Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 41

Progress: Sources say Pistons have reached agreement with first-round draft pick Allan Houston. 3E Looking for answers: Bryan Murray puzzled by Wings' slow start. 4E COLLEGE FOOTBALL Michigan 21, Penn State 13 Ohio State 28, MSU 21 Illinois 49, Iowa 3 Minn. 28, Northwestern 26 Wisconsin 42, Purdue 28 EMU 28, CMU21 Wayne 27, American Intl. 12 Florida St.

40, Virginia 14 Alabama 17, Tennessee 17 Auburn 38, Florida 35 Nebraska 45, Kansas St. 28 Texas 34, Baylor 17 N. Carolina 41, Ga. Tech 3 College report, 6-10E Sunday Sports Section OCTOBER 17, 1993 TVRADIO 2E HORSERACING 13E Incaviglia fits the mold World Series Phat Phils: Former Tiger finds grass is greener in Philly despite Astroturf. Date Site Time Saturday Toronto late Today Toronto 8:29 Tuesday Phila.

8:12 Wednesday Phila. 8:12 Thursday-x Phila. Oct 23-x Toronto 812 Oct. 24-x Toronto 8:29 And, just maybe, they've already captured the hearts of those with no rooting interest in the World Series. On the one side, you have style.

The Blue Jays play with a certain degree of grace. On the other side, well, it wouldn't surprise anyone if John Kruk tucked a small pizza inside his shirt, just in case he got hungry between pitches. Pete Incaviglia fits into this bunch. There won't be the food jokes attached to him that there are to Kruk, but he's hefty again after losing his power stroke at a lower weight. And he's certainly not as wild as Wild Thing Williams, but he looks the part.

His hair is shaggy after a shave, he needs another an hour later and Please see Series, 5E If necessary. All games on CBS (Channel 2 in Detroit) and WWJ-AM (950) By Tom Gage THE DETROIT NEWS TORONTO Mitch Williams was running across the room with a hamburger in his hand. "Don't touch those French fries!" he yelled to a teammate perceived to be taking more than his share. Hungry players. That's nothing new.

There's only one problem with this scene. It happened before the Phillies' first workout at the Sky-Dome, not after. C'mon, guys, there's a time and place to stuff yourselves. It's just not right to eat a Big Mac, then take the field. It's baseball behavior in reverse.

But these are the Phillies, don't you know? Part Jed Clampett, part Hulk Hogan, large part Porky Pig. But they sure have fun. REUTER Despite not being scheduled to pitch in any of the games in Philadelphia, Toronto's Dave Stewart takes batting practice Friday. U-M stands, MSU falls Bob WOJNOWSKI Backs against wall, Wolverines finally play a 'Michigan game' in defense of their Big Ten title STATE COLLEGE, Pa. So now we know.

Now the Big Ten knows. Now everyone knows. Michigan might falter, but it won't fold. To take the Wolverines' Big Ten title, someone will have to pry it from their cold, curled fingers. More than 96,000 witnesses came to Beaver Stadium Saturday for the coronation of the league's new king, and concession speeches from the deposed one.

What they saw instead was something we hadn't seen from U-M in a big game all year. On the day that would decide their season, and on the goalline stand that would decide the game, the Wolverines dug deeper than they ever have, and now stand higher than many believed they would. The 21-13 victory over Penn State puts the five-time defending champions right back in the league race, right where they feel they belong, right where they felt they'd be. Honest. With nary a hitch, they shrugged off the 17-7 loss to Michigan State.

With nary a blink, they said they knew they'd do it. "Nothing special, nothing different," said Tyrone Wheatley, as if he'd rushed for 192 yards against Minnesota. "We came out and played ball. I mean, we're on a pedestal year after year after year, then we have one slip-up and everyone says we're overrated." Well, let's be fair here. The win over Penn State was huge, one of Gary Moeller's biggest.

But it doesn't erase or explain the MSU loss. Instead, it explains this team's character, questioned in many circles, including this one. Like anything in life, the bulk of lessons are learned in adversity, and U-M faced as much as a football team can face. Its defense had been shredded. Its offensive line had been rocked.

