Saturday January 09, 1999
Squeezing out a victory - Michigan outslugs Arkansas to take Citrus Bowl
ORLANDO, Fla. (CNN/SI) -- Neither Michigan nor Arkansas was expected to be here for the Citrus Bowl. The Wolverines were the defending national champions and stumbled out of the gate with an 0-2 record with plenty of uncertainty. The Razorbacks were an unknown quantity with a relatively unknown coach but started the year winning nine straight games. In the end, however, the Wolverines' bowl experience was just enough to beat the upstart underdogs. In particular, it was a story of a quarterback named Brady that did in Arkansas. Tom Brady had two passes intercepted to set up Arkansas Touchdowns earlier in the game, but he later engineered two scoring drives in the final six minutes as Michigan came back to beat the Razorbacks 45-31. "I don't exactly know why it loosens you up," said Brady, whose 21-yard pass to DiAllo Johnson gave the Wolverines the lead for good with 2:25 left. "Sometimes you're out there and you're playing and you don't want to make a mistake. But once you make a mistake, you go, `Golly, I'm not too successful thinking that way.'" There were plenty of mistakes by Michigan (10-3), which blew a 24-10 halftime lead and trailed 31-24 in the fourth quarter. Still, the victory gave the 15th-ranked Wolverines a 10th victory, something that seemed impossible after Michigan opened the season 0-2. "We wanted to finish the season strong after the disappointing start we had," coach Lloyd Carr said. "This team had a disadvantage in that they were always going to be compared to the [1997] national championship team." No. 11 Arkansas (9-3), on the other hand, exceeded expectations throughout the season and almost did it again Friday. "We were two or three steps away from getting a win," said Zac Painter, who had an interception and forced a fumble. "They were a lot faster than we thought. They ran up the middle and made some great plays." In the end, the passing Brady to Tai Streets and the rushing of Anthony Thomas, was too much for the Razorbacks. Brady drove Michigan 80 yards for the tying score, which came on Thomas' third TD run, a 1-yarder with 5:45 to play. Brady kept the drive alive with a 15-yard completion to Streets on third-and-11 and the 8-yarder to Streets on fourth-and-2 to the Arkansas 38. Thomas carried on the next four plays. Arkansas' Clint Stoerner was sacked on the ensuing possession, forcing a punt that Johnson returned 14 yards to the Arkansas 35 to set up the go-ahead scoring drive. James Whitley put the game out of reach with 1:47 remaining, when he picked off Stoerner's pass and returned it 26 yards for a touchdown. "When you're at Michigan, you never give up," said linebacker Sam Sword, who had 11 tackles, including nine unassisted. "As long as there's time on the clock, you've got to believe in us." Michigan squandered a 14-point halftime advantage. Thomas fumbled at the end of a 15-yard gain when hit by Painter and David Barrett recovered at the Razorbacks 29. Arkansas moved 71 yards to the end zone, Stoerner's 36-yard pass to Rossi Morreale setting up Chrys Chukwuma's 2-yard run. Brady, back to pass, had his arm hit by Quenton Caver and the ball sailed into the arms of Jeremy Flowers, who returned it 24 yards. Chukwuma's 1-yard touchdown run tied it 24-24 with 5:40 remaining in the third period. Painter intercepted Brady's pass at the Michigan 35 and returned it to the 11, setting the stage for Stoerner's 9-yard scoring pass to Joe Davenport three minutes into the fourth quarter. Thomas ran for 139 yards and Brady was 14-of-27 for 209 yards. Stoerner was 17-of-42 for 232 yards with two interceptions, both returned for touchdowns. He also threw for two TDs. "This loss is tough to swallow," Stoerner said. " We came out and they got us into a couple of situations that were tough to get out of. You could tell we hadn't played in a month. They deserve to win."

