Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 41

iMMMMml ZZZTF Sunday, October 14, 1990 Bryan BURWELL Both the Spartans and Wolverines should be proud, but the referees robbed joy from great game 1 ff i ff i hi 4 vx ANN ARBOR -By now, the golden autumn sun had begun descending behind the distant western horizon, and this ancient brick bowl called Michigan Stadium was covered iaone ominous, shadowy curtain. It was as if some grand authority from above was sending all 106,188 of these edgy Michigan rooters a foreboding message that the Wolverines' oh-so-brief reign as the No. 1 college football team in the land was abouh to come to an abrupt halt. Something bad was about to happen. Something filled with all the hobgoblins of the past.

Something as wierd as a Twin Peaks script. Something bizarre. Something dastardly. Something so diabolically twisted. There was already this buzzing sense of urgency in Michigan Stadium the moment Michigan State tailback Tico Duckett galloped off the left side of the line and into the endzone with 1 :59 left in Saturday's annual Michigan-Michigan State grudge match to give the underdog Spartans a 28-21 lead.

But that wasn't it. Not enough drama. Not enough gut-twisting heartbreak. Then a few minutes later, Michigan's hopes were revived. Derrick Alexander pulled in Elvis Grbac's 8-yard TD pass in the far corner of the end zone, and the Wolverines were within 28-27 with :06 left on the big scoreboard clock.

Now the table was properly set for heartbreak and heartache. UM head coach Gary Moeller made the call: Go for the win. Go for the big play. This is what a No. 1 ranked team is supposed to do.

This is how national championship contenders strut their stuff. With nerve, with guts, with their eyes set on glory. But glory was not to be, only disappointment. Grbac rifled a bullet into the endzone to a tumbling, stumbling Desmond Howard. The ball was in his hands one moment, then Gone.

The ball bounced off his chest, rolled forever on that hard artificial turf, and this inexplicable curse that dooms Michigan every time it climbs into the No. 1 spot had done them in again. But now here comes the weird stuff. A million and one eyes had seen that there was indeed good reason why Howard went tumbling and stumbling. Michigan State cor-nerback Eddie Brown had tripped him.

No discussion. No debate. It was a clear and obvious foul that a million and one eyes in the stands and on national television could see, but somehow not one single referee in this joint managed to catch a glimpse of. As Howard lay there on the ground and the ball tumbled harmlessly away and all those dilerious Michigan State fans came spiling onto the field, everyone in a dark blue Michigan uniform stood by with arms spread open wide, eyes pleading and mouths agape. They were waiting.

Make the call. Why doesn't somebody make the call? But the referees swallowed their whistes and college football once again looked like chumps because of a Keystone Kops performance by the zebras. Last week, Colorado gets five downs to beat Missouri. This weekend, Michigan State gets a free trip into Upset Heaven. Did all these referees fail to see the play, or did they simply lack the courage to step up and make a call because the game's outcome hinged on their whistles? It is such a shame to see such a wondrous college football game end on such a controversial note.

What the referees have done in their failure was take away from what should be a glorious MSU victory. The Spartans should be spending their Sunday proud of such a lofty accomplishment, having knocked off the nation's No. 1 team, their bitter cross-tate rival, and keeping their once-dismal-looking season very much alive. They should be living the good life because they won a game that none of us thought they could win. But instead, their win is soiled a bit by controversy.

Soiled by referees who were either too blind or to timid to see. Of course this game wasn't Ar-megedon. It was much bigger than that. This is a game that defines some sort of parochial superiority in the minds of an entire state. iiiin-iij f'A line en route to a 93-yard day on the ground, the last a 9-yard jaunt by Tico Duckett, for the touchdown with 1:59 left.

John Lange-loh's extra point gave MSU a 28-21 lead. With the game tied early in the fourth quarter, U-M committed its first major miscue, and the Spartans capitalized. Elvis Grbac overthrew Desmond Howard down the middle and Mike Iaquaniello intercepted, giving MSU possession at its own 31. Seven plays later, Hyland Hickson burst up the middle for a 26-yard score, giving the Spartans their first lead with 6:03 left, 21-14. It didn't last long.

Howard returned the ensuing kickoff 95 yards, the second-longest return in school history. J.D. Carlson hit the tying conversion with 5:50 left, making it 21-21. Please see Showdown, 15E Fanning the flames: Rivalry brings out action away from field. Page 2E.

i 1 1 I THE DETROIT NEWS helping the Spartans to a 28-27 victory. Michigan State running back Tico Duckett Michigan State 28, Michigan 27 Ml Wild finish: Spartans break fie on Duckett TD, then hang on for 28-27 upset after top-ranked Wolverines score with six seconds left and miss two-point conversion try. slashes through the Michigan defensive six seconds left. U-M went for a game-winning two-point conversion and Desmond Howard appeared to catch Grbac's pass, but it fell out of his hands as he hit the turf. MSU moved to 2-2-1; U-M to 3-2.

The Spartans, unfazed by Howard's game-tying, 95-yard kickoff return, came off the mat and put U-M on its back with a gritty 70-yard drive for the go-ahead score. Dan Enos, poised and productive, scrambled on a key third down and picked up the first down when U-M linebacker Martin Davis was penalized for grabbing the quarterback's face mask. The Spartans used five straight runs, Breaks record: Langeloh becomes Spartans career scoring leader. Page 2E. Who's No.

Virginia is expected to be the No. 1 team in the country when The Associated Press college football poll is released Monday. Virginia, ranked second, defeated North Carolina State, 31-0, Saturday, and No. 1 Michigan lost to Michigan State, 28-27. The only other possible No.

1 team is Miami, which routed Kansas, 34-0. Miami plays Notre Dame on Saturday. The winner between No. 5 Tennessee and No. 10 Florida, both unbeaten before Saturday night's game, may also have a shot.

No. 6 Auburn, No. 7 Nebraska, No. 12 Houston and No. 23 Wyoming are also undefeated.

By Bob Wojnowskl THE DETROIT NEWS ANN ARBOR One play and one point dropped Michigan from its No. 1 perch Saturday. Michigan State scored a late touchdown, then withstood a two-point conversion attempt by U-M to stun the top-ranked Wolverines, 28-27, before 106,188 at Michigan Stadium. Tice Duckett's 9-yard run with 1:59 left put the Spartans on top, breaking a 21-21 tie. The Wolverines then moved 71 yards for a touchdown, with Elvis Grbac hitting Derrick Alexander on a 7-yard pass with Early birds: Representatives from five bowls in attendance.

Page 2E. Falls: MSU deserves to win and U-M deserves the loss. Page 1 A..