4B - The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - Monday, November 20, 1995
rI
PENN ZTT 7, MICH G1
No time to wallow; Buckeyes are conning
Michigan puts loss to Nittany Lions behind as it prepares for No. 2 Ohio State
GAME STATISTICS
PASSING
Player
Richardson
Totals
RUSHING
Player Al
Pitts 1
Enis 1
Witman 1
Archie
Milne
Nastasi
C-A Yds TDint
17-31 193 2 0
17-31193 2 0
By Antoine Pitts
Daily Sports Editor
STATE COLLEGE - The Michi-
gan football team had no longer than the
plane ride home to think about its up-
coming opponent Saturday.
Talk after the game by Michigan coach
Lloyd Carr and the Wolverine players
shifted from the tough defeat they had
just suffered to the tough game they face
ahead.
The Wolverines challenge Ohio State
in their season finale Saturday and will
be trying to stop the Buckeyes from
attaining their first berth in the Rose
Bowl since 1985.
Saturday's 20-17 loss to Penn State
will certainly have to be forgotten fast
by the Wolverines.
"If you sit back and feel sorry for your-
self, you're going to be sony," Carr said.
Thus far, the month of November -
pointed out at the beginning of the sea-
son as Michigan's make or break por-
tion of the schedule - has been a bust.
The Wolverines dropped their first game
of the month, 28-25, to intrastate rival
Michigan State to knock themselves out
of the conference title race.
Michigan came back with a 5-0 vic-
tory in extreme weather conditions
against Purdue last week, but dropping
Saturday's game ended any chance of
the Wolverines being selected for the
Florida Citrus Bowl.
"We knew at the beginning of the
year that our season would come down
to Penn State on the road and Ohio State
at home," Carr said. "Not to take any-
thing away from Penn State, but we
have got to be ready to play better de-
fense -Ohio State is the most balanced
if you sit back
and feel sorry for
yourself, you're
going to be sorry."
-- Lloyd Carr
Michigan football coach
team in college football."
Outback Bowl representatives have
not officially ruled Michigan out of
the running for their bowl, but the
Wolverines will certainly need a win
over Ohio State to have any chance of
going to Tampa.
"It's Ohio State and Michigan," line-
backer Jarrett Irons said. "If you can't
get up for that game then you shouldn't
be playing at Michi n."
Two years ago, O io State brought a
9-0-1 record into An Arbor looking for
a trip to the Rose Bowl. The Wolverines
embarrassed the' Buckeyes, 28-0, and
Wisconsin earned thie trip to Pasadena.
Ohio State got some revenge with a
22-6 pasting of Mic iigan in Columbus
last season to edge t e Wolverines for a
spot in the Citrus Bowvl. A win this week
would be even wceeter vengeance for
the Buckeyes.
The Wolverines, on the other hand,
can help make up for a season of hurt by
keeping Ohio State ooit of the Rose Bowl.
A Michigan win woild send Northwest-
ern to Pasadena forthe first time since
1949.
"I know every individual is going to
be ready to play that ',ame," Griese said.
tt
7
0
0
5
2
1
Yds
164
38
33
17
4
2
Avg
9.6
3.8
3.3
3.4
2.0
2.0
Richardson4(-)13(-3.3)
Totals 49 245 5.0
LgTD
58 0
120
70
100
2 0
2 1
2 0
58 1
LgTD
40 1
18 0
5 0
11 0
13 1
11 0
9 0
40 2
RECEIVING
Player No.
Engram 5
Olsommer4
Milne 2
Pitts 2
Archie 2
Yds
87
44
9
17
16
11
9
193
Avg
17.4
11.0
4.5
8.5
8.0
11.0
9.0
11.4
Penn State fans couldn't resist the tempai
hImtes bet
Beaver Stad
By Scott Burton
and Antoine Pitts
Daily Sports Writers
STATE COLLEGE - A host of in-
mates from local state correctional insti-
tutions took over Penn State's Beaver
Stadium early Saturday morning.
