Sunday, September 02, 2001
Michigan 31, Miami 13
Young QB Roethlisberger shows poise, inexperience
By Ian Duthie
Enquirer contributor
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Costly turnovers and missed opportunities on offense led to a Miami 31-13 defeat at the hands of 12th-ranked Michigan Saturday.
Miami redshirt freshman quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, playing in his first college game, was pressured all afternoon by a blitzing Michigan defense that forced him into three interceptions.
Miami's offense tried to combat the pressure Roethlisberger faced by setting him in the shotgun and using multiple-receiver sets to help the young quarterback avoid being hit constantly and ease the pressure of making his debut in front of a crowd of 109,676.
Miami also utilized the no-huddle offense to get Roethlisberger into the flow of the game. He showed signs of success, continually eluding the heavy rush, moving around the pocket and finding receivers after the initial pass broke down.
On the RedHawks' first touchdown, Roethlisberger recovered from a mishandled snap in the shotgun and a heavy pass rush to
float a running touch pass to a diving Eddie Tillintz in the end zone to close Miami's deficit to 10-6.
But the young quarterback also showed his age and inexperience, throwing into traffic and killing possible scoring drives with interceptions.
Trailing 17-6 early in the fourth quarter, the RedHawks drove the ball to the Michigan 13-yard line and called a timeout to discuss what play to run. Roethlisberger then attempted a fade pass to receiver Jason Branch along the sideline. Cornerback Jeremy LeSueur read the play, intercepting the ball in the end zone and ending any chance Miami had of climbing back into the game.
“I have lots of room for improvement,” Roethlisberger said. “I have to build off the positive plays and look past those (negative) plays.”
He ended the day with 18 completions in 35 attempts for 193 yards and two touchdowns. Two other Miami touchdowns were nullified by penalties.
“Michigan was able to take advantage of our mistakes and quickly turn that into points for themselves,” Miami coach Terry Hoeppner said. “They converted off our turnovers and put our young offense in difficult situations to have to score.”
Each Miami interception led to a Michigan touchdown. Given the field position it was forced to defend, the RedHawks' defense played with distinction.
“Our defense was well prepared,” Miami lineman Gino DiGiandomenico said. “Michigan didn't show us anything we were not ready for or had not seen.”
The RedHawks fell behind early on a one-yard run by Michigan running back B.J. Askew. Holding the ball above his head as he leaped for the end zone, Askew lost control and his fumble was recovered by Miami defensive back Rod Clark. The officials ruled, however, that Askew had broken the plane of the end zone before losing the ball.
Miami 0 6 0 7—13
Michigan 10 7 0 14—31
First Quarter
Mic—Askew 1 run (Epstein kick), 9:20.
Mic—FG Epstein 22, 1:43.
Second Quarter
Mia—Tillitz 21 pass from Roethlisberger (blocked kick), 10:02
Mic—Joppru 1 pass from Navarre (Epstein kick), :24
Fourth Quarter
Mic—Bell 12 run (Epstein kick), 10:49.
Mic—Cross 1 run (Epstein kick), 3:43.
Mia—Henry 16 pass from Roethlisberger (Parseghian kick), :08
A—109,676.
Mia Mic
First downs ....... 18 22
Rushes-yards ....... 29-127 47-189
Passing ....... 223 214
Comp-Att-Int ....... 22-44-3 20-34-0
Return Yards ....... 157 72
Punts-Avg. ....... 6-39 6-36
Fumbles-Lost ....... 1-0 1-1
Penalties-Yards ....... 6-55 2-20
Time of Possession ....... 27:16 32:44
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Miami, Clemens 14-63, Murray 2-23, Hawk 4-23, Roethlisberger 9-18. Michigan, Askew 20-94, Bell 2-36, Perry 11-32, Underwood 5-19, Cross 6-15, Navarre 3-(minus 7).
PASSING—Miami, Roethlisberger 18-35-3-193, Hawk 4-9-0-30. Michigan, Navarre 19-32-0-205, Gonzales 1-1-0-9, Brinton 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING—Miami, Branch 4-66, Tillitz 4-50, Henry 4-42, Clemens 4-23, Hawk 3-15, Murray 2-21, Kirkpatrick 1-6. Michigan, Bell 5-26, Walker 3-44, Seymour 3-36, Bellamy 2-34, Askew 2-29, Edwards 2-22, Perry 1-12, Dubuc 1-10, Joppru 1-1.
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Michigan 31, Miami 13
