By DAVE DYE
The Detroit News

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State's defense never thought it could happen. And, admittedly, Michigan Coach Lloyd Carr never thought it would.

The pregame hype turned into old-time smashmouth football Saturday, with the Wolverines dominating in the trenches for a 27-20 victory over MSU at Spartan Stadium. Chris Perry, a 218-pound senior tailback, carried a Michigan-record 51 times for 219 yards and a touchdown, and MSU came up short in a desperation comeback bid at the end.

Carr said he never envisioned running the ball that much.

"But I kind of liked it," he said, proudly.

The ninth-ranked Wolverines (8-2, 5-1) control their own destiny in the Big Ten and will go to the Rose Bowl if they win their final two games - Nov. 15 at Northwestern and Nov. 22 vs. Ohio State.

The 11th-ranked Spartans (7-2, 4-1) are still in contention, but they play their next two games on the road against Ohio State and Wisconsin.

On the surface, this was Carr's old-school style prevailing, but give some credit to U-M's talented receivers. MSU Coach John L. Smith said the Spartans couldn't devote enough attention to either stopping the run or blitzing the quarterback because they feared their defensive backs couldn't handle Braylon Edwards and company.

That opened things up for Perry to dominate the game.

"Perry has the heart of a champion," Carr said. "He's going to punish you."

Said Perry: "The offensive line did a great job."

In retrospect, it wasn't surprising because this series always comes down to the running game, doesn't it?

For the 33rd time in 34 games, the team that had the most rushing yards won. This time, it was decisive - U-M ran for 216 yards to MSU's 36.

"They ran the ball down our throats," MSU linebacker Mike Labinjo said. "I was shocked."

U-M quarterback John Navarre threw an early interception but then settled down and threw three touchdown passes, two to Edwards.

The statistics sheet showed that U-M thoroughly outclassed MSU - 29 first downs to 13, 439 total yards to 290, nearly 19 more minutes of possession.

Third-down conversions were crucial - U-M was 13-of-18, MSU 3-of-13.

"We have some weapons," Carr said. "We're not an easy team to defend."

MSU made some big plays to keep the game interesting. A busted coverage left Agim Shabaj wide open for a 73-yard touchdown reception. A 56-yard kick return by DeAndra Cobb set up a field goal. And then Robert Flagg's hit on Navarre forced a fumble that end Clifford Dukes picked up and ran 65 yards for a touchdown. Suddenly, MSU trailed by just a touchdown, 27-20, with 6:03 left.

Jeff Smoker, who passed for 254 yards, didn't get much of a chance to finish off the rally. A costly personal-foul penalty against MSU defensive tackle Matthias Askew kept a U-M drive going, and the Spartans didn't get the ball back until there was 1:06 left. They moved from their 20-yard line to the 49, but Smoker's Hail Mary pass for Aaron Alexander was intercepted in the end zone by Scott McClintock as time expired.

That was MSU's first turnover in nearly 5 1/2 games, and Smoker's first interception in 210 passes.

"It's been a long time since we lost," Smoker said. "I hate this feeling. This is a tough loss, but it's far from over. We can still finished tied for the Big Ten."

That, of course, would likely mean three straight victories because the Wolverines have the look of a team that is determined to be playing in Pasadena, Calif., on New Years Day.