Sept 29, 2001
Final Stats
By LARRY LAGE
AP Sports Writer
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Standard plays weren't working, so Michigan opened the razzle-dazzle chapter of its playbook.
That worked.
The 17th-ranked Wolverines beat No. 22 Illinois 45-20 Saturday after a double-pass, a halfback pass and a reverse broke them out of an early funk.
"Those sting the defense," Michigan's John Navarre said. "It takes the life right out of them."
The Wolverines (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) have not lost a conference opener since 1981 while the Illini (3-1, 0-1) have not won a Big Ten opener since 1993.
After Michigan lost 4 yards on its first four drives, it scored touchdowns on three straight and four of its next five possessions.
"We needed something to give us a spark," Navarre said.
Two trick plays did just that.
Backup quarterback Jermaine Gonzales threw a lateral to Marquise Walker, who then threw a pass back across the field to Gonzales, who sprinted 51 yards down the sideline. Two plays later, running back Walter Cross threw a 21-yard pass to Walker to give Michigan a 7-3 lead.
"The first play was a gimmick play, but a well-designed gimmick play," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "It really changed the momentum of the game."
Kurt Kittner responded with a 3-yard touchdown run on the ensuing drive to put Illinois ahead for the final time.
B.J. Askew's 13-yard TD run on a draw play put Michigan ahead 14-10 early in the second quarter. On the next drive, the Wolverines stopped Kittner's sneak on a fourth-and-inches from Illinois' 33 midway through the second quarter.
Illinois coach Ron Turner blamed himself for the decision to go for it.
"I'd say it was dumb," Turner said. "It cost us the game. It cost us a shot at the game. It's one thing to be aggressive, it's another thing to be smart. We weren't smart."
Carr also thought it was a defining moment.
"There's no doubt in my mind, that was the play of the game," Carr said.
On the next play, Navarre hooked up with a Ronald Bellamy for a 33-yard touchdown. Calvin Bell's 28-yard reverse gave the Wolverines a 28-10 halftime lead. Navarre was 13 of 26 for 187 yards and a touchdown. Askew gained 80 yards on 19 carries and caught one pass for 17 yards. Walker caught six passes for 108 yards and a TD.
Kittner completed 20 of 39 passes for 244 yards without a touchdown or an interception. Antoineio Harris was held to 26 yards on seven carries. Young caught three passes for 60 yards and Brandon Lloyd had three receptions for 54 yards.
"The defense was absolutely outstanding against an offense that has a lot of weapons," Carr said.
The Illini began the second half with Peter Christofilakos' 38-yard field goal to cut their deficit to 31-13. Michigan padded its lead with Hayden Epstein's 31-yard kick on the next drive.
Illinois' backup Dustin Ward threw a 5-yard touchdown to Greg Lewis, to cut the deficit to 38-20 with 6:20 left. Cross scored on a 5-yard run to cap the scoring.
The Illini were unable to come up with the remarkable comeback they staged in their last visit to Michigan Stadium. In that game, Illinois scored 28 points in the final 17:41 to win 35-29.
The Illini had a chance to start 4-0 for the first time in 50 years and to win consecutive games at Michigan Stadium for the first time since 1950 and 1952.
"I'm disappointed in myself," Turner said. "Our guys were playing their guts out and I tried to do too much."
