car £~ibgtn fliIq SPORTSMNA Monday September 30, 2002 SECTIONB I MINES - - ------ - ------------------- I Ilipx VMS ;:::: I lo m; I Iig!g I -------- - ---------- 1 1; 1 11:11!1:;!: !:1 !:11:111; 1:1111 Im Ill Ill o MICHIGAN 45, fi t in Illini * Smooth afternoon for Blue By David Horn Daily Sports Editor CHAMPAIGN - Offense. Defense. Special teams. It all worked. It all worked about as well as it needed to, anyway, and Michigan cruised to a laughable 45-28 win over Illinois. Following a foreboding first two drives (in which the Wolverines went three-and-out both times), the Michi- gan offense moved the ball with a fluid- ity and efficiency reminiscent of the Henson-Thomas-Terrell offense of 2000. It was offense with an ease that has eluded the Wolverines (1-0 Big Ten, 4-1 overall) thus far this season, but exemplifies the kind of game the Michigan coaches want to become the standard. Of course, quarterback John Navarre and the well-oiled machine that was the Michigan offense got by Illinois (0-1, 1-4) with a little help from their friends. The defense played its most produc- tive game of the season, causing five turnovers and setting up its offensive teammates for easy scores. Two inter- ceptions by sophomore cornerback Marlin Jackson, an interception by sen- ior safety Charles Drake and fumble recoveries by senior safety Julius Curry and placekicker Phil Brabbs gave the offense enough to work with. Navarre and Co. scored 24 points off the five turnovers, and benefited mightily in the field position battle. "We've talked about (capitalizing on opportunities) all through training camp and all through the season - being an opportunistic team," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "But we haven't been able to do that. We did it today, and it was the big difference in the game.", The forced turnovers were comple- mented by another week of success- ful Michigan blitz packages. Particularly impressive was the Julius Curry sack of Illinois quarterback Jon Beutjer during which the Michi- gan safety bulldozed Illinois running back Morris Virgil en route. But the turnovers, opportune and fruitful as they were, overshadowed an aspect of the defensive game that still needs serious work. The Wolverines gave up 368 yards in the air (including 10 receptions for 156 yards and a touchdown by Illinois wide receiver Brandon Lloyd) and 543 yards of total offense. It was a performance that would be a major cause for concern, had the turnovers not come when they did. And the offense turned those turnovers into points. "I thought John Navarre had his best game since he's been at Michigan," See ILLINI, Page 48 By the numbers Michigan only had one turnover, a forth-quarter fumble by David Underwood, when the Wolverines held a comfortable 45-21lead. The Wolverines were charged with just two penalties for 20 yards all afternoon. John Navarre threw for four touch- downs for the third time in his Michigan career, but just the first time away from home. Navarre went 22-for-37 for 264 yards to round out arguably his best road performance as a Wolverine. The Michigan defense forced a season-best five turnovers. Marlin Jackson recorded a team-high two interceptions, while linebacker Victor Hobson recorded eight tack- les and one forced fumble. Michigan converted on six of its seven opportunities within the red zone. Tight end Bennie Joppru matched his career high with seven catch- es for 74 yards. He also had a career-best two touchdown recep- tions on the day. Michigan's offense improved its third down efficiency, converting 10 times out of 17 opportunities. The Wolverines were just 5-of-19 against Utah, and 5-of44 against Notre Dame. The Wolverines have won 21. con- secutive Big Ten Conference open- ers, and 34 of their last 35. DAVID KATZ/Daily Michigan kicker Phillip Brabbs celebrates with his teammates after recovering a fumble off his own kickoff in the third quarter of Saturday's game. D efense isn 't great, but is goo CHAMPAIGN - Entering this season, the buzz surrounding Michigan was how good its defense would be. The discussion came both from inside and outside the Michigan pro- _ gram. But through four games, had the Wolverines shown that they were a good defense? There is no statistical catego- ry that proves theJEFF Michigan PHILLIPS defense deserves Ramble to be mentioned On among the elite defenses in the nation, such as Miami (Fla.), Virginia Tech or Oklahoma. Yet opposing coaches still talk about Michigan's intimidating defense after the game. After Illinois put up 543 yards of offense - of which about 400 yards came against Michigan's first stringers - in its 45-28 drubbing at home, coach Ron Turner still had nothing but respect for the Wolver- ines' defense. "They have a great defense, as good as I've seen in a while," Turner said. Is Turner right? Is this really one of the best defenses that Illinois has faced? Statistics-wise, the Wolverines are hampered by facing some of the most potent offenses in the country. Michi- gan allows nearly 260 yards passing per game, but Washington, Western Michigan and Illinois all have effec- tive passing games with