4B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - September 13, 2004
NOTRE DAME 28, MICHIGAN 20
GAME STATISTICS
Team Stats
First Downs
Rush/Yds
Passing Yards
Offensive Plays
Total Offense
Return Yards
Comp/Att/Int
Punts/Avg
Fumbles/Lost
Penalties/Yards
Time of Poss
M
PASSING
Player
Henne 2
Totals 2
RUSHING
Player Att
Jackson. J. 15
Rembert 4
Hart 5
Dudley 1
Underwood 1
Breaston 1
Henne 3
Totals 30
RECEIVING
Player No.
Edwards 12
Breaston 5
Avant 3
Massaquoi 1
Ecker 1
Dudley 1
Hart 1
Rembert 1
Totals 25
MICH
15
30/56
240
70
296
94
25/40/1
8/38.4
2/2
6/50
32:38
ND
13
40/135
178
61
313
162
10/21/3
7/37.6
2/1
5/49
27:22
I C H 10 AN
C-A
5-40
5-40
K
S
4
S
1
1
i
3
a
.
2
5
3
t
t
9
1
1
5
Yds
32
23
17
4
0
-4
-16
56
Yds
129
42
30
11
9
9
8
2
240
Yds
240
240
Avg
2.1
5.8
3.4
4.0
0.0
-4.0
-5.3
1.9
Avg
10.75
8.4
10.0
11.0
9.0
9.0
8.0
2.0
8.81
To
1
1
Lg
13
9
20
9
7
0
7
13
Lg
45
25
16
11
9
9
8
2
45
Int
1
TD
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
To
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
In both of Michigan's games this year, It has struggled to run the ball. David Underwood suffered an injury early in Saturday's game, leaving the burden up to Pierre Rembert, left, Mike Hart, right, and Jerome Jackson.
lue s tallback carousel yi s no answers
By Bob Hunt
Daily Sports Editor
SOUTH BEND - After two
games, Michigan still has problems
with its running game, and Lloyd
Carr hasn't figured out many solu-
tions.
The Wolverines had an abysmal
running game for the second straight
week on Saturday, gaining a total of
just 56 yards on the ground. Michi-
gan hindered its chances of hold-
ing onto the lead in the second half
because the Wolverines attempted
to protect lead with a true freshman
quarterback.
After the game, no one from the
Michigan football program had
much to say.
"We can't run the football, and,
until you can run the football,
you're going to have a hard time,"
Carr said. "You can't win on field
goals."
The Wolverines were unable to
score a touchdown in the first half,
amassing a 9-0 lead going into half-
time, partly because of their lack of
running game. On Michigan's sec-
ond offensive play, senior running
back David Underwood made a
block in the backfield and fell to the
ground. He was then taken off the
field, and, according to Carr, was
not cleared to re-enter the game.
This took away the rusher that had
led the Wolverine running game in
the season opener against Miami
(Ohio) and was slated as the starter
in August.
"David had probably at least half
the reps," Carr said. "Because we're
trying to get that part of it straight-
ened around, and of course he went
down."
Neither Carr nor Underwood
would say anything as to the specif-
ics of the running back's injury.
"I made a block. That's it," said
Underwood, who ran off the field
after the majority of the team fol-
lowing the game, and looked partic-
ularly dejected about his inability to
make a difference in the game. "This
is Michigan-Notre Dame, and I just
wanted to get back in and play."
Carr was then forced to switch off
between sophomore Jerome Jack-
son, true freshman Mike Hart and
junior Pierre Reimbert. In the first
half, Jackson received the brunt of
the work while Hart filled in from
time to time.
But Michigan's offensive line was
unable to create open lanes for the
backs. This caused the Wolverines
to be primarily dependent on its
passing game and Chad Henne, as
they finished the first half gaining
just 37 yards on the ground in com-
parison to 112 yards in the air.
Michigan didn't have a running
play over 10 yards until its open-
ing offensive play of the second half
when Jackson ran up the middle for
13. But Jackson got popped behind
the line on the next play by Fighting
Irish defensive tackle Greg Pauly,
and the Wolverine running game
never got going again. Michigan's
longest run of the second half was
a seven-yard draw play by Pierre
Reimbert on third-and-19 deep in
Michigan territory.
Despite the lack of consistency,
Jackson didn't have anything spe-
cific to say on the running back
situation.
