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16A - The Michigan Daily - SportsTuesday - September 2, 2003
Michigan offense unleashes
'secret' weapon in Breaston
GAME STATISTICS
Team Stats
First Downs
Rushes/Yards
Passing Yards
Offensive Plays
Total Offense
Return Yards
Comp/Att/Int
Punts/Avg
Fumbles/Lost
Penalties/Yards
Time of Poss
MICH
31
46/342
273
82
615
161
22/36/1
1/50.0
2/0
2/20
29:35
CMU
20
45/218
150
74
368
119
18/29/1
6/40.2
2/1
4/35
30:25
4
By Courtney Lewis
Daily Sports Editor
Steve Breaston was in the wrong place at
the right time late in the first quarter Satur-
day, and it turned into his first career recep-
tion and the play that ignited Michigan's
offense.
Breaston had conveniently drifted to the
right side of the field behind junior Braylon
Edwards, and when quarterback John
Navarre's 36-yard heave bounced off
Edwards, Breaston was there to snag it on the
one-yard line.
"I don't even know if I was supposed to be
there," Breaston said. "I just kind of broke a
route. I was hanging around and the ball hap-
pened to bounce my way and I caught it. I was
fortunate to be in the right position to make a
play."
Fortunate or not, the catch set up Michi-
gan's first touchdown of the game and was
one of several thrilling plays the redshirt
freshman made in his impressive debut.
Breaston's four catches for 72 yards were sec-
ond on the team behind Edwards. And Breast-
on was Michigan's best return man by far. He
ran back his first collegiate punt return 38
yards and followed that with a 36-yard return
in the second quarter, when he cut to the left
and looked for a moment like he might break
free. He racked up 79 return yards on the day.
If Breaston were to continue at that blistering
pace, he would surpass Michigan's season
record of 455 punt return yards set by Tripp
Welborne in 1990.
"Of all our young guys who saw action for
the first time, I think Steve Breaston
impressed me the most," coach Lloyd Carr
said. "For a guy going back to catch a punt
for the first time and to have the confidence
for him to perform the way he did really
impresses me."
Breaston looked comfortable in his first
game and consistently played like an experi-
enced receiver.
When fellow redshirt freshman Matt
Gutierrez replaced Navarre at quarterback in
the fourth quarter, Breaston didn't miss a beat
and the two connected for a perfectly-timed
16-yard reception that put the Michigan
offense on Central Michigan's 1-yard line.
But Breaston said he wasn't as calm as he
appeared during his first game in Michigan
Stadium.
"I had a lot of first-game jitters," Breaston
said. "I mean, I was nervous playing for my
first time, getting on the field. But I just did
the stuff the coaches taught me to and just
went out there and played hard and had fun."
Said Edwards: "Steve did what we knew he
was going to do today. He put on a show. I'm
just a little bit surprised by how well he han-
dled himself, but Steve's a great athlete and a
great playmaker."
Edwards is expected to be the Wolverines'
No. 1 receiver this season, but Carr limited
Edwards' snaps Saturday for disciplinary rea-
M I C H IG A N
SETH LOWER/Daily
Michigan freshman receiver Steve Breaston blazes past a Central Michigan defender in Saturday's'
game. Breaston finished the game with four catches for 78 yards, as well as 79 yards In punt returns.
sons. That gave the lesser-known Breaston a
chance to display his talent.
"He was our secret," offensive lineman
Tony Pape said of Breaston. "We didn't want
to tell anybody about him. He's going to be a
great receiver and addition to this offense."
Breaston, a North Braddock, Pa., native,
played quarterback his senior year at Wood-
land Hills High School and redshirted last
season while he put on 10 pounds and adjust-
ed to the position change. He said it was "a
good experience," but that it was difficult to
watch games from the sidelines.
"You feel all the excitement sitting on the
bench and you just have to wait your turn," he
said.
Saturday, Breaston got to create some
excitement of his own.
PASSING
Player C-A
Navarre 19-33
Gutierrez 2-
Totals 22-36
RUSHING
Player Att
Perry 22
Underwood 11
Jackson 4
Rembert 5
Breaston 1
Gutierrez 2
Bradley 1
Totals 46
RECEIVING
Player A t
Edwards 5
Breaston 4
Bell 3
Avant 3
Butler 2
Tabb 2
Perry 1
Massaquoi 1
Underwood1
Totals 22
PUNTING
Player No
Finley
Totals
KICKOFF RETURNS
Player No.
LeSueur 2
Totals 2
PUNT RETURNS
Player No.
Breaston 3
Curry 2
Totals 5
DEFENSE
Player!
