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4B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - November 18, 2002

MICHIGAN 21,

WISCONSIN 14


GAME STATISTICS

Team Stats
First Downs
Rushes/Yards
Passing Yards
Total Offense
Return Yards
Comp/Att/Int
Punts/Avg
Fumbles/Lost
Penalties/Yards
Time of Poss

MICH
17
36/224
136
64/352
46
19/28/2
6/37.7
1/1
5/39
29:44

wIsC
15
43/195
60
63/255
156
7/20/0
7/31.4
1/1
4/20
30:16

Mich1gan spendin ew Year' da in Tampa?
Wisconsin's Davis
runs all over Blue
defensive line

M I C H I G A N

PASSING
Player
Navarre
Totals
RUSHING
Player
Perry
Askew
Navarre
Totals
RECEIVING
Player
Joppru
Edwards
Bellamy
Askew
Avant
Totals

C-A
19-28
19-28

Att
27
6
36
No.
7
4
4
3
1
19

Yds
175
44
3
216
Yds
45
28
22
31
10
136
No.
6
6

Yds
136
136
Avg
6.5
7.3
3,0
6.0
Avg
6.4
7.0
5.5
10.3
10.0
7.1

To
1
Lg
43
27
3
43
Lg
12
10
16
17
10
17

Int
2
2
TD
1
TO
2
TD
O
1

PUNTING
Player
Finley
Totals
KICKOFF RETURNS
Player No.
LeSueur 2
McClIintock 2
Totals 3
PUNT RETURNS
Player No.
Gonzales 2
Totals 2
DEFENSE
Player
Hobson
McClintock
LeSueur
Drake
Rumishek
Orr
Diggs
Lazarus
Stevens
Boman
Woods
Shaw
Heuer
June
Sarantos
Jackson
Casseus
Papa
Pearson
Avant
Shazor
Totals

Yds Avg Lg
226 37.7 44
226 37.7 44

Yds Avg Lg
35 17.5 21
4 4.0 4
39 13.0 21

Yds
7
7
Solo
8
6
6
4
4
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
1
1
56
Yds
O
0
0

Avg Lg
3.5 9
3.6 9
Asst
2
1
2
1
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
12 I

TD
O
0
0
TD
0
TO
Tot
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
68
TD
0
0
1 0
1 0
1 0
0

By Joe Smith
Daily Sports Editor
Safety Charles Drake said after the
Wolverines' embarrassing loss to
Iowa three weeks ago that many
members of his senior class don't
want to end
their careers in FOOTBALL
central Florida. Notebook
"We are not
going back to
Florida," Drake proclaimed about his
team's bowl aspirations.
Sorry, but it looks like the 12th-
ranked Wolverines are headed to the
Sunshine State, even if they beat No.
2 Ohio State on Saturday.
Although this time they may not
be spending the holidays in their
recent hotspot of Orlando.
The Wolverines have an extremely
slim chance at a BCS bid if they beat
Ohio State on Saturday. But if it
doesn't gain a BCS bid, Michigan
will be the highest Big Ten finisher
not in the eight-team Bowl Champi-
onship Series. And the team holding
that distinction typically plays in the
New Year's bowl in Orlando.
But Michigan has played in Orlan-
do's Citrus Bowl three of the past four
years, including the last two seasons.
And representatives of the Orlando
bowl - now named the Capital One
Bowl - might choose a team besides
Michigan. That could drop Michigan
into Tampa's Outback Bowl, which tra-
dionally takes the second-best Big Ten
team not in the BCS.
"In the past 10 years, (The Citrus
Bowl) has had an agreement always to
take the highest-ranked team available,"
Executive Director of Florida Citrus
Sports Tom Mickle said. "But then'
again, they've never had a team that's
been here three years in a row.
"It'll be a matter of discussion of
the 150 members, who apparently
are very democratic in their vote."
Mickle said the Capital One Bowl
thinks very highly of Michigan, but has
the discretion to take any other Big Ten
team with one less win than Michigan

*1

Wisconsin's Anthony Davis ran through the Michigan front seven like a bullet, tallying 154 yards - a season high for the 54oot-8 star - and a touchdown. DAVID KATZ/Daily

(such as Penn State), possibly leaving
the Wolverines with a trip to Tampa.
The Capital One is "a great bowl,
we like it, but I think they'd probably
like someone else other than the
winged helmets," Michigan Athletic
Director Bill Martin said.
BOMBED OUT: Michigan punter
Adam Finley has been consistent all
season with his booming kicks and
41.2 average per punt - placing him
second in the conference. But Finley
had his first sub-par performance on
Saturday, struggling with the heavy
wind conditions and averaging just
37.7 yards. Carr also partly blamed
Finley for Jim Leonhard's 39-yard

punt return for a touchdown in the
first quarter, as Finley's line-drive
punt didn't give Michigan's coverage
team enough time to recover.
Leonhard's punt return for a score
was the first against Michigan since
Iowa's C.J. Jones completed the feat
on Oct. 17 of last year.
NICE STAB: If Saturday was any
indication, Michigan's run defense
has a ton to work on before trying to
contain Ohio State freshman sensa-
tion Maurice Clarett this weekend.
Clarett (shoulder) didn't play a down
in Ohio State's overtime win over
Illinois Saturday, but is expected to
play against Michigan.

