The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - Monday, October 2, 1995 - 76 Al 4. 4. . 4 4. ~' ~E4:44. 4:. 4. *4:' '\ 4: 4:>: ~ ~.-. 4. 4:4~... 4:4-:* *4;* 44 Griese takes advante of opportuni I I By Ryan White Daily Sports Editor Michigan quarterback Brian Griese didn't know until last Wednesday that he would start against Miami (Ohio). But Griese had been preparing for the game since August. Griese had lost his battle with Scott Dreisbach for the Wolverines' No. 1 quarterback position, but he decided not to dwell on it. And when Dreisbach went down early last week with a thumb injury, Griese had his chance. "I just prepared myself mentally and physically so that when my opportunity came I would be ready," Griese said after Michigan beat Miami, 38-19, Saturday. "And that's what happened today." Griese took full advantage of his opportunity by leading the Wolverines to a 31- 0 lead in the first half. He was 10 of 13 for 157 yards and two touchdowns in the first 30 minutes. For the game, he finished 14 of 24 with 192 yards. Miami coach Randy Walker wasn't surprised with the success Griese had. "I didn't expect him to crap in his britches," Walker said. Dreisbach's injury guaranteed that Griese will start at least the next two games - and probably three - but it wasn't the reason he started Saturday against Miami. Michigan coach Lloyd Carrplanned on playing Griese, regardless of Dreisbach's status, so that Griese could get more experience. "I thought Brian was very sharp in the first half," Carr said after the game. "He threw the ball very well, and we expected him to throw the ball very well." Carr also went out of his way, much like he did with Dreisbach, to make sure that Griese wasn't looking over his shoulder. "He knew I had confidence in him," Carr said. "I told him, 'If you make a mistake, don't worry. There's no one behind you."' Griese's confidence was also boosted by the way he began the game. He hit receiver Mercury Hayes for four yards on his first pass. On Michigan's next possession Griese completed his second pass; again it was to Hayes but this time it was for 33 yards. Both of those drives led to Remy Hamilton field goals and put the Wolverines up 6-0. Griese threw his first touchdown pass with 44 seconds left in the first quarter when he hit Amani Toomer over the middle for 22 yards. It was exactly the way Griese had hoped to start the game, and every other game he plays in for that matter. GAME STATISTICS Player Ricketts Dough 'ty Totals C-A Yds TD Int 12-24 2-6 14-30: 127 13 140 0 0 0 1 0 1 I PASSING MARK FRIED\MN Da iy Scott Dreisbach (second from left) was in a sling and on the sidelines Saturday. "I like to come out and set the stage for the game." he said. "And that's what happened today." Griese's first start was aided by a Miami team that did what Griese expected defensively. Griese also knew, going into the game, he would have time to throw. "Their (defensive) front four is not as strong as our offensive line," he said. "i knew all I had to do was make the reads and hit Amani, Mercury and Jay (Riemersma)." Griese appears to have followed the advice he received Tuesday from his father Bob, an NFL Hall of Famer. The elder Griese simply told his son to take advantage of the opportunity he had gotten. If Griese continues to be successful, questions will inevitably begin to swirl about who should start once Dreisbach returns. Griese, however, wants no part of that. "I don't want to talk about a quarterback controversy," he said. RUSHING Player Att Yds Avg Lg McCu'gh28141 5.0 47 King 8 29 3.6 9 Dough'ty 1 1111.0 11 Banks 1 (-)5(-)5.0 0 Ricketts 1 (-)9(-)9.0 0 Hend'son 1(-)14(-)14 0 Totals 44148 3.3 47 TD 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 RECEIVING Player No. Yds MARK FRIEDMAN/Daily m to quarters and held Miami quarterbacks N Miami fumbles. Banks 4 King 2 Hen'son 2 Adkins 2 Hall 1 McCu'gh 3 Totals 14 32 30 28 26 12 12 140 Avg 8.0 15.0, 14.0 13.0 12.0 4.0 10.0 LgTD 10 0 25 21 21 0 12 0 6 0 25 0 "I didn't expect (Griese) to crap in his britches," - Randy Walker Miami football coach Hamlton passes 1-Sheikh in Wolverines' record book PUNTING Player Cheney Totale No. Yds AvgLg 6 28146.8 54 6 28146.854 By Scott Burton Daily Sports Writer Ali Haji-Sheikh may be the most famous Michigan field goal kicker of all time. However, after the Wolverines' 38- 19 victory over Miami (Ohio) Saturday, he's got someone to look up to - Remy Hamilton. Haji-Sheikh, who kicked 31 field goals in his Wolverine career (1979-82), was usurped of third place on Michigan's all time field goal list by Hamilton Saturday. Hamilton, a junior, kicked three field goals against Miami to give him 34 for his career. Mike Gillette (1985-88) is No. I on the list with 57 field 2 3 0 19 10 0 4 TOT 0 19 7 38 yes catch) n kick) F0tball Notebook goals. Hamilton's emergence as a premier placekicker in 1994 broke a string of unreliable Wolverine kickers following the graduation of J.D. Carlson in 1991. He converted 14 of 15 field goals be- tween 30 and 39 yards, and 25 of 30 total, as a sophomore. This season, the All-America candi- date has been successful on 8 of 10 field goal attempts, including a career-best 49-yard boot against Illinois, Sept. 2. But Hamilton is not the only Wolver- for a quarterback to read defenses and make pinpoint passes when he's got a 300-pound boogieman chasing him down. "It makes our job easier because they're pressuring the quarterback and we don't have to cover as long," junior Chuck Winters said. "I think the defensive line has made