Curry
Stewart
Diggs
McClintock
Manning
Woods
Reid
Barringer
Bowmen
Watson
LeSueur
Harrison
Kashama
Shaw
Of i
Hood
Harris
Sarantos
Massey
Heuer
Pape
Woodley
Van Alstyne
Kaufman
Hall
Rembert
Nienberg
Stevens
Totals
PASS DEFENSE
Player tt
Brk-up TO
LeSueur 1
2 0
Stewart 0
1 0
Caen t r at
Yds
232
64
22
14
6
4
0
342
Yds
78
72
31
26
16
12
17
11
10
273
.3
3
8
Yds
245
28
273
Avg
10.5
5.8
5.5
2.8
6.0
2.0
0.0
7.4
Avg
15.6
18.0
10.3
8.67
8.0
6.0
17.0
11.0
10.0
12.4
TO
2
0
2
Lg
63
17
10
7
6
3
0
63
L9
48
36
15
12
12
7
17
11
10
48
Int
1
0
1
TD
2
1
0
0
0
1
0
4
TO
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
o.
1
1
Yds Avg Lg
50 50.0 50
50 50.0 50
I
4
Yds Avg Lg
56 28.0 28
66 28.0 28
Yds Avg Lg
79 26.3 38
26 13.0 17
105 21.0 38
TO
0
0
TD
0
0
0
Carr unhappy with Edwards;
defense ripped on the ground
Solo
8
7
3
4
5
3
3
2
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
64
Asst
1
2
4
2
0
1
1
2
0
0
1
0
O
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
17
Tot
9
9
7
6
5
4
4
4
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
81
I
By Chris Burke
Daily Sports Editor
Junior Braylon Edwards probably
had a different vision for the season
opener after inherit-
ing the Michigan
football team's cher-
ished No. Iljersey.
The Wolverines'
star wide receiver
saw unexpectedly limited playing
time against Central Michigan on
Saturday, and was kept out of the
starting lineup by coach Lloyd Carr.
He did not enter the game until
Michigan was faced with a 3rd-and-
goal during its first drive, and was
the intended receiver on an incom-
-plete se ennd-en~from quar-
terback John Navarre.
From there on, Edwards saw action
mainly on third down and inside the
He still managed to haul in five
catches for 78 yards and two touch-
downs despite the cutback in action,
but Carr was clearly frustrated with the
wideout following the 45-7 victory.
"Braylon Edwards and I are not on
the same page," Carr said. "And
Braylon is a very good reader, so
what he needs to do is find what page
I'm on and get there.
"That's all I'm going to say."
But while Carr talked about the riff
between him and his receiver,
Edwards seemed far less concerned
about any perceived problem.
"I'm not surprised by the number
of snaps," Edwards said. "That's
coach Carr's decision and that's how
the coaches decided to play this
game. It has nothing to do with me,
that's just how they chose to play it."
Another issue involving Edwards
once again reared its ugly head dur-
ing the win, as he struggled to hang
on to the football, a problem that
continually surfaced throughout last
season.
Edwards dropped one pass and
then fumbled during the third quarter
- the ball was recovered by Michi-
gan tight end Tim Massaquoi.
"My goal this year was no drops,"
Edwards said. "But if I did have one,
I wanted it to be earlier in the season.
"No more drops (the rest of the
year)."
TROUBLE ON THE RUN: While the 45-
7 victory looked pretty on the score-
board, there were still plenty of
problems that the Wolverines need to
address before the mean ofathis ea,
son's schedule.
Without question, the most trou-
blesome issue is the rush defense,
which served up 218 yards fo1he
Chippewas.
Central Michigan running back
Terry Jackson rushed for 108 yards
on 21 carries - a hefty five yards
per carry average, while Central
Michigan managed 4.8 yards per
carry as a team.
"Our wide receivers were blocking
on the perimeter," Jackson said. "Our
lines opened up holes and the backs
made good reads. I was not necessari-
ly (surprised that we could run the
ball so well)."
While the Chippewas were thrilled
with their ground attack, the Wolver-
ines' defenders were far less
enthused.
"We were all pretty upset at the
fact that they were running the ball
the way they were," Michigan safety
Jon Shaw said. "That definitely made
O NEILL
Continued from Page 13A
still comes down to the cornerbacks
not forcing wideouts to the side-
lines. But even with that said, until
Jackson comes back, the secondary
really can't be rated. He is the type
of defensive back that can change
the game the same way as Charles
Woodsop used to in 1997.
Another plus was the return of.
linebackers Carl Diggs, Zach Kauf-
man, Roy Manning and Lawrence
Reid. All four were injured at one
point during the season last year,
and combined to make 17 tackles
against the Chippewas, including
two for a loss thanks to Diggs and
Manning.
Even with their return, the front
seven had its share of problems
keeping Central Michigan's run-
ning game from exploding for 218
yards.
Most notably was Michigan's
inability to plug holes.
Quick question: Who was
responsible for Ohio State's
defense being as dominant as it
was?
Those who said linebacker Matt
Wilhelm or safety Mike Doss are
wrong. Neither those two or the
rest of the Big Ten's top defense
us tighten it up a little more."
JUST KICK IT: The kicking problems
that plagued Michigan's season last
year surfaced again against Central
Michigan, as senior Adam Finley
went just 1-for-3 on field goal
attempts.
The incumbent starting placekick-
er, Finley shanked a 25-yard attempt
in the first quarter before rebounding
with a make from 30 yards. Finley
then missed a 47-yarder to end the
first half. In the second half, fresh-
man Garrett Rivas took over on extra
points, leading to speculation that the
kicking job will soon fall into his
hands.
