The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - Monday, October 1, 2001- 5B I'LL TAKE TOTAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR IT- IT WAS NOT VERY SMART. - ILLINOIS COACH RON TURNER ON OPTING NOT TO PUNT ON FOURTH AND ONE IN THE SECOND QUARTER HOW THE AP TOP 25 FARED WEEKEND'S BEST HEUPEL wHo?:Oklahoma junior quar- terback Nate Hybl overcame three interceptions in order to win what was the biggest game of his short four-game career, a 38-37 victory against Kansas State. Hybl, who steps into the starting role for last year's quarterback Josh Heupel, completed 17-of-38 passes for 283 yards and two touchdowns. The third-ranked Sooners defeated the ninth-ranked Wildcats for the third straight time and extended their winning streak to 17. GAMECOCKS GUN FOR NATIONAL TITLE RUN: Down 36-24 with 9:01 left in the game No. 15 South Carolina began an improbable comeback for what had once been an impos- sible victory over Alabama. Gamecock quarterback Phil Petty hit tight end Rob Trafford with 2:18 remaining to give South Car- olina a 37-36 win, its first ever against the Crimson Tide. South Carolina has an easy sched- ule until November where it could easily be 7-0 going into contests with Tennessee, Florida and Clem- son. HUSKIES COME FROM BEHIND, AGAIN: For the third season in a row, Cali- fornia held a lead over Washington before blowing it in the second half. Huskies' wide receiver Paul Arnold and running back Rich Alexis each scored two touchdowns to spark the comeback. Golden Bears' quarterback Kyle Boller threw for four touchdowns in the loss. Associated Press Poll for week of September 23. Games updated through September 30. Team: Last week: 1. Miami (Fla.) beat Pittsburgh 43-21 2. Florida beat Mississippi State 52-0 3. Oklahoma beat No. 11 Kansas St. 38-37 4. Nebraska beat Missouri 36-3 5. Texas beat Texas Tech 42-7 6. Oregon beat Utah State 3&21 7. Tennessee beat No. 14 LSU 26-18 8. Virginia Tech beat Central Florida 46-14 9. Georgia Tech lost to Clemson 47-44 10. Fresno State beat Louisiana Tech 3&28 11. Kansas State lost to No. 3 Oklahoma 38-37 12. UCLA beat No. 19 Oregon State 3&7 13. Washington beat California 31-28 14. Louisiana State lost to No. 7 Tennessee 26-18 15. South Carolina beat Alabama 37-36 16. Northwestern beat No. 23 Michigan St. 27-26 17. Michigan beat No. 22 Illinois 45-20 18. Florida State beat Wake Forest 4&24 19. Oregon State lost to No. 12 UCLA 38-7 20. Brigham Young beat UNLV 35-31 21. Mississippi State lost to No. 2 Florida 52-0 22. Illinois lost to No. 17 Michigan 45-20 NEW AP TOP 25 This week: Troy State at No. 18 Louisiana State at No. 5 Texas Iowa State No. 3 Oklahoma at Arizona Georgia at West Virginia at Duke Bye Colorado Bye Southern Cal. No. 2 Florida Kentucky at Ohio State at Penn State Bye at Washington State Utah State at Auburn Minesota Bye Iowa at Ohio (first-place votes in parentheses) TEAM 1. Miami (Fla.) (34) 2. Florida (22) 3. Oklahoma (9) 4. Nebraska (2) 5. Texas.(4) 6. Tennessee(7) 7. Oregon 8. Virginia Tech 9. UCLA 10. Fresno State (1) 11. Washington 12. Kansas State 13. South Carolina 14. Northwestern 15. Michigan 16. Florida State 17. Georgia Tech 18. Louisiana State 19. Clemson 20. Brigham Young 21. Purdue 22. Stanford 23. Toledo 24. Texas A&M 25. Maryland 3-0 4-0 4-0 5-0 4-0 3-0 4-0 4-0 4-0 5-0 3-0 2-1 4-0 3-0 3-1 3-1 3-1 2-1 3-1 4-0 3-0 3-0 4-0 4-0 4-0 PTS 1,744 1,725 1,648 1,546 1,511 1,355 1,310 1,308 1,252 1,139 1,006 997 952 884 803 678 573 539 436 426 321 215 200 182 118 PvS 1 2 3 4 5 7 6 9 12 10 13 11 15 16 17 18 9 14 NR 20 24 NR 25 NR NR 23. Michigan State 24. Purdue 25. Toledo lost to No. 16 N'western 27-26 beat Minnesota 35-28 beat Northern Illinois 41-20 Dropped Out: No. 19 Oregon State, No. 21 Mississippi State, No. 22 illinois, No. 23 Michigan State An 'instant classic?' Wildcats squeak past Spatans, 27-26 By Michael Rosen For the Daily The Northwestern Wildcats insist on nail-bit- ing finishes. They did it twice last season against Minnesota on a 45-yard pass on the last play of the game and against Michigan with twenty sec- onds to go. Why should this season be any dif- ferent? Michigan State has to be frustrated. The game was an even match-up until Northwestern's "Hail Mary" completion set up David Wasielewski's 47-yard field goal through the uprights. The mistake came when a Northwestern receiver ran outside and behind coverage as his quarterback, Zak Kustok lofted the ball in the air for a 50-yard completion. PURDUE 