~be £dii~a DaiI (1) Nebraska 41, (10) Kansas 3 (2) Ohio St. 41, Illinois 3 (3) Florida 63, South Carolina 7 (5) Northwestern 31, Iowa 20 (6) Florida St. 28, North Carolina 12 (7) Kansas St. 49, Iowa St. 7 (9) Colorado 21, Missouri 0 (11) Texas 53, Houston 20 (12) Southern Cal 28, Oregon St. 10 (14) Virginia 21, Maryland 18 (15) Arkansas 24, SW Louisiana 13 (16) Alabama 14, Mississippi St. 9 (17) Oregon 17, Arizona 13 (18) Texas A&M 17, Rice 10 (20) Auburn 37, Georgia 31 (21) Virginia Tech 38, Temple 16 (22) Washington 38, UCLA 14 (23) Syracuse 42, Pittsburgh 10 (24) Clemson 34, Duke 17 Wyoming 34, (25) San Diego St. 31 vim Tur$ treated ike baseball frel led to baseballscore lame it on the tarp. Yep, if you want to lay blame for the 5-0 final score of Saturday's Michigan-Purdue game, put it there. , One reason would be that the tarp was only 80 yards long and left the areas inside the 20-yard lines uncovered and even sloppier than the Michigan gets field goal, safety; Purdue gets zero rest of the field. That, in and of itself, however, doesn't lead to a 5-0 game. Nope, there's a bigger reason the tarp's at fault. You see, Michigan Stadium doesn't actually have its own cover; it's supposed to drain well enough so that it doesn't need one. RYAN WHITE White on Target By Antoine Pitts Daily Sports Editor Purdue coach Jim Colletto said that one of the game's biggest plays came before the opening kickoff. Like many other times during Saturday's contest, the Boilermakers could not execute. A mistake ruined their chance. Purdue also gave up three fumbles and an interception to help Michigan claim a 5-0 win in the lowest scoring game involving the Wolverines in 57 years. Michigan won the opening coin toss but deferred the decision to the Boiler- makers. Mike Alstott, one of the Purdue cap- tains on the field, elected to defend the north goal - the Boilermakers would have had the wind at their backs for the first and third quarters. When the referee told Alstott that Michigan would get the ball twice, it made Alstott unwisely change hismind. Purdue ended up defending the south goal - it would be going into the wind for the first quarter. Colletto's wanted the wind at the Boilermakers' backs right away. "We didn't care whether they got the ball twice," Colletto said. "We wanted that friggin' wind at our back in that first quarter and it didn't work out that way. That was a mistake right off the bat." As it turned out, the Wolverines only took advantage of that wind to put points on the board once in the game. Purdue still had a chance to win the game right up to its final drive. The Boilermakers took over at their own 9-yard line with over a minute to play. Purdue moved 36 yards out to its own 45 before Glen Steele sacked quarterback Rick Trefzger and the clock ran out on the Boilermakers. On that final drive, Purdue accumu- lated two of its four first downs on the day. "From my standpoint it was a great football game," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "Purdue came in and played hard." A full day of rain, sleet and snow completely saturated the Michigan Sta- dium field. The brisk, cold wind made things even more difficult on the play- ers. "You had to be down on that field to understand the conditions and to know how very difficult it was to play," Carr said. "I thought both teams played hard." The game became a battle for field position, one which Michigan controlled for the most part. Purdue's first punt of the game gave the Wolverines the ball at the Boiler- makers' 47-yard line. Tshimanga Biakabutuka gained 14 yards in four plays on the ground to move the ball to the 33. A 50-yard field goal attempt by Remy Hamilton fell short even with the gusty wind pushing the ball. Michigan's next drive stalled as well, forcing a Paul Peristeris punt. Craig Allen was sent back to receive it. Allen mishandled it and Sam Sword recov- ered for the Wolverines at the 2-yard line. Michigan could not put it into the end zone - in fact, the Wolverines lost five yards - and had to settle for a 25-yard field goal from Hamilton. That field goal was the only offensive production of the day for either team. Both teams had problems running and throwing the ball all day long. "In this field, we couldn't get anything going," Colletto said. "We couldn't See PURDUE, Page 4B The Big House had to rent its tux, so to speak, and, unfortunately for all who had to see the game, it was rented from Fisher Stadium. Fisher is, of course, where the Wolverines play baseball. And you know what they say: "Use a baseball tarp, get a baseball score." Just look at it this way: Remy Hamilton hit a three-run homer, Michigan picked up a couple of unearned runs in the late innings and Brian Griese threw a shutout. If I hadn't been there, that's how I would have figured the game