4B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - November 5, 2001
MICHIGAN STATE 26, MICHIGAN 24
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
MICH
14
30/121
195
57
316
36
14/27/2
7/37.4
2/0
7/76
23:03
MSU
24
53/169
183
90
352
101
15/37/0
6/39.5
1/1
2/25
36:57
Feeling Blue
Michigan players and fans have suffered their fair share of
heartbreaking losses in recent history. Here is a list of other
games that ended in confusion, meltdown, pandemonium or
controversy, like Saturday's loss in East Lansing.
Michigan State 28, Michigan 27 (1990): Any Michigan fan will tell you the
Wolverines now have two more wins over the Spartans than the record indi-
cates. With Michigan State leading 28-21, Derrick Alexander caught a touch-
down pass with six seconds remaining. There was no overtime and Gary
Moeller was left with a decision: kick the extra point and tie or go for the win
with a two point conversion. Moeller went for broke.
Elvis Grbac threw a quick slant to Desmond Howard, who was tripped, but
still managed to catch the ball. As he crashed into the end zone, the ball
popped out and the referees ruled he didn't have possession. There were no
flags on the field, only the green and white of Michigan State fans.
0
6
PASSING
Player
Navarre
Totals
RUSHING
Player
Askew
Perry
Bell
Navarre
Team
Totals
RECEIVING
Player
Walker
Gonzales
Bellamy
Perry
Bell
Joppru
Totals
M I C H I G A N
C-A Yds TD
14/27 195 3
14/27 195 3
Att
17
9
1
2
1
36
No.
9
14
Yds Avg Ig
84 5.0 16
30 3.3 12
21 21 21
-13 -6.5 0
-1 -1.0 0
63 1.8 14
Yds Avg Lg
150 16.7 38
20 20.0 20
12 12.0 12
9 9.0 9
4 4.0 4
O 0.0 O
195 14.0 38
No. Yds Avg
7 262 37.4
6 250 41.7
Yds Avg Lg
36 18.0 20
64 20.2 33
Int
2
2
TD
O
O
0
'0
0
1
TO
2
0
0
0
0
3
Colorado 27 Michigan 26
(1996): The game was over.
No. 3 Michigan led No. 7 Col-
orado 26-21 when the Buf-
faloes took possession. They
were 85 yards, 15 seconds
and a miracle away from a
win. After a couple of short
passes, Colorado employed its
Hail Mary play, "Rocket," from
its own 36-yard line.
PUNTING
Player
Epstein
Totals
KICKOFF RETURNS
Player No.
Jackson 2
Totals 3
PUNT RETURNS
Player No.
Walker 4
Totals 4
DEFENSE
Player
Diggs
Drake
Orr
Hobson
June
Heuer
Foote
Jackson
Bowman
Shaw
Manning
LeSueur
Howard
Williams
Brackins
Rumishek
Brackins
Goodwin
Thompson
Nasif
Lazarus
Pearson
Stevens
0
6
Yds
18
18
Solo
6
6
7
5
5
2
4
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
Yds
0
0
0
0
0
O
O
Avg Lg
4.5 7
4.5 7
Asst
6
6
1
6
0
3
0
2
2
0
0
1
1
1
0
O
0
0
1
Lg
46
50
TO
0
f 0
TD
' O
' O
Tot
12
12
8
7
6
5
5
4
4
4
2
2
2
2
2
2
1T
1
1
ip TD
4 O
2 O
1 O
1 O
Kordell Stewart rolled out and
threw the ball 75 yards to the
Michigan goal line. The ball
was tipped and floated
through the air longer than a
Michigan State second. When
the ball came down, it was in
the hands of Michael West-
FILE PHOTO . brook leaving 110,00 fans
gasping for air.
MARJORIE MARSHALL/Daily
Michigan State tailback T.J. Duckett didn't care who was latched onto his body. On Saturday afternoon, he took any
would-be defender for a ride, tallying 212 yards on just 27 carries.
Duckett makes Michigan's No. 1
rnsn1g defense look sleve-liKe
Colorado's Michael Westbrook
Purdue 32 Michigan 31(2000): The Wolverines jumped out to a 28-10 half-
time lead in West Lafayette behind three Drew Henson touchdown passes.
Fans could smell the Roses already. Drew Brees and the Boilermakers cut the
lead to 31-29 but it appeared the Wolverines would escape with a win after a-
shanked 32-yard field goal by Travis Dorsch with only 2:11 left in the game.
But Michigan's offense couldn't get a first down and was forced to punt.
