4B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - September 29, 2003
MICHIGAN 31, INDIANA 17
0
Breaston finally breaks loose
GAME STATISTICS
By Courtney Lewis
Daily Sports Editor
You had to know it would happen sooner or
later. Michigan redshirt freshman Steve Breast-
on had been on the verge of taking a punt return
to the house all season. The lighting-quick
receiver/return specialist even had a touchdown
return called back because of a penalty during
the Houston game.
Breaston caught Indiana's sec-
ond punt of the game in the first,
quarter Saturday, an Indiana play-
er wrapped him up immediately,
and it looked like Breaston was
going nowhere.R
Breaston had other plans,
though. He simply shook off the tackler, weaved
his way downfield and outraced everyone to the
endzone.
The 69-yard touchdown run was Michigan's
longest punt return since Charles Woodson ran
one back 78 yards against Ohio State in 1997. A
Michigan player hadn't scored on a punt return
since 2001, and even then, Michigan's two
touchdown returns came after the punts were
blocked.
Breaston's return, which brought some excite-
ment to an otherwise unremarkable game, got
the Wolverines rolling after the offense had
turned the ball over on its first two possessions.
And Breaston is multi-talented. Besides lead-
ing the team in return yards (316), the 6-foot-1
Pennsylvania native has become one of Michi-
gan's top receivers. On Saturday, he caught a
20-yard Touchdown pass, and even ran the ball
twice. This came after Breaston had two touch-
down receptions against Oregon, including a
spectacular 36-yard catch in the fourth quarter.
"He is the kind of guy who really wants to be
the best," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "He
has an attitude that, in my opinion, will allow
him to reach his potential. He is very coachable
- he listens to everything you say."
The soft-spoken Breaston said that's what has
helped him excel.
"Everything in life is a learning experience,"
Breaston said. "You have to listen to your teach-
ers, listen to your parents. They've been through
that stuff before, and all they're there for is to
help you. Just like coaching - (the coaches) are
my parents on the field. They've seen a lot of
stuff, and they know a whole lot more than me. I
just take coaching because it's going to make me
better as a player."
Safety Marlin Jackson, also from Pennsylva-
nia, called Breaston a "special player."
"I always told everybody, since he got here,
that he was going to be that good," Jackson said.
"Nobody wanted to listen to me."
Now, people are seeing for themselves.
BACK FROM THE DEAD: Michigan shut down
Indiana's offense in the first half, holding the
Hoosiers to 57 yards and an average of 1.5 yards
per play. But Indiana found ' way to run the ball
in the second half. The Hoosiers began the third
quarter with a 72-yard drive that lasted 8:40 and
gained 152 yards in the half.
That may not bode well for the Wolverines,
who face Fred Russell and the Iowa Hawkeyes
this week. Russell, the second-leading rusher in
the Big Ten behind Michigan's Chris Perry, has
616 yards and three touchdowns on the season.
Last season, Russell carried 20 times against
Michigan and finished with 28 yards.
INJURY UPDATE: Defensive end Larry Stevens
and safety Ernest Shazor did not play Saturday,
but Carr said he expects both to return next
week against Iowa. Stevens injured his left foot
against Oregon, and Shazor didn't play because
of a wrist injury. Jacob Stewart returned from a
leg injury and started in Shazor's place. Defen-
sive end Jeremy Van Alstyne left the stadium
wearing a knee brace and using crutches after
the game. Carr said he was "optimistic" about
Van Alstyne's injury.
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
Indiana
17
44/102
107
77
209
106
16/33/2
8/40.5
0/0
4/35
31:52
MICH
16
36/168
170
62
338
117
16/26/2
4/28.3
2/2
6/31
28:08
4
M S C HI GA N
PASSING
Player
Navarre
Gutierrez
Totals
RUSHING
Player
Perry
Bell
Navarre
Rembert
Underwood
Breaston
Gutierrez
Totals
RECEIVING
Player
Avant
Edwards
Thompson
Perry
Breaston
Massaquoi
Gonzales
Mignery
Ecker
Dudley
Totals
PUNTING
Player
Spencer
Finley
TEAM
Totals
C-A
15-24
1-2
16-26
Yds
161
170
1
Att
21
1
3
5
3
2
1
36
No.
