I
4B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - October 20, 2003
MICHIGAN 56, ILLINOIS 14
Bracken gets
a0
0__behind Peny
Backup Gutierrez performs
well in fourth quarter chance
By Naweed Sikora
Daily Sports Writer
Chris Perry may be Michigan's thoroughbred
in the backfield, but the Wolverines have several
horses battling for that second
position on the starting gate.
After this weekend, it appearsr
Tim Bracken has come around
the bend ahead of the bunch.
The senior from White Castle,
La., had just 22 yards on five
carries this season going into the
Illinois game. But he more than doubled that out-
put in one game, going for 57 yards on eight car-
ries, including a 27-yard touchdown in the third
quarter to put the Wolverines up 42-7. Carr says
that Bracken, who was hurt earlier this season,
finally started playing up to caliber a few weeks
ago.
"He's been playing very well lately," said Carr
of Bracken. "A week ago, he had three blocks on
two kickoff returns. He made some really good
shallow cuts, and he has an innate ability to make
a guy miss.
"He did not report to training camp in very
good shape, but he's made some really good
strides since then."
David Underwood is the second-string back
according to Michigan's depth chart. But after
rushing for 108 yards against Houston, the junior
hasn't seen much action. He has just nine carries
for 32 yards since playing Notre Dame.
Meanwhile, Bracken, Jerome Jackson and
Pierre Rembert have been splitting the load sub-
bing in for Perry. Jackson also had eight carries
against Illinois, rushing for 54 yards and one
touchdown.
Carr has said that the competition behind Perry
has heated up lately with the improved play of
Bracken and the two younger backs, and no one
back is gaining a clear advantage over the others.
But this weekend, it was Bracken's turn to shine.
"Tim has been amazing in practice," Perry
said. "He has been hitting all his assignments,
and he got the role that he deserves."
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
30
49/275
244
83
519
136
22/34/0
5/39
2/0
8/71
33:04
ILLINOIS
13
29/89
163
57
252
141
16/28/1
7/46
1/1
5/49
26:56
4
M I C H IG A N
PASSING
Player
Navarre
Gutierrez
Totals
RUSHING
Player
Perry
Jackson
Bracken
Underwood
Rembert
Navarre
Totals
RECEIVING
Player
Avant
Thompson
Massaquoi
Edwards
Bell
Mignery
Perry
Dudley
Bracken
Breaston
Tabb
Rembert
Totals
C-A
18-27
4-7
17-24
Yds TO
203 1
41 1
244 2
Int
0
0
0
4
Att
24
8
4
2
3
48
No.
4
4
3
3
1
1
22
Yds
140
54
52
17
15
-3
275
Yds
71
'37
37
25
43
9
6
6
5
4
3
-2
244
No.
5
5
Avg
5.8
6.8
6.5
4.3
7.5
-1.0
6.6
Avg
17.8
9.3
12.3
8.3
43.0
9.0
6.0
6.0
5.0
4.0
3.0
-2.0
11.1
Lg
25
12
27
7
10
8
27
Lg
21
19
21
14
43
9
6
6
5
4
3
0
43
TO
3
1
1
0
0
0
5
TD
O
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
2
PUNTING
PlayerI
Finley
Totals
KICKOFF RETURNS
Player No.
Bracken 2
Tabb 1
Totals 3
PUNT RETURNS
Player No.
Breaston 4
Totals 4
Yds Avg Lg
195 39.0 46.0
195 39.0 46.0
Yds Avg Lg
51 25.5 26
13 13.0 13
64 21.3 26
Yds Avg Lg
72 18.0 74
72 18.0 74
TD
0
0
O
TD
1
1
DANNY MOL
Tim Bracken made the most of his rushing opportunities Saturday, going for 57 yards and a touchdown - his first of the season - on eight carries.
BOCCHER MISSES LAST TWO GAMES: Michigan
special teams coach Jim Boccher has not been at
Michigan's past two games. Prior to the Minneso-
ta game, Carr issued a statement saying that Boc-
cher did not travel with the team to Minneapolis
because of personal reasons.
Boccher was still not on the sidelines this past
weekend.
999 AND COUNTING: Perry ran for 140 yards on
24 carries Saturday, but as it turned out, he left
the game just one-yard short of 1,000 for the sea-
son.
"I didn't want him to get a big head," Carr
joked after the game.
After being held under the 100-yard mark the
past two games, Perry finally broke through that
barrier. It was the fifth time this season he has
rushed for over 100.