"Our line did a great job today,
our running backs did a great job
today," Jackson said. "We just
couldn't find the big plays, and
that's football."
Meanwhile, Notre Dame finally
got its own running game going
after pulling together just 11 net-
rushing yards in its loss at Brigham
Young the previous week. Michi-
gan's lack of running game allowed
Notre Dame to win the possession
battle in the second half, which it
had lost badly in the first half.
Fighting Irish freshman running
back Darius Walker beat the Wol-
verine defense to the outside on
numerous occasions, scoring two
touchdowns in the second half and
helping Notre Dame run down the
clock when it took the lead. After
picking up just 32 yards in the first
half, Walker finished with 121,
becoming the first Notre Dame
freshman to run for 100 yards since
1999.
"I think he's a good football
player, and he did a heck of a job
in there for a freshman," Carr said.
"He made some cuts, he's a slip-
pery guy."
PUNTING
Player
Finley
TEAM
Totals
KICKOFF RETURNS
Player No.
Breaston 3
Mason 1
Totals 4
PUNT RETURNS
Player No.
Breaston 1
Totals 1
DEFENSE
Player
Shazor
Watson
Reid
Massey
Woods
Woodley
Mundy
Curry
Harrison
Jamison
Jackson, M.
McClintock
Graham
Manning
Crable
Burgess
Hood
Edwards
Biggs
Stewart
Ecker
Fisher
Totals
No Yds Avg Lg
7 307 43.9 53
1 0 0.0 0
8 307 38.4 53
Yds
77
10
87
Yds
7
7
Solo
5
4
3
2
2
4
4
2
1
1
1
0
0
0
31
Avg
25.67
10.0
17.83
Lg
31
10
31
Avg Lg
7.0 0
7.0 0
Asst
3
4
2 f
3
3
0
0
2
2
2
2
2
2
0
0
1 '
34
TO
O
0
TO
0
0
Tot
8.0
8.0
5.0
5.0
5.0
4.0
4.0
4.0
3.0
3.0
3.0
3.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.0
69
6
Quarterback pressure eludes defense again
Little clicking on offense other than Henne-to-Edwards
BIG TEN STANDINGS
By Gennaro Filice
Daily Sports Editor
SOUTH BEND - Gabe Watson doesn't beat
around the bush. And in assessing the Michigan
pass rush, Watson broke it down in the most lay-
man of layman's terms.
"We, ,hAd some opportunities, to get (Brady
Quinn) and just didn't get him," Watson said.
For the second consecutive game, the Wol-
verines badly struggled to
apply consistent pressure on the
opposing quarterback. Michigan
incorporated a 3-4 defense at they
beginning of the year to make
use of its depth at linebacker. In
the Wolverines first game of the
season, they recorded two sacks, but pressure on
Miami (Ohio) quarterback Josh Betts was scant.
On Saturday, Michigan did not sack Notre Dame
quarterback Brady Quinn once.
The Wolverines' new base scheme features
four linebackers at any given time. Saturday,
Lawrence Reid, Prescott Burgess and Scott
McClintock split time on the inside, while
LaMarr Woodley, Roy Manning, Pierre Woods
and Shawn Crable shared reps on the outside.
The outside backers sandwiched the defensive
line on the line of scrimmage - one standing
upright and one down in the three-point stance.
Because there's uncertainty as to which line-
backers are coming on each play, the 3-4 defense
is supposed to enable the team to enjoy much suc-
cess on the blitz. Blitzing Wolverine linebackers
encountered multiple open-field opportunities
on Quinn, but could not capitalize, missing a
slew of tackles.
"We're supposed to make plays," cornerback
Marlin Jackson said of the defense. "We weren't
disciplined."
While defensive linemen Gabe Watson, Larry
Harrison, Pat Massey, Rondell Biggs and Alex
Ofili stuffed most runs up the middle, they were
unable to really get in Quinn's face when he
dropped back to pass. Having plenty of time to
throw, Quinn was able to easily connect with
his receivers on multiple deep balls that really
changed the game.
"Their defense didn't give up big plays, and
ours did," Jackson said. "That's why we lost the
game."
TUNNEL VISION: Recording his fourth double-
digit receptions game of his career, senior Bray-
lon Edwards led Michigan with 12 catches for
129 yards. But, many times during the game,
freshman quarterback Chad Henne tried to
force balls into Edwards instead of trying to go
