0

4B - The Michigan Daily - SportsTuesday - January 6, 2004
SOUTHERN CAL. 28, MICHIGAN 14

Blue has no answer
for 'Wild Bunch II'

GAME STATISTICS

By Naweed Sikora
Daily Sports Editor
PASADENA, Calif. - The
Wolverines knew the Trojans would
be blitzing left and right against
them. The problem was, even with
the knowledge, they still had no
answer. John Navarre barely had
enough time to drop back before
one of Southern Cal.'s linemen was
breathing down his neck. Michi-
gan's quarterback was sacked nine
times, but as Southern Cal. coach
Pete Carroll said, the Trojans "could
have sacked him 12 times."
"We .couldn't handle the pres-
sure," Lloyd Carr said. "We gave up
way too many sacks, and that was
the difference in the game."
Southern Cal.'s dominance on the
line was a combination of timely
blitzing and winning the one-on-one
battles at the line. The Wolverines
admitted that they were anticipating
the corner blitz, but they didn't
expect to see it so much.
"There was more pressure than
we expected," Navarre said.
"They've shown (the corner blitz)
before, but they brought it a little
more than they've shown on film."
This became evident early on in
the second quarter when Southern
Cal.'s Will Poole ran from across
the field away to sack Navarre from
behind. The play took ages to devel-
op, as Navarre went through his
progressions, but found nobody
open and was forced to take the
sack. The Wolverines could do
nothing to stop it.
The sacks were only the begin-
ning. There were several plays
where Navarre was able to escape
from near sacks or was hit hard
immediately after releasing the ball.
"It took us out of our rhythm and
we were never able to get in sync,"
Carr said.
As if the blitzing wasn't enough
to handle, the Wolverines' offensive
line couldn't contain Southern Cal.'s
defensive line - better known as

"Wild Bunch II." The men up front
were faster and more physical than
anything the Wolverines had ever
seen before.
"This was my greatest fear going
into this game," Carr said. "They
have an extremely quick and athlet-
ic front four."
The Wolverines had allowed just
15 sacks the entire season before
coming face to face with Southern
Cal. Even though Michigan had
dealt with blitzing teams and heavy
defensive fronts against the likes of
Purdue and Michigan State, nothing
could have prepared them for the
onslaught Southern Cal. brought.
Carroll's defensive game plan
seemed flawless. Although the
Wolverines were able to move the
ball at times, they had difficulty
breaking into the endzone. Michi-
gan's opening drive and its drive at
the end of the third quarter both fiz-
zled out just outside of the red zone.
Southern Cal. made key stops
whenever it was necessary, and its
constant pressure didn't allow the
Wolverines to do anything creative
offensively.
The Trojans had Michigan's
offense read so perfectly that, at
times, it seemed as though they
knew what play was coming before
it was run.
"They kept us on our heels and
they kept us guessing," senior
offensive linemen Tony Pape said.
"They changed it up on a lot of
plays. They had great speed around
the edge. They have four great play-
ers up front, and I have a lot of
respect for them."
The'Wolverines also saw some
brand new defensive schemes that
seemed to catch them completely
off guard. Carroll said he tried to do
some different things with his
defense to get to Navarre, but would
not say exactly what he did or why
he knew it would work.
"I was a little surprised that it
worked so well," said Carroll of his
team's blitz packages.

Team State
First Downs
Rushes/Yards
Passing Yards
Offensive Plays
Total Offense
Return Yards
Comp/Att/Int
Punts/Avg
Fumbles/Lost
Penalties/Yards
Time of Poss

USC
19
25/68
342
60
60/410
49
35/24/0
3/46.7
2/1
3/22
25:34

MICH
25
38/49
271
84
84/320
48 ,
46/27/1
4/44.0
3/0
2/10
34:26

4

u e

PASSING
Player
Leinart
Williams
Totals
RUSHING
Player
Bush
White
Dennis
Leinart
Totals
RECEIVING
Player
Williams
Colbert
Bush
Hancock
White
Guenther
Leinart
Smith
Kirtman
Totals

4

C-A
23-34
1-1
24-35

Att
8
8
7
2
26
No.
8
8
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
24

Yds
41
28
17
-16
8
Yds
88
149
42
8
4
19
15
9
8
340
No.
3
3

Yds
327
15
342
Avg
5.1
3.3
2.4
-8.0
2.7
Avg
11.0
24.8
21.0
4.0
2.0
19.0
15.0
9.0
8.0
15.2

TD
3
1
4
Lg
19
7
8
0
19
Lg
27
47
36
14
6
19
15
9
8
47

Int
0
0
0
TO
0
0
0
0
0
TD
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
4

4
4

PUNTING
PlayerI
Malone
Totals
KICKOFF RETURNS
Player No.
Bush 2
Totals 2
PUNT RETURNS
Player No.
Bush 2
Totals 2

Yds Avg Lg
140 46.7 50
140 46.7 s0

Yds Avg Lg
45 22.5 28
48 22.8 28
Yds Avg Lg
 4 2.0 4
! 4 2.0 4

TD
0
TD
0
0

TONY DING/Daily

John Navarre was faced with relentless pressure all day long, getting sacked nine times overall.