GUTZ GETTING HIS REPS: After playing a couple
nail-biters away from home, Michigan's blowout
over Illinois allowed backup quarterback Matt
Gutierrez to get back out on the field. The red-
shirt freshman played the entire fourth quarter,
throwing for 41 yards, including a 21-yard play-
action bootleg pass to tight end Tim Massaquoi
- a play that hasn't been run regularly at Michi-
gan since the days of Brian Griese.
FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING: If you wait long
enough, good things will happen. Senior tight
end Andy Mignery caught the first touchdown
pass of his career in the second quarter to make it
a 28-0 Michigan lead. It was a nine-yard touch-
down play from Navarre, but Mignery actually
caught the ball around the 4-yard line, and
dragged a defender into the endzone.
INJURY UPDATE: Michigan kicker Troy Nienberg
has never been afraid to use his head. But this
time, it cost him. Nienberg suffered an apparent
concussion while trying to make a tackle on a
kickoff return by Illinois.
Safety Marlin Jackson missed the game
because of a leg injury suffered against Minneso-
ta. Carr is hopeful that Jackson will be back for
Purdue. Willis Barringer started in place of him.
Jacob Stewart injured his left leg in the third
quarter on a kickoff, and was forced to leave the
field on stretcher. Carr did not have information
on his injury.
DEFENSE
Player
Burgess
Diggs
Reid
LeSueur
McClintock
Barringer
Curry
Harrison
Woodley
Young
Curry
Stewart
Mundy
Shazor
Bowman
Hood
Massey
Woods
Thompson
Biggs
Heuer
Sarantos
Manning
Mann
Shaw
Kashama
Totals
Solo
5
5
4
4
2
2
3
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
0
1
1
1
1
1
47
Asst
0
0
3
3
0
3
0
0
0
0
O
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
6
U
4
Blue secondary gets ready
for Purdue's spread offense
By Courtney Lewis
Daily Sports Editor
Michigan shut down Illinois' offense Saturday
with a little different look in the secondary.
Injuries and preparation for next week had the
Wolverines playing with a shuffled lineup.
Fifth-year cornerback Jeremy LeSueur
returned from a left shoulder injury and made
his presence felt. LeSueur rushed in and drilled
Illinois receiver Carey Davis after a catch in the
first quarter, and then tipped away a pass on the
Fighting Illini's next drive. LeSueur did not
return any kickoffs, but he tied for the team lead
with five tackles - four of them solo efforts.
LeSueur, who was injured during the Iowa
game and dressed but didn't play against Min-
nesota last week, said he was "a little worried"
about the shoulder and how it would hold up.
But he was able to contribute while Michigan
held the Fighting Illini to 89 yards on the
ground and 163 through the air.
"I was excited," LeSueur said. "I wanted to
play last week, and I couldn't, so it was just
exciting to be back out there."
LeSueur brings speed and pure athleticism to
the Michigan defensive backfield, and fellow
cornerback Markus Curry said LeSueur also has
a certain swagger.
"When we're out on the field, we're just try-
ing to hold our part down on the field and play
together, and we're trying to have some fun out
there doing it," Curry said.
While the secondary welcomed back
LeSueur, it was still missing playmaker Marlin
Jackson and, for part of the game, safety Jacob
Stewart. Stewart, who had a pivotal defensive
touchdown last week, made two tackles Satur-
day before being carted off the field in the sec-
ond half.
Jackson, a safety who has 38 tackles and two
interceptions on the year, got banged up against
Minnesota and was not able to return. Carr is
hopeful that Jackson will be able to play next
week.
Those injuries, and the fact that the game was
a blowout, gave some younger safeties a chance
to get some quality playing time. Sophomore
Willis Barringer took down Illinois players five
times - he had four tackles all season before
Saturday - but he also committed a pass inter-
ference penalty.
"I wasn't happy with his penalty, but I will
have to look at the film. I think Willis is a guy
with a lot of potential right now," Michigan
coach Lloyd Carr said.
Freshman Ryan Mundy is another young safe-
ty the Wolverines used, and freshman corner-
back Leon Hall, who filled in as a starter while
LeSueur was out last week, also saw action.
Carr said the experience those young players
got will be important for Michigan's next two
games against Purdue and Michigan State.
"We wanted to play some younger guys in the
secondary because of the teams we're going to
be facing the next couple weeks," Carr said.