went. Either that, or Hamilton netted a hat trick with Clarence Thompson picking up two goals in the final period. See TARGET, Page 3B Michigan's Jason Horn levels Purdue quarterback Rick Trefzger during Saturday's game. M orri r rs ke injury, aesi reass trn Michigan center overcomes knee injury, adversity to reassume starring role By Nicholas J. Cotsonika Daily Sports Writer XFORD - His torture was a twinge. It was only a small sore spot, something that wasn't quite right in his left knee, but a damned kink that was just enough to keep Brendan Morrison off his beloved ice. While the rest of his team was on skates, Morrison was on crutches. He went hobbling around, trying to divert his attention from hockey any way he could. In the four weeks he was injured, he watched only one hour of practice, opting instead to sweat through extra leg-lifts, boring bike rides and grueling stairmaster sessions. "I would try to prolong things as much as I could," Morrison said. "I didn't want to be forced to go down there and see the guys doing the one thing I love to do - play hockey. Things were bad enough. That only would have made it worse." It wasn't fitting or fair. Everything always seems to come so easily for Morrison, from goals to accolades and attention. When he returned from his injury Friday at Miami (Ohio), he had a three-point night as if he'd been doing it all year. He is a college hockey superstar, whose talent and charisma put him on a pedestal that everyday concerns aren't supposed to reach. And yet his body went up and pulled him down, onto the sidelines, out of the lineup. Into frustration. "I had a kind of helpless feeling," Morrison said. "I didn't know how long I'd be out at first ... I was behind my teammates, and all I could do was watch." overtime loss to Maine in the 1995 NCAA Semifinals. He had hit the post in sudden death, and thoughts of what might have been echoed in his head for over six months. Athletes get hurt all the time, and all must go through the same emotional turmoil of being temporarily ampu- tated from the game they love. Of course, there have been worse injuries, much bigger comebacks and stories that make this one look like the tale of a gladiator with a hangnail. But what made this particularly excruciating was the expectation that 1995-96 is going to be Morrison's year - Michigan's year. Ever since the loss to the Black Bears, there has been a vague feeling of emptiness in the Wolverines' lockerroom. Semifinal finishes and awards are nice, but they lose their luster after you get them year after year. Everyone is tired of getting experience and building character. They want glory. So when official practice got underway in October, everything should have been in place for the Wolverines to begin preparing for their run at the NCAA title. They had a championship-caliber team, a championship-caliber hunger and a championship-caliber star. Then came the twinge and the torture. Morrison was missing and, as stocked with talent as the Wolverines are, everyone was more than a little concerned. Championship seasons aren't supposed to start that way. "He's a leader," Berenson said. "And it's tough to be a leader when you're not on the ice." Morrison is Michigan's marquee guy. He was the nation's cntincr rn'.r.., lnct nancnn tnolvina '?I annlc orad 51occictc Wolverines sweep series w -ih Mimi-U& By Nicholas J. Cotsonika Daily Sports Writer OXFORD - The ticker can only take so much. Michigan coach Red Berenson may like excitement, but he wasn't disappointed that the Wolverines' win over Miami (Ohio) Saturday didn't have any of the heart-stopping action there was the night before. "That was heart-attack hockey," Berenson said Friday. Fourth-ranked Michigan may have swept a two-game series with the Redskins this weekend, but it had to overcome a sluggish start to do it. The Wolverines came back from a two- goal deficit to win a nail-biter, 5-4, in front of2,572 Friday night, and then had the momentum they needed to cruise to an easy 8- 0 victory Saturday before 2,552 silent fans. Outstanding individual performances were rampantforMichi- gan. Jason Botterill had four goals and an assist, Kevin Hilton had six points, Bill Muckalt had four and Brendan Morrison and Blake Sloan each had three. The team's overall performance was the most telling, though. "There might have been guys who had questions about how good we really were," Hilton said. "We proved we were a good team coming back (Friday). But coming out (Saturday) and controlling the play the whole game was a big step and really good for the team." Michigan(5-1 CCHA, 7-1 overall) completely dominated the Redskins (0-3, 1-6) Saturday. As they were all weekend, special teams were the most impressive part of the attack. Thp Wnlv1prinp llthe Miami w~;r nr,,iur islPCC in 1 La I