2002 FBL at Minnesota -- Postgame Notes
11/9/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
With its 41-24 victory against Minnesota, Michigan won its 65th game all-time in the series (65-23-3 record). Head coach Lloyd Carr improved to 6-0 against the Golden Gophers.
The victory against Minnesota gave U-M possession of both the Paul Bunyan Trophy and Little Brown Jug. The Wolverines won both ends of the trophy games for the fourth time under Lloyd Carr (1995, 1996, 1997 and 2002).
With his 25-yard pass to junior/sophomore wide receiver Jermaine Gonzales on the second throw of the game, senior/junior John Navarre became the fifth quarterback in Michigan history to surpass 5,000 career passing yards. Navarre also surpassed 2,000 passing yards for the season on the play. He became the third quarterback in school history to pass for 2,000 yards in consecutive years, joining Tom Brady (1998-99) and Todd Collins (1993-94). Navarre finished the game with 15-of-26 passing for 225 yards and two touchdowns.
Senior wide receiver Ronald Bellamy continued to make his presence felt in the passing game, catching five passes for 50 yards and one touchdown against Minnesota.
Running back B.J. Askew logged his second straight 100-yard rushing game, gaining 126 yards on 11 carries and scoring two touchdowns. Askew had a team season-best 59-yard touchdown run. He added one reception for 10 yards, moving within 26 yards of the Michigan career record for receiving yards by a running back.
Fifth-year senior tight end Bennie Joppru made his homecoming to Minnesota in impressive fashion. Joppru made his 20th start at tight end for the Wolverines and caught three passes for 58 yards.
Sophomore cornerback Marlin Jackson secured sole possession of Michigan's season pass breakup record at Minnesota. He collected the milestone PBU at the 6:31 mark of the second quarter. Jackson broke a tie with Charles Woodson (1996) for the season record and now has 16 pass breakups on the year. Jackson finished the game with two tackles, one TFL and the lone PBU.
Redshirt freshman linebacker Joey Sarantos had a career-best day at Minnesota. Sarantos collected his first career interception and added a career-high seven tackles.
Junior/sophomore punter/placekicker Adam Finley booted a career-long 54-yard punt on his first attempt of the game. Finley finished the game with a 43.3-yard average on three punts. He scored a career-best 11 points on two field goals and five PATs.
Senior/junior free safety Jon Shaw made two big plays against the Golden Gophers. Shaw forced a punt by Minnesota inside Michigan territory with pass breakup and stopped a Minnesota scoring opportunity with his first career interception in the end zone. Shaw finished with a career-best seven stops.
The Wolverines remained unbeaten at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. U-M is 9-0 at the 20-year-old facility and will return to the Metrodome next season (Oct. 11).
U-M won its sixth straight night game and improved to 16-8 all-time in games played after 5 p.m. local time. The Wolverines are 6-0 all-time against the Golden Gophers in night games.
Michigan won its second game on artificial turf this season. The Wolverines have compiled a 183-36-5 record all-time on artificial surfaces.