"Mundy is a safety, but he is going to need to be
able to cover a guy when we see the five-wide
spread."
Michigan's secondary wasn't hurt by the absence
of Jackson and Stewart on Saturday in part because
Illinois, which had its backup quarterback directing
the offense, is not exactly a point-scoring machine.
But Purdue is a different story. The Boilermakers,
who are undefeated in Big Ten play, will bring a
powerful aerial attack to the Big House next week.
Coach Joe Tiller's spread offense averages 235.4
passing yards per game, and six different receivers
have caught touchdowns.
Saturday, Purdue quarterback Kyle Orton
threw the ball 55 times and racked up 411 yards
to lead his team over Wisconsin.
WHO'S NEX:
PURDUE
This matchup has certainly shaped up to
be much more than what it seemed like it
was going to be prior to the season. After
getting tripped up by Bowling Green to
open the season, the Boilermakers
regrouped and now sit undefeated in the
Big Ten with a chance to end Michigan's
Rose Bowl hopes. The Wolverines control
their own destiny, but must find a way to
slow down Purdue's spread offense
before they start thinking about roses.
BIG TEN STANDINGS
Tam
Michigan State
Purdue
Wisconsin
Michigan
Ohio State
Minnesota
Iowa
Northwestern
Penn State
Indiana
Illinois
Big Ten
4 0
3 0
3 1
3 1
2 1
2 2
1 2
1 2
0 3
0 3
0 4
Overall
7 1
6 1
6 2
6 2
6 1
6 2
5 2
3 4
2 5
1 6
1 7
4
THIS WEEKEND'S RESULTS
MICHIGAN 56, Illinois 14
Michigan State 44, MINNESOTA 38
Purdue 26, WISCONSIN 23
OHIO STATE 19, Iowa 10
'M' SCHEDULE
DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily
Safety Jacob Stewart left the game after suffering an injury to his left leg in the third quarter. With
Purdue coming to the Big House next week, the Michigan secondary will need to get healthy fast.
Date
Aug. 30
Sept. 6
Sept. 13
Sept. 20
Sept. 27
Oct. 4
Oct. 11
Oct. 18
Oct. 25
Nov. 1
Nov. 15
Nov. 22
Ononent Time/Result
central Michigan W, 45-7
Houston W, 50-3
Notre Dame W, 38-0
at Oregon L, 27-31
Indiana W, 31-17
at Iowa L, 27-30
at Minnesota W,38-35
Illinois W, 56-14
Purdue 3:30 P.M.
at Michigan State TBA
at Northwestern TBA
Ohio State Noon
WEEKEND'S
BEST
BoILING OVER: Purdue stayed
undefeated in the Big Ten
after knocking off Wiscon-
sin 26-23 in a game that
went down to the wire.
Purdue's Ben Jones kicked
an 18-yard field goal with
three seconds left to win.
The Boilermakers' Kyle
orton went 38-for-55 for
411 yards and one touch-
down.
HOW THE AP TOP 25 FARED
NEW AP
TOP 25
(first-place votes in parentheses)
Associated Press Poll for the week of October 14.
Games updated through October 19.
Team:
1. Oklahoma
2. Miami (Fla.)
3. Virginia Tech
4. Georgia
5. Southern Cal.
6. Washington State
7. Florida State
8. Ohio State
9. Iowa
10. Louisiana State
11 A...........
Last week:
beat Missouri 34-13
beat Temple 52-14
Idle
beat Vanderbilt 27-8
beat Notre Dame 45-14
beat Stanford 24-14
beat Virginia 19-14
beat Iowa 19-10
loss to Ohio State 19-10
beat South Carolina 33-7
This week:
at Colorado
Idle
at West Virginia
Alabama Birmingham
at Washington
Oregon State
Wake Forest
at Indiana
Penn State
Auburn
TEAM
1. Oklahoma (62)
2. Miami (3)
3. Virginia Tech
4. Georgia
5. Southern Cal.
6. Washington State
7. Florida State
8. Ohio State
9. Louisiana State
10. Purdue
11. Michigan State
12. Northern Illinois
13. Michigan
REC
7-0
7-0
6-0
6-1
6-1
6-1
6-1
6-1
6-1
6-1
7-1
7-0
6-2
PTS
1,622
1,558
1,498
1,394
1,378
1,213
1,213
1,161
1,087
957
918
885
744
PVS
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
10
13
15
12
17
7.t