mmmm-" 4B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - November 17, 2003 MICHIGAN 41, NORTHWESTERN 10 .1 Avant shows happy dance after TD catch Penalty takes away another Breaston return GAME STATISICS Team Stats First Downs Rushes/Yards Passing Yards Offensive Plays Total Offense Return Yards Comp/Att/I nt Punts/Avg Fumbles/Lost Penalties/Yards Time of Poss MICH 26 48/217 288 79 505 19 22/31/0 2/31.5 1/1 4/25 36:04 NU 12 33/117 144 56 261 136 12/23/1 6/33.2 4/2 7/45 24:03 6 By Naweed Sikora Daily Sports Editor EVANSTON - Not only did Jason Avant make the best catch by a Michi- gan receiver since Marquise Walker's grab at Iowa two years ago, he had quite a celebration prepared for his old hometown fans. Avant, who had just one career touch- down (against Oregon) up until Satur- day, hasn't had many balls thrown to him in the redzone. Michigan typically looks to Chris Perry or Braylon Edwards to get the points, while Avant has developed into John Navarre's main third-down option. But this time, Avant's name was called, and he made the most of his opportunity. "That was the greatest catch I've ever seen," Edwards said. The sophomore was set in motion and ran a post route across the field. Navarre fired a bullet into the end- zone a little bit ahead of him, but that didn't really matter. Avant reached out with one arm and snagged the ball with his hand, and then pulled it into his chest before he hit the ground. Then it was time for the real show. Avant got up, put the ball through his legs and started doing a crouched strut that was good enough to get the No. 1 spot on ESPN's SportsCenter's Top 10 Saturday night. "I've seen Avant make catches like that in practice, so I was not totally amazed," Lloyd Carr said. With his lack of scoring opportu- nities, Avant's contributions haven't been as visible as Michigan's other receivers. But the sophomore has been a dependable and dangerous option for the Wolverines, racking up more than 40 catches and 700 yards on the season thus far. Avant's contri- butions come in many forms, such as his ability to throw blocks on the offense or on special teams. MARLIN SIGHTING: After missing four games due to injury, safety Marlin Jackson returned to action Saturday. He didn't see much action, though. The coaches just wanted to get him back in the swing of things, but didn't want to risk a re-injury. Based on the defensive stats over the past four games, the Wolverines haven't exactly missed Jackson's presence in the defensive backfield, but they still feel good about having him back. "It's always nice to have a guy like Marlin Jackson in there because of what he brings to the table," defen- sive back Jon Shaw said. "He's such a talented player, and he can do so many things to help the team." BAD NEWS, BREASTON: Punt return- er Steve Breaston had a punt return for a touchdown called back because of a penalty for the second time this season. Breaston, who should have four punt returns for touchdowns in all this season if you count those two (plus one returned to the two-yard- line against Notre Dame), said he wasn't upset. "It bothers me, but you have to understand that those are things that just happen, and it's just part of the game," Breaston said. TRAVELING ACT: When Northwest- ern's marching band began playing "The Victors" as a tribute to their opponents before the game, a large part of the crowd stood up to cheer. That's because Michigan fans took over Evanston for the game. Accord- ing to the Northwestern ticket office, About 13,000 of the 40,000 fans in attendance were Michigan fans. M I C H I G A N PASSING Player Navarre Totals RUSHING Player Perry Underwood Jackson Totals RECEIVING Player Edwards Perry Breaston Avant Massaquoi Dudley Thompson Totals C-A 22-3 1 22-31 Yds TD 288 2 288 2 Att 25 10 9 48 No. 9 5 2 2 2 1 22 Yds 122 40 39 217 Yds 112 50 42 40 22 18 4 288 No. 2 Avg 4.9 4.0 4.3 4.5 Avg 12.4 10.0 21.0 20.0 11.0 18.0 4.0 13.1 Yds 39 24 63 Lg 16 13 9 16 Lg 26 18 37 22 20 18 4 37 Avg 39.0 24.0 31.5 mnt 0 O TD 2 0 1 