Carr still in disbelief after Michigan's near crash against Irish

Two days after the fact, Michigan football coach Lloyd Carr still seemed to be in shock over his team's ability to avoid football suicide in Saturday's victory over Notre Dame.

"I don't ever remember winning a game where we turned the ball over three times in the fourth quarter on the short end of the field, or any end of the field," Carr said. "That is something from our vantage point that we have to get corrected."

Michigan's first three possessions of the final quarter all ended with fumbles, two coming on hard Notre Dame hits and the last one on a poor exchange on a handoff.

But the offense's penchant for buttery hands gave the defense an opportunity to redeem itself after a lackluster first half, which saw the Wolverines allow their first two touchdowns of the season.

"It was inspiring to see the defense go on the short end of the field three consecutive times and play great football after having a very difficult time in the first half stopping (Notre Dame)," Carr said. "I was very concerned at the half because I

SARA STILLMAN/Daily Michigan's Chris Howard scampers by with the help of teammate Tai Streets. In Saturday's win over Notre Dame, both the two Wolverines were instrumental to Michigan's offensive efforts in the second half. Streets scored a 41-yard touchdown on the second play of the half, while Howard ran the game out, collecting 73 yards in the final seven minutes.

thought if our defense didn't do a better job in the second half, it was going to be very tired late in the game against a big Notre Dame offensive line."

The numbers show. Despite being slightly outgained in total offense by the Irish by almost a two-to-one margin in the first half, Michigan's defense buckled down after halftime, holding Notre Dame to just 127 total yards, 100 fewer than the first 30 minutes.

Altogether, the Wolverines were outgained by the Irish, but Notre Dame did hold a commanding 35:44-24:16 advantage in time of possession. Although the latter fact is often looked upon as a key to victory, Carr saw the Michigan silver lining in those figures.

"When you consider what we did in 24 minutes, what it took (Notre Dame) 36 minutes to do, offensively, we did alright," Carr said. "Statistically, it wasn't as bad as it seemed."

Commissioner Carr speaks: Carr gave his opinion of what direction the Big Ten should go in order to keep up with the nation's top conferences. And it does not differ from the trend that many collegiate and professional leagues are following.

Expansion and playoffs.

"When I look at the schedules, I think there are some definite advantages that certain teams have and I think the schedule's going to play a role (in determining the conference champion)," Carr said. "That's why, in my view, I'm hopeful that as soon as possible we can add a 12th team. I hope the presidents and athletic directors are looking in that direction."

The topic was broached to Carr when he was asked whether he thought Michigan got stuck with a bad schedule this season. According to last year's opponents' records, the Wolverines have the toughest schedule in the nation this season.

That schedule was made a whole lot tougher when perennial Big Ten doormats, Illinois and Purdue, were left off Michigan's schedule this season as the two opponents that can't fit into the Wolverines' eight-game Big Ten slate.

This decision was made by a computer that creates the schedules taking into account rivalries that cannot be avoided like Michigan-Ohio State, Wisconsin-Minnesota, and Michigan-Michigan State.

In addition, among the five Big Ten teams ranked in the top 12 of the Associated Press poll, Michigan is the only team to play the other four this season.

"I know I'm going to be accused of complaining," Carr said. "But I'm not complaining. I'm just stating a fact and it's pretty easy to see."

To remedy the situation, Carr proposes a two-division format with a conference championship game, once the conference expands, similar to that of the Big 12, Southeastern and Western Athletic conferences.

"Hopefully, at some point we're going to get where we have two divisions and have a playoff," Carr said.

Injury update: Michigan almost escaped last weekend unscathed as far as injuries go. The lone exception was backup linebacker Grady Brooks, who injured his shoulder on a kickoff.

"It's a loss for us because Grady was starting to come on," Carr said. "We got him enough confidence to where he was gaining some confidence."

Brooks should miss between two to three weeks, meaning that his return could be in Michigan's next huge matchup, a home tilt with eighth-ranked Iowa on Oct. 18.

09-30-97