35, MINNESOTA 28 (OT): Who would have thought that an officiating crew could have blown two obvious calls? Minnesota coach was Glen Mason was astonished after his team's con- troversial overtime loss to Purdue. "It's tough to swallow," Minnesota coach Glen Mason said. "I don't know how they got it off in one second. The only way is to snap it on the whistle. That did not happen. Fact." The first mistake the officials made was count- ing the 48-yard field goal that sent the game into overtime after the clock read triple zeros. Once in the extra session, Purdue quarterback Brandon Hance connected with John Standeford for a 19-yard touchdown. The second and even more drastic blunder was the ruling of receiver Tony Henderson's recep- tion in the end zone, which was declared out of bounds. Replays confirmed the officials' over- sight, showing Henderson's one foot in the end zone - all that is required in college football. On the Gophers' next attempt, quarterback Travis Cole threw an interception to Purdue's Stuart Schweigert. IOWA 24, PENN STATE 18: Despite playing for the first time since Sept. 8th, the Hawkeyes rolled to a 24-18 victory, upping their undefeated record to 3-0. While being a part of a sloppy, penalty-filled game, Iowa, unlike Penn State, made big plays when it needed them most. Special teams player Dallas Clark recovered an onside kick at the Penn State 47-yard line. As the Nittany Lions used all of their time outs, they failed to recognize they didn't have the correct personnel on the field for Nate Kaeding's 47-yard field goal which gave the Hawkeyes a 24-11 lead. Penn State's running game did not help its cause. The running backs ran collectively for 33 yards on 27 carries - 1.2 yards per carry. OHIO STATE 27, INDIANA 14: Ohio State quar- terback, Steve Bellisari began to put to rest the controversy over whether he should be benched for redshirt sophomore, Scott McMullen. The senior quarterback completed 15-of-21 passes for 194 yards with no interceptions in the Buckeyes' 27-14 victory over the Hoosiers. Everyone from the offensive line and receivers straight down to special teams stepped up his effort. Most notably was the blocked punt by strong safety Mike Doss, which set up a field goal. Although Bellisari's counterpart, Antwaan GAME PROGRESSION First Quarter: The two teams exchange three- and-outs three times before any offense materializes. Finally, with 7:50 left in the first quarter, Kurt Kittner connects with Wal- ter Young for a 48-yard comple- tion to the Michigan seven yard line. After three plays that lose three yards, Peter Christofilakos kicks a 27-yard field goal. Illinois 3, Michigan 0 Michigan's offense gets jump started when Jermaine Gonzales comes in for one play and runs thestrans-continental with Mar- quise Walker for 51 yards. Two plays later, Walter Cross throws a halfback option pass to Walk- er, wide open in the endzone. Michigan 7, Illinois 3 Second Quarter: Kittner passes for 62 yards on one drive. All in all, the Illini drive 80 yards in a drive that ended with a four yard Kittner run into the endzone. Illinois 10, Michigan 7 Michigan comes right back with its own 80-yard drive. This time, the Wolverinesscore on a 1 3- yard B.J. Askew run. Michigan 14, Illinois 10 After three plays that gain nine yards, the Illini go for it on fourth and one from their own 33. Shawn Lazarus stops Kittner cold on the draw and Michigan takes over. Immediately, John Navarre hits Ronald Bellamy in the corner of the endzone. Michigan 21, Illinois 10 Feeling that two gimmick plays is just not enough for one game (or maybe that the reverse is no longer a gimmick play,) Cross and Calvin Bell run it to perfec- tion, with Bell picking up 28 yards for the score. Michigan 28, lllinois 10 Third Quarter: Illinois stops Michigan's tear with a three-and-a-half minute drive that ends in another Christofilakos field goal. Michigan 28, Illinois 13 All but ruling out a possible comeback, the Illini defense becomes foolish, getting flagged for two personal fouls in con- secutive plays. Michigan takes the 30 gift yards and drives seven more before scoring on a Hayden Epstein 31-yard field goal. Michigan 31, Illinois 13 Illinois gets things going with a 30-yard pass play, but three plays later, Kittner gets sacked by Cato June and Dan Rumishek recovers it. Michigan takes over at Illinois' 34 and Askew takes a screen pass 17 yards before scoring on a three-yard run two plays later. Michigan 