4B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - October 8, 2001

0

MICHIGAN 20, PENN STATE 0

GAME STATISTICS

Lions' hopes dashed in 55 seconds

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
M I
PASSING

MICH
21
48/147
263
81
410
42
18/33/0
7/37.6

PSU
14
26/25
244
64
269
79
21/38/2
10/38.4

1/1 3/1

1/5
33:36
C HI GA N

6/50
26:24

Player
Navarre
Gonzales
Totals
RUSHING
Player
Askew
Underwood
Perry
Bell
Cross
Gonzales
Navarre
Totals
RECEIVING
Player
Walker
Askew
Bellamy
Seymour
Dubuc
Totals

C-A Yds TD

17-31
1/2
18/33
Att
27
8
4
2
2
4
48
No. Y
9
4
2
2
18


246 2
172
263 2

I-

Yds Avg
122 4.5
22 2.8
12 3
5 5
4 2
2 1
-20 5
147 3.1
Yds Avg
85 9.4
56 14.0
86 43.0
19 9.5
17 17
63 14.6
o. Yds
6 241
1 22
7 263
Yds Avg
0 0

Lg
20
5
5
5
3
1
2
20
Lg
18
36
53
11
17
53
Avg
40.2
22.0
37.6
Lg
0
Lg
8
0
8

PUNTING
Player
Epstein
Navarre
Totals
KICKOFF RETURNS
Player No.
None
Totals 0
PUNT RETURNS
Player No.
Bellamy .2
Curry 1
Totals 3

N

Int
0
0
0
O
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
TD
0
TO
0
O
O
2
Lg
55
22
55
TD
TD
O
S 0
TO
Tot
9
7
5
4
4
3
.3
3
3
2
2
2
2
1
1

By Arun Gopal
Daily Sports Writer
STATE COLLEGE - With just
over a minute to play in the first half
on Saturday, Penn State found itself
in a position it could have only
dreamed to be in.
The winless Nittany Lions were
prohibitive underdogs against
Michigan, even though the game
was being played at Beaver Stadium
in front of over 100,000 Penn State
supporters. Most observers expected
the seemingly hapless Lions to get
run over by Michigan, which
entered the game ranked No. 15 and
looked to have a far superior team.
But, as the first half wound down,
Penn State was in an unimaginable
spot - it was only trailing mighty
Michigan 6-0.
Despite a freshman quarterback, a
nonexistent running game and but-
ter-fingered receivers, Penn State
hung around with the Wolverines
and looked .poised to go into the
lockerroom with a chance to pull a
huge upset.
But, right when it looked like the
Nittany Lions were in good shape,.
the roof caved in on Michigan's
final drive of the first half.
After taking over the ball on their

own 20-yard line, the Wolverines
used their patented two-minute
offense to drive 80 yards in 9 plays
in just 55 seconds. Michigan cashed
in on its opportunity when quarter-
back John Navarre fired a 16-yard
pass to Marquise Walker, who made
a spectacular leaping catch in the
end zone with just 12 seconds left in
the half.
Just like that, the Wolverines were
up 13-0, and the wind was gone
from Penn State's sail. When Michi-
gan scored on its first possession of
the second half, the Wolverines had
a 20-0 lead, and the game was all
but over.
"It should not have been the end
of the game," Penn State coach Joe
Paterno said. "We should have been
able to get back in it."
Even though it came into the
game with lots of doubters and little
confidence, Penn State played
inspired football throughout most of
the first half, especially on defense..
Before scoring a touchdown, Michi-
gan drove inside Penn State's 20-
yard line on four possessions and
only came away with two field
goals.
Despite a total lack of offense -
thanks in no small part to numerous
dropped passes - Penn State was

very much in the game when Michi-
gan got the ball with 1:07 left in the
second quarter. The Nittany Lions'
pass rush had gotten to Navarre on a
few occasions, and the Beaver Stadi-
um crowd was starting to get excited
about a potentially huge upset.
Just 55 seconds later, the silence
in Happy Valley was deafening.
"It was a huge momentum swingO
in the game," Penn State defensive
end Michael Haynes said. "Person-
ally, I was a little disappointed. We
kept coming after Navarre, but he
kept releasing the ball too quickly.
It's frustrating, because there's
nothing much you can do."
For a team with such a fragile
psyche, the score just before half-
time was devastating. Michigan got
the ball to open the second half, and
when Navarre hit Ron Bellamy in
stride with a 53-yard touchdown
strike, the fight went out of the tena-
cious, but overmatched, Nittany
Lions.
"We had been stopping them ear-
lier in the game, "Penn State defen-
sive tackle Anthony Adams said.
"We held them to only two field
goals and then gave up that last
score.
"I didn't give up hope after that,
but it's really rough."

