4 4B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - October 27, 2003 MICHIGAN 31, PURDUE 3 Receiving trio catches prase from Joe Tiller 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 19 38/105 240 71 345 86 18/33/0 7/43.7 3/1 4/30 32:17 PURDUE 13 29/58 184 66 242 105 18/37/2 10/43.9 4/1 8/69 27:43 4 By Courtney Lewis Daily Sports Editor Like jigsaw pieces, Braylon Edwards, Steve Breaston and Jason Avant fit together to make something better than each player is alone. The result is a receiving corps puz- zle that the Boilermakers couldn't solve on Saturday, and one that wowed Purdue coach Joe Tiller. "I'm going to say this one last time: Right now, the Wolverines have the best corps of wide receivers I have ever seen," Tiller said. "These guys can go start at Miami (Fla.). Wher- ever you want to pick that has the best passing attack in America, this group of receivers can go there and beat out that group of receivers in my opinion." Each Michigan wideout brings something different to the field. Edwards, the experienced leader of the group, has explosive athleticism that allows him to elevate over defend- ers and come down with the ball, like he did in Saturday's third quarter for his second touchdown of the game. The junior is John Navarre's favorite endzone target - he has nine touch- downs this season - and the player that defenses are afraid to let out of their sight. Edwards sometimes helps the other members of Michigan's receiving tri- fecta just by being on the field and drawing defenders. "Braylon's a big part of my success (because) guys look for Braylon a lot, and guys try to double-team him," Avant said. "But you can't really dou- ble-team him with other guys like me and Steve on the field." Breaston, known for his dazzling punt returns, gives Michigan the luxu- ry of being able to mix things up on offense by using his speed. Michigan threw to Edwards for its first touchdown Saturday, then used Breaston on a different type of play for its second. Tailback Chris Perry hand- ed off to Breaston, who ran a 21-yard reverse into the endzone. The slippery receiver's quickness also helps him beat opponents' sec- ondaries. He has three receiving touchdowns and 307 yards in nine games. Avant doesn't have the blazing speed that Breaston or Edwards have, but he makes up for it with physical force. Avant is the rare receiver who can also lay down monster blocks, and he can shake off defenders to gain yards after the catch. He earned 90 yards on just five catches against Pur- due. Avant has also become the go-to- guy in third down situations. "I go out there and just play the best I can, if it's on first down or third down," Avant said. "It just seems like (Navarre) looks for me more on third down, and I just try to make the play." Purdue safety Stuart Schweigert found out first-hand how well the combination works. "They're good," Schweigert said. "They've got great athletes. They have guys who will catch the ball and run around and do a lot of things with it." With all of that talent, it might seem that there wouldn't be enough passes to go around, but as Edwards said, "it's nothing like that." The three drive each other, but they aren't in a tight battle for playing time because they can all contribute by playing to their individual strengths. "We make each other better," Avant said. "We challenge each other in practice. We challenge each other off the field to do the right thing." M I C H I G A N PASSING Player Navarre Gutierrez Totals RUSHING Player Perry Navarre Bracken Breaston Underwood Team Totals RECEIVING Player Edwards Avant Massaquoi Perry Breaston Bell Totals 4 C-A 17-30 1-3 18-33 Att 28 4 3 121 1 1 38 No. 6 5 2 2 2 1 18 Yds 95 -11 -1 21.0 2. -1 105 Yds 86 90 18 16 15 15 240 No. 7 7 Yds 225 15 240 Avg 3.4 -2.8 -0.3 21 2.0 -1.0 2.8 Avg 14.3 18.0 9.0 8.0 7.5 15.0 13.3 TO 2 0 2 Lg 15 5 1 2 0 21 Lg 26 34 9 8 11 15 34 int TO TD O O 0 O O 1 4 TD 2 0 0 0 2 PUNTING PlayerI Finley Totals KICKOFF RETURNS Player No. Bracken , Totals1 PUNT RETURNS Player No. Breaston 6 Totals 6 DEFENSE Player Reid Shaw LeSueur Barringer Woods Shazor McClintock Diggs Bowman Curry Stevens Burgess Massey Heuer Hell Hood Watson Thompson Young Rembert Tabb Totals Yds Avg Lg 306 43.7 46.0 306 43.7 46.0 Yds Avg Lg 19 19.0 19 19 19.0 19 Yds Avg Lg 67 11.2 30 67 11.2 30 TD O O TD O 0 DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily Michigan's Braylon Edwards comes down with his first of two touchdown catches of the afternoon. Special teams tightens up act after Carr's adjustments Solo 9 4 5 3 4 4 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 44 Asst 3 3 1 3 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 22 Tot 12 7 6 6 5 5 3 3 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 66 :4 By J. Brady McCollough Daily Sports Editor At last week's press conference, Michigan coach Lloyd Carr deemed the Wolverines' punt coverage a "work in progress." But after keeping dangerous Purdue punt returner AnthonyCra t Chambers under wraps Satur- day, the Michigan punt team appears to be progressing rather quickly. The Wolverines held Chambers, who was averaging 13.5 yards per return entering Sat- urday's game, to just 38 yards on five returns. "We've gone through a lot of different situ- ations, and we're trying to sure up different things," said Michigan punter Adam Finley, who averaged 43.7 yards per punt and pinned the Boilermakers inside their 20-yard line four times. "We're trying to come back now and carry it through the rest of the season." The