the defense. A perfect example of Winters' notion came in the first quarter. Freshman defensive end Rasheed Simmons busted the offensive line and got in quarterback Sam Ricketts' face, As a result, Ricketis threw a poor pass to Eric Henderson which Winters intercepted and returned for a touchdown. Of course, the secondary also has a lot to do with the fact that Michigan has cut its passing-yards allowed per game by 46 yards in 1995. The Wolverines have nine intercep- tions this season, one more than they had all of last season. But Winters wants to allocate some of the credit for the improvement of the secondary, and that of the defense overall, to Michigan's coaches. "Our success can be attributed to the coaches," Winters said. "And us having the confidence in ourselves - I don't think we had the confidence in ourselves last year. And I think now we believe in the coaches and we'll do anything for them." SCARY MOMENT: Miami quarterback Neil Dougherty broke his left fibula after getting sacked by Glen Steele in the third quarter. After Steele's hit, Dougherty laid on the playing field for at least five minutes and was driven off in a cart. Dougherty's parents, who were in the stands, joined their son in Miami's lockerroom after being paged over Michigan's P.A. system. This is not the senior's first serious injury of the year: Against Northwestern Sept. 16, Dougherty tore his plantar facia muscle and didn't return until Saturday. RECEIVING ACCOLADES: Michigan wide receiver Mercury Hayes continued his assault on the Wolverines' record books with 107 yards Saturday. He moved past Jim Smith for 7th on Michigan's list of career receiving yards (1,687 yards). Hayes also has another 100-yard receiving game this season (179 yards against Virginia), which could put him in position to challenge Michigan's record for most 100-yard games in a season. Anthony Carter owns that mark with five 100-yard games in 1982. Player Taylor Banks Totals KICKOFF RETURNS Player No.Yds Avg Lg TD Hen'son 3 83 27.7 31 0 King Banks Totals 1 18 18.0 18 5108 21.6 31 PUNT RETURNS 0 0 0 No. Yds Avg Lg TD 1 5 5.0 5 0 1 33.0 3 0 2 84.0 5 0 ..t - .. I n return (Hay per (Hamiltor (Hamilton kick) ine booter making an impact this season. Freshman Jay Feely is handling the kickoff duties and was particularly sharp Saturday. Of his eight kickoffs, three were downed in the endzone and only one was returned past the 30-yard line. "I think we are setting a standard that hasn't been here for a couple of years," Hamilton said. "The kicking game is a vital part of football and it can win games." Hamilton should know - he kicked a game-winning, 42- yard field goal against Notre Dame last year with seven seconds left on the clock. IT TAKES TWO TO PASS-DEFEND: It's no secret that Michigan's secondary was a beleaguered bunch last sea- son. But things have changed for the Wolverines' pass defense in 1995, thanks in part to the emergence of a dominant pass rush. In game after game this season, Michigan's line has made a living off of pressuring the opposing quarterback and flushing him out of the pocket. It is obviously quite difficult DEFENSE Player Perry Osbourne Williams Taylor Plummer Morgan Harper Carlisle Holmes Abel Stepp Armour Havens Miller Palcic Adkins Cheeks Martin Marut Purcell Solo 10 11 7 8 3 4 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 Ast 3 0 3 0 3 1 2 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tot 13 11 10 8 6 5 4 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 I kick) failed) in (Hamilton kick) I mhess in Happy Vall tc's 20-game win streak with 17-9 upset by Terry Glenn, and beat No. 15 Notre Mexico State. e Dame, 45-26, Saturday in the first meet- The Hawkeyes stym ing of the schools since 1936. Ledbetter, the nation's lea If Northwestern 31, Indiana 7 while amassing 612 yards in g Darnell Autry gained 100 yards for a to 3-0 for the first time sinc d fifth straight game, Brian Musso set up a Aggies (1-4) lost their fourth n touchdown with an 86-yard punt return Shaw gained 102 yards an - and Casey Dailey scored on a fumble Tavian Banks, added 136y return Saturday as Northwestern beat In- touchdown as the Hawkeyes r diana, 31-7. yards. h Northwestern's victory in the Big Ten Purdue 35, Ball State 13 e opener before a small crowd of 29,223 Mike Alstott set two Pur e gives the Wildcats a 3-1 start for the first Saturday, running for 100 y :c time since 1963. fourth consecutive game an Sophomore running back Alex Smith 30th rushing touchdown as r gained 136 yards on 23 carries for mndi- makers defeated Ball State,3 ? ana (0-1, 2-2) but was carried off the Purdue (2-1-1) pulled aw2 x: field on a stretcher with 9:32 left after halfwhen Lee Johnson return he was tackled and suffered broken 99 yards for a touchdowna ribs. Winston returned an intercep ey~ ied Cody ding passer, n improving e 1991. The :h straight. dhisbackup, yards and a s ran for 350 rdue records yards for the d scoring his the Boiler- 35-13. ay in the first ned a kickoff and Derrick tion 23 yards nthe Mid- remains INTERCEPTIONS Player Taylor Totals MIAMI A31 S9 S16 at S23 S30 07 at B 014 028 at N4 N11 N18 No. Yds TD 1 12 0 1 12 0 SCHEDULE BALL STATE at Kent Northwest'n CINCINNATI at Michigan owling Green TOLEDO C. Michigan E. MICHIGAN at Ohio AKRON 15-17 39-0 30-28 23-16 19-38 TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA r Iowa 59, New Mexico State 21 Matt Sherman threw three touch- downnasses and SedrickShaw scored for another score. Ball State (3-2), from American Conference I ~~'L' '~t~ I I . -1 1