JOHN PRATT/Daily
Quarterback John Navarre and Michigan have been virtually unstoppable in the two-
minute offense. Last Saturday, they scored in just 55 seconds.

DEFENSE
Player
Hobson
Foote
LeSueur
Rumishek
Howard
Brackins
Orr
Shaw
Jackson
Curry
June
Diggs
Drake
Casseus
Roses
Cross
Williams
Lazarus

Yds
8
O
8
Solo
9
5
5
4
3
3
2
2
1
2
1
0

Asst
0
2
0
0
1
0
2
0
2
0
0
1
0
O
O

Avg
4.0
2.7

Gambling Carr dives into
bag of tricks once more
Fake field goal latest in string of gimmick plays for 'M'

PASS DEFENSE
Player
Rumishek
Brackins
Shaw
Jackson
June
r rake
Totals
*
PASSING
Player
Mills
Totals
RUSHING
Player p
Easy
Johnson, L.
Johnson, .
McCoo
Team
Mills1
Totals <
RECEIVING
Player N
Johnson, B.
Gilmore
Drummond
Blosser
Johnson. T.
Jefferson
Mccoo
Luke
McHugh
Totals <

Int
0
0
*0
1
1
0
2
PENN
C-A
21-38
21-38

Yds Lg
O O
O O
0 0
0 0
8 8
0 0
8 8
NJ STATE

Brk-up,
1
1
2
7

TD
O
0
0
0
0
0

s
a

Yds TD
244 0
244' 0

Att
3
4
1
5
1
12
26
No.
5
4
2
2
2
2
2
21
1
21

PUNTING
Player
Royer
Team
Totals
KICKOFF RETURNS
Player No.
Johnson, T. 2
McCoo 1
Total 3
PUNT RETURNS
Player No.
Branch 3
Totals 3

Yds
17
15
4
1
-2.0
-9.0
62
Yds
104
44
48
14
11
6
2
13
2
244
No.
9
10
Yds
45
12
57
Yds
17,
17
Solo
6
5
4
2
5
4
1
3
3
2
3
2
2
2
1
0
2
1
1
Yds
O
0
0
0
0

Avg
5.7
3.5
4.0
0.2
-2.0
-0.8
1.0
Avg
20.8
11.0
24.0
.7.0
5.5
3.0
1.0
13.0
2.0
11.6
Yds
351
33
384
Avg
22.5
12.0
34.5

Lg
7
10
4
3
0
7
10
Lg
30
37
7
6
5
3
13
2
37
Avg
39.0
33.0
38.4
Lg
24
12
24

Int
2
2
TD
O
0
0
0
0
0
0
TD
0
TO
O
0
0
0
0
0
0
Lg
50
33
50
TD
TO
0
0
TD
0
0
Tot
8
8
7
7
5
5
5
4
4
4
3
2
3
3
3
2
2
1
1
TD
0
0
0
0

By Raphael Goodstein
Daily Sports Editor
STATE COLLEGE - For the second
straight week, Michigan coach Lloyd Carr
tried to outsmart his opponent by using trick-
ery.
In last week's win over
Illinois, the Wolverines (2-0 Football
Big Ten, 4-1 overall) used a
halfback option and a later- Notebook
al from backup quarterback
Jermaine Gonzales to Marquise Walker, who
threw the ball back to Gonzales.
Both plays were successful.
In .Saturday's 20-0 win over Penn State,
Michigan drove the ball the length of the field
before stalling on, the two-yard line.
On fourth down, Carr sent in the field goal
unit, except Gonzales was the holder - not
John Navarre, who normally holds the ball on
field goals.
Gonzales took the snap and tried to run the
ball in - and replays showed that he might
have scored - but the officials ruled him
down on the one-yard line.
"I designed that play," Carr said. "I wanted
it to work in the worst way. I took the blame
for it, but I was made it didn't work."
BAD TIMEs: Saturday's loss set another
record for futility at Penn State.
Michigan's shutout win marked the first
time the Nittany Lions had been shut out at
home since 1965, before coach Joe Paterno
was at Penn State.