The prisoners were part of the effort to
Witman
Scott
Totals
1
1
17
PUNTING
Player
Kania
Totals
No. Yds Avg Lg
5 199 39.846
5199 39.846
1ootbal
Notebook
remove the nearly 18
inches of snow that
buried the stadium
earlier this week.
A light dusting of
snow Friday night
meant that all the
seats that had been
cleared during the
week would haveto
be swept again,
Theentirejobwas
PUNT RETURNS
Player No.Yds Avg Lg TD
Archie 3 3010.0 17 0
Totals 3 3010.017 0
KICKOFF RETURNS
Player N4
Pitts
Gray
Totals
DEFENSE
Player
Collins
Filardi
Tate
Herring
Noble
Nelson
Atkins
Killens
Miller
Penzenik
Enis
Cleary
Fletcher
Johnson
Flores
Totals
o.Yds
2 44
1 0
3 44
Avg
22.0
0
14.7
Lg
23
0
23
Solo
5
4
5
4
4
2
2
2
3
3
1
1
1
1
0
38
Ast
8
4
2
3
3
5
4
4
2
1
1
0
0
0
1
38
TD
0
0
0
Tot
13
8
7
7
7
7
6
6
5
4
2
1
1
1
0
76
TD
0
0
0
PENN STATE
Continued from Page lB
in their conventional field goal defense,
Nastasi was to run the play. Otherwise,
Nastasi was to place the ball down for a
field goal kick.
"There was nothing there but a huge
hole," Penn State kicker Brett Conway
said. "Joe could have gone through it,
come back out and gone through it
again."
Ironically, Michigan coach Lloyd
Carr suspected that the Nittany Lions
were going to run a fake on that fourth-
down play and was screaming up and
down the sidelines forthe Wolverines to
be ready. And several Wolverines de-
fending on the play said they were pre-
pared for the fake.
"Some guys were calling it out,"
Michigan defensive end Jason Horn said.
"We were kind of looking for it even.
They just hit the right spot."
What was doubly unusal about Penn
State's clinching touchdown was the
manner in which they moved the ball
down the field in the first place - on
the ground. With the ball on their own
34, Nittany Lions' senior tailback
Stephen Pitts busted Michigan's line
of scrimmage fora 54-yard jaunt down
the left sideline.
That run alone was just 19 yards fewer
than the average rushing yards per game
that the Wolverines had been allowing
going into Saturday's contest. However,
Michigan was not beaten at the line of
scrimmage for just that play, but for
most of the game.
"I did not expect Penn State to run the
ball as well as they did," Michigan coach
Lloyd Carr said. "When you give up that
many yards rushing, you're going to
have a hard time winning."
Penn State, utilizing a tandem of five
backs, rushed for 262 yards on the game,
by far the most any opponent has rushed
for against Michigan this season. Pitts,
who going into the game had rushed for
more than 100 yards once in his career,
tallied 166 yards.
"I was running for days out there,"
Pitts said. "(The offensive line) was
opening these big holes and I got into
the open field."
Michigan (4-3 Big Ten, 8-3 overall)
also defied conventional wisdom in its
offensive scheme, moving the ball
effeciently in the air but struggling on
the ground. Michigan's 122 net rushing
yards on the game were a season low but
Brian Griese's 323 passing yards
amounted to the Wolverines' second-
highest passing total this season.
However, both facets of the Wol-
verines' offense came together in what,
at the time, was their most crucial
series of the game. Down, 20-10, in
the middle of the fourth quarter, Michi-
gan drove the ball 73 yards on six
plays for a touchdown.
On that drive, Griese completed
passes of 20, 7, 12 and 18 yards while
Tshimanga Biakabutuka capped the
drive with a 18-yard touchdown run.
The rest ofthe day belonged to Griese,
the much beleaguered sophomore, who
just a week earlier threw for 101 yards.
He completed 24-of-46 passes and ac-
counted for 14 of Michigan's 21 first
downs.
Griese also manufactured Michigan's
first touchdown tof the day, driving
Michigan 91 yards in only 1:57 late in
the second quarter. His 18-yard pin-
point touchdown T ass to Amani Toomer
brought Michigan within three, 10-7.
