Despite loss, Big Ten title still a possibility for Wolverines

EAST LANSING - That sound you just heard was the collective adjustment of expectations all around Ann Arbor. With Michigan's national title hopes dashed - at least temporarily - after Saturday's 34-31 loss to Michigan State, many people no longer have visions of Sugar Bowls dancing in their heads.

But if Michigan was going to lose a game, they picked the right conference to do it in. With the strength of the Big Ten this season, it's fairly likely that the conference champion will have a loss.

As of right now, only the Spartans and Penn State remain undefeated. But before both teams look ahead to their Nov. 20 showdown, there are still plenty of dangerous teams along the way.

LOUIS BROWN/Daily Marcus Knight and the Michigan football team, although beaten by Michigan State, still have a strong shot at a Big Ten title.

Which leaves Michigan right in the thick of things.

"We play for Michigan, so we expect to win every game," quarterback Tom Brady said. "But if we play out and get a little help, we'll see how the chips fall."

Michigan State coach Nick Saban, despite posting one of the biggest wins of his career on Saturday, knows the distance between the conference leaders and the Wolverines is slim.

"I said it before and I'm saying it again now - the team that lost today can still win the Big Ten championship," Saban said. "I'd have said that if we lost, and I still say that."

But it's probably a little easier to say from the winning end.

Too Little, Too Late: After taking over for Drew Henson in the second half, quarterback Tom Brady went to work, leading Michigan to 21 fourth-quarter points and putting a scare into the Spartans. On his first possession, Brady took Michigan on a 80-yard drive that culminated in an Anthony Thomas touchdown run. At one point, as Brady was engineering one of his three scoring runs, the quarterback completed 14 straight pass attempts.

Brady would finish the half a scorching 24-of-30 for 241 yards - a good game for most quarterbacks. But in the end, his heroic effort wasn't quite enough.

"We didn't move the ball consistently until the latter part of the third quarter," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "Brady played well, but the complexion of the game changed because we were so far behind. At the end we came back, but we just ran out of time."

A Broken Record: Michigan State records were dropping like flies on Saturday, thanks to the Spartans' masterful passing game and the play of wide receiver Plaxico Burress. Burress snagged 10 passes for 255 yards, eclipsing Andre Rison's mark of 252 in the 1989 Gator Bowl. And Burke threw for 400 yards, besting Ed Smith's 369-yard performance against Indiana in 1978.

But lost in Michigan State's landmark offensive showing was Michigan kicker Hayden Epstein's 56-yard field goal that put the Wolverines on the board in the first quarter. Epstein's blast tied the Michigan school record, set by Mike Gillette against Ohio State in 1988.

An Award Tour: Offensive guard Steve Hutchinson and nose tackle Rob Renes were announced Saturday as two of 12 semifinalists for the Lombardi Award, given to the nation's top lineman. Three other Big Ten players - Penn State linebacker LaVar Arrington and defensive end Courtney Brown, and Wisconsin offensive tackle Chris McIntosh - were also included among the semifinalists for the award, which will be announced on December 8. Texas A&M linebacker Dat Nguyen took the honor last season.

10-11-99