Keary-ed away: Colbert torches 'M'
Edwards' first-quarter drop makes top-10 list; Massaquoi makes TD catch

DEFENSE
Tatupu
Poole
Bing
Leach
Sartz
Udeze
Allmond
Cody
Simmons
Nunn
Patterson
Nazel
Wright
Rucker
ing
Wyatt
Kirtman
Grootegoed
Totals
PASSING
Player
Navarre
Totals
RUSHING
Player
Perry.
Breaston
Rembert
Navarre
Totals
RECEIVING
Player
Edwards
Breaston
Avant
Ecker
Perry
Massaquoi
Thompson
Totals

Solo
7
8
7
8
5
5
2
2
1
2
1
1
1
O

Ast
5
2
2
2
2
O
3
1
2
O
1
1
0
O
1
22

Tot
12
10
9
8
7
5
5
3
3
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
74

4

4

MICIG A N

C-A
27-46
27-46


By Kyle O'Neill
Daily Sports Editor

PASADENA, Calif. - On a day that

was supposed to belong
Heisman frontrunner -
sophomore wide receiver
Mike Williams - it was a
senior wideout that did
most of the damage to
Michigan's secondary.
Covered primarily by
Markus Curry for much

to next year's
Bo°

BRETT MOUNTAIN/Daily
Keary Colbert was the man on Thursday afternoon, making
six catches for 149 yards and two touchdowns.
FUN IN THE CALIFORNIA SUN
For the first time in six years, the Wolverines made their way
west to beautiful Southern California. While they were
unsuccessful in the Rose Bowl, they still got their money's
worth from the experience.
a THE REGENT BEVERLY WI-sHRE-Michigan had the pleasure of stay-
ing at the nicest hotel in LA. You may know it better as t hotefrom
the movie "Pretty Woman." While Julia Roberts and Richard Gere did
not meet the Wolverines inthe penthouse, Michigan players did share
the hotel with a variety of stats such as:
- Mike Tyson
-Larry King
- Michael Jackson
-Six NBA teams (the Wolverines had the privi-'
lege of hanging out with Denver's Carmelo Anthony one
day)
a "TH TETONOHT SHOW WITh JAY LFNo"- The Wolverines were fea.
tured on "The Tonight Show,"and Leto had some fanwith:
- Coach Lloyd CarrsMidwestern-sounding name
Defensive tackleGabe Watson's weight

of the Rose Bowl, Southern Cal.'s Keary
Colbert exploded onto the national scene
as another big-name receiver.
"It's never a plan to go to an individual
player, you just play the game, and that's
how it worked out today," Colbert said.
With six catches for 149 yards and two
touchdowns, Colbert was nearly untouch-
able. Even on his second touchdown grab
(a 47-yarder to put Southern Cal. up 21-0
in the third quarter), when Curry was
draped over the senior, he managed to
bring in the lob pass with one hand and
break away at the 20-yard line for the
score.
"He's a big-time player and a big-time
receiver," Southern Cal. quarterback Matt
Leinart said. "He had a great game, and
Mike had a great game."
Colbert's success allowed Williams to
become primarily a first-down receiver.
As Colbert was covered deep, Williams
and the rest of the Trojans' receivers were
able to set up shop for several easy first-
down catches.
"They hit some plays, but we play
some good wide receivers everyday,"
Michigan safety Marlin Jackson said.
"They're no better than what we face

everyday at practice. We didn't execute
today. That was it. Our guys were in posi-
tion, we just have to make the play."
NOT SO PRIME TIME: Braylon Edwards
made ESPN's top-10 highlight reel fol-
lowing the Rose Bowl. Unfortunately, it
was for the worst plays of the week.
Coming in at No. 3 was Edwards' wide-
open drop on Michigan's first drive of the
game. John Navarre found the junior
wideout streaking down the left sideline
beating coverage. The ball proceeded to
go through his hands and off of Edwards'
right hip.
Despite the drop, Edwards made 10
catches for 107 yards overall. The junior,
who is thinking about leaving a year
early for the pros, lacked the big play that
he may have needed to catapult him
above other wide receivers already in the
draft.
ABOUT TIME: For the first time since
Tom Brady connected with Shawn
Thompson to win the Orange Bowl in
2000, a Michigan tight end scored in a
bowl game. With 5:49 left in the third
quarter, Navarre found tight end Tim
Massaquoi over the middle for the
Wolverines' first score of the Rose Bowl.
Massaquoi finished with just the one
catch for five yards to complete a season
in which he was plagued by drops and an
inability to win the starting job over
Andy Mignery and Tyler Ecker. The red-
shirt sophomore finished with 13 catches
for 199 yards for the season.
QUITE A SHOW: Williams wasn't the
only one with that last name who had an
exciting New Year's Day. Composer John
Williams was the Rose Parade's Grand
Marshal. Known for his compositions of
the themes to "Star Wars," "Robin Hood,"