3
3
2
2
1
1
1
1
16
Yd
11^
17
16
15
8
1
166
Yds
45
42
10
8
20
16
9
9
6
5
1 7
s Avg
2 5.3
17.0
6 5.3
3.0
2.7
0.5
1 -1.0
8 4.7
s Avg
i 15.0
14.0
5.0
4.0
20.0
16.0
9.0
9.0
6.0
5.0
10.6
Yds
0
113
O
113
Avg
! 12.0
! 12.0
14.0
12.6
Avg
38.5
2.0
26.3
TD
2
0
2
Lg
41
1 17
10
11
6
3
0
41
Lg
S24
S23
9
6
120
1 16
9
9
6
5
24
Avg
0.0
37.7
0.0
28.0
Lg
12
12
14
14
Lg
69
2
69
Int
2
0
2
41
No.
0
3
1
4
TD
O
0
0
O
0
0
0
0
TD
O
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
O
2
Lg
0
53
0
1
TD
O
TD
0
O
O
Tot
8
8
7
6
5
5
4
4
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
2
KICKOFF RETURNS
Player No.
Tabb 1
LeSueur 1
Rembert 1
Totals 3
PUNT RETURNS
Player No.
Breaston 2
Hall 1
Totals 3
DEFENSE
Player
Woods
Jackson
Diggs
Reid
Massey
Stewart
Shaw
Watson
Heuer
Bowman
LeSueur
Hall
Kaufman
Manning
Woodley
McClintock
Yds
12
12
14
38
Yds
77
2
79
Solo
5
5
5
5
5
2
3
1
3
2
2
1
O
O
1
1
e
Asst
3
3
2
1
O
3
1
3
O
1
1
2
3
3
1
1
I
4
WHO'S NEXT:
IOWA
The Wolverines' confidence got a boost
this weekend with their win over Indi-
ana, while the Hawkeyes' took a beat-
ing after losing to Michigan State.
Especially after Michigan's embarrass-
ing 34-9 loss last year to Iowa, Michi-
gan will be hungry for revenge as it
travels to Iowa City.
BIG TEN STANDINGS
.4
RYAN EINEcR/Druaily
En route to his 68-yard touchdown punt return, Michigan wide receiver Steve Breaston splits Indiana safety
Buster Larkins and linebacker Josh Moore before outrunning them to the endzone.
HOOSI ERS
Continued from Page 1B
The defense was unwavering, as usual. Even
though Indiana won the time of possession bat-
tle and ran more offensive plays than the
Wolverines, the defense was up to the challenge.
It allowed just 209 total yards of offense and
scored a 61-yard touchdown on an interception
by Jeremy LeSueur.
"I think we have been much better this year at
O'NEILL
Continued from Page 1B
the Big Ten season. The defense is not going to
be perfect, that is understandable. But to be
pushed for 3.89 yards a play over 18 plays and
over eight minutes is something that will wear
down a defense as a season goes on.
To resolve that, the offense needs to keep the
ball much longer and not get outdone in time of
possession, especially against teams like Indi-
ana. The Hoosiers had already taken a three-
minute lead over Michigan going into the half
and finished controlling the ball four minutes
more than the Wolverines. And even when a
team is as inept as Indiana on offense, it is only
a matter of time before running up the gut takes
its toll on the front four, so that a one-yard gain
becomes three.
not giving up the big plays," Carr said. "Those
were the things that really hurt us last year, and
I think we have done a great job with it so far
this year."
But it was clear that the emotional highs and
lows of the past few weeks set the tone for the
Wolverines' play. '
"This week was tough to get through,"
Navarre said. "But now we have this monkey off
our backs, and we can concentrate on Iowa next
Saturday."