several talent- ed receivers. Should a quality defense be able to shut down these air attacks? Illinois wide receiver Brandon Lloyd knew that his team couldn't be stopped and wasn't as impressed as his coach. "We beat ourselves, Michigan did- n't do anything," Lloyd said. "They couldn't stop us on the first drive. They couldn't stop us any drive, but we made mistakes and that's why they came out winning." Lloyd is right. Michigan couldn't stop the Illini passing game at the beginning, but it didn't matter because it forced Illinois turnovers, both interceptions and fumbles. By doing so the defense put the Wolver- ines in a position to win, just as all good defenses do. "They were good, I'm not going to say I wasn't impressed, but they are just like everybody else," Lloyd said. "They put their pads on like every- body else." The only common opponent that Michigan shares with an extraordinary defense is Western Michigan with Vir- ginia Tech. In the end, it makes no dif- ference that the Hokies shut out Western Michigan last Saturday while the Wolverines gave up 12 points to the same team on Sept. 7. There doesn't have be a specific M.O. for a team. A defense cannot be expected to force multiple turnovers every game, but it can be expected to keep the game close. For instance, against Washington, Michigan had trouble stopping the Huskies' passing attack all game, but the Wolverines held strong at the end, setting up Philip Brabbs' game winning kick. Similarly against Utah, Michigan again came up with a big fourth quarter stop when it was needed most. In Michigan's only loss this season, the Wolverines did an admirable job by forcing four Notre Dame turnovers in a 25-23 loss. But the offense did not capitalize the way it did against Illinois. Instead of scoring touch- d eno1/'ugh downs and rewarding the defense, the offense coughed up the ball itself. But the Wolverines still had a chance to win because of the defense. The talent is there and the team speed is good when compared to the rest of the Big Ten. And while the Illi ni were in agreement that the turnovers were mistakes and accepted responsibility for them, they were still caused by Michigan's hard-hitting defense. Lloyd pointed to this as to why Michigan is more respected than other defenses. "They play fast. Everybody is play- ing fast, everybody is flying around to the ball. Everybody doesn't do that every snap and they do it every snap," Lloyd said. The Wolverines' defense is not the best in the nation, but it transcends the boxscore. Statistical comparisons to other teams do not do it justice. For the remainder of the season, the, defense will continue to give Michi- gan the opportunity to win the game and - with the continued support of the offense - the Big Ten title. Jeff Phillips can be reached at jpphilli@umich.edu. Field hockey jumps all over Terriers By Brian Schick Daily Sports Writer This season, the Michigan field hockey team has had difficulty scoring the first goal of the game and has need- ed overtime to win on two occasions. What a difference a week makes. The second-ranked Wolverines wast- ed little time in securing a lead against Boston Uni- versity (3-5) BOSTON UNIV. o Saturday, and never looked MICHIGAN 3 back on the way to a 3-0 victory. "I was really happy with our play, especially in the first half," Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz said. "We played very crisp and we transferred the ball well, which is something we've worked on and we did it really well." ing shot off the inbound pass, and Terri- ers goalkeeper Susan Harrington stacked the pads to stop the initial shot, but Powers was in the right place at the right time to put the ball into the open net. "Every time I'm in the circle I'm looking to score, or at least get a tip on the ball," said Powers, who now is tied for second on the team with nine goals this season. "For the last three years I've been working on (getting rebounds), and this year its starting to click for me." Midfielder Adrienne Hortillosa might have scored the prettiest goal of the season for the Wolverines in the second half. The Terriers tried to hurry an out-of-bounds restart and Hortillosa stole the inbounds pass and began to head up field. Two Boston defenders converged on her, but she managed to Hortillosa was an integral part of the Wolverines' national championship run last season, scoring the go-ahead goal in the title game against Maryland. But Saturday was her first tally of the sea- son, ending a 10-game drought. "For (countless) games, everyone has been saying 'This is going to be your game,' and there was a lot of pressure," Hortillosa said. "Today I took it off of myself and had fun." On Friday, the Wolverines got their revenge against Ohio State (4-5, 0-1) with a 4-1 victory. The Buckeyes were the thorn in Michigan's side last season, handing the Wolverines two losses, including an especially tough 3-0 loss at the Big Ten Tournament. This time, Powers tallied two goals, Johnson scored on a penalty corner with another one of her booming shots, and midfielder Jessica Rose put one in to rmind ont the s'coring. I<.m