing a foutth-and-three on
his own 38, Cooper called for the
fake punt -- snapping to punter B.J.
Sander for a forward pass.
Sander did his job, but Ohio State's
Donnie Nickey dropped the pass,
yielding the ball to Michigan on
downs.
Despite such great field position,
the Wolverines could manage to
advance the ball to only the 21-yard
line before the field-goal unit was
called on.
But leading by five with six yards
to go for a first down, Carr employed
what Michigan players call the "fire"
play. The ball was snapped to holder
John Navarre, who placed it for the
swinging leg of Hayden Epstein.
A split-second before Epstein
made contact, Navarre tucked the
ball away and rolled out as if he were
scrambling for a loose ball, which
appeared to have been blocked on its
way to the goalpoast.
In reality, Navarre was scrambling
for the first down. Unfortunately for
him, the Buckeyes figured it out one
yard before he reached the marker.
Sometimes with trick plays not all
offensive players know the fake is on,
but Michigan long snapper Jeremy
Miller said that on that play, all 1
Wolverines knew the drill.
"We have to have communication
with the tight ends," Miller said.
The failure of Michigan's first spe-
cial teams gimmick did not deter
Carr from pulling another rabbit out
of his hat.
On Michigan's first possession of
the second half, the Wolverines were
faced with a 47-yard field goal
option or a pooch punt on fourth-
and-two. The coaches chose neith
instead calling a highly unorthodo
fake that caught everybody in the sta-
dium off guard.
Navarre was again back to hold,
but a second after he extended his
arm to accept the long snap, Navarre
sprinted up to the line and took an I-
snap from Miller, handing off to the
B.J Askew, who bullied his way for
two yards and the first down.
"I had made up my mind if we he
a situation (where we needed) two
yards or less I wanted to use that
play," Carr said. The ensuing play
was a 32-yard strike to David Terrell
for Michigan's third touchdown.
Two fake field goals in one game is
unusual for the traditionally conserv-
ative coach, who said he was wary of
the way Michigan matched up defen-
sively with the Buckeyes.
"I was not sure how we would pla.
defensively," Carr said. "What
wanted to do was steal a couple pos-
sessions.
The Wolverines succeeded in steal-
ing one possession. And one victory
on the road.
From traditionalist coaches, a
dose of special teams trickery
0
On 4th-and-goal with 1:18 remaining, Lloyd Carr called for a fake handoff and
left-side rollout from Ohio State's one-yard line.
Player Int Yds Lg Brit-up TO
Curry 1 50 50 1 1
Foote 1 20 20 2 0
Rumishek 1 O O 1 0
Howard O 0 O 2 0
Totals 3 70 50 6 1
O H I O S T A T E
PASSING
Player C-A Yds T Int
Bellisari 21/47 251 1 3
Sander 0/1 v A O
Totals 21/48 251 1 3
RUSHING
Player Att Yds Avg Lg TD
Combs 14 55 3.9 24 0
Bellisari 10 47 4.7 26 O
Wells 9 29 3.2 11 2
Cooper 18 18.0 18 O
Totals 34 149 4.4 26 2
RECEIVING
Player No. Yds Avg Lg TD
Provitt 6 81 13.5 19 1
Rambo 6 64 10.7 18 1
Wells 2 34 17.0 25 O
Carter 2 27 13.5 17 O
Cacchio 2 20 10.0 14 1
Sanders 2 19 9.5 10 0
Combs 1 6 6.0 6
Totals 21 251 12.0 25 1
PUNTING
Player No. Yds Avg Lg
Sander 3 131 43.7 36
$tultz 1 36 36.0 51
Totals 5 167 33.4 51
KlaCKer EUNo. Yds Avg Lg TD
Cletents 0 80 0 10 0
Total 5 160 32.0 80 O
PlayrETRNNo. Yds Avg Lg TD
Clements 5 38 7.6 14 0
Totals 5 38 7.6 2 0
DEFENSE
Player Solo Asst Tot
Doss 11 5 16
Cooper 4 6 10
Wilhelm 4 5 9
Nckey 4 0 4
Bullard 3 O 3
Picket2 1 3
BJohnson 1 2 3
Ceents 2 2
Bon 0 2 2
Duls 1 O 1
Grant 1 0 1
Bare 1 0 1
Reynolds 0 1 '1
McNutt 0 1 1
PASS DEFENSE
Clemnents 0 O 0 1 0
Nickey O 0 0 1 O
PLAYEFR OF TH GA ME:
After Ohio State linebacker Courtland Bullard (58 above) missed his assign-
ment, quarterback Drew Henson had the open look to the endzone.
Michigan defenders picked off Ohio State quarterback Steve Bellisari three times on Saturday, they said partially because he
looked at his target "the whole game."
'M' earns unlikel share of title .
Defense stuffs Buckeyes' attempt at game-winning drive
By Stephanie Offen
Daily Sports Editor
COLUMBUS -- The hats were
already produced. Unfortunately one
team had to throw its supply out.
Michigan was all smiles yesterday as
the Wolverines quickly filed into the
press conference donning their newly-
manufactured Big Ten Championship
hats.
At the same time, the Buckeyes' hats
were being disposed of as they walked
out of the lockerroom, heads down -no
caps to cover them.
This year, those caps were a little hard-
er to earn for the Wolverines than in the
past. This season's seniors may have
three rings to their name - but none
were as tough to get as this one.
"Our expectations are always high.
When you meet the kind of adversity we
had, it's easy to fall apart and make
excuses, point the finger or quit trying,"
Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "To
their credit they never did that."
Prior to the Penn State weekend, Carr
admits that his team felt it had little
chance of a championship. It would need
both Purdue and Northwestern to lose to
a large underdog to even claim part of the
trophy. But the unthinkable came true.