3 TD 1 O 0 O 0 0 2 Lg 39 24 39 TD 0 0 6 6 PUNTING Player Finley Navarre Totals KICKOFF RETURNS Player No. LeSueur1 Totals 1 PUNT RETURNS Player No. Breaston 2 Totals 2 DEFENSE Player Bowman Shazor Reid M. Jackson McClintock Hall Sarantos Diggs Woods LeSueur Massey Barringer Heuer Woodley Shaw Van Alstyne Burgess Mundy J. Jackson Tabb Hood Harrison Manning Dudley Thompson Totals Yds Avg Lg 0 0.0 O 0 0.0 0 40 Yds 19 19 Solo 0 4 O 3 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 O 0 0 0 37 Avg Lg 9.5 19 9.5 19 Asst 7 2 6 1 2 3 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 0 0 1 1 1 1 10 TD O 0 Tot 7 6 6 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 47 BRENDAN O'DONNELL/Daily Steve Breaston took another punt to the house, but it was called back because of an offsides penalty. Young stars make future of 'M' defense shine bright 6 By J. Brady McCollough Daily Sports Editor EVANSTON - As good as the Michigan defense is right now, ranked fifth in the country in total defense, the expectations for the unit down the road are even higher thanks to the emergence of true freshmen LaMarr Woodley and Leon Hall. "We say our junior year, we're going to be the number one defense in the country," Woodley said. That prediction may sound a tad lofty, but even the team's veterans are amazed at the lightning-quick progression of this freshman class. "I always tell them, 'I'll be very upset if ya'll don't have at least three or four All-Americans on your defense,' " fifth-year senior and captain Carl Diggs said. Woodley, recruited as one of the nation's top linebackers last year, showed again Saturday why the coaching staff decided to move him to defensive end back in fall prac- tice. The Saginaw native, who has worked his way into the starting lineup, forced an errant pitch on a Brett Basanez option play and later sacked the mobile Basanez for a four-yard loss. "He played well in the first half," Michigan defensive line coach Bill Sheridan said. "When he was in there, they ran several plays that directly affected him. They ran an option into him, and he did a great job of forcing the fumble. They ran two bootlegs directly into him. He had some opportunities to make plays, and he made them." Said Woodley: "I think I played pretty well. I don't think I've played that well since the Minnesota game." Hall has been playing big minutes for the Wolverines all season at cor- nerback. When starter Jeremy LeSueur sat out the Minnesota game, it was Hall who blitzed from the corner and wrapped up quarter- back Asad Abdul-Khaliq to set up safety Jacob Stewart's interception return for a touchdown. In Michi- gan's blowout win over Purdue, Hall picked off two Kyle Orton passes. Saturday, Hall took over the team ...... ....................................... ........... WHO'S NEXT: OHIO STATE The Wolverines go back to the Big House and prepare for their 100th meeting with the Buckeyes in a battle for the Big Ten title. Last year, Ohio State beat Michigan 14-9 in Columbus on its way to the nation- al championship. No. 4 Ohio State (10-1; 6-1) is coming off a 16-13 overtime win last Saturday against Purdue. Its only loss this year came against Wisconsin early in the Big Ten season. It is their only loss in the last two seasons. BIG TEN STANDINGS iam Ohio State Michigan Purdue Minnesota Iowa Wisconsin Michigan State Northwestern Penn State Indiana Illinois Big Ten 6 1 6 1 5 2 5 3 4 3 4 3 4 3 34 1 6 1 6 0 7 Overall 10 1 9 2 8 3 9 3 8 3 7 4 7 4 5 6 3 8 2 9 1 10 0 dgAVIDT IUMAN/Daily LaMarr Woodley (left) Is just one freshman who has been given a legitimate opportunity to play, and he's making the most of it. YOU DIDN'T THINK WE FORGOT ABOUT... THE CLAWWWW That's right. The tides are turning in Michigan Stadium, as more and more students have begun to embrace this new tradition. Clawers: You are not alone anymore - you are the majority! The Buckeyes are coming to town for what could be Michigan's biggest win in several years. The team is ready for the challenge, but are you ready for