The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - Monday, November 13, 1995 - 5B Michigan defense impresses in shutout of Boilermakers By Darren Everson Daily Sports Editor There was something rather beauti- ful that got lost in the muck that was Saturday's Michigan-Purdue game - seriously. The Wolverines pitched a shutout, and even though it was covered in rain, snow, hail and mud, it was quite a sight to behold. That's partly because the Wolver- ines don't pull this off very often. The last time they did was Nov. 20, 1993, a 28-0 win over Ohio State. The team Michigan goose-egged that day, though, wasn't fifth in the nation in rushing like Purdue was be- fore Saturday. Given the Boilermak- ers' offensive might, Michigan's chances of blanking them were, at best, nonexistent. "I don't think a team can run on us," Michigan linebacker Jarrett Irons said. "Up to this point, we've emphasized stopping the run and that's what we did (Saturday)." The Wolverines certainly did shut down the run. The Boilermakers, who were getting 252.3 yards per game, got about 10 percent of that against Michigan. What makes that all the more im- pressive is the fact that the Michigan defense and the Purdue offense were headed in totally opposite directions before Saturday. The Boilermakers had so much mo- mentum coming into this one, they were beginning to resemble one of those trains they're so very fond of. Against Wisconsin Nov. 4, the Boil- ers butchered the Badgers by barrel- ing the ball ahead for barely less than 400 yards. Meanwhile, the Michigan defense, which had lit a fire under the team all year long, got torched by Michigan State. "We just wanted to redeem our- selves after Michigan State," Michi- GAME STATISTICS PASSING Player Trefzger Totals RUSHING C-A Yds TD Int 11-19 84 0 1 11-19 84 0 1 Player Watson Alstott Att Yds Avg Lg TD 9 31 3.4 12 0 11 19 1.7 6 0 JOE WESTRATE/Daity Matthews 1 1 1.0 1 0 David Bowens (6) and the Michigan defense celebrate during its 5-0 blanking of Purdue Saturday. It was the Wolverines' first shut out of the season. Trefzger Totals 7 (-)22 (-)3.1 12 0 28 29 1.0 12 0 gan defensive lineman Will Carr said. "(Defensive coordinator Greg) Mattison just kept using that as a mo- tivation to stop them this week." And Mattison didn't stop there. Much like a catcher calling all the right pitches in baseball, Mattison could do no wrong as he signaled in Michigan's blitzes and coverages.. That's evidenced by Purdue's 113 yards of total offense. One of those calls even helped out the Michigan offense. On a first-and- 10 from the Purdue 5-yard line, Wol- verine defensive back Clarence Th- ompson blitzed and sacked Boiler- maker quarterback Rick Trefzger in the end zone for a safety. "That play gave us a lot of momen- tum, offensively and defensively," Th- ompson said. "I thought that play changed the entire complexion of the game because Purdue was forced (to score a touchdown)," Michi- gan coach Lloyd Carr said. The safety put the Wolverines up, 5-0, which was an insurmountable lead RECEIVING in Saturday's quagmire. Of course, in Player N better conditions - perhaps on a day when there's only one form of pre- Alford cipitation falling - the Purdue of- Olivadotti fense might have had an easier time getting going. Blackman "I don't think (the weather) gives anyone an advantage when it gets cold I. Jones like that," Irons said. Alstott "It was tough to be a defensive line- man," said Will Carr, who also played Watson at running back. "You're trying to make your moves but you can't be- Totals cause you're worried about slipping. It was to the offense's advantage." Whether it was 'Advantage: Of- PUNTING fense' on the field is debatable; what Player isn't debatable is that, because of the Michigan defense, the final tally was Deignan . 