aije dii au &dlg (2) Nebraska 44, (7) Colorado 21 (3) Florida 52, Georgia 17 (4) Ohio St. 56, (25) Iowa 35 . (5) Tennessee 56, South Carolina 21 (14) Kansas St. 41, (6) Kansas 7 (8) Northwestern 17, Illinois 14 (9) Michigan 52, Minnesota 17 Arizona St. 35, (10) Oregon 24 Arkansas 30, (11) Auburn 28 (12 (13) (16) (18) (19)- (22)- (23), (24) Notre UDame2 oU, onU:U UUlege USC 21, (17) Washington 21 Penn St. 45. Indiana 21 Alabama 38, North Texas 19 Texas A&M 31, Houston 7 Texas Tech 34. New Mexico 7 Oklahoma 13, Missouri 9 UCLA 33, California 16 I Uittle Brown Ju.. Behid wi, ,vngerous bits lurk or those of you who managed to stay awake during Saturday's nearly four-hour ong epic, you saw something that for he most part has been missing in ction this year. You saw a sleeping giant return to onsciousness "s the Michigan ,ffense moved p and down he field with relative ease,e massing over 600 yards for the first time since 1992. ANTOINE This season, PITTS everyone has Pitts talked about the Stop Wolverines' stellar defense, but the same could never be said about the offense. Saturday's 52-17 butcher- ing of Minne- sota showed quite a few things about the 1995 version of the Wolverines. The first thing the game did was provide the Wolverine faithful with something that has not been seen in Ann Arbor the past couple of years - a homecom- ing win. The 52 points showed that the Wolverines do have the ability to be effective' offensively with both the run and the pass. Quarterback Brian Griese had his best game yet, throwing for 271 yards and four touch- downs. His four scoring tosses tied a host of others for most touchdown passes in a game in school history. "We know (the offense) can play well also," quarterback Brian Griese said. "We wanted to show that. That's why I was so happy that we went out and scored 52 points. It showed that we are able to play." The running game - led by Tshimanga Biakabutuka's 196 yards - racked up 305 yards, an average of 6.6 a carry. The balanced air and ground effort had been virtually nonexistent this season for the Wolverines. "It's always good to see the offense fine tuning their skills and playing like they played today," linebacker Jarrett Irons said. "It was a real asset to the defense and we're proud of them." More importantly though, the game showed that the Wolverines still aren't able to play a complete 60 minutes of football. Exhibit A from Saturday: the second quarter. The Wolverines came into the quarter already up 21-0, but could do nothing else to add to that lead. .-L:- A+ -~.a.., - . Michigan blasts Gophers, 52-17 Toomer, Biakabutuka shine By Darren Everson IDaily Sports Editor Even the sun left before this one was over. Minnesota probably wished it could have left early, too, especially after getting lit up for 623 yards oftotal offense by Michigan. However, they play these things for 60 minutes- or in some cases, four hours - and the Golden Gophers had to stick around for every last moment of the Wolverines' 52- 17 beating Saturday. Minnesota has had better days offensively than Saturday. Coming into this game, the Gophers (1-3 Big Ten, 3-4 overall) averaged 31.7 points per game. However, that was with star tailback Chris Darkins in the lineup. With Darkins on the sidelines because of a high ankle sprain, Michigan's defensive focus merely shifted to whom- ever else might be carrying the football, namely Rafael Cooper. "We went in with the mindset that we have to stop the run first, and then the pass," Michigan linebacker Jarrett Irons said. The Wolverines were pretty successful with that plan; Minnesota only managed 46 yards rushing. Meanwhile, the Wolverines (3-1, 7-1) were stopped by the Golden Gophers about as often as motorists stop for hitchhik- ers. They saw them out of the corner of their eyes, but usually they just blew right past them. And in some cases, like Tshimanga Biakabutuka's two touchdowns, the Wolverines chose to run right over the Minnesota defenders. With 8:04 left in the first quarter, the Michigan tailback broke through the Gopher defensive line, shook off Minne- sota linebacker Justin Conzemius and sprinted 52 yards for the touchdown, putting Michigan up, 7-0. One play after the Gophers failed to cover the ensuing kickoff, Biakabutuka went 16 yards for Michigan's second touchdown, bulling through Minnesota safety Rishon Early for the last five. At that