Wolverines survive

Blue nearly gives away come-from-behind win

It was almost as if the Wolverines wanted the test. They started sluggish, they ended sloppy. They looked good in the middle.

Beaten by the Fighting Irish through the first two quarters, Michigan had its doubts at halftime. But the Wolverines persevered, thanks to a "gut-checked" defense, after nearly giving the game away.

But, No. 6 Michigan held on for a 21-14 victory over Notre Dame on Saturday despite fumbles in its own territory on three consecutive possessions in the fourth quarter.

"It was very disturbing," Michigan tailback Chris Howard said. "We'd get one good play and make something happen, and then the next play, we'd make a mental error and fumble the ball.

SARA STILLMAN/Daily Tailback Clarence Williams outruns Notre Dame cornerback Ty Goode in the first quarter of Michigan's 21-14 victory over the Fighting Irish.

"That's something you can't do to yourself or your defense. We could really have sustained a drive and put this team out of the game, and we didn't."

Instead the Wolverines (3-0) left it to their defense. All three times, the Michigan defense, burned for two long drives in the first half, stopped the Irish (1-3) short of the end zone.

Free safety Tommy Henricks picked off a Ron Powlus pass in the end zone after the first fumble and the Wolverines stuffed Autry Denson on a fourth-and-two dive with 3:30 left in the game.

Notre Dame didn't look like a 1-2 team that was pummeled by Michigan State and Purdue in the two preceding weeks. Instead, the Irish proved to be the first real test this season for the Wolverines - 10-0 in non-conference games under coach Lloyd Carr - after dominating victories over Colorado and Baylor.

"That was a win, and that's all it was," said Michigan quarterback Brian Griese, who completed 16 of 22 passes for 177 yards and one important touchdown. "But offensively, we can not play like that. Not every win is going to be like Baylor or Colorado. It's not always going to be easy with all the starters out in the fourth quarter.

"I'm glad this game came down to the fourth quarter because you find something out about your team."

In the first half, the Wolverines found that their defense wasn't as stingy as its No. 1 ranking would indicate. Notre Dame rolled up scoring drives of 78 and 98 yards to take a 14-7 halftime lead. Powlus was nearly flawless, completing 11 of 14 passes for 138 yards, including two beauties to flanker Bobby Brown, one that set up the Irish's first touchdown and the other that was good for the score.

The 98-yard drive came after a Jason Vinson punt was downed at the Notre Dame two-yard line with 4:13 left in the half. But a 22-yard run by fullback Ken Barry on third-and-four from the Notre Dame 21 and two deep passes from Powlus to Malcolm Johnson kept the drive going, culminating in a two-yard run by Tony Driver with just 18 seconds left before halftime.

"That was a real gut check for us," Michigan safety Marcus Ray said. "We knew we had to come back and play much better defense in the second half."

Notre Dame controlled the clock for much of the first, holding the ball for 19:11 and giving Michigan only four drives before the half, three of which ended after four plays. The Wolverines gained just 39 yards rushing and 71 passing.

But the Wolverines came out firing in the second half. After Williams took the second-half kickoff 28 yards to the Michigan 44-yard line, Griese hit Tai Streets in the left flat for 15 yards to move into Notre Dame territory. On the next play Streets got a step on his man on a quick slant and outraced everyone to the end zone to tie the score at 14.

The Wolverines took advantage of good field position on their next drive, waltzing down to the Notre Dame 17 before fullback Chris Floyd bullied his way into the end zone to put Michigan up for good.

After that, the defense took over, stopping the Irish on six straight second-half possessions.

"This was the first time all season we needed our offense to give us a spark," cornerback Charles Woodson said. "It was our challenge to go in and play in sudden change situations. Our offense would've bailed us out if we needed it."

WARREN ZINN/Daily
Back from a one-game suspension, Michigan fullback Chris Floyd celebrates the game-winning touchdown, his 17-yard run in the third-quarter. Floyd gained just 41 yards on the day, but Michigan quarterback Brian Griese said Floyd's blocking, receiving and running make him the Wolverines' "most valuable player of offense."

09-29-97