It would be one thing if Indiana decided to do
something with the ball and make large gains in
the air, but 2.7 yards per offense play was as
entertaining as "She's All That" when you could
have been watching World Championship
Wrestling when the New World Order was at its
highest peak of popularity ... I mean, come on!
Sorry, high school nightmares aside, it is now
necessary for Michigan to look past this win that
was already determined when it was scheduled, and
begin to write a script for Iowa that has a little more
life and emotion behind it than a Sandra Bullock
movie.
- Kyle wants everyone to know the Red Wings did
win 4-2, and he was very happy with the tiny radio
he snuck into the theater. He can be reached at
kylero@umich.edu.
Team
Minnesota
Ohio State
Wisconsin
Michigan State
Michigan
Iowa
Purdue
Northwester
Penn State
Illinois
Indiana
Big Ten
1 0
1 0
1 0
10
1 0
0 1
0 0
0 1
0 1
0 1
0 1
Overall
5 0
5 0
4 1
41
4 1
4 1
3 1
2 3
2 3
1 4
1 4
THIS WEEKEND'S RESULTS
MICHIGAN 31, indiana 17
OHIOSTATE 20, Northwestern 0
PURDUE 23, Notre Dame 10
Minnesota 20, PENN STATE 14
MICHIGAN ST. 20, Iowa 10
WIScoNSIN 38, Illinois 20
Date
Aug. 30
Sept. 6
Sept. 13
Sept. 20
Sept. 27
Oct. 4
Oct. 11
Oct. 18
Oct. 25
Nov. 1
Nov. 15
Nov. 22
'M' SCHEDULE
Opponent Time/Result
Central Michigan W, 45-7
Houston W, 50-3
Notre Dame W, 38-0
at Oregon L, 31-27
Indiana W, 31-17
at Iowa 2:30 p.m.
at Minnesota TBA
Illinois Noon
Purdue TBA
at Michigan State TBA
at Northwestern TBA
Ohio State Noon
a
I
WEEKEND'S
BEST
LUCKY KICK: California kicker Tyler
Fredrickson had missed his pre-
vious two field goal attempts,
and was now being looked upon
to kick what would be the game-
winning field goal over No. 3
Southern Cal.
His coach told him to just kick it
straight and let the distance take
care of itself. Thirty-eight yards
later, Fredrickson had absolved
himself from his previous misses
and was a hero amongst Bears'
fans. His previous two attempts
HOW THE AP TOP 25 FARED
Associated Press Poll for week of Sept. 22.
Games updated through Sept. 27.
NEW AP
TOP 25
(first-place votes in parentheses)
The University of Michigan
Department of Dermatology
is currently offering research
study for facial acne.
If you are over the age of 12 and are in good
general health, you may be eligible to participate
Team:
1. Oklahoma
2. Miami (Fla.)
3. Ohio State
4. Virginia Tech
5. Florida State
6. Louisiana State
7. Tennessee
8. Arkansas
9. Michigan
10. Southern Gal.
11. Georgia
Last week:
Idle
Idle
beat Northwestern 20-0
beat Connecticut 47-13
beat Duke 56-7
beat Mississippi State 41-6
beat South Carolina 23-20
beat Alabama 34-31
beat Indiana 31-17
lost to California 34-31
Idle
This week:
at Iowa State
West Virginia
Idle
at Rutgers
Idle
Idle
at Auburn
Idle
at Iowa
at Arizona State
Alabama
TEAM
1. Oklahoma (57)
2. Miami (Fla.) (3)
3. Ohio State (5)
4. Virginia Tech
5. Florida State
6. Louisiana State
7. Tennessee
8. Arkansas
9. Michigan
10. Southern Cal.
11. Georgia
12. Nebraska
13. Texas
14. Washington State
15. Pittsburgh
4-0
4-0
5-0
4-0
5-0
5-0
4-0
4-0
4-1
3-1
3-1
4-0
3-1
4-1
3-1
PTS
1,615
1,554
1,457
1,382
1,347
1,332
1,267
1,133
982
975
973
897
880
738
559
PVs
1
2
4
5
6
7
8
9
1~1
3
12
15
14
21
17
0
I
I