University of Michigan - Michiganensian Yearbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

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he few bright spots for the Wolverines, sophomore Grant Bmv- up Tennessee qualerb I ' lauscn lor a ,1 theWolverineslbr ucichdownv

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football story continued from page 149 archrival Michigan State. Occasionally a strong club, the Spartan team was suffering through a mediocre campaign. Unfortunately for the Wolverines, they were clearly motivated and prepared for this face-off. Michigan squandered chances at sealing a victory and, to the outright agony of Wolverinefans, found itself defending a one score lead with time running out. In a climatic, memorable, and certainly controversial finish, the Spartan offense advanced to the one-yard line with no timeouts and mere seconds remaining. To the heightened dismay of the Michigan faithful, the clock refused to tick, and somehow, the Michigan State offense spiked the ball with one tick left. The final play of regulation was a damning one-yard touch- down pass to Spartan running back T.J. Duckett, who had plagued Michigan ' s otherwise fortified defense earlier on. Soon after, instant replay revealed the startling disservice from the referees, as this infinite final second was actually timed at 2.6 seconds. Without any replay reviews in collegefootball,however,the loss stood. Michigan ' s title hopes were dashed, its record marred, and its pride stung by a school with a single-game season, which finished undefeated. The Wolverines proceeded to squash Minnesota at home, hoping to save someface. A more challenging test developed for thefollow- ing week, as the Michigan maize and blue traveled to Wisconsin for an away game against the other top preseason Big Ten favorite. The team earned a big win in a tight showdown. Finally, the regular season closed against Ohio State. Though countless schools circle Michigan on their calendars and consider themselves ' rivals, ' Ohio State has recently been the single program that earns such consid- eration. On top of ending the regular season and often deciding the Big Ten title, this particular match had always pitted two teams with exceptional talent and winning tradition against each other in the cold of the approaching winter. Though Ohio State suffered early losses, they managed to topple the Wolverines quite compellingly, stifling the lame duck passing attack with four interceptions. Lead- ing 23-0 at the half, the Buckeyes held on for a 26-20 win. Despite a respectable 8-3 regular season record, the Wolverines felt disap- pointed with losses to two nearby opponents. The offense that showed so much potential early on was brought backto earth by the end, and the defense, though nobly standing firm, could not carry the squad all the way. Michigan awaited their bowl invitation with a sense of underachievement. Despite the season-ending loss, absolutely no one was disap- pointed with Michigan ' s Citrus Bowl opponent, the Tennessee Vol- unteers. Ranked eighth in the nation, Tennessee had just missed a shot as Miami ' s Rose Bowl opponent, losing a nailbiter to Louisiana State in the SEC championship game. LSU proceeded into a BCS bowl (against Big Ten winner Illinois), leaving the more highly re- garded Tennessee program as Michigan ' s opponent. Unfortunately for the Wolverines, the Volunteers proved to be too formidable of a foe. Michigan missed a chance to win five straight bowl games with an impotent 45-17 loss. Larry Foote tried to curtail the Volunteers ' speedy attack early on, but quick scores left Michigan with a 17- point deficit and little hope of recovery. Running back B.J. Askew gave a solid performance for Michigan, gaining 71 important yards on the ground. Michigan football suffered its first four-loss season si nee 1996. Story by Eric Rajala Victor H o b s o n leads the Michigan defense as they swarm over Michi- gan State quarterback Jeff Smoker. Hobson was named to the all-Big Ten second team. photo by Abby Johnson Tailback Chris Perry hands off to wide out Calvin Bell against Min- nesota. The reverse was one of the team ' s most effective of- f e n s i v e plays. 4 j Ben Hayes Full back B.J. Askew joins team- mate Aaron Richards on the bench during the Western a m e . Askew led the team in rushing, photo by Kate Maker Sports | 151

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thf hnw l Listening to the quaterback ' s cadence, junior Victor Hobson and sophomore Shantee Orr await the snap. Hobson recorded eight tackles and Orr added one tackle against the Volunteers, phou Slipping through the Tenessee de- fense, junior BJ Askew cuts across the field. Despite just nine rushes for 71 yards, Askew was named the Wolverine ' s Offensive MVP. pkoto by Jon Hammer headingsouth fortheholidays The Wolverine football team entered the Citrus Bowl seeking its fourth straight New Year ' s Day bowl victory; it left the field thoroughly beaten. The Tennessee Volunteers handed the Maize and Blue its worst post- season loss in a decade. The Volunteers dominated all facets of the game, amassing over 500 yards of offense against the overmatched Wolverine defense, and holding the Wolverines to 343 yards of offense. The Volun- teers held a seventeen-point advantage after two plays in the second quarter; and extended that lead throughout the rest of the game. The Wolverines lost any chance at stealing some momentum, and keeping themselves in the game, when midway through the first quarter the offense fumbled twice - on the same play. Redshirt sophomore quar- terback John Navarre dropped the ball after being sacked by Tennessee defensive tackle at the Michigan 28, but fortunately for the Wolverines, junior running back BJ. Askew was there to scoop up the loose ball. However, Askew fumbled the ball almost immediately after picking it up, and Henderson was there to recover for the Volunteers. After the game, Askew said, I felt we lost something on that play that we didn ' t get back. That was a big play for Tennessee - one of many. Askew proved to be one of the few bright spots for the Wolverines. Askew ran for 71 yards on nine carries and added a 14-yard touchdown reception on a screen pass to earn Michigan Offensive MVP. Defensively, senior Larry Foote garnered the Michigan Defensive MVP by leading the Wolverines with nine tackles and two pass breakups. Despite the efforts of both Askew and Foote the Wolverines could not keep up with the power- ful Volunteers. While the Wolverine ' s offense stalled throughout the first half, the defense needed to play flawlessly. The defensive game plan for the Maize and Blue was to focus on stopping Tennessee ' s potent running backTravis Stephens and force their sophomore quarterback Casey Clausen to have a big game. The Wolverines successfully stopped the Volunteer ' s running game, holding Stephens to just 38 yards. However, Clausen completed 26 of 34 passes for 393 yards on the afternoon. Trailing by seventeen points at halftime, a comeback seemed unlikely, but not impossible for the Wolverines. However, the Volunteers denied all possibilities of a comeback by opening the second half with 21 unan- swered points. Head coach Lloyd Carr said I thought in the second half we ' d have a chance to get back in the game, but we couldn ' t do that because Tennessee was basically too good for us. Story by Jon Hommer 1 7 Tennessee 45 Sports | 153