yours? It's time to shake off the rust, curl those fingers, sharpen those nails and warm up that voice. It's time for the clawwww!! lead in interceptions, picking off his third pass of the season by jumping in front of a Basanez pass. "He's been doing it all year long," Michigan defensive coordinator Jim Herrmann said. "He's really helped us become the team that we are, because we can use him in our nick- el and dime stuff." Woodley, at 6-foot-2, 261 pounds, is the latest in a long line of Michi- gan defensive ends that were moved to the end after playing another position. Most recently, Larry Stevens moved from safety and former defensive end Shantee Orr moved from linebacker. Woodley, who has 22 tackles (four for loss) and two sacks this season, said playing defensive end is becoming more natural for him. "As a true freshman, your learn- ing curve is unbelievable," Her- rmann said. "Every chance he gets to step on the field, he's going to get better. He's done a good job of going week to week to week, which is really the biggest adjustment for freshmen - how different things change each week." It's rare that two true freshmen make such a huge impact on a Michigan team. Diggs says it's their listening ability, aside from their physical attributes, that have set them apart. "When we try to give them advice, they're always out there just taking it in," Diggs said. "They want to go out there and play hard for (the veterans)." So, is Woodley's goal of being the No. 1 defense in the nation in two years feasible? With a core consisting of defen- sive linemen Woodley, Larry Harri- son and Gabe Watson, linebackers Pierre Woods, Shawn Crable and Prescott Burgess and defensive backs Hall, Willis Barringer, Ryan Mundy and Ernest Shazor, anything is possible for the future. "As you look at the recruiting class we brought in, we think there's a lot of potentially great football players in that class," Sheridan said. THIS WEEKEND'S RESULTS Michigan 41, Northwestern 20 Ohio State 16, Purdue 13 Wisconsin 56, Michigan State 7 Iowa 40, Minnesota 22 Penn State 52, Indiana 7 I 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' SCHEDULEO OOQnent Time/Result 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 W, 27-20 at Northwestern W, 41-10 Ohio State Noon el Notre Dame 10% 90% Chop Indiana 50% 50% Claw Chop Purdue 70% 30% Claw Chop Claw WEEKEND'S BEST OFFENSE WINS GAMES?: Florida State locked up the ACC title with a 50-44 double-overtime win over North Carolina State. The game had 969 yards of total offence, including 422 yards pass- ing by N.C. State quarterback Philip Rivers. But the Wolfpack couldn't convert on a crucial 4th-and-1 play in the second overtime. Florida State won the game two plays later on a 12-yard touchdown run by Leon Washington. BA~CYARDl BRAWL ING: Wes~t Vir- HOW THE AP TOP 25 FARED Associated Press Poll for the week of Nov. 11. Games updated through Nov. 16. Team: 1. Oklahoma 2. Southern Cal. 3. Louisiana State 4. Ohio State 5. Michigan 6. Texas 7. Georgia 8. Washington State 9. Tennessee 10. Texas Christian 11. Purdue Last week: beat Baylor 41-2 beat Arizona 45-0 beat Alabama 27-3 beat Purdue 16-13 beat Northwestem beat Texas Tech 43-40 beat Auburn 26-7 beat Arizona State 34-19 beat Mississippi State 59-21 beat Cincinnati 43-10 lost to Ohio State 16-13 This week: at Texas Tech UCLA Mississippi at Michigan Ohio State at Texas A&M Kentucky Washington Vanderbilt at Southern Miss. at Indiana TEAM 1. Oklahoma (65) 2. Southern Cal. 3. Louisiana State 4. Ohio State 5. Michigan 6. Georgia 7. Texas 8. Washington State 9. Tennessee 10. Texas Christian 11. Florida State 12. Virginia Tech 13. Florida 13. Miami (Fla.) 15. Missisinni REC 11-0 9-1 9-1 10-1 9-2 8-2 9-2 9-2 8-2 10-0 9-2 8-2 8-3 8-2 PTS 1,625 1,559 1,474 1,431 1,356 1,205 1,192 1,140 1,092 989 918 845 842 842 805~ PVS 1 2 3 4 5 7 6 8 9 10 13 12 15 14 17 NEW AP TOP 25 (first-place votes in parentheses) THE Ohio State Claw This is the claw reserved for this occasion. And remember, THERE ARE NO RULES! I And