'M' earns unlikely share of title

Defense stuffs Buckeyes' attempt at game-winning drive

By Stephanie Offen

Daily Sports Editor

COLUMBUS - The hats were already produced. Unfortunately one team had to throw its supply out.

Michigan was all smiles yesterday as the Wolverines quickly filed into the press conference donning their newly-manufactured Big Ten Championship hats.

At the same time, the Buckeyes' hats were being disposed of as they walked out of the lockerroom, heads down - no caps to cover them.

This year, those caps were a little harder to earn for the Wolverines than in the past. This season's seniors may have three rings to their name - but none were as tough to get as this one.

"Our expectations are always high. When you meet the kind of adversity we had, it's easy to fall apart and make excuses, point the finger or quit trying," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "To their credit they never did that."

Prior to the Penn State weekend, Carr admits that his team felt it had little chance of a championship. It would need both Purdue and Northwestern to lose to a large underdog to even claim part of the trophy. But the unthinkable came true. Northwestern lost to Iowa and Purdue lost to Michigan State, causing the enthusiasm to be at an all-time high for the Wolverines. Coming into this past weekend, they had the opportunity to be one of three Big Ten champions with a victory over Ohio State.

"When Northwestern and Purdue both got beat we had something to fight for," Carr said. "We had a tremendous week of practice. We were outside in the snow and it was as cold as it was today. We had a tremendous week of practice because of the enthusiasm that was generated by the chance to win the Big Ten championship."

Fourth and one: Even though Hayden Epstein ran out onto the field with 1:18 left in the game, there was no doubt in Carr's mind that the Wolverines were going for a touchdown.

"From the moment we took over after our defense made a great stop on fourth down, in my mind I was not going to kick a field goal," Carr said. "I knew they would have no timeouts left, and even though I would have liked the three points, my thinking was that they would have it awfully deep down in there. You also risk a block and Ohio State has great field goal defense team."

Instead of a field goal, quarterback Drew Henson ran the ball on a naked bootleg, faking out the Ohio State defense and scrambling for the game-clinching touchdown.

But Henson was only able to clinch the game after the Buckeyes failed to convert on their own 4th-and-one situation.

With little over three minutes left in the game, on their own 18-yard line, the Buckeyes went for it on fourth-and-one, instead of punting and hoping for a second chance on offense.

"You're gambling (if you punt). Can you stop them and then go down and score a touchdown?" Henson said. "It's a tough call and I'm glad I didn't have to make it."

But whether it was the right choice is irrelevant now. What does matter is that the Michigan defensive line was able to stop the Buckeyes and get the ball back to set up the Henson touchdown.

"We had a fourth-down play and we gambled," Ohio State coach John Cooper said. "My thinking was if we don't get a first down, we're not going to get the ball back. So we gambled and weren't able to get the first down. After that we put a lot of pressure on our defense and of course (Michigan) scored on fourth down when their quarterback made a great play."

Trashing the Wolverines: Ohio State kicker Dan Stultz, who is known for his showboating after making field goals, had some choice words to say about Michigan's sportsmanship after the game.

Stultz claims that David Terrell spit in his face after he Stultz kicked off late in the fourth quarter.

"He not only gave me a shoulder, he did something that I think proved to me he has little class and what kind of things they teach at that program in Michigan," Stultz told the Columbus Dispatch. "He spit in my face and I feel bad for his parents to raise him like that. I know I wasn't brought up that way."

Stultz claimed he pleaded with the official after the spitting incident but nothing came of his pleas.

"I said something to the official," Stultz said. "He said, 'You're not in the right place here.' He told me I was in the wrong ... He obviously didn't see what happened. Even though no one saw (Terrell spitting), he did it to me."

Bellisari woes: Julius Curry had Michigan's first interception return for a touchdown since the Citrus Bowl against Arkansas two years ago.

And nothing should be taken away from the amazing play of Curry or the rest of the Michigan defense on Saturday, but the Wolverines admitted that Ohio State quarterback Steve Bellisari was an easy target to intercept.

"I noticed that (Bellisari looked at his target) the whole game," Curry said.

Foote confirmed Curry's accusation, saying that on his interception, Bellisari was also looking right at the receiver.

The Ohio State quarterback came into Saturday's loss with nine interceptions. He finished the game with three more.

2-10-1: Cooper currently holds a 111-41-4 record in his 13 years as coach of the Buckeyes. He is the second-winningest coach in Ohio State history, behind legendary coach Woody Hayes, and the fifth-winningest coach in Big Ten history.

Unfortunately, Cooper will always be remembered for his struggles against the Wolverines. After Saturday's loss, Cooper is 2-10-1 over Michigan.