Safety first - Orangemen get lesson in fundamentals

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The fundamental principle of football is pretty simple: Move the ball forward. Apparently, Syracuse quarterback Troy Nunes never learned it.

At least that's what it looked like midway through the third quarter Saturday night, when Nunes rolled to his right out of the pocket, trying to find a receiver. Instead, he found several white jerseys bearing down on him.

The ugliest play of an ugly game unfolded over the next several seconds.

Nunes, unfazed for the moment by the oncoming rushers, stopped for a second to look for a receiver before rolling back to his left, dropping farther back behind the line of scrimmage.

Still, no receivers - at least none that Nunes had time to find.

DANA LINNANE/Daily Syracuse quarterback Troy Nunes' play negatively affected his team in nearly every aspect. Still, coach Paul Pasqualoni played him over Madei Williams.

Then it was James Hall coming hard.

Nunes ran in a semicircle, circling closer to his own goal line, a desparate attempt to avoid the oncoming Hall.

Hall followed Nunes into the end zone, 22 yards behind the original line of scrimmage. Ian Gold was closing in, too. Nunes threw the ball on the run.

Yellow flag.

Hands together over the referees head.

Safety.

"That was a big, big play in this football game," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said.

Of course it was. The safety - the result of an intentional grounding call in the end zone - gave Michigan a 15-13 lead, a lead the Wolverines would barely hold on to but never relinquish.

But it was the uniqueness of the play that made it so interesting. In a span of seconds, the play progressed from an apparent short loss to a potential big gain to a strange backfield chase to another potential big gain to two points by Michigan, the defensive team.

This is football, right?

"It was a great play by the whole front seven, Ian and I were just the ones who got there," Hall said. "I was pretty much exhausted after that play."

It was an exhausting play to watch, too, and obviously frustrating for the sold-out Carrier Dome crowd who was so loud all night, but suddenly so quiet.

Nunes was pretty quiet after the game, too, when asked about the play. He said he was trying to be a playmaker. Running around the backfield, he looked like a bewildered ten-year-old kid being chased by a pack of rabid dogs. He made a play, all right, just for the wrong team.

"I saw Malik in the vacinity," Nunes said of the pass that drew the penalty. "I was trying to throw it away, but I thought that Malik was in a position where they wouldn't call a penalty."

Despite Nunes' admission that he was throwing the ball away, Syracuse coach Paul Pasqualoni said he didn't think it was intentional grounding, but refused to comment further.

The play was a complete effort by the entire Michigan team. While the front seven were running to and fro, trying to catch Nunes, the secondary was making sure he didn't have anyone to throw to.

I don't think I've ever seen as many guys hustle for as long on a play," Carr said. "That's effort and determination."

That's also knowing the fundamental defensive principle of football: Don't let the other team move the ball forward.

09-20-99