Wolverines' punt team became the team's most scrutinized unit after allowing a punt to be blocked in the Wolverines' losses to Iowa and Oregon. Fans and media questioned the punt formation Michigan used at Iowa, in which three offensive linemen lined up in the backfield a few yards in front of kicker- turned-punter Garrett Rivas. Less than a week after the special teams' debacle at Iowa, Michigan special teams coach Jim Boccher didn't make the trip to Minnesota due to "personal reasons." So what's changed the past two weeks? The Wolverines dropped the new punt formation and went back to the traditional formation they used last season. Past special teams phe- noms Pierre Woods and Ernest Shazor played on the punt team against Purdue, showing Carr's commitment to correcting the Wolver- ines' problems on special teams. Also, wide receiver Carl Tabb's speed on the unit forced Chambers to make quick decisions with the ball. "We're working hard," Carr said last week. "Every guy is hustling down there. Every week, we're just trying to get a little bit better. Obviously, we have some room for improve- ment." MARLIN'S READY: Michigan safety Marlin Jackson didn't play for the second straight week due to a muscle pull in his right leg that he suffered against Minnesota. But Jackson said that he could have played a minimal number of snaps Saturday. "I hoped to play," Jackson said. "It was a game-time decision. We decided that if they needed me, I could go out there, but if you watched the game, they had it in hand." Jackson said it was hard to watch the defense play without him, even though the Wolverines played so well. "I don't like to watch anything," Jackson said. "I'm too competitive. I just wanted to run out on the field and play with those guys." GOLDEN-ARMED NAVARRE?: Michigan quar- terback John Navarre is one of seven finalists for the 2003 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, presented annually to the nation's best senior quarterback. Navarre is joined by Tulane's J.P. Losman, Mississippi's Eli Manning, North Carolina State's Philip Rivers, Virginia's Matt Schaub, Texas Tech's B.J. Symons and Oklahoma's Jason White as finalists for the award. Navarre has completed 57.9 percent of his passes for 2,271 yards, 16 touchdowns and seven interceptions. INJURY UPDATE: Woods limped off the field Saturday, but after the game, indicated that he was fine and would be ready for next week's game ... Defensive end Jeremy Van Alstyne returned to action after sitting out the past three games with a knee injury ... Safety Jacob Stewart, who left the Illinois game with an apparent knee injury, said his goal is to return by the Northwestern or Ohio State game. 4 WHO'S NEXT: MICHIGAN STATE The Wolverines have been waiting two years for another opportunity to get back at the Spartans for dropping a close game in East Lansing. Michigan destroyed the Spartans at home last year, but Michigan State has regrouped and is currently sit- ting on top of the Big Ten as its only undefeated team. Quarterback Jeff Smok- er has led the charge, coming back from off-field difficulties last season to become the Big Ten's top quarterback. BIG TEN STANDINGS 4 Team Michigan State Michigan Ohio State Purdue Minnesota Wisconsin Iowa Northwestern Penn State Indiana Illinois Big Ten 4 0 4 1 3 1 3 2 3 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 0 4 0 4 0 5 Overall 7 1 7 2 71 6 2 7 2 6 3 6 2 4 4 2 6 1 7 1 8 4 THIS WEEKEND'S RESULTS MICHIGA 31, Purdue 3 Ohio State 35, INDIANA 6 Minnesota 36, ILLINOIS 10 IowA 26, Penn State 14 NORTHWESTERN 16, Wisconsin 7 'M' SCHEDULE 4 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 Central Michigan W, 45-7 Houston W, 50-3 Notre Dame W, 38-0 at Oregon L, 27-31 Indiana W, 31-17 at Iowa L, 27-30 at Minnesota W,38-35 Illinois W, 56-14 Purdue W,31-3 at Michigan State Noon at Northwestern TBA Ohio State Noon 4 DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily Michigan punt returner and receiver Steve Breaston carries the ball to the enzone on a reverse aided by a block from John Navarre. WEEKEND'S BEST VOLUNTEERS STOP TIDE: Ten- nesse had to battle Alaba- ma for five overtimes before coming out with a 51-43 win. Tennessee's Casey Clausen scored on a one- yard quarterback sneak, then converted the two point conversion on a two- yard pass to reciever James Banks. Alabama quarterback Brodie Croyle's pass was deflected in the endzone HOW THE AP TOP 25 FARED Associated Press Poll for the week of October 21. NEW AP TOP 25 Games updated through October 25. (first-place votes in parentheses) Team: 1. Oklahoma 2. Miami (Fla.) 3. Virginia Tech 4. Georgia 5. Southern Cal. 6. Washington State 7. Florida State 8. Ohio State 9. Louisiana State 10. Purdue 11. Michigan State Last week: beat Colorado 34-20 Idle lost to WestVirginia 28-7 beat Alabama-Birmingham 16-13 beat Washington 43-23 beat Oregon State 36-30 beat Wake Forest 48-24 beat Indiana 35-6 beat Auburn 31-7 lost to Michigan 31-3 Idle This week Oklahoma State at Virginia Tech Miami (Fla.) at Florida Washington State at Southern Cal. at Notre Dame at Penn State Louisiana Tech Northwestern Michigan TEAM 1. Oklahoma (62) 2. Miami (3) 3. Southern Cal. 4. Georgia 5. Florida State 6. Washington State 7. Louisiana State 8. Ohio State 9. Michigan State 10. Virginia Tech 11. Michigan 12. Nebraska 13. Iowa REC 8-0 7-0 7-1 7-1 7-1 7-1 7-1 7-1 7-1 6-1 7-2 7-1 6-2 7.4 PTS 1,622 1,563 1,470 1,378 1,320 1,260 1,241 1,226 1,041 1,026 939 924 762 PVS 1 2 5 4 6 6 9 8 11 3 13 14 16 1Q 4 I j