Sept. 4, 1999
Box Score
By RICHARD ROSENBLATT
AP Football Writer
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) - Playing in the Big House in front of the biggest
crowd in college football, the last thing Michigan expected was a gift.
Notre Dame gave them not one, but two on the final drive Saturday, and
Anthony Thomas' 1-yard touchdown run with 1:38 left lifted No. 7 Michigan to a
26-22 victory over the No. 16 Fighting Irish.
"They hurt themselves with penalties in the end, and we took advantage of
it," Wolverines coach Lloyd Carr said. "It was as hard a hitting football
game as I've ever been in."
Playing before an NCAA-record crowd of 111,523 at Michigan Stadium, the
Fighting Irish (1-1) went ahead 22-19 with 4:08 remaining on Jarious Jackson's
fourth-down, 20-yard pass to tight end Jabari Holloway.
Then it got a little nuts.
After Jackson's 2-point conversion pass to Bobby Brown, the Irish were
penalized 15 yards for excessive celebration. Brown, standing in the right
corner of the end zone, taunted the crowd by putting his hands to his head and
waving his fingers.
"It was just something personal," Brown, a senior, said. "I thought
because I did it quick, he (the official) wouldn't see it. It was pure
excitement."
Thomas, who carried 32 times for 138 yards and two TDs, took the ensuing
kickoff - from the Notre Dame 20 after the penalty was assessed - and returned
it 20 yards to the Michigan 42.
Following an incompletion, Tom Brady threw a screen to Shawn Thompson for 15
yards and then the Irish were penalized 15 yards for safety Ron Israel's hit
out of bounds. After Thomas gained three yards, Brady hooked up with David
Terrell for 20 yards to the Irish 5.
Three plays later, from the 1, Thomas got the best of a goal line collision
with linebacker Anthony Denman, barely getting into the end zone for the
winning TD.
"This was all about coaching, and all I can say is that sort of thing won't
happen again," Irish coach Bob Davie said. "I'm not blaming Bobby, I'm
blaming myself. We can't have silly mistakes like that."
Notre Dame gave it a final shot. Jackson, who was 19-of-28 for a career-best
302 yards, had completions of 36 and 15 yards to Raki Nelson which moved the
ball to the Michigan 21 with under a minute to play.
Three plays later, after Jackson was sacked for a crucial 10-yard loss by
Dhani Jones, the quarterback completed a 19-yarder to Nelson - one yard short
of a first down, which would have stopped the clock. With no timeouts left, the
Irish were helpless as time ran out with the ball on the 12 and the crowd
singing "The Victors."
"You beat Notre Dame in the Big House and it doesn't get much better than
that," Brady said after going 17-of-24 for 197 yards. "You prepare for
situations like this in the summer and with conditioning, and you think you'll
pounce on them. But every time you play Notre Dame, they have the type of
players and the tradition to make it a dogfight."
Jeff Del Verne kicked four field goals for Michigan - 21, 35 and 37 in the
first half. For Notre Dame, Jackson threw for one TD and ran 12 yards for one
and flanker Joey Getherall scored on a 4-yard reverse.
For weeks, there has been a quarterback controversy at Michigan involving
Brady and sophomore Drew Henson. Brady started the season opener, Henson played
the second quarter and Brady played the rest of the way. Carr said he'll go
with the same formula in the the Wolverines' next two games.
Brady doesn't really care.
"I think we're way beyond that," Brady said. "We just know we have to go
out and execute."
Even in defeat, Jackson was the most exciting player on the field. The
6-foot-1, 235-pound senior hit key passes and came up with mad scrambles all
day. But he also was sacked four times, threw a fourth-quarter interception and
made five errant pitchouts.
"I feel all right how I performed, but we didn't come through as a team,"
Jackson said after the Irish lost for just the third time in their last 18
regular-season games. "It was heartbreaking to me that we didn't finish them
off."
Notre Dame led 14-9 at the half. Getherall scored on a 4-yard reverse and
Jackson ran 12 yards for a TD with 51 seconds left in the half.
Michigan went ahead 16-14 on Thomas's first TD, a 2-yard run early in the
third quarter, and Del Verne's fourth field goal made it 19-14 with 2:48 left
in the third quarter.