SM-EUN.G ROSES
Michigan played in the first ever Rase Bow
held i
Incuding this year's game, the Wolverines
have playdin the Rose Bowl 18 timesGoing
8.10. Here's a look at Michigan's Rose Bowl
performances: <
1902: Michigan 49, Stanford 0~
1948: Michigan~ 49, Southern Gal. 0
1951: Mic.higan 14, California 6
1965! Michigan 34, Oregon State<
1970: Southern Cal. 10, Michiga3
1972: Stanford 13, Michigan 12
1977: Southern Cal. 14, Michiga6
1978: Washington 27, Nl chigan2
17eSouthern Cal.. ,witchigan t
1981: Michigan 23, Washington6
1983: UCLA 24, Michigan 14 t
1987: 'Arizona State 2Z2, Michigan1
1989: Michigan 22, Southern Cal. 14
1990: Southern~ Cal 7, Miigan 10
1992: Whto34, MichiganH $
1993: Michigan 38, Washington 3
1998: Michigan 21, WashingtonStelb
2004: Southern Call. 28, Michigan1
"Superman" and "Jaws," Williams wrote
his own version of the national anthem
that was played by both the Southern Cal.
and Michigan bands as the entire stadium
crowd did a card trick to make the Rose
Bowl an American flag.
Another American flag - along with
the gameball and Michigan and Southern
Cal. flags - was delivered by Air Force
parachuters from Langley, Va. The Air
Force also had a flyover with three of its
stealth bombers, the middle one easily
the width of the entire football field.

Att
23-
2
12
38
No.
10
6
4
3
2
1
1
27

Yds
86.:
21
1
-58
49
Yds
107
61
61
31
1
6
5
271
No.
4
4
Yds
24
24
48
Yds
O
0

Yds
271
271
Avg
3.7
10.5
-4.8
1.3
Avg
10.7
10.2
15.3
10.3
0.5
5.0
5.0
10.0

T
1
1
~Lg
12
13
1
6
13
Lg
24
15
19
15
2
5
5
24

Int
1
1
TD
1
0
b
0
1
TD
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

PUNTING
Player I
Finley
Totals
KICKOFF RETURNS
Player No.
Breaston 1
LeSueur 1
Totals 2
PUNT RETURNS
Player No.
Breaston 1
Totals 1

Yds Avg Lg
176 44.0 48
178 44.0 48

4

A

Avg
24.0
24.0
24.0

Lg
24
24
24

TD
0
0
0
TO
0
0

Avg Lg
0.5 O
0. 0

DEFENSE
Curry
LeSueur
Woods
Reid
Jackson
Hall
Shazor
Heuer
Tabb
Barringer
Team
Harrison
Kashama
Navarre
Manning
Nienberg
Diggs
Stevens
Totals

4

Solo
9
5
4
2
4
3
3
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
42

Ast
1
3
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
10
1
10

Tot
10
6
5
5
4
4
4
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
52

4


ESPN/USA TODAY
COACHES TOP 25

FINAL AP
TOP 25

(first-place votes in parentheses)

(first-place votes in parentheses)

TEAM REC
1. Louisiana State (60) 13-1

PTS PVS
1,572 2
1,514 1

TEAM REC
1. Southern Cal. (48) 12-1
2. Louisiana State (17) 13-1

2. Southern Cal. (3)
3. Oklahoma
4. Ohio State
5. Miami (Fla.)
6. Georgia
7. Michigan
8. Iowa
9. Washington State
10. Florida State
11. Texas
12. Miami (Ohio)
13. Kansas State
14. Mississippi

12-1
12-2
11-2
11-2
11-3
10-3
10-3
10-3
10-3
10-3
13-1
11-4
10-3
1-1 ~

1,429
1,370
1,306
1,183
1,140
1,119
983
929
894
800
746
730
704A

3
6
9
11
4
12
14
8
5
15
10
18

3. Oklahoma
4. Ohio State
5. Miami (Fla.)
6. Michigan
7. Georgia
8. Iowa
9. Washington State
10. Miami (Ohio)
11. Florida State
12. Texas
13. Mississippi
14. Kansas State

12-2
11-2
11-2
10-3
11-3
10-3
10-3
13-1
10-3
10-3
10-3
11-4

PTS
1,608
1,576
1,476
1,411
1,329
1,281
1,255
1,107
1,060
932
905
887
845
833

PVS
1
2
3
7
10
4
11
13
15
14
9
5
16
8

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