Michigan
2-0
Houston
1-1
Ground Game, Defense Lead Wolverines Past Houston
9/6/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan football team (No. 5 AP, No. 7 ESPN/USA Today) rolled over its second straight opponent, defeating Houston by a score of 50-3 on Saturday (Sept. 6) in front of 109,580 spectators at Michigan Stadium. The Wolverines dominated the ground game on both sides of the ball, totaling 392 rushing yards, 184 from Chris Perry (Advance, N.C./Fork Union Military, Va.), and holding the Cougars to just 74. Perry's 184 yards came on 27 carries and included two touchdowns. John Navarre (Cudahy, Wis./Cudahy HS) completed 13 of his 30 pass attempts for 136 yards and one touchdown. Navarre's ninth completion of the game gave him the most completions for a U-M quarterback in a career. He finished the day with 527 completions during his reign as the Michigan signal-caller.
| | Perry has rushed for 416 yards in the first two games, averaging 8.5 yards a carry. |
Michigan moved into Cougars' territory on its following drive but was forced to punt for the fourth time of the quarter. Beginning at its own 20-yard line, Houston only moved backwards on the drive. A five-yard penalty and incomplete pass were followed by a two-yard sack from Pierre Woods (Cleveland, Ohio/Glenville HS). On third-and-17 from the 13-yard line, the Michigan defense capitalized on a pump fake and roll out by Kolb when defensive ends Larry Stevens (Tacoma, Wash./Woodrow Wilson HS) and Alain Kashama (Montreal, Quebec/Vieux Montreal) converged on the quarterback in the end zone for a safety and a 9-0 U-M lead with 50 seconds to play in the opening quarter.
On the ensuing free kick by the Cougars, Jeremy LeSueur (Holly Springs, Miss./Holly Springs HS) faked a reverse to Steve Breaston (North Braddock, Pa./Woodland Hills HS) and then raced down the left sideline for a 45-yard return to the UH 40-yard line. Perry took a screen pass 12 yards to end the quarter, and Michigan moved the ball to the Cougar 26-yard line before the drive stalled, forcing a 43-yard field goal by Rivas, his first career field goal as a Wolverine. With the points, Michigan took a 12-0 lead at 14:04.
On Houston's first drive of the second quarter, Vincent Marshall took a first-down carry 36 yards to the Michigan 44-yard line. From there, the Cougar drive went in reverse as Kolb was sacked for a 12-yard loss on first down. After two straight incompletions, Houston punted the ball back to Michigan.
Breaston returned the punt 23 yards to the Michigan 33-yard line to open up the Wolverine drive. On first down, Tim Massaquoi (Allentown, Pa./Parkland HS) was on the receiving end of a 45-yard pass from Navarre before being hauled down at the Houston 22-yard line. After gaining just one more yard, U-M settled for a 38-yard field goal from Rivas to make it 15-0 at 10:49.
After forcing the Cougars into a three-and-out, U-M took control at its own 39-yard line. On third down, Perry ran left for six yards, giving Michigan its first third-down conversion of the afternoon. Perry took a carry 21 yards as he shook two defenders and carried three more down to the Cougar 15-yard line. On third-and-six from the 11, Navarre pulled a Houston defender across the line of scrimmage on a hard count, setting up third-and-one. With the reduced distance, Perry ran right and picked up the first down. David Underwood (Madisonville, Texas/Madisonville HS) came in to spell Perry and quickly found the end zone on a five-yard run. Rivas' extra point was true, pushing the Wolverine lead to 22-0 and ending the first-half scoring.
Perry dominated the first half with 92 yards rushing on 18 carries, including one touchdown. He also led the team in receptions with five. While limiting the Cougars to 68 total yards of offense, Michigan's defense held UH to just three first downs and did not allow a third-down conversion (0-8). Unfortunately, the Wolverines converted on only two of their nine third downs. Navarre completed eight of his 22 attempts for 95 yards.
To open the third quarter Houston went three-and-out, giving Michigan the ball at its 43-yard line. Two short passes and an 18-yard scamper by Perry put U-M at the Houston 26-yard line. Following three incompletions, Rivas missed a 43-yarder at 12:07.
Attempting to capitalize on the missed field goal, Houston moved deep into Michigan territory by gaining four first downs, including one on fourth-and-three. U-M's defense eventually stiffened, stopping the Cougars at the 25-yard line. There, Houston made it 22-3 with a 42-yard field goal by Dustin Bell with 6:49 left in the third quarter.
The Maize and Blue regrouped and marched down the field for a nine-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that yet again featured the running of Perry. The running back carried six times for 57 yards, eight of which came on the run to paydirt to make it 29-3. Michigan's drive spanned 4:09 and ended with 2:40 left in the third quarter.
Minutes later Michigan started off the fourth quarter with another touchdown drive. Beginning at their own 34-yard line, the Wolverines rumbled for a combined 57 yards on three carries apiece by Perry and Underwood. The drive was capped by a nine-yard touchdown pass from Navarre to Edwards on a slant route to make it 36-3 with 13:02 remaining in the game.
With a comfortable lead, U-M was able to insert some of its backup players. Matt Gutierrez (Concord, Calif./DeLaSalle HS) took over the quarterback duties and Tim Bracken (White Castle, La./St. John HS) and Pierre Rembert (Milwaukee, Wis./Cudahy HS) earned time running the ball. After starting the next drive at the U-M 45-yard line, Underwood broke right for a 35-yard pickup. Bracken gained seven more yards and Rembert picked his way along the line of scrimmage before bursting around left end for an 18-yard touchdown run, the first of his career. With the score the lead became 43-3 with 10:10 remaining.
Rembert added another touchdown at 5:22 to finish off a seven-play, 60-yard drive. Jerome Jackson (Saginaw, Mich./Saginaw HS) had a 41-yard carry to provide the bulk of the yardage. Rembert's five-yard touchdown came on fourth-and-goal to make the score 50-3.
Michigan will take on rival Notre Dame next Saturday (Sept. 13) at 3:30 p.m. in Michigan Stadium. The game will be televised by ABC Sports.
Contact: David Ablauf, Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423
Team Stats
HOU 0, MICH 7
MICH - Perry, Chris 1 yd run (Rivas, Garrett kick), 5 plays, 39 yards, TOP 1:40
HOU 0, MICH 9
MICH - TEAM 13 yd safety
HOU 0, MICH 12
MICH - Rivas, Garrett 43 yd field goal 6 plays, 14 yards, TOP 1:46
HOU 0, MICH 15
MICH - Rivas, Garrett 38 yd field goal 6 plays, 46 yards, TOP 2:06
HOU 0, MICH 22
MICH - Underwood, D. 5 yd run (Rivas, Garrett kick), 11 plays, 61 yards, TOP 5:06
HOU 3, MICH 22
HOU - BELL,Dustin 42 yd field goal 14 plays, 49 yards, TOP 5:18
HOU 3, MICH 29
MICH - Perry, Chris 8 yd run (Rivas, Garrett kick), 9 plays, 80 yards, TOP 4:09
HOU 3, MICH 36
MICH - Edwards, B. 9 yd pass from Navarre, John (Rivas, Garrett kick) 7 plays, 66 yards, TOP 2:36
HOU 3, MICH 43
MICH - Rembert, Pierre 18 yd run (Rivas, Garrett kick), 3 plays, 55 yards, TOP 1:18
HOU 3, MICH 50
MICH - Rembert, Pierre 5 yd run (Rivas, Garrett kick), 7 plays, 60 yards, TOP 3:07