Mistakes were feeding malaise and it was Moeller's job to stop it. He did it by building confidence instead of killing it, by demanding concentration instead of panicking. No team meetings, no emotional diatribes, no gimmicky game plan. "Rather than yelling in our faces, the coaches picked us up," quarterback Todd Collins said. "Everybody else was down on us.

If we'd lost this game, the rest of the season would've been a grind. But we played a Michigan game." In case you'd lost track, a "Michigan game" is a game of fundamentals, of blocking and tackling. Watching U-M films through five games, Penn State could be excused if it thought a "Michigan game" involved turnovers, sacks and missed tackles. "We wanted to welcome Penn State to the Big Ten, and we did it by running the ball and controlling the line," senior center Marc Milia said. "The greatest thing about this team is, there was no talk of going to the Holiday Bowl or the Citrus Bowl.

We kept our heads up. Emotion is what propelled us to this win." Not until they faced the season's most daunting challenge, in their first-ever meeting with Penn State, did the Wolverines find the resolve they'd sought. Not until they stood with their backs to the wall of their own end zone did they find the grit and the guts to turn a season. Trailing 14-10 late in the third quarter, Penn State drove to within six inches of U-M's goalline. On four straight-ahead runs, the Nit-tany Lions lost a foot-and-a-half, Joe Paterno lost a mind-and-a-half and the Wolverines gained immeasurable confidence.

"We said going in, we weren't going to lay down and give them our championship," middle guard Tony Henderson said. "It's just like anybody else if they want it, they'll have to come and get it." U-M is still far from a great team, but not as far as a week ago, and not as far as Penn State. The Wolverines still have weaknesses, still have wounds, and for another day and another week, still have their hands on the Big Ten crown. "You have to pay your dues," Wheatley said. "(Penn State) is like a freshman coming to any ball-club.

You can't come in boasting and bragging. We weren't offended by it. We just had to show 'em we've been here a while." And maybe, a while longer. jfll Jfl W' MJ rffifiT Wolverines defenders Ninef Aghakhan (left), Bobby Powers and Shonte Peoples (3) converge on Nittany Lions running back Brian O'Neal in third quarter. Ohio State foils Spartans' rally with late TD Wolverines stop Nittany Lions when it counts M1 By Terry Cabell THE DETROIT NEWS COLUMBUS, Ohio For all intents and purposes, Michigan State wasn't supposed to lose Saturday's game at Ohio State.

Not after causing five turnovers and driving for first downs inside the Buckeyes' red zone six times. But when you don't take advantage of such situations the Spartans missed four field-goal attempts the outcome likely won't be favorable. After tying the Buckeyes 21-21 with a little more than five minutes to play, MSU failed to maintain momentum. Tailback Ravmont Harris scored on a 7-yard run with 1:06 remaining to lift No. 5 Ohio State to a 28-21 victory over No.

25 MSU at Ohio Stadium. The 15-play, 80-yard scoring drive consumed 4:31 and left the Spartans little time to do much else and they didn't. Ohio State is 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten. MSU is 3-2, 1-1. Please see MSU, 10E By Angelique S.

Chengelis THE DETROIT NEWS STATE COLLEGE, Pa. Never in 1,000 years did it seem Michigan could rebound from last week's loss to Michigan State playing against a Penn State team playing in its game. But it was Michigan that produced a defensive stand worthy of the millennium wait. The 18th-ranked Wolverines welcomed No. 7 Penn State to big time Big Ten football with a 21-13 upset before a record crowd of 96,719 at Beaver Stadium Saturday.

In a game of several momentum bursts for Michigan (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten), none was more important than its goal-line stand late in the third quarter and into the first play of the fourth quarter. With Penn State trailing 14-10, the Nittany Lions drove from their 20 to Michigan's one-inch line with 1:39 remaining in the third quarter. Penn State quarterback Kerry Collins tried to go up the middle for the touchdown but was stopped by U-M middle guard Tony Henderson for no gain. Please see U-M, 8E ASSOCIATED PRESS Napoleon Outlaw pulls in a 48-yard catch during the first quarter Saturday. Ohio State won the game, 28-21..