Hail To The Victors: MICHIGAN FOOTBALL '99
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WOLVERINES SMACK DOWN 'CATS
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (Nov. 6) - Michigan finally made it look easy. Tom Brady passed for 185 yards and three touchdowns and Anthony Thomas ran for 172 yards and two scores as No. 16 Michigan, which struggled against unranked teams the past two weeks, beat Northwestern 37-3 Saturday. The Wolverines (7-2, 4-2 Big Ten) surrendered 100 points in its previous three games, but didn't allow Northwestern (3-6, 1-5) to score until it was 34-0 in the third quarter.
The Wolverines, who had risen to No. 3 before losing to Michigan State last month, appeared to be in their easiest stretch of the season, playing three unranked teams. But Illinois scored four fourth-quarter touchdowns to beat the Wolverines and Michigan nearly lost to Indiana after squandering a 17-point lead. But Northwestern, which has lost five of its last six games and 13 of its last 14 Big Ten games, never posed a challenge. The Wolverines had 451 yards; Northwestern 200. Brady connected with David Terrell on a 26-yard touchdown in the first quarter and with a diving Marcus Knight in the end zone for a 45-yard score in the second quarter to put Michigan ahead 13-0. Thomas scored on a 60-yard run, breaking one tackle and taking advantage of an open-field block by receiver Marquise Walker. Thomas' 1-yard TD dive was set up by a 21-yard catch by Johnson, who spun away from one tackler and ducked under another before being tackled on the 1-yard line.
Northwestern's lone score came on a 37-yard field goal by Tim Long with 4:06 left in the third quarter. The Wildcats had moved the ball to the Michigan 12-yard line following runs of 24 and 2 yards by Damien Anderson, but Zak Kustok was sacked for a loss of 10 and nearly sacked on the next play and the Wildcats had to settle for the field goal. Northwestern advanced to the Michigan 30 in the second quarter, but was penalized 15 yards for a late hit, Kustok fumbled on the next play for a 5-yard loss then fell taking the next snap for a 5-yard loss. Anderson, who was averaging 107 yards rushing a game, was held to 74 yards on 21 carries. Kustok, under heavy pressure throughout, was 8-of-21 passing for 51 yards with one interception. He also has 12 carries for 41 yards.
Thomas, who had a career-best 197 yards against Indiana, passed the 1,000-yard mark with a 26-yard run early in the third quarter that led to Brady's 11-yard TD pass to Bennie Joppru. The two rushing touchdowns gave Thomas 34 for his career, tying Rick Leach for second place on Michigan's all-time list. That leaves the junior 13 behind school record-holder Tyrone Wheatley. Brandon Kornblue kicked a 26-yard field goal for the Wolverines with 33 seconds left in the game.
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My Game Notes
If you read my game notes last week, you would have thought that Lloyd Carr is a avid fan of this page. Almost everything that I contradicted him on last week after the Indiana game, was changed and improved during the Northwestern game.
Last week I contradicted Tom Brady. I am the biggest Brady supporter on this earth, yet still I complained. His lazy offense against Indiana allwed the Hoosiers back in the game. But against Northwestern Brady stepped up with 3 TDS. He was making all of the throws: bombs, slants, outs, fades. This was much needed for Brady's confidence heading into Happy Valley.
I comend Carr on leaving Brady in the game for such a long time, even though I disagreed last week. Carr, then agreed with my comments from last week as he placed Henson in the game with the huge lead. Last week I thought Henson and Askew should be brought into games with huge leads and they were. I thought UM should open up the passing game......and they did. Finally, pressure was placed on the QB, and the secondary played some pass defense worthy of praise. Its about freakin' time. A-train continued to tear it up at the Big House with 172 yards. But I still think Askew should be getting playing time. UM will need him when other teams key into A-Train (i.e. wisconsin), and to help Thomas carry the load. Carr also made another move that I previously commented on in the IU game notes. He played Walker a bit more. He is a speedy deep threat with great cutting ability. Carr is finally realizing what a strength he really is to the Wolverine offense. Marcus Knight, whom I have praised all season once again stepped up in the shadow of Terrell and made some huge clutch grabs.
It was nice to see the man himself, Brandon Kornblue kicked a 26 yard FG in the last minute. Kornblue is a senior and this was his first NCAA kick. It was great to see. In other notes, DiAllo Johnson has been fabulous at returning punts, a weakness that the Wolverines have had. |
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-Tom Coyne, Associated Press
