COLLEGE FOOTBALL : BIG TEN ROUNDUP : Michigan Offense Has Off Day, but Defense Dominates

Michigan’s smothering defense took the air out of Memphis and gave life to the Wolverines’ mistake-prone offense Saturday at Ann Arbor, Mich.

The 11th-ranked Wolverines (3-0) held the Tigers (0-2) to 96 yards of offense and kept Memphis from converting on all 15 of its third downs en route to a 24-7 victory.

“It was a frustrating day offensively,” Memphis Coach Rip Scherer said. “It’s tough to call plays when they’re in our backfield every play.”

The Tigers (0-2) dropped to 4-22-1 against ranked teams since 1980.

The Michigan offense, hampered by four lost fumbles, sputtered as Scott Dreisbach, making his third start, overthrew open receivers at key times. He finished 13 of 21 for 162 yards with no interceptions.

The bright spot offensively for the Wolverines was Tim Biakabutuka, who rushed for 143 yards and two touchdowns in 25 carries.

The Wolverines, who had scored in six of eight attempts inside the 20 in their two previous games, three times failed to score from inside the Memphis 20.

Indiana 24, Western Michigan 10--Sean Glover and Michael Batts replaced the sidelined Alex Smith and each rushed for a touchdown at Bloomington, Ind., as the Hoosiers recovered from an early 10-point deficit to win its season opener.

Smith, the Big Ten freshman of the year in 1994 when he rushed for 1,475 yards, did not play because of a pulled hamstring. But Indiana mixed the running of Glover and Batts with the passing of Chris Dittoe, who was 14 of 25 for 241 yards, to beat the Broncos (1-1).

Iowa 34, Northern Iowa 13--Tim Dwight scored two touchdowns and set up another with a 52-yard punt return for the Hawkeyes in their season opener at Iowa City.

Northern Iowa (0-2), a Division I-AA school, took a 3-0 lead and then moved to the Iowa five but failed to convert on a fourth and two, and from there it was all downhill for the Panther.