Michigan 34 Indiana 31 - October 30, 1999 - Bloomington, Ind.
Chris Bray's Record (2-0) - Video Highlights
BLOOMINGTON, Indiana (Ticker) -- No. 14 Michigan again blew a
big lead, but this time was bailed out by a workhorse effort by
Anthony Thomas and held off Antwaan Randle El and Indiana,
34-31, in a Big Ten Conference clash.
A 15-yard scamper by Thomas set up Hayden Epstein's 20-yard
field goal with 18 seconds left that snapped a 31-31 tie. That
run capped a day which saw Thomas set career highs with 42
carries and 197 yards while scoring three touchdowns.
"I have to give a lot of credit to Anthony Thomas," Michigan
coach Lloyd Carr said. "He played his heart out. It was hard
out on the field with the heat."
Two TD runs by Thomas in the first half helped Michigan to a
17-0 lead, but Indiana stormed back behind the strong arm of
Randle El. The sophomore quarterback threw one scoring strike
in the second quarter and added two more in the opening minutes
of the fourth, giving the Hoosiers a 24-17 lead.
"You have to watch out for a guy like Antwaan," Michigan
quarterback Tom Brady said. "Even when he is covered, he still
gets the first down."
Last week, the Wolverines (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten) wasted a 20-point
third-quarter lead and were stunned by Illinois, 35-29. But
they apparently learned their lesson.
Brady fired a touchdown pass to tight end Bennie Joppru to tie
the game with 10:45 to play. Just over four minutes later,
Thomas put the Wolverines back on top when he raced around the
right end, dove for the end zone and reached the ball over the
plane of the goal line for a four-yard TD.
Randle El had an impressive answer, scrambling left and firing
an off-balance deep throw to Jerry Dorsey for a 70-yard scoring
play to again tie the game. But Thomas and Brady led the
decisive drive and Randle El's "Hail Mary" pass as time expired
bounced off Dorsey's chest in the end zone and fell incomplete.
Randle El completed 18-of-34 passes for 290 yards and four TDs,
giving him 16 this season to break the school record of 14 set
by Steve Bradley in 1983.
"We know we've got one heckuva quarterback and competitor, but
we've got some pieces of the puzzle that we still have to fill
in," Indiana coach Cam Cameron said.
Indiana (4-5, 3-3) has lost the last 10 series meetings and is
just just 9-45 all-time against Michigan.
Brady was 17-of-29 for 226 yards as Michigan avoided its first
three-game losing streak for the first time in 20 years, having
dropped its final three games of the 1979 season. The
Wolverines opened this season 5-0 before a 34-31 setback at
Michigan State three weeks ago.
"I am very proud of our team," Carr added. "When we lost the
lead, we showed what kind of job we can do to stay in it and
play hard."
Thomas was running hard from the start, gaining 26 yards as he
ran the first three plays of the game. He plunged into the end
zone from a yard out to cap that drive.
Epstein kicked a 22-yard field goal late in the first quarter,
then Michigan's special teams came through with a blocked punt
midway through the second. Thomas rumbled 15 yards to the end
zone on the next play to make it 17-0.
Randle El began the comeback by firing a seven-yard touchdown
pass to Kris Dielman with 4:23 left in the second quarter. He
fired completions of 27 and 33 yards to Dorsey in the waning
moments of the first half to set up Andy Payne's 23-yard field
goal as time expired.
The third quarter was scoreless but Thomas fumbled a kickoff
between the fourth-quarter TD passes from Randle El to Jeremi
Johnson and Dorsey.
"I can't say enough about our guys and their ability to hang in
there and do everything that we asked them to do," Cameron
added. "I'm awfully proud of this group of guys. The game
could have gone either way."
Extended Box
NCAAF 1 2 3 4 F
- - - - --
Michigan (14) 10 7 0 17 34
Indiana 0 10 0 21 31 FINAL
Michigan-A Thomas 1 run (Epstein kick)
Michigan-FG Epstein 22
Michigan-A Thomas 15 run (Epstein kick)
Indiana-Dielman 7 pass from A Randle El (Payne kick)
Indiana-FG Payne 23
Indiana-J Johnson 1 pass from A Randle El (Payne kick)
Indiana-Dorsey 4 pass from A Randle El (Payne kick)
Michigan-Joppru 7 pass from T Brady (Epstein kick)
Michigan-A Thomas 4 run (Epstein kick)
Indiana-Dorsey 70 pass from A Randle El (Payne kick)
Michigan-FG Epstein 20
Michigan Indiana
First downs 25 22
Rushed-yards 46-213 40-148
Passing yards 226 290
Sacked-yards lost 0-0 2-13
Return yards 67 9
Passes 17-29-0 18-34-0
Punts 6-35.3 8-37.8
Fumbles-lost 2-1 3-1
Penalties-yards 6-50 7-63
Time of possession 28:58 31:02
Individual Statistics
RUSHING: Michigan-A Thomas 42-197, Terrell 1-7, T Brady 2-5,
Coleman 1-4. Indiana-Williams 12-64, A Randle El 13-31, J
Johnson 11-20, Hagan 1-15, Carter 1-11, Hogan 2-7.
PASSING: Michigan-T Brady 17-29-0-226. Indiana-A Randle El
18-34-0-290.
RECEIVING: Michigan-Terrell 6-100, Knight 3-60, A Thomas 3-24,
Shea 2-10, Cross 1-16, Walker 1-9, Joppru 1-7. Indiana-Dorsey
5-154, Williams 4-49, Gaddis 4-45, Dielman 2-32, Graham 1-14, J
Johnson 1-1, Osika 1-minus 5.
Att: 41,516
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