The day could h ave been even more
glorious for Griese, and Michigan, if
not for a couple cif dropped passes by
Mercury Hayes. On a Michigan drive
subsequent to Peein State's fake field
goal, Griese seemingly connected with
Hayes on a thirdi-down play that would
have given the Wolverines first-down
yardage. Hwev'er, Hayes dropped the
ball.
Hayes also dropped a touchdown pass
in the second quartier before Griese con-
nected with Toonm'r four plays later.
"It was a ball ithat Mercury would
normally catch,'? Carr said. "In this type
of game, you have to make those plays.
Anytime he drops passes, that's not
something you normally see."
Griese was pressed into prominent
duty because Penn S tate opened up a 10-
0 lead in the gecolPd quarter, after a
Conway 49-yard f5eld goal and a 13-
yard touchdown ,pass from Wally
Richardson to Mike Archie.
Yet even after Giese responded with
his touchdown pass to Toomer, Penn
State was quick torecapture the momen-
tum of the first half,.
With only 1:13 do work with in the
second quarter, the Nittany Lions moved
the ball 31 yards, aided in part by a
personal foul call against Michigan. That
set up Conway's 5 -yard field goal -
his career-high - giving Penn State a
13-7 halftime lead.
finishedj ust three hours before game timge..
"This snow really could have caused
some problems for us today," quarter-
back Penn State Wally Richardson said.-
"Everybody who assisted with the sta-
dium effort, the parking lots, the fans,--
I thank them very much,"
Penn State officials had anticipated
not having its normal allotment of park-
ing for the game. They warned fans. to,
try to use satellite lots and.shuttle buses.-
As it turned out, the officials may have
overcompensated - several lots close,,
to the stadium went unused because
everyone had parked somewhere else,
Of the 96,677 tickets sold, Penn State
officials estimated that around 80,000
MARK FRIEC
Amani Toomer tiptoes on the sideline to make a catch in Michigan's 27-17 loss at Penn State Saturday. Toomer caught eight passes for 128 yards on the day.
INTERCEPTIONS
Player No.
Filardi 1
Herring
Totals
1
2
Yds
0
0
0
PENN STATE SCHEDULE
S9
S16
S23
S30
07
014
021
028
N4
N18
N25
TEXAS TECH
TEMPLE
vs. Rutgers
WISCONSIN
OHIO STATE
at Purdue
at Iowa
INDIANA
at N'western
MICHIGAN
at Mich. St.
24-23
66-14
59-34
9-17
25-28
26-23
41-27
45-21
10-21
27-17
3:30
PITTS
Continued from Page 1A
ship-bound Buckeyes from Ohio
State come to Ann Arbor. If you
easily get squeamish, you might not
want to watch this game.
The Buckeyes will allow the
Wolverines to continue something
that has become a new Michigan
tradition - the four-loss season.
Not since 1965-67 haveuthe Wolver-
ines dropped at least four games in
three consecutive seasons, but
Michigan is primed to do it this
year.
You hear about how everybody
gets up for Ohio State. There's
something special about it. It's like
no other game throughout the
season.
If a team can't get up for Michi-
gan State when the Rose Bowl is
still on the line, for Penn State when
you're still in the running for the
Citrus Bowl, how is a team magi-
cally going to get up for Ohio State?
Joe Paterno's protest of a penalty promptI
I
With Penn
quarter, the
yard line. Aft
in the endzoi
goal on fourt
However, h
into the end
point, Penn
On the play
fake or simp
ing POIA
Mtate nursing a 20-17 lead late in the fourth
Jittany Lions drove down to Michigan's eight-
kr three unsuccessful attempts to put the ball
e, Penn State seemingly lined up for a field
i down.
>lder Joe Nastasi took the snap and walked
one untouched for a touchdown. After the extra
Mtate had an insurmountable 27-17 lead.
j Nastasi had the option of either running the
fV placing the ball down for a Brett Conway
1 = a 'C h
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