5-love. No. Yds Avg 2 40 20.0 Lg TD 23 0 4 27 6.8 10 0 1 7 7.0 7 0 1 7 7.0 7 0 2 3 1.5 2 0 1 0 0.0 0 0 11 84 7.6 23 0 4 No. Yds Avg Lg 9 314 34.9 55 9 314 34.9 55 And anytime your opponent has nothing but love to show for its effort, that's beautiful. Totals r PUNT RETURNS It wasn't perfect, but Nebraska stays Allen Totals perfect wicth 41-3 rout of Kansasxo No. Yds Avg 1 (-)9 (-)9.0 1 0-90-9,0 Lg 0 it 0 0 FFRETURNS The Associated Press Nebraska played its sloppiest game of the year Saturday. Fortunately for the Cornhuskers, Kansas was even slop- pier. Tommie Frazier ran for two touch- downs and passed for one as top-ranked Nebraska routed No. 10 Kansas, 41-3, and clinched a tie for its fifth straight Big Eight title. The Huskers (10-0), who hadn't com- mitted a turnover in their previous four games, lost two fumbles and had a pass intercepted by Kansas. But the Jayhawks (8-2) self-destructed with five turnovers, including a botched punt return that turned into a Nebraska touchdown, sev- eral costly penalties and poor time man- agement that prevented them from try- ing a field goal at the end of the first half. Nebraska extended its winning streak to 23, beat Kansas for the 27th consecu- tive time and stayed on track for a trip to the Fiesta Bowl and a bid for a second straight national championship. No. 3 Florida 63, South Carolina 7 Danny Wuerffel returned to his start- ing spot with five touchdowns passes and got third-ranked Florida back to the Southeastern Conference title game Sat- urday night in a 63-7 victory over South Carolina. Wuerffel, rested last week by coach Steve Spurrier, had 304 yards passing in the first half as Florida quickly wrapped up its fourth straight SEC Eastern Divi- sion title. The Gators went 9-0 for the first time ever and likely scored enough points to hold their poll position another week. Florida goes to face Western Division winner Arkansas in the SEC Champion- ship game at the Georgia Dome on Dec. 2. South Carolina will just go home. The Gamecocks (4-5-1) held out hope for a second straight bowl trip and win- ning season with a win here and next week against archrival Clemson. But the Gamecocks came up with just 83 yards on offense as Florida led, 42-7, by halftime. No. 7 Kansas St. 49, Iowa St. 7 Matt Miller threw three touchdown passes to become the Big Eight's season leader and No. 7 Kansas State scored on seven of its first eight possessions in overwhelming Iowa State, 49-7, Satur- day. Kansas State (9-1) hit on big plays to set up its first four touchdowns and capitalized on turnovers for two more scores to stay on track for its best season ever. With a victory over Colorado next Saturday, Kansas State would win 10 games for the first time. Shrugging off the zero-degree wind chill, Miller kept Iowa State (3-7) off balance all day. He hit touchdown throws Nichiga n - Thompson tackled Trefzger in end zone for safety of three yards to Brian Lojka, one yard Player to Kevin Lockett and 31 yards to Mitch Running and also scored twice on short Hagins runs. L. Johnson Miller ran his season total to 22 touch- down passes, breaking the record of 20 Totals that Nebraska's Vince Ferragamo set in 1976. He sat out the fourth quarter after completing 14-of-17 passes for 209 DEFENSE yards with no interceptions. Iowa State's Troy Davis, the nation's Player leading rusher, carried 41 times for 183 Washer yards to run his season total to 1,830. No. 9 Colorado 21, Missouri 0 Okeafor John Hessler passed for two touch- downs, extending his school record, and Hall ran for another score as No. 9 Colorado Brown overcame a listless start and gusty winds to blank Missouri, 21-0, on Saturday. O'Connor The Buffaloes (8-2) managed to with- stand three turnovers and two missed Williams field goals to stay in contention for a Smith second-place finish in the conference. Colorado, which had surrendered an Perez average of 36 points the previous four Winston games, recorded its first shutout since 1992. Burroughs Missouri (2-8) sustained its sixth straight setback and lost to Colorado for Coleman the 1 1th meeting in a row. Krick Hessler, throwing his 17th and 18th TD passes of the season, ran 36 yards on Francis fourth-and-four midway through the fi- Olivadotti nal quarter for the clinching score. Brush Hagins Metzger No. Yds Avg Lg 1 26 26.0 26 2 34 17.0 19 0 3 60 20.0 26 0 Solo Ast Tot 10 1 11 The score relly doesn't tell how the TD 9 3 12- 7 2 9 6 3 9, 5 1 6. 5 0 5 4 1 5. 4 0 4 4 0 4 3 1 4 3 0 3 2 3 5 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 TEAM STATISTICS MICH PUR First Downs Third Down Rushing Passing Total Offense Plays Turnovers Penalties Time 17 4 4-19 3-13 182 101 29 84 283 113 79 47 2 3 5-30 4-30 37:22 22:38 clpfngi-Raidger 2l-vaird line with 1:14 lefttin the r