Wisconsin star tailback Anthony
Davis, who sat out the previous week
after being stabbed in the leg by his
girlfriend in a domestic dispute, took
out his frustrations on the Wolver-
ines Saturday - rushing for 159
yards on 26 carries. Davis' effort was
the biggest individual performance
against Michigan this season, top-
ping the 132-yard total gained by
Notre Dame's Ryan Grant Sept. 14.
"They ran for way too many yards
on us today," said defensive lineman
Norman Heuer. "We can't afford to
do that if we want to win."
INJURY UPDATE: Safeties Cato June
and Ernest Shazor returned to the

Michigan secondary for extended
action Saturday. June was injured in a
collision during the Iowa game, and
Shazor suffered from turf toe. But fel-
low safety Julius Curry remained on the
sidelines in street clothes for the fourth-
straight game with an undisclosed knee
injury. As per his weekly ritual, Curry
said on Saturday he'll be back this week
for Ohio State.
Redshirt freshmen offensive line-
men Matt Lentz and Adam Stenavich
did not play on Saturday because
Carr wanted other guys to gain some
game experience. Carr said both are
healthy and expected to play against
Ohio State.

PASS DEFENSE
Player
Curry, M.
LeSueur
Hueur
Jackson
Shazor
Totals

Int
O
0
O
O
O
0

Lg
O
0
O
O
0

Brk-up
3
1
1

W i a c o n s i n

PASSING
Player
Bollinger
Totals
RUSHING
Player
Davis
Bollinger
Smith
Totals
RECEIVING
Player
Williams
Charles
Orr
Bernstein
Kuhns
Totals

C-A Yds
7-20 60
7-20 60

Att
26
16
43
No.
3
1
1


Yds
154
39
2
195
Yds
20
15
14
7
4
60
No.
6
1
T7

Avg
5.9
2.4
2.0
4.5
Avg
6.7
15.0
14.0
7.0
4.0
8.6
Yds
213
7
220

TD
O
0
Lg
26
12
2
26
Lg
9
15
14
7
4
16

Int
O
TO
TD
1
O
0
1
TD
O
0
0
0

Badgers' defense focuses onJoppru

PUNTING
Player
Morse
Allen
Totals
KICKOFF RETURNS
Player No.
Williams 4
Total 4
PUNT RETURNS
Player No.
Leonhard 5
Totals 5

Avg Lg
35.5 39
7.0 7
31.4 39

Yds Avg Lg
59 14.8 18
59 14.8 18
Yds Avg Lg
97 19.4 39
97 19.4 39

DEFENSE
Player
Aiello
Lewis
Leonhard
Tucker
McCorison
Sprague
Starks
Watkins
Hawthorne
James
Sanders
Jones
Brooks
Jefferson
Goode
Brown
Simmons
Welsh
Totals

Solo
6
7
6
6
5
4
4
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
52
Yds
39
11
O
O
O
so

Asst
3
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
12
O
O

g TD
8 0
3 0
TD
9 1
Total
9
7
7
6
6
6
4
3
3
2
2
2
2
1
1
64
TD
0
0
O
0
0
0
0

By Jeff Phillips
Daily Sports Editor
Coming into its game against Michi-
gan, Wisconsin knew it would have to
shut down tight end Bennie Joppru if it
was to stop the Wolverines' passing
game.
"We knew he was a big part of their
offense and we wanted to stop him," Wis-
consin defensive coordinator Kevin Cos-
grove said.
The Badgers thought that Joppru was
so much of a problem that they assigned
a defensive back to guard him one-on-
one. Redshirt freshman Dontez Sanders,
who up until the Michigan game had
appeared in just one other game as a
defensive back, manned-up on Joppru for
most of the game.
According to Sanders, who began his
career as a wide receiver, the coaches
saw something in practice that sparked
their interest in him.
"In practice I would be in on bump-
and-run a lot so the coaches just threw
me in there," Sanders said.
Due to Sanders' lack of game experi-
ence, Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez
made the defensive scheme easy for him
to understand.
"You don't want to get things too com-