Northwestern lost to Iowa and Purdue
lost to Michigan State, causing the enthu-
siasm to be at an all-time high for the
Wolverines. Coming into this past week-
end, they had the opportunity to be one of
three Big Ten champions with a victory
over Ohio State.
"When Northwestern and Purdue both
got beat we had something to fight for,"
Carr said. "We had a tremendous week of
practice. We were outside in the snow
and it was as cold as it was today. We had
a tremendous week of practice because
of the enthusiasm that was generated by
the chance to win the Big Ten chanpi-
onship.E
FoURTH AND ONE: Even though
Hayden Epstein ran out onto the field
with 1:18 left in the game, there was no
doubt in Carr's mind that the Wolverines
were going for a touchdown.
"From the moment we took over after
our defense made a great stop on fourth
down, in my mind I was not going to kick
a field goal," Carr said. "I knew they
would have no timeouts left, and even
though I would have liked the three
points, my thinking was that they would
have it awfully deep down in there. You
also risk a block and Ohio State has great
field goal defense team"
Instead of a field goal, quarterback
Drew Henson ran the ball on a naked
bootleg, faking out the Ohio State
defense and scrambling for the game-
clinching touchdown.
But Henson was only able to clinch the
game afterthe Buckeyes failed to convert
on their own 4th-and-one situation.
With little over three minutes left in the
game, on their own 18-yard line, the
Buckeyes went for it on fourth-and-one,
instead of punting and hoping for a sec-
ond chance on offense.
"You're gambling (if you punt). Can
you stop them and then go down. and
score a touchdown?" Henson said. "It's a
tough call and I'm glad I didn't have to
make it."
But whether it was the right choice is
irrelevant now. What does matter is that
the Michigan defensive line was able to
stop the Buckeyes and get the ball back
to set up the Henson touchdown.
"We had a fourth-down play and we
gambled," Ohio State coach John Cooper
said. "My thinking was if we don't get a
first down, we're not going to get the ball
back. So we gambled and weren't able to
get the first down. After that we put a lot
of pressure on our defense and of course
(Michigan) scored on fourth down when
their quarterback made a great play"
TRASHING THE WOLVERINES: Ohio
State kicker Dan Stultz, who is known
for his showboating after making field
goals, had some choice words to say
about Michigan's sportsmanship after the
game.
Stultz claims that David Terrell spit in
his face after he Stultz kicked off late in
the fourth quarter
"He not only gave me a shoulder, he
did something that I think proved to
he has little class and what kind of thin
they teach at that program in Michigan,
Stultz told the Columbus Dispatch. "He
spit in my face and I feel bad for his par-
ents to raise him like that. I know I was-
n't brought up that way."
Stultz claimed he pleaded with the
official after the spitting incident but
nothing catrte of his pleas.
"I said something to the official,'
Stultz said. "He said, 'You're not in the
right place here.' He told me I was in Ak
wrong ... He obviously didn't see wha
happened. Even though no one saw
(Terrell spitting), he did it o me.
BE LLISARI wOES: Julius Curry had
Michigan's first interception return for a
touchdown since the Citrus Bowl against
Arkansas two years ago.
And nothing should be taken away
from the amazing play of Curry or the
rest ofthe Michigan defense on Saturday,
but the Wolverines admitted that 01
State quarterback Steve Bellisari was an'
easy target to intercept.
"I noticed that (Bellisari looked at his
target) the whole game,' Curry said.
Foote confirmed Curry's accusation,
saying that on his interception, Bellisari
was also looking right at the receiver.
The Ohio State quarterback came into
Saturday's loss with nine interceptions.
He finished the game with three more.
2-10-1: Cooper currently holds a l l -
41-4 record in his 13 years as coac4
the Buckeyes. He is the second-win-
ningest coach in Ohio State history,
behind legendary coach Woody Hayes,
and the fifth-winningest coach in Big Ten
history.
Unfortunately, Cooper will always be
remembered for his struggles against the
Wolverines. After Saturday's loss,
Cooper is 2-10-1 over Michigan.
Henson celebrates his game-clinching touchdown in front of a national televi-
sion camera and 98,568 fans.
DUPREY
Continued from Page 11B
Rather than beat his head against
the wall running against eight men,
Carr went to the air
Henson got Thomas involved with
' two screens one of which went for a
0 to 70-yard touchdown that cut Ohio
State's lead to 9-7. David Terrell won
Michigan strong safety Julius Curry his individual matchup with Clements,
intercepted Steve Bellisari in the third and his five catches kept multiple
quarter and returned the ball 50 yards andhisnfisahe
for the Michigan touchdown, putting Michig drves alie
the Wolverines up 31-12. The Wolverines finished with 303
Curry's return was Michigan's first yards passing to just 88 yards rushing.
defensive score of the season, and Ohio State won the ground battle with
could not have come at a more oppor- 149 yards, an indicator of victory had
tune time for the Wolverines. this game been played 30 years ago.
It was the finest from a Michigan The Buckeyes had more rushing
DB in weeks, and his rise to the occa- yardage than Michigan in each of the
sion earns him the honor.
past four meetings - and lost three of
those games.
"I don't think anything that's hap-
pened in the past has a particular
impact on an Ohio State-Michigan
game," Carr said.
In refusing to take history at face
value, Carr made certain to coach the
way the game dictated. In staying
focused, Carr prepared his team for
everything the Buckeyes had to offer
That's the mark of a coaching job well
done.
Whether or not Columbus callers
realize it, Carr's readiness for this
game had more of an impact on this
game than any contrived Buckeye-
related excuse.
-- Chris Duprev can be reached at
cdupre4.'iumic. ecdi.