point, Biakabutuka had 107 yards on seven carries. And this is against a team that, as Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said, uses safeties to help defend against the run. "I think that when teams blitz us, and we have guys like Toomer and Hayes ... we're going to make them pay for it," Carr said. The Wolverines did just that on their next possession. From the Michigan 25-yard line, split end Amani Toomer caught a pass from Brian Griese near the Minnesota 30. Toomer, who was being covered only by Rodney Heath, pulled away from the Gopher cornerback and went the rest of the way for the touchdown. The play covered 75 yards. "We knew they were going to try to (play man-to-man), and we took advantage of it," Toomer said. That play was just one of several highlights for Griese. The Michigan quarterback threw three other touchdown passes and was 14-of-19 for 271 yards. However, he needn't think of what to do for an encore - with Scott Dreisbach returning from injury perhaps next weekend, Griese might not get a chance. "It really doesn't enter into my mind," Griese said of the possibility that Dreisbach will retake the starting job this Saturday. "I have no control over that, so I don't really think See JUG, Page 4B Volleyball bumps off Hawkeyes By Andy Knudsen Daily Sports Writer Last week, the Michigan volleyball team lost three conference matches and sole possession of fourth place in the Big Ten. But it didn't lose its poise. Needing a win to get back on track, the Wol- verines (7-5 Big Ten, 13-9 overall) made quick work of Iowa (2-10,9-14) Saturday night at Cliff Keen Arena to get back in the win column. Michigan never allowed the Hawkeyes to get a double-digit score, winning in straight games, 15-7, 15-5, 15-9. "I love how composed we were," said coach Greg Giovanazzi, citing his team's character as a main factor in the Wolverines' win. Although Michigan has had trouble scoring points, sophomore setter Linnea Mendoza said patience will eventually bring points. The Wolverines were excited to move on after losing three consecutive matches to the top three teams in the Big Ten in straight games. "We were mad at losing three in a row," senior outside hitter Shannon Brownlee said. "We just wanted to beat someone." Iowa took an early 2-1 lead in game one, but Brownlee and fellow senior Suzy O'Donnell keyed the run, which ended with two aces by O'Donnell. The Hawkeyes battled for four points before a ball-handling error cost them the first game. Iowagrabbed its biggest lead ofthe match with a 5-2 start in the second game. But then the Wolverines' defense clamped down on the Hawkeyes' scoring attack, not allowing a score again in that game. "Michigan blocked very well and put us on the defensive from the beginning," Iowa coach Linda Schoenstedt said. Giovanazzi credited much of the Wolverines' strong defensive play to adjustments made by assistant coach Mora Kanim. "Mora had a really good scouting report that helped us go at their weaknesses," Giovanazzi said. Michigan's 13-0 run to end the second game was sparked by two tips by Mendoza that fell between diving Hawkeyes. Mendoza added three kills on the night to complement her match-high 41 assists. Brownlee keyed the Wolverine attack at the end of the second with several fierce hits --her Brownlee, who is averaging 4.71 kills per game against Big Ten opponents. "A lot ofteams block cross-court and I. like to hit down the line." Michigan continued its strong attack and point scoring run into the third game with a quick 4-0 lead, but Iowa was determined not to let the Wolverines grab an easy win. The Hawkeyes deadlocked the game at four, and at 7-7. Michigan took control of the game behind Brownlee, who took a set from freshman Jeanine Szczesniak and spiked it to the floor; she then contributed a solo block to give the Wolverines a 10-7 lead. O'Donnell and Brownlee gave the Wolverines' an insurmountable lead at 12-7 with successive kills. "Brownlee and O'Donnell are seniors having their best years," Schoenstedt said. "I have not seen them play that well before." Dockray said she had expected the Hawkeyes to carry overmomentum from the strong finish in their loss Friday night to Big Ten leader Michi- gan State. Instead, she felt Iowa lacked focus Saturday. "We got in a rut ofhitting to the same spot," she said. -We we xren~f't nrenared to nlav and Michig~an i B. DAMIANPJ rjiY