Michigan
7-2 , 5-1
Minnesota
3-6 , 1-5
Michigan Rushers Pave Way for Victory Over Minnesota
11/10/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan football team returned to its winning ways by besting the Minnesota Golden Gophers 31-10 on Saturday (Nov. 10) in front of a Michigan Stadium crowd of 110,828. With the win, the Wolverines (7-2) claimed the Little Brown Jug for the 13th straight time and improved to 5-1 in Big Ten Conference play.
The victory came courtesy of Michigan's first 300-yard rushing performance since Sept. 23, 2000, at Illinois. Chris Perry (Advance, N.C./Fork Union Military, Va.) paced all rushers with 91 yards and B.J. Askew (Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain HS) scored two of the Wolverines' four rushing touchdowns as Michigan found the running game that had eluded them the week before. In all, the ball was handed off to six different players, each one totaling positive yardage.
Michigan controlled the ball from the start on its first possession, advancing the ball 72 yards down the field in 10 plays. Runs by Perry and Askew sustained the drive, while a pass interference call against Minnesota brought Michigan to the five-yard line, where Askew scored the game's first points on a sweep across the right side of the field.
The Wolverine defensive front came out strong, forcing Minnesota to punt on three consecutive possessions to start the game. The Golden Gophers were unable to get a first down and were only allowed 19 yards of total offense.
On its second possession, Michigan flexed its passing muscles once again. Quarterback John Navarre (Cudahy, Wis./Cudahy HS) completed a pass to Bill Seymour (Granger, Ind./Penn HS) over the middle for 23 yards that advanced the ball into Gopher territory. A 15-yard completion to Marquise Walker (Syracuse, N.Y./Henninger HS) took the Wolverines to the three-yard line. Minnesota forced Michigan to fourth-and-goal with a key tackle that stopped Seymour at the one-and-a-half yard line.
A 35-yard pass to senior wideout Ron Johnson from quarterback Asad Abdul-Khaliq injected life into the Minnesota offense. Abdul-Khaliq made up for a false start penalty with a 19-yard scramble. Johnson factored in the offense again with a 12-yard catch to give his team a first down at the Michigan 16. Minnesota then tied the game when Johnson scampered untouched into the end zone on a 15-yard completion from Abdul-Khaliq with 11:21 remaining in the second quarter.
Todd Howard (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook HS) answered right back, however, with a career-long kickoff return of 57 yards, Michigan's longest gain on a kickoff this season. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Jermaine Gonzales (Detroit, Mich./Orchard Lake St. Mary's HS) changed the pace of the offense, but a high snap forced a sack of nine yards to bring up fourth down.
Dan Rumishek's (Addison, Ill./Addison Trail HS) seventh sack of the season forced a Minnesota fourth down. Tyrece Butler (Indianapolis, Ind./Decatur Central HS) blocked the ensuing punt, which was recovered by Jon Shaw (Coral Springs, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas HS) at the Golden Gopher four-yard line. Michigan made the score 14-7 with a two-yard rush by Askew that split the Minnesota defensive line.
Starting from deep in their own end with just over five minutes in the half, the Wolverines drove downfield to set up a field goal attempt. Michigan delved into its bag of tricks once again with both Navarre and Gonzales lining up behind center before Navarre peeled off onto the left flank. Gonzales then capitalized on the confused Gopher defense with a 23-yard rush. Gonzales was given control of the offense, completing a pass to Seymour that put the Maize and Blue into field goal range. Hayden Epstein (Cardiff, Calif./Torrey Pines HS) was unable to convert, however, as Minnesota's Greg White was able to get his hands on the kick.
Minnesota regained the ball with 40 seconds left in the half. A 24-yard rush by Abdul-Khaliq and a 10-yard pass to Johnson set up a 40-yard field goal with just four seconds remaining. Dan Nystrom's kick was good as time expired and Minnesota entered the half having come within four, 14-10.
Howard started the second half on the right foot for the Wolverines with his second of two impressive kickoff returns, this time for 54 yards. Navarre's screen pass to Askew brought Michigan to the 40-yard line. Perry further dissected the Golden Gopher defense with a 13-yard draw off the left side. Calvin Bell (Simi Valley, Calif./Simi Valley HS) then ran in for the score at 12:20 in the third quarter. The 19-yard reverse capped a five-play, 40-yard drive that added to Michigan's lead, 21-10.
Epstein connected on his first field goal of the day at 6:17 of the third quarter, completing an 11-play drive in which Michigan advanced the ball 69 yards. The Wolverines ate up over four minutes, keyed by big rushes from Perry and Askew.
The Wolverines tightened their grip on the game, putting the Gophers into a hole they could not climb out of, with Perry's second rushing touchdown of the season. That put Michigan ahead by three touchdowns with just under a quarter left to play.
Michigan closes its road schedule against Wisconsin next Saturday, Nov. 17, at Camp Randall Stadium. The game between the Wolverines and Badgers will start at 2:30 p.m. CST and be regionally televised by ABC Sports.
Contact: David Ablauf, Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423
Team Stats
MINN 0, MICH 7
MICH - Askew, B.J. 5 yd run (Epstein, Hayden kick), 11 plays, 72 yards, TOP 5:04
MINN 7, MICH 7
MINN - Johnson, Ron 15 yd pass from Abdul-Khaliq, A (Nystrom, Dan kick) 9 plays, 80 yards, TOP 3:35
MINN 7, MICH 14
MICH - Askew, B.J. 2 yd run (Epstein, Hayden kick), 2 plays, 5 yards, TOP 0:34
MINN 10, MICH 14
MINN - Nystrom, Dan 40 yd field goal 5 plays, 37 yards, TOP 0:40
MINN 10, MICH 21
MICH - Bell, Calvin 19 yd run (Epstein, Hayden kick), 5 plays, 40 yards, TOP 2:40
MINN 10, MICH 24
MICH - Epstein, Hayden 41 yd field goal 11 plays, 69 yards, TOP 4:10
MINN 10, MICH 31
MICH - Perry, Chris 5 yd run (Epstein, Hayden kick), 8 plays, 58 yards, TOP 2:37