Brees led the Boilermakers to the same spot and Dorsch connected from 33
yards away with four seconds left. The loss resulted in another trip to the Cit-
rus Bowl for Michigan while the Boilermakers went to the Rose Bowl for the
first time since 1966.
PASS DEFENSE
Player
Howard
LeSueur
Orr
Foote
Totals
Int
0
0
0
0
0
Lg
0
O
O
0
Brk-up
4
2
1
1
8
M I C H I G A N S T A T E
PASSING
Player
Smoker
Team
Totals
RUSHING
Player
Duckett
Moss
Smoker
Totals
RECEIVING
Player
Rogers
Haygood
Duckett
Baker
Totals
C-A
15-35
O-2
15-37
Yds TO
183 2
0 O
183 2
Att
27
8
18
53
No.
6
4
3
2
15
Yds
211
22
-64
169
Yds
86
63
19
15
183
Avg
7.8,
2.8
-3.6
3.2
Avg
14.3
16.0
6.3
7.5
12.2
Lg
35
12
11
35
Lg
29
19
9
8
29
Int
0
0
TO
TD
1
0
1
TO
1
0
1
0
O
2
By Jeff Phillips
Daily Sports Editor
EAST LANSING - When asked if Saturday's game
against Michigan was the best game of his career at any
level, Michigan State'running back T.J. Duckett did not
hesitate with his answer.
"Definitely, I think so. I think I can actually say that,"
Duckett said.
The No. 1 rushing defense in the country faced its
toughest challenge of the season last Saturday and
failed. It was the first time all season that Michigan did
not make a team one-dimensional.
Michigan came into the game against Michigan State
allowing an average of 54.4 yards per game in its first
seven games, but allowed a total 170 yards rushing to
the Spartans. The total is by far the most allowed by the
season, but it is a bit deceiving since it includes a team-
record 12 sacks for 83 yards lost.
The Wolverines' defense allowed a 100-yard rusher
for the first time this season. Duckett's 212 yards on the
ground weren't just the most by one running back this
season against Michigan, they were the most by a run-
ning back in any Michigan-Michigan State game.
"You have to give a lot of credit to the offensive line,
the tight ends, our receivers and the way they played,
the way they blocked in the running game and then the
way T.J. ran," Michigan State coach Bobby Williams
said. "He ran like a big-time back today- broke a lot
of tackles, showed some speed and really made a lot of
plays for us today."
Duckett found his groove against Wisconsin a week
ago, when he ran for 186 yards and two touchdowns. In
addition to his exploits on the ground, Duckett also
made three catches including the game-winning touch-
down reception as time expired.
Defensive tackle Jake Frysinger's absence hurt the
Wolverines, but more importantly, the Spartans' offen-
sive line forced Michigan's elite linebacker corps to
make plays, something that it could not always do.
The coaches "called great plays today," Duckett said.
They "had us in the right position and the linemen
made some great plays."
Butkus Award semifinalist Larry Foote had just five
tackles, two for a loss. Victor Hobson and Carl Diggs
played well and had 19 tackles between them, but most
were made five yards past the line of scrimmage.
The Spartans could not run between the tackles, so
they used the early success of the passing game to
spread the field and make the Wolverines commit to the
pass. This opened up the field for toss sweeps to Duck-
ett, for whom Michigan had no answer.
The offensive line "blocked the best that they have in
a long, long time and the running lanes were there,"
Duckett said.
The powerful, downhill running style of the 6-foot-1,
250-pound Duckett, who averaged 7.8 yards per carry,
was too much for Michigan's linebackers and secondary
to handle. He often carried multiple Wolverines for a
few extra yards before coming down and rarely could
just one defender make the play.
Michigan's defensive commitment to the passing
game limited the Spartans to just 172 yards through the
air, the fewest passing yards allowed by the Wolverines
all season. Linemen Shantee Orr and Grant Bowman
harassed Michigan State's Jeff Smoker all game.
But in the end, it didn't matter for the Wolverines.
The defense that had built its reputation on stopping the
run was embarrassed by the Spartans and its record-set-
ting sack total was overshadowed.
Northwestern 54 Michigan 51
(2000): It came down to this:
Fourth-and-goal from the
Michigan seven-yard line with
under two minutes remaining.
Zak Kustok threw to a wide
open Damien Anderson at the
goal line but Anderson
dropped the ball. Michigan
took over, a first down away
from running out the clock.
On second down, Anthony
Thomas fumbled the ball as he
crossed the first down marker.
The Wildcats recovered. A
couple of plays later, Kustok
hit Sam Simmons for a touch-
down. The Wolverines botched
a last second 57-yard field
goal, leaving the A-Train in
FILE PHOTO tears and the team's Rose
Bowl hopes dashed.
