James Hall Shares Weekly Big Ten Football Award
11/9/1998 12:00:00 AM | Football
Hall sparked the first shutout for the Wolverines in Michigan Stadium since the 5-0 win over Purdue (Nov. 11, 1995) and the first shutout suffered by Penn State since Pittsburgh blanked the Nittany Lions in 1987, covering a span of 130 games.
Hall recorded five tackles in the game, with two of those hits quarterback sacks (16 yards). Hall forced a fumble (recovered by Josh Williams) and that turnover led to three points.
Hall also helped save the shutout when he blocked a 34-yard field goal attempt by PSU's Travis Forney in the first quarter. That was the third time this season and fifth time in his career that Hall has blocked a kick. The first four blocks came on extra point attempts (vs. Notre Dame and Eastern Michigan in 1998 and vs. Iowa and Washington State in 1997).
For the season, Hall ranks fourth on the team with 45 tackles (29 solo, 16 assists), tops among the defensive line. Hall has eight tackles for loss (44 yards) and six have been quarterback sacks (39 yards).
Hall shared the weekly Big Ten award with Michigan State defensive end Julian Peterson, who had five tackles for loss and forced three fumbles at Ohio State.
The Wolverines are 7-2 on the season (6-0 in Big Ten play) and ranked 15th in the nation (AP, 16th ESPN/USA Today). Michigan will host #8 Wisconsin (AP, 6th ESPN/USA Today) this weekend (Nov. 14) in a battle of Big Ten unbeatens. The game will be carried by ESPN (kickoff at 12:10 p.m. EST).
Contact: Jim Schneider, Bruce Madej (734) 763-4423
