Turnover turnaround

Sloppy play gives way to comeback

As linebacker Sam Sword squeezed the football to his chest with less than a minute remaining in the fourth quarter Saturday, three hours of mayhem came to an appropriate end. Sword's interception iced No. 5 Michigan's 28-24 victory over No. 15 Iowa on a day the Wolverines' defense saved them from themselves before 106,505 at Michigan Stadium.

Sloppy play on offense and special teams put the Wolverines behind, 21-7, at halftime. Two of quarterback Brian Griese's three interceptions led to Iowa touchdowns, and the Wolverines watched Tim Dwight return a punt 61 yards for a touchdown as time expired.

WARREN ZINN/Daily Jerame Tuman, Michigan's All-America tight end, eluded Iowa defenders all day in Michigan's 28-24 victory over Iowa. The senior made seven catches for 85 yards, but none were bigger than his touchdown catch with 2:55 to play in the game.

But none of that mattered in the end because of a defense that allowed a lone field goal in the second half - a defense that put Griese in position to throw the game-winning, two-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jerame Tuman with 2:55 remaining.

The Hawkeyes' field goal was just the third the Wolverines have given up in the second half this season. No team has scored a touchdown in the second half. No team has scored a point in the fourth quarter.

"Most of the reason we were down was because of me, and I knew I had to come back and play well," said Griese, who rushed for a one-yard touchdown and finished 15-for-23 for 165 yards and three touchdowns. The first half was "my worst half of football since I've been here, but I never lost confidence in myself or my team. I know what we have here."

Except for tailback Tavian Banks's 53-yard touchdown run with 13:29 remaining in the second quarter - the longest run of the season given up by a defense that had been allowing just 68 yards rushing per game - the Wolverines (3-0 Big Ten, 6-0 overall) shut down the Hawkeyes (1-2, 4-2) in a battle of bests.

The Wolverines entered the game with the nation's top-ranked scoring defense, giving up 5.2 points per game. They were second in total defense at 211.8 yards per game and allowed the Hawkeyes, who had the league's top offense, 187 yards.

Banks, the league's leading rusher, finished with 99 yards rushing. Tim Dwight, one of the league's top receivers, caught one pass for seven yards under the coverage of All-America cornerback Charles Woodson. Matt Sherman, the most efficient quarterback in the league, threw three interceptions and finished 8-for-21 for 86 yards and no touchdowns.

WARREN ZINN/Daily Freshman running back Anthony Thomas once again shone brightly in the Michigan backfield, gaining 129 yards on just 20 carries against Iowa.

Though Banks was held to just 84 yards rushing by Ohio State and star linebacker Andy Katzenmoyer two weeks ago, he said the Wolverines' defense was "definitely a lot faster. They have guys flying all over the place. Ohio State just has Katzenmoyer.

"We could have killed them. Our line and tight ends made some mistakes. We really let this one slip away."

Iowa coach Hayden Fry said the Wolverines "proved in the second half that they have one of the best college defenses. We just didn't execute. You just shouldn't lose like that."

The Hawkeyes, who lost a fumble in addition to Sherman's three interceptions, could muster just seven first downs to the Wolverines' 21 and converted just two of 12 third-down plays. Michigan linebacker Dhani Jones had nine tackles; Sword and Woodson had six. Safety Marcus Ray had two interceptions.

"Our defense was tremendous from the beginning to the end," said Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, who had to look elsewhere for the source of his team's difficulties. He found it in the Wolverines' inability to execute what he said was their game plan: "Eliminate big plays and turnovers."

Griese's miserable first half was part of a debacle-by-committee.

There was a wounded-duck flea-flicker pass thrown by Anthony Thomas, who led the Wolverines ground attack with 129 yards on 20 carries. There was a blocked punt. There was a fumble by Chris Howard, who sustained a rib injury on the play and was taken to the hospital as a precaution. And there were problems with the offense line, which allowed five sacks for the game.

And after Dwight, the nation's leading punt-returner last season, snaked through a field of blue for his touchdown, the Wolverines left the field to a hearty round of boos.

"Coach Carr asked us, 'Is there any man here who doesn't think we can win?'" Ray said. "Nobody said a word."

The formula for a comeback was simple, said Tuman, who had seven receptions for 85 yards. "We know what we're capable of doing when we execute," he said. "No matter what the score, we're still in the game."

So after halftime, Carr grabbed Griese on the sideline. Tuman said no one was down on Griese, who had thrown one interception all season previously, "because you can't expect perfection every time out." But Carr made it simpler than that.

"This is why you are here," Carr told Griese. "This is your time. Bring us back. Have fun, but bring us back."

Griese then hit wide receiver Russell Shaw from 10 yards out for a touchdown on his first drive. Later, with 3:11 remaining in the third quarter, on fourth-and-inches at the goal line, Carr told the Wolverines, "Let's do it." Griese dove in to tie the game at 21.

Zach Bromert hit a 38-yard field goal for Iowa with 35 seconds to go in the third, only to have his Hawkeyes heart ripped out by the game's final Griese-to-Tuman pass.

"It's just a shame somebody had to lose," Carr said. "But I couldn't be more proud. We kept our poise and played with great courage. I don't know how we won it, but I don't remember a better comeback than that one."

10-20-97