A
Northwestern's Damien Anderson
PUNTING
Player
Jarrett
Totals
KICKOFF RETURNS
Player No.
Haygood 2
Maples 1
Total 3
PUNT RETURNS
Player No.
Rogers 2
Totals 2
No. Yds Avg Lg
6 237 39.5 53
6 237 39.5 53
DEFENSE
Player
Thornhill
Rasmussen
Myers
Nelson
Wright
Flagg
Taplin
Labinjo
Maples
Team
Askew
Bryan
Stanley
Guess
Shaw
Baker
Moss
Fortson
Vickerson
James
Yds
75
* 26
101
Yds
5
5
Solo
4
3
2
3
3
3
2
1
2
0
0
0
0
1
1
Avg Lg
37.5 49
26 26
33.7 49
Avg Lg
2.5 5
2.5 5
Asst l
8
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
2
0
1
0
TO
O
TD
0
S O
Tot
12
5
5
4
4
4
4
4
3
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
TD
0
3
SPARTANS
Continued from Page 1B
Duckett accounting for 29 yards on
four carries. Against the nation's top-
ranked rushing defense, Duckett rum-
bled for 211 yards on 27 carries, and he
put Michigan State back in front with a
two-yard touchdown run.
"Our coaches executed the game
plan well, and our offensive line
blocked outstanding, the best they've
blocked in a long, long time," Duckett
said when asked about his success.
"The running lanes were there."
A 32-yard scoring pass from Navarre
to Walker allowed Michigan to take a
17-14 advantage into halftime. Michi-
gan State's Dave Raynor kicked a pair
of field goals - one in the third quar-
ter, one in the fourth - to give the
Spartans 20-1.7 lead. That's when the
real fun started.
With its offense sputtering, Michigan
needed a turnover to gain some
momentum. As if on cue, the Wolver-
ines got a huge break when Smoker
fumbled a snap at his own 38-yard line
with six minutes to play. Defensive
tackle Grant Bowman recovered the
fumble, and Michigan went to work.
A 21-yard reverse by Calvin Bell put
the Wolverines at Michigan State's 17-
yard line. Then, on third-and-13,
Navarre hit backup quarterback Jer-
maine Gonzales - who had entered
the game as a fifth wide receiver -
with a 20-yard touchdown pass to give
Michigan a 24-20 lead with 4:44 to
play.
The score silenced the crowd at Spar-
to
PASS DEFENSE
Player
Bryan
Nelson
Totals
Marquise Walker was the best player on the field in the first half, but disappeared
late in the game, dropping key passes that could have preserved a Michigan win.
Int
2
0
2
Yds Lng
33 16.5
0 0
33 16.5
Brk-up
0
3
6
.. . . . . . .. . ................... .......--..-- -- - . --. ----.. -----..
PLAYERS OF THE GAME:
...w-waa- m m
MARJORIE MARSHALL/Daily
The Michigan secondary struggled to contain Michigan State's Charles Rogers
who seemed unstoppable at times during the game.
SCHWARTZ
Continued from Page 1B
recognized defense made him look
like Eric Dickerson. He was unstop-
pable.
Throughout the afternoon, Michigan
refused to put the game out of reach.
The Spartans' secondary was decimat-
ed by injuries. In the first half, Michi-
gan exploited this, getting the ball to
stud receiver Marquise Walker on first
and second downs.
Where was that in the second half?
Michigan seemed locked in a battle
against the clock long before that last
second. took two seconds to expire.
they lost that game? How could they
set a new Michigan record with 12
sacks and still give Smoker one last
chance?
Every Michigan player willing to
talk after the game ended pointed out
that the team was leaving with its head
high. That's admirable. Michigan still
leads the Big Ten, and to dwell on this
loss would be one of the worst things
that the team can do.
And maybe Michigan did deserve
better - I think it did. I think that with
the way things have gone this season,
there was no reason to expect this
game to go down the way it did. In the
first half, Michigan executed beautiful-
ly. Who could have thought that the
field, thanks to two of Michigan's
school-record 12 sacks. Smoker threw"
incomplete, but Michigan State caught
the first of three enormous breaks when
the officials assessed Michigan corner-
back Jeremy LeSueur a personal foul
for grabbing Rogers' face mask.
Given new life, the Spartans
advanced inside the red zone, thanks in
timeouts. The Spartans frantically ran
to the line of scrimmage in an attempt
to spike the ball and stop the clock. The
clock ticked down to one second and
appeared to hold there, which allowed
Smoker to spike the ball and gave
Michigan State the chance to run one
more play.
"I don't run the clock - there was
~IE,