38, Illinois 13 Fourth Quarter: Dustin Ward relieves Kittner and leads the Illini on a 50-yard touchdown drive. Aided by a Michigan holding penalty, Ward finds Greg Lewis three plays later. Michigan 38, Illinois 20 On the next drive, Michigan goes 46 yards before scoring on a Walter Cross five-yard run. Michigan 45, Illinois 20 WHO'S NEXT: enn State Michigan started its Big Ten season well with a 45-20 win over Illinois. On the flip-side, Penn State hasn't done anything well. Legendary coach Joe Paterno is still one win short of tying Bear Bryant for all-time wins, but at this rate, it looks like Florida State's Bobby Bowden may get there first. Penn State has about two things going for it - that the game is in State College and that there is still some time before Saturday for the entire Michigan squad to contract rabies. But beyond that, there isn't too much hope for the Nits. BIG TEN STANDINGS AP PHOTO Northwestern's David Wasielewski celebrates after kicking the winning field goal against Michigan State. Randle El, completed 14-of-21 attempts for 181 yards, his defense failed to step up, allowing Bel- lisari to run curls and short passes underneath Indiana's two-deep zone coverage. WISCONSIN 24, WESTERN KENTUCKY 6: West- ern Kentucky was clearly the overmatched Divi- sion I-AA team that everyone expected. Despite the romping by the Badgers, many of the Wisconsin players admitted that they were a bit lax. This complacency was evident in the embarrassingly high time for possession of the unworthy Division I-AA squad. The 334 offensive yards is deceiving, as the Badgers punted six times. Wisconsin needs to look at some tape and rectify its mistakes and self-satisfied attitude. However, many players told reporters that they guaranteed that this would not be the case next week against the usually defensively-orient- ed Indiana Hoosiers. - The Associated Press contributed to this report. Wolverines shut down Kittner and use variety of trick plays to win ILLINI Continued from Page 11B a pass to Walker - who bobbled the ball - for the touchdown. "Walter had tried a couple of those before and never hit it," Carr said. "Finally he throws a perfect pass and Marquise almost drops it. I would have murdered him if he had done that." Walker finished with six catches and 108 yards receiving, to go with his 1-for-1 passing performance. Michigan successfully ran its third trick play of the game when receiver Calvin Bell ran a reverse 28-yards for a touchdown. Trickery worked so well against the Fighting Illini because of their aggressive defense which blitzes and attacks the ball on nearly every play. Consequently, when the ball quickly changes direction, their defensive attack becomes vulnerable. "What you're looking for is a defense that flows to the football," Carr said. "(In such a case), the quarter- back is normally someone who no one is assigned to cover." Michigan hasn't lost a Big Ten opener since 1981, and has beaten Illinois now three times to open the Big Ten season since 1995. Conversely, Illinois hasn't won a Big Ten opener since 1993. The game also marked the first time all season that Navarre hasn't thrown for over 200 yards. He finished with 187 yards on 13-for-26 passing, but didn't play much of the second half because of Michigan's comfort- able lead. Conversely, Illinois quarterback Kurt Kittner may have hurt his Heisman trophy dreams with his 20-for-39 performance on Sunday. MARJORIE MARSHALL/Daily Michigan's Larry Foote and Shawn Lazarus shut down the Illinois rushing offense on Saturday, allowing just 25 yards on the ground. I Everything falls apart About a week ago, we shared your optimism. We saw our records in Staff Picks and believed that we were that much better than those who came before us. We're learning how hard it is to pick in the conference season. Iowa - are you kidding me - only six points over Penn Sate? How could Oregon State get crushed by UCLA in Corvallis? And Oklahoma, what were you doing during the final minute? All in all, though, we're to blame. How could we go 0-4 in five differ- ale FIdgFnJailCK S TAFF PICKS Team Iowa Northwestern Purdue Michigan Wisconsin Ohio State Illinois Michigan State Minnesota Indiana Penn State Big Ten 1-0 1-0 1-0 1-0 1-0 1-0 0-1 0-1 0-1 0-1 0-2 Overall 3-0 3-0 3-0 3-1 3-2 2-1 3-1 2-1 1-2 0-3 0-3 WEEK 3 SELECTIONS ALL PICKS MADE AGAINST THE SPREAD. Raphael Arun Jeff Jon HOME TEAMS IN CAPS. 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