plicated with Dontez. I just told him what
number to cover and he did a pretty good
job." Alvarez said.
"It was hard to learn at first and I had a
hard time grasping the concepts, but now
I am learning it easier," Sanders said.
While Wisconsin held Michigan to just
136 yards passing, Joppru tied a career
high with seven receptions for 45 yards.
Three of his catches came on 16-play, 78-
yard touchdown drive that soaked up over
eight minutes of the clock.
"We were moving the ball just fine on
them in the first half," Joppru said. "We
came out (in the second half) and put
something together."
That was the most significant impact
Joppru had on the game. Though Joppru
did have his seven receptions, he was not
the safety net that Michigan and quarter-
back John Navarre had come to rely
upon. Joppru has seemed to find a way to
get Michigan big third-down receptions,
but against the Badgers he did not have
the same success.
Of Joppru's seven catches, only one
came on third down - a short dump-off
pass for four yards on 3rd-and-10 during
Michigan's scoring drought in the second
quarter.
The remainder of Joppru's receptions
came on first and second down, resulting

in just one new set of downs - a 12-yard
reception in the third quarter.
The game was a contrast to how Jop-
pru has been utilized this season.
Rather than notching the first down
himself, his receptions set up second-
and-third-and-short situations in which
the Wolverines had fewer than four
yards to go.
In the end, it likely did not matter as
Michigan's 224 yards rushing were
enough to defeat the Badgers. But the
play of Sanders on Joppru was a reason
why Navarre suffered through his worst
game this season, completing 19-of-28
passes for 136 yards, one touchdown and
two interceptions.
The struggles of the passing game
caused the Wolverines to refocus on the
running game.
"We are taking a lot of pride in run-
ning the ball," Joppru said.
With his seven receptions, Joppru
remains Michigan's second-leading
receiver with 45 receptions this season
behind Braylon Edwards (53). He is now
just six catches away from setting Michi-
gan's single-season tight end receptions
record. Joppru trails only Jim Mandich,
father of redshirt freshman tight end
Mike Mandich, whose 50 catches set the
team record in 1969.

BRENDANO'DONNELL/Daily
Some would argue that Joppru has been the offensive MVP for the Wolverines.
Certainly the Badgers thought so, and went to great lengths to contain him.

PASS DEFENSE
Player
Starks
Watkins
Tucker
Sprague
Jones
Welsh
Totals

Int
1
0
O
O
O
2

Lng
39
11
O
O
0
0
39

Brk-up
2
1
1
1
7

PLAYERS OF THE GAME:

MCCOLLOUGH
Continued from Page 11B
to join an elite fraternity of Michigan seniors - those that have
ruined an Ohio State run to the Big Ten championship and national
title with an upset in the final game of their Michigan careers.
What could possibly leave a better legacy than further embittering
hundreds of thousands of Buckeyes' faithful (besides making a Rose
Bowl or winning a national title)?
In 1995 and 1996, Michigan knocked off an unbeaten Ohio State
team that would have had a chance at the national title with a win
over the Wolverines. Everyone remembers that. They also remember
Tai Streets' long touchdown reception in the Wolverines' 13-9 victo-
ry at Ohio Stadium in 1996 and Tim Biakabutuka's 300-yard rush-
ing performance in Michigan's 31-23 win at the Big House in 1995.
Not many people remember that both of those Michigan teams lost
four games and did not go to the Rose Bowl.
This game is always historic. But for these 19 "Michigan men"
who have poured their heart and soul into this program for four or
five seasons, the game against Ohio State - undefeated and No. 1 in
the Bowl Championship Series standings - is a chance to dramati-
cally alter their legacy, and at the same time, enact some revenge.
Michigan had a BCS bid locked up last season, but Ohio State
took on the roll of spoiler and upset the Wolverines in the Big
House, sending Michigan to the then-Florida Citrus Bowl for the
second-straight season. The Michigan seniors left Michigan Stadi-
um for the last time as losers to their most bitter rival. This year's

BADGERS
Continued from Page 1B
39-yard Jim Leonhard punt return.
Coming out of the gates in the second half, Michigan's offense
put together what was among its best drives of the season. Taking
control of the ball with 10:58 remaining in' the third quarter,
Navarre and the Wolverines pounded the run and were precise
with the pass. They moved the ball 78 yards in 16 plays, chewing
up over eight minutes of clock. In the drive, Michigan faced four
third downs, each of which was converted; the last third down -
a 3rd-and-3 from the Wisconsin 8-yard line - resulted in touch-
down catch by receiver Braylon Edwards. Edwards caught the
Navarre pass two yards from the end zone, made a move and
stretched his arm out for the score.
But the offensive star of the game for Michigan was Perry, who
after weeks of limited playing time because of an ankle injury
returned to fulltime ball-carrying duties and ended the day with a
career-high 175 yards and two touchdowns.
"This is the type of game I think about all the time," Perry said.
Michigan coach Lloyd Carr emphasized the importance of the
running game.
"In November, in this conference, if you can't run the
football you'll be one-dimensional, and won't be able to
keep your defense off the field. You'll have a tough time
winning. Ohio State has proven they can run the ball and
(next week) will be interesting."

VI

uoFnmeni n'nOMKIPI 1 /n.av

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