After Saturday, though, Rivas
claimed that Finley was still going to
be the starter at kicker:. 1 -1
On Monday, Carr claimed that
Rivas and Finley are neck-and-neck
for the position and will continue to
be evaluated as the season"progresses.
NEWS AND NOTES: Michigan came
out of Saturday's game relatively
healthy. The couple injuries that the
Wolverines suffered appear to be
minor.
Defensive tackle Larry Harrison
sprained his right ankle and is ques-
tionable for next week's game against
Houston.
Safety Willis Barringer injured his
left ankle but is expected to return
next week, as is freshman linebacker
Shawn Crable, who sat out with an
injured shoulder.
Safety Ernest Shazor was benched
for undisclosed reasons, but Carr said
that Shazor will return and be in the
lineup against Houston, along with
junior Marlin Jackson who served a
one-game suspension for a June alter-
cation off-campus.
of Michigan's tackles (Markus
Curry and Jacob Stewart led the
team with nine tackles apiece).
"They came out with an offen-
sive scheme that we weren't pre-
pared for, and they kind of burned
us today," Diggs said. On Central
Michigan's touchdown "we really
just didn't fit it properly like we
needed to be. They didn't catch us
off guard, we just didn't fit the run
properly.
"One thing they did: They liked
to run an inside zone to the 1-5
bubble, we were over-pursuing and
they got a lot of yards off the cut-
back. During camp we didn't really
see a lot of that (in film). We were
expecting more like the zone and
(in the film Central Michigan run-
ning back Terry Jackson) liked to
cut it back, but this time he was
bouncing it all the way back and
that's what we weren't really pre-
pared for."
It was also noted that the no-hud-
die offense Michigan was expecting
was not the one Central used.
Michigan had practiced all camp
with two offenses running at them
with no breaks, so it was ready for
that. The delay, though, allowed the
Chippewas to see what defense was
there and allow DeBord to call
plays from that.
Yds
27
0
Lg
27
0
M ichIas.n
PASSING
Player
Perry
Totals
RUSHING
Player
Jackson
S'|yi~"*e
Lawhorne
Perry
Lewis
Totals
RECEIVING
Player
Hill
Harper
Humphrey
Lawhorne
Staley
Supianoski
Jackson
Totals
C-A
18-31
18-31
Yds TD
150 0
150 0
Att
21
S14
7
2
1
48
No.
5
5
3
2
1
18
Yd.
108
69
42
8
0
227
Yds
53
24
33
19
18
4
-1
150
Avg
5.0
4.6
8.0
4.0
0.0
4.8
Avg
10.8
4.8
11.0
9.5
18.0
4.0
-1.0
8.33
Lg
19
28
27
4
0
27
L9
18
9
19
16
18
4
_1
19
int
1
1
TO
0
0
1
0
O
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
to
PUNTING
Player
Brandt
Totals
KICKOFF RETURNS
Player No.
Harper 5
Seymour 1
Total 8
PUNT RETURNS
Player No.
Harper1
Totals
DEFENSE
Player
King
Maxwell
Thomas
Holomen
Wohigemuth
Colen
Tyus
Nelson
Hillery
Reese
Kelly
Bazuin
Humphrey
Muragin
Petty
Ajoku
Condeni
Dailey
Ogle
Smith
Brookshire
No. Yds Avg Lg
6 241 40.2 52
8 241 40.2 52
TONY DING/Daily
Michigan receiver Brayion Edwards, sporting his No. 1 Jersey for the first time in a
game, caught two touchdowns Saturday in limited action.
Yds
se
21
107
Yds
12
12
Solo
18
7
5
4
4
4
3
3
1
3
3
2
2
2
1
1
1
0
Yds
0
0
0
0
Avg Lg
17.2 26
21.0 21
17.8 26
Avg Lg
12 12
12 12
Asst
1
1
0
0
1
3
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
TD
0
0
TD
0
0
Tot
19
8
6
5
4
4
4
4
4
3
3
3
2
2
1
*
4
PASS DEFENSE
Player
Capone
Haynes
Adams
Totals
Int
0
0
0
Lng
0
0
0
0
Brk-up TO
1 O
1 0
1 0
1 0
BIG TEN STANDINGS
hTam
Iowa
Michigan State
Michigan
Minnesota
Northwestern
Ohio State
Penn State
Wisconsin
Purdue
Indiana
Illinois
BU Ten
0 0
S0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
Overall
1 0
1 0
1 0
1 0
1 0
1 0
1 0
1 0
0 0
0 1
0 1
Avoid the lines!
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THIS WEEKEND'S RESULTS
MICHIGAN 45, Central Michigan 7
OHIO STATE 28, Washington 9
Wisconsin 24, WEST VIRGINIA 17
IOWA 21, Miami (OHIO) 3
MICHIGAN STATE 26, Western Michigan 21
MISSOURI 22, Illinois 15
PENN STATE 23, Temple 10
MINMTAi,,rr AQ9TI ilaA 10
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