| Thursday, September 7
By Jeff Potrykus
Special to ESPN.com |
|
Michigan coach Lloyd Carr and his players are preparing to ring in the new millennium at the Orange Bowl. Their opponent, No. 5 Alabama, won the powerful Southeastern Conference.
A pair of Top 10 teams (Michigan is No. 9). Two storied programs. Intriguing viewing.
|  | | Anthony Thomas was the lone rushing threat for Michigan. |
Yet for the sixth time in the last seven seasons, the Wolverines won't be in Pasadena, smelling roses.
Which leads us to this question: Is the Wolverines' glass of orange juice half empty or half full?
Not surprisingly, Carr sees a 32-ounce mug overflowing with Florida sunshine.
"We're certainly excited," he said. "We have the opportunity to play in a great bowl, in a great location against the Southeastern Conference champs.
"I think Big Ten football and SEC football -- it doesn't get any better."
Michigan fans, who followed the Wolverines to the Citrus Bowl in Orlando after last season, surely will flock to Florida again. Yet even the most supportive Michigan fan can think of at least two more attractive scenarios than a date with Alabama in the Orange Bowl.
Door No. 1: A date with Florida State in the Sugar Bowl and a shot at the national championship. A 34-31 loss to Michigan State on Oct. 9 damaged the Wolverines' national title hopes. A stunning 35-29 home loss to Illinois the next week killed those chances.
The Wolverines were ranked No. 3 in the nation before losing to Michigan State. And with the second-toughest schedule in the nation, they might have been able to overcome that loss and challenge Virginia Tech in the Bowl Championship Series rankings for a Sugar Bowl berth. The loss to Illinois rendered the Wolverines' tough schedule meaningless.
Door No. 2: A date with Stanford in the Rose Bowl. OK, so Stanford won the pathetic Pacific 10 Conference and boasts a defense that surrenders real estate with less resistance than Iraq did during Desert Storm.
But going to the Rose Bowl means you've won the Big Ten title. And any Big Ten coach worth his playbook lists winning the Big Ten championship as goal No. 1. It must gall anyone associated with the Michigan program to know that if Wisconsin beats Stanford in the Rose Bowl, the Badgers will become the first Big Ten team to win consecutive Rose Bowls.
At the very least, a Michigan-Stanford matchup would have made for good theater. The last Stanford team to play in the Rose Bowl was the '71 team. That season, Michigan entered the Rose Bowl 11-0-0 and ranked No. 4 in the nation. Stanford, 8-3-0 and ranked No. 16, scored a 13-12 upset.
Those Michigan fans who are inclined to view the Wolverines' glass of orange juice as half empty cite two reasons for their dissatisfaction.
They are: Carr's quarterback rotation system, which killed the Wolverines in their first loss, and the lack of depth at tailback, which proved fatal in the second loss.
Ripping Carr for rotating fifth-year senior Tom Brady and sophomore Drew Henson isn't a freebie. Carr would never say so publicly, but he had to play Henson. If he hadn't, how many calls from the 212 area code (See Yankees owner George Steinbrenner) would have shown up on Henson's caller ID? Carr had no choice but to keep Henson happy or risk losing him to baseball.
"It would not have been fair, based on the competition, not to play Drew Henson," Carr told reporters after the season. "The other part of my decision ... as I looked at the schedule, I just didn't feel that if Drew didn't play, come late October or November and he had to play, that he would be ready to do that.
"That has nothing to do with anything, other than what I knew and what I felt was best for this program."
Nevertheless, Carr was roasted for his handling of his quarterbacks in the 34-31 loss to Michigan State. As usual, Brady played the first quarter; Henson played the second. At halftime, the Spartans led by 13-10.
Henson started the second half but failed to guide the Wolverines to a first down on their first three possessions. Michigan State padded its lead to 27-10 during that time and eventually added another touchdown to hold on for the victory despite the fact Brady re-entered the game and led the Wolverines to touchdowns on three consecutive drives.
In the days leading to their Big Ten opener against Michigan on Sept. 25, Wisconsin's coaches openly marveled at Henson's physical tools. However, they worried more about Brady because of his experience, toughness and poise under fire. Brady led the Wolverines past the Badgers, 21-16, and led the Wolverines to victories in their last four games when Carr allowed him to finish as well as start.
As for the Wolverines' once-powerful running game, Michigan fans must be longing for the days of Rob Lytle and Jamie Morris. Not only did the Wolverines finish ninth in the Big Ten (129.5 yards per game) and 79th nationally in rushing, they had no dependable reserve behind starting tailback Anthony Thomas.
Thomas led the team in rushing during the regular season with 1,257 yards and 16 touchdowns. The No. 2 rusher was David Terrell, a wide receiver, with 89 yards.
The absence of tailback Justin Fargas, who suffered a broken leg against Wisconsin late in the 1998 season, was a blow. But shouldn't a program with the tradition of Michigan be able to develop capable depth at tailback?
Yes, it should.
But when Thomas was knocked out of the game with a broken finger against Illinois, Michigan's lack of tailback depth was obvious. Thomas left after scoring a touchdown with 6:01 left in the quarter to help the Wolverines take a 27-7 lead. The Wolverines couldn't run the ball after Thomas left and Illinois rallied to win. The comeback was the third-largest ever allowed by a Michigan team.
Illinois is enjoying a rebirth under coach Ron Turner. But good teams don't blow 20-point leads at home, against anyone.
To be fair, every Big Ten team, including conference champion Wisconsin, lost consecutive games at some point in 1999. And with Brady leading the way, the Wolverines rebounded to win their final four games and secure the Orange Bowl berth.
"I'm particularly proud of two things," Carr said. "One, when things went badly for our team -- particularly in the game with Illinois where we had some control and we let the game slip away -- the way they responded is something they can always be proud of.
"Two, to end the season with (victories over) Penn State and Ohio State, I don't think you can ask any more of a team."
Yet while Carr is ready to chug that 32-ounce glass of orange juice, not everyone is ready to join him.
Two heads better than one?
Early in the 1999 season, it seemed as if every Top 25 team planned to play two quarterbacks. Penn State, Arizona, Nebraska, Florida, Michigan, and Wisconsin come to mind.
The two-quarterback system was en fuego.
Now look at the teams left standing as bowl season approaches.
Penn State's tag-team act flopped down the stretch and the Nittany Lions wound up in the Alamo Bowl. Arizona? Sorry, but 6-6 teams don't go bowling. Nebraska? The Cornhuskers won the Big 12 title game, but they got rolling only after coach Frank Solich moved Bobby Newcombe from quarterback to receiver and went with Eric Crouch as his No. 1 quarterback.
There was no Fun 'n' Gun offense for Florida coach Steve Spurrier this season. Thanks to Doug Johnson and Jesse Palmer, the only gun was in Spurrier's hand. And it was pointed at one of his quarterbacks or at his own head.
Wisconsin tinkered with two quarterbacks, but only after redshirt freshman Brooks Bollinger became the clear starter did the offense take off. Seven consecutive victories later, the Badgers are in the Rose Bowl.
Any coach who opens the 2000 season raving about the virtues of playing two quality quarterbacks should first review tapes of the '99 season.
And learn.
Jeff Potrykus of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.
|  |