January 2, 1999
By rallying troops, Brady shows he's ready to battle Henson next
ORLANDO, Fla. -- The pocket collapsed around Tom Brady, creating a situation in which quarterbacks draw upon survival instincts. Disaster usually awaits within such a predicament, so the objective is to lessen the damage as much as possible. But Brady didn't yield to the surging pressure. He put his head down and charged forward, oblivious to the risks. On this third-and-10 desperate race to the first-down marker, Brady stumbled over his lineman but didn't fall. He got nailed by an Arkansas defender two yards shy of his objective, but he still didn't fall. He got the first down and the prize was a big, red welt that wrapped around his throat. Brady's effort kept a late third-quarter drive alive, and served as a forerunner to his steely cool under fire in a fourth quarter that likely kept alive his days as Michigan's starting quarterback. Although Brady stumbled a number of times in the second half, throwing two bad interceptions, he refused to fall. The Wolverines' 45-31 victory over the Razorbacks in Friday's Citrus Bowl was anything but a vision of loveliness. Five turnovers between the teams resulted in five touchdowns. Michigan so thoroughly dominated Arkansas in the first half that Bill Clinton contemplated ordering another strike on Baghdad to divert attention from the beating his beloved Hogs took. And then Michigan went out of its way in the third quarter to give it all away. Suddenly, the Wolverines trailed, 31-24, with roughly 12 minutes remaining in the season. "I knew that we had to do something," Brady said, "and I also knew that it certainly wasn't the time to panic." And Brady also knew if Michigan lost, he would be the culprit. Following his second interception, you could feel the tremors of discontent swelling among the Wolverines' faithful everywhere. Blow this game and the fans would not be completely satisfied until they saw Brady trailing Drew Henson on the spring football depth chart. "Before I went out on that tying drive," Brady said, "Coach Carr told me, 'You can feel sorry for yourself or you can lead this team.' I guess you can figure out which way I decided to go." Just as he did on that third-down scramble, Brady put his trust in his instincts. They had never betrayed him before. Arkansas end C.J. McLain had a hand on Brady's leg in the pocket on a crucial third-and-11, but Brady shook himself free before finding Tai Streets for a drive-saving 15-yard completion. Four plays later, Brady found Streets again on fourth down. Try as they could to rattle Brady with their myriad of blitzes in the fourth quarter, the Razorbacks couldn't bring him down. "The pressure in that situation is immense," coach Lloyd Carr said. "One more mistake and we lose this game. I've always believed the true measure of a quarterback isn't statistics or how you look while playing. It's about how many games you win." That's why Brady was the perfect quarterback for this team this season. His game isn't aesthetically appealing, but neither was his team. The Wolverines won ugly all season, stomping through the mud and muck at Iowa and Northwestern and barely escaping with their lives at Minnesota. "There was never a doubt in my mind," Brady said about his fourth-quarter recovery. "I know that I can do it. Everyone on this team knows that I can do it. We've had a knack all season long of doing what was necessary at the right time to survive." This day was all about survival. The makings were there for another vintage Michigan choke. It looked as if the ghosts of bowl calamities past had returned to haunt the Wolverines. The Razorbacks' 21 second-half points all came courtesy of turnovers -- two interceptions and Anthony Thomas' fumble. The Wolverines were penalized a season-high-tying 12 times for 104 yards. But the Wolverines, like their Big Ten brothers, decided to make a statement and silence their critics -- at least temporarily. That the Big Ten finished with the highest bowl winning percentage of the major conferences is a testament to first-year starters such as Brady and Purdue's Drew Brees. The Big Ten actually got clutch quarterbacking, an unearthly phenomenon that makes me wonder whether the foretellers of doom are accurate -- the apocalypse actually is coming in another 365 days. Carr surprised everyone when he put the other Drew -- Henson, that is -- in for the game's second series with U-M at the Arkansas 49. But two penalties pushed U-M backward and Henson's short stint concluded with a poorly executed trick play: He threw a backward pass to DiAllo Johnson, who then overthrew Henson on the other side of the field. As Brady's troubles worsened in the second half, Henson hovered closer to Carr on the sideline, hoping for another chance. But his next chance will come in the spring when the great quarterback duel begins. "I get that question every day and the answer stays the same," Brady said in an exasperated tone. "I can only worry about the things that I can control. But I will say this: I'm confident that if I hold up my end, everything else fall into place." Brady has earned the chance to build on what he started this season. For all the flair that Henson brings to the quarterback equation, there's nothing more important for an effective leader than sensing what's necessary to win. Nobody has questioned how badly Brady wanted to win, but he definitely answered those who have challenged his ability to win.

