Game No. 5: Northwestern Michigan Stadium Coverage from The Michigan Daily Monday, Oct. 13, 1997

Blue settles score with 'Cats

	Michigan 23
	Northwestern 6

The way the first quarter was going, it appeared that the cycle was going to continue. Two offsides penalties in the first six plays of the game, seven penalties overall and trouble finding the end zone from the red zone early on made it look like Michigan was still struggling to rip its albatross, Northwestern, from around its neck.

But after another reliable defensive performance, timely third down conversions down the stretch and a little bit of luck, the sixth-ranked Wolverines put together a good enough game to beat Northwestern for the first time in three attempts, 23-6, in front of 106,048 at Michigan Stadium.

MARGARET MYERS/Daily Dhani Jones and the Michigan defense kept Northwestern quarterback Tim Hughes on the run all afternoon. Jones, who led Michigan with 11 tackles, had one of the Wolverines' four sacks.

The Wildcats have given the Wolverines fits the past two years, beating Michigan two years ago at Michigan Stadium and last year in Evanston. The Wolverines, like in Saturday's game, entered each of the previous two contests with a No. 6 ranking and an undefeated record before losing both games, leading to back-to-back subpar seasons.

"Yeah, it (the two losses) was brought up a lot," Michigan wide receiver Russell Shaw said. "I'm just glad we beat them, because they have been in our way the past two years."

The Wolverines were plagued by another shaky offensive effort, including two consecutive turnovers in the third quarter.

The Wolverines amassed 141 total rushing yards, but tailback Chris Howard was the only Michigan player to rush for more than 20 yards. He carried the ball 18 times for 90 yards, 39 more yards than fullback Chris Floyd, tailback Clarence Williams, running back Anthony Thomas and quarterback Brian Griese combined.

Griese was steady in the pocket, completing 23 of 36 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns. But he and the rest of the Wolverines had trouble converting in the red zone early on, and he was sacked once.

The Wolverines' offensive sputter forced them to rely on their defense, which turned in yet another near-perfect performance.

For the second-straight game, the defense held its opponent to negative rushing yards at halftime. The Wildcats had negative-two rushing yards at the half, courtesy of three first quarter sacks, which more than negated tailback Adrian Autry's 27 yards on the ground heading into the lockerroom. Northwestern quarterback Tim Hughes was taken down four times overall, and the three sacks in the first quarter resulted in 29 lost yards.

The Wildcats were held to just 35 total yards on the ground, 94 yards short of their 129 average entering the game.

"Defensively, we came out and played hard," Michigan cornerback Charles Woodson said. "We came out a little flat. You got to buckle down and play more aggressively. Anytime another team's in the endzone, you buckle down."

11-22-97