18 I WEDNESDAY, Sept. 13, 2000
Wolverines have success swinging ball to the `A'-Train
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SPORTS
By Jim Suhr
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
ANN ARBOR, Mich. Another 100-yard
rushing game behind him, Anthony Thomas
is solidifying the argument that as he goes,
so goes third-ranked Michigan.
The 6-foot-2, 225-pound senior rolled up
another 131 yards on 14 carries two of
them for touchdowns in the Wolverines'
38-7 victory Saturday over Rice.
Perhaps no big deal to Thomas. He's done
it all before for a team now 14-1 when
Thomas gains at least 100 yards on the
ground. The only blemish: last October's 35-
29 upset to Illinois, when Thomas amassed
130 yards on 21 carries, two of them for
scores.
Thomas and Michigan (2-0) swiftly
quashed any Rice notions of an upset Satur
day, scoring a school-record 28 first-quarter
points en route to a 35-0 halftime lead. By
then, Thomas the guy known as the "A"
Train already had 78 yards.
He added a 32-yard third-quarter run
moments before being pulled for good, leav
ing Rice defenders some of them he had
juiced, others he had dragged into the end
zone remarking how Thomas made it look
so easy and feel so punishing
"Anthony Thomas is a good back, and we
expected that," Owls linebacker Rashard
Pittman said. "He was patient, and he did a
good job looking to find the holes. He made a
lot of guys miss. Rarely did the first guy get
him."
Saturday's matchup was to have been
about establishing the run and controlling
the clock certainly by Rice (1-1), which a
week earlier rushed 61 times gaining 198
yards and threw just 16 in a season-open
ing victory over crosstown rival Houston.
Rice's option offense was to be the only
one Michigan would see this season, and the
Wolverines saw the matchup as a test on
how well their defense could stop it. They
did, though the undermanned Owls of the
Western Athletic Conference never found a
way to stop Thomas.
"I thought Anthony ran very hard. It's a
good sign," said Michigan coach Lloyd Carr,
though the object of his kudos wasn't quite
as satisfied
"I'm all right with what we're doing so far,
but obviously we can get better," Thomas
said.
Thomas quickly proved to be a load for
Rice. After Owls quarterback Corey Evans
fumbled away the game's first snap, Michi
gan needed just 10 seconds and two plays
Thomas runs of 8 and 10 yards to reach
the end zone, stretching to 10 his streak of
games with a rushing touchdown.
Then, after a Michigan touchdown pass,
Thomas rumbled 27 yards for another score
that pushed the margin to 21-0. Michigan
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later closed out the opening-quarter blitz
with a touchdown pass, capping a 65-yard,
eight-play drive powered by two Thomas 15-
yard runs.
In the end, Michigan rolled up 230 yards
on the ground, including 69 on Chris Perry's
12 carries support Thomas appreciates,
even if it means fewer chances he gets with
the pigskin.
"Yeah, I think anybody does better with
less carries. They stay fresher," Thomas
said. "I try to adjust to fewer carries, but
we've got young guys who need to play,
because I want to watch on TV and see them
playing well" in maize and blue after
Thomas' college days are gone.
Still, Carr knows a far tougher test is
ahead for Thomas and the Wolverines, who
on Saturday play at the Rose Bowl against
No. 14 UCLA (2-0) and a rushing force of
their own in DeShaun Foster.
Foster gained a career-high 187 yards on a
school record-tying 42 carries in UCLA's
season-opening victory over Alabama, then
racked up 140 yards on 29 attempts and two
fourth-quarter touchdowns one covering
49 yards in Saturday's edging of Fresno
State.
"Foster runs with power, leverage, breaks
tackles," Carr said. Against Alabama, "he
ran through what I thought was one of the
best defenses in the country."
Mr. Foster, meet the "A" Train.
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