The Lions had played 216 home games with-
out being shut out since a 23-0 loss to Michi-
gan State in 1965.
The loss also marks the first time that Penn
State has opened 0-4 in 115 years, and the first
time it has lost three straight home games since
1964.
"It's not easy, it never is," Paterno said.
"We've gotten beat by four good football
teams, so it's not as if we have anyone we can
beat up on. We knew going in we wouldn't be
a dominant team but maybe we'd be able to
steal a game."
Penn State has a bye this week before play-
ing at Northwestern in two weeks.
"It's extremely tough" to stay positive, cor-
nerback Bryan Scott said. "I'm an optimist. I
think we can still turn the season around."
'GOOD START': Junior tailback B.J. Askew
had perhaps his best game as Michigan's fea-
tured running back Saturday, carrying the ball
27 times for 122 yards.
He also caught four passes for 56 yards.
"B. J. is off to a good start his junior year.
We played him as a fullback and that was not
an easy adjustment for him," Carr said." It
made him a better football player. I know it
helped him as a pass receiver. Now he's the
guy that's carrying the load for us."
The game was Askew's third game this year
in which he topped 100 yards of total offense.
Askew's play comes at an especially good
time for Michigan, considering sophomore
Chris Perry has been slowed by a knee injury.
Perry played Saturday after missing the Illi-

nois game and finished with 12 yards on four
carries.
NET RETURNS: Junior safety and punt returner
Julius Curry didn't travel with the team to
State College because of an undisclosed injury
that happened in practice last week.
Junior Charles Drake replaced Curry in the
secondary and played well.

Junior receiver Ronald Bellamy handled
punt returning duties and didn't play so well.
He returned two punts for eight yards, and
fumbled another punt which set up a Penn
State field goal attempt, which sailed wide
right.
Bellamy did score a touchdown in the third
quarter on a 53-yard pass.

JOHN PRATT/Daily
Penn State had trouble stopping junior B.J. Askew who rushed for over 100 yards in Saturday's 20-0 win.

DEFENSE
Player
Finney
Graham
Mayer
Scott
Branch
Jones
Kennedy
Adamsn
Capone
Haynes
Gardner
Williams
Jackson
Yisrael
Stewart
Toles
Gumnan
Crenshaw
Falls
Mills
Gilmore
Ruhe
Valoczki
Mitchell

Avg Lg
5.7 12
5.7 12
Asst l
5
2
1
4
1
2
0
1
0
1
2
3
0
1
0
0
0
0
0

Wolverines
shut down
Penn State
again 20-0
NITTANY LIONS
Continued from Page 11B
but efficient in the first half. The
Wolverines were inside the Penn State
25-yard line five times in the half, but
came away with only 13 points on two
Hayden Epstein field goals and a Mar-
quise Walker touchdown.
"The first few series, we came out
flat," Walker said. "It was just a matter
of us getting that one good play to get
the offense going. We had plenty of
chances in the red zone to get three
poJnts or six points, and I think we
have to do a better job of that."
Michigan also benefited from another
touchdown on the two-minute drill. Up
6-0, quarterback John Navarre drove
the team 80 yards in nine plays, with an
acrobatic Walker touchdown catch giv-
ing Michigan its first touchdown of the
afternoon. The drive took only 55 sec-

Nittany Lions lack
more than just talent,
they lack confidence
PHILLIPS
Continued from Page 1B
stuck at third in the depth chart. Two highly-recruited defen-
sive lineman - Dan Acri and Erik Noll - left the team after
last season. Another linebacker, Charwan Wood transferred to
Kansas State. Wide receiver Rod Perry left the team to pursue
a baseball career.
What does this leave? A team that lacks confidence in its
own ability - making a bad team worse. It has cause the Penn
State coaching staff searching for answers but coming up
empty.
Thus far this season, Mills has replaced Matt Senneca at
quarterback and due to an inept running game, the Nittany
Lions have been forced to go almost exclusively to a shotgun-
based passing game - a far reach from a team that didn't even
have a shotgun until last year. The change puts a lot of pressure
on the quarterbacks and wide receivers in unfamiliar positions.
This team needs a lot more than a quick fix. It goes much
deeper than that - they need to fix the talent level. This may
be a job for Paterno, this may not be, but something needs to
be done.
For now, all Penn State can do is continue to gain confi-
dence, or rather, stop losing confidence. Teams with confi-
dence can beat more talented teams, as seen by this season by
North Carolina gaining a little, then rolling over Florida State.
A win Saturday against Michigan would have been huge for

PASS DEFENSE
Player
Branch
Yisrael
Guman
Crenshaw
Totals

Int
0
0
0
0
0

Lng
0
0

Brk-up
3
2
1
7

PLAYERS OF THE GAME

3,5a wr' :

I

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