December 31, 1998
Brady will need quick thinking vs. speedy Hogs
BY NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Stop. Rewind. Watch. Tom Brady would repeat the pattern again and again, and every time he looked at Arkansas game film this month, he saw the same harrowing thing. "It's funny," Brady said. "Their defensive line and linebackers are always hitting the quarterback. It's always tough to be as accurate as you want, so those defensive backs really look good." Brady, a junior, needed to study hard. How he deals with the speedy, punishing Razorbacks in Friday's Citrus Bowl will be as important to him personally as anything else he has done as Michigan's starting quarterback. His performance might help him keep his position for next season -- or help him lose it. Before Brady even took a snap this season, there were whispers that freshman phenom Drew Henson deserved the job. Brady had waited three years for the opportunity to start, toiling away in practice, but that didn't seem to matter. The hype machine was humming. Even coach Lloyd Carr said Henson was the future, the most talented quarterback he had been around. Nothing has changed now, although Brady has set several U-M passing records, thrown for more yards than Brian Griese did last season, led his team to a second straight Big Ten title, and charged through a season without playing a poor game. Nothing has changed, although Brady has done all of that without the usual starting quarterback apprenticeship: He had thrown only 20 career passes entering the season. Henson is the talent, people are impatient, and jobs are never secure at U-M. And the Citrus will be the perfect stage to intensify the debate. The main argument for playing Henson is that he has far superior mobility and spontaneous playmaking skills than Brady, and Arkansas' No. 1 priority on defense is the pass rush. Brady's shortcomings could be exposed. "We're going to get after the quarterback," Arkansas defensive coordinator Keith Burns said. "Michigan's offense is a lot like Tennessee's, but Brady can't move like Tee Martin, which is an advantage to us. Brady's their leader, so we want to take him out. We play an eight-man front, and we attack the football." Arkansas tied for first in the Southeastern Conference with 40 sacks, for an SEC-leading 304 yards in loses. And that's all because of one thing with which the Wolverines haven't dealt well. Speed. "They are extremely fast -- much faster than anyone we've seen," right tackle Jon Jansen said, referring to players such as C.J. McLain and Randy Garner, defensive ends who are the Hogs' top sackers. "You see defensive linemen getting off blocks and running past linebackers to make a tackle. It's amazing to me to see defensive linemen move that fast. "When you have speed rushers, especially along the edges, that takes you out of what you do normally. You have to be able to get back and make some good judgments. They do pose a problem." Should the Hogs succeed in penetrating U-M's offensive line with any regularity, as Ohio State did when it racked up seven sacks against the Wolverines last month, Brady will have to improve to have any success. Brady said he would try to be like Griese, who made up for a lack of quickness with a surplus of savvy. A deft move here, a step up in the pocket there, and people miss. But Brady might not be ready yet. "When you practice for three years, and you're not getting out on the field, it's tough," Brady said. "At practice, when a defensive lineman comes through the line of scrimmage, the coach blows the whistle, the play is over, and the next group comes in. "In a game, it's not like that. It's about improvising. It's about making plays." Without extraordinary all-around ability, Brady said learning to eliminate weaknesses at quarterback took time. It did for Griese, who lost four of his first nine starts while trying to meld all the parts of his game. Throwing downfield is Brady's specialty, and he does that well. Rounding out his game will take longer -- and should take longer. "The great ones in college football this year are the guys who have played for 30, 35 games: Donovan McNabb, Cade McNown, Tim Couch, Michael Bishop," Brady said. "You've got to learn to improvise, and they've been out there learning on the field." Brady is out there, starting, learning, improving. But if he gets sacked too often Friday, with Henson's quick feet resting on the sideline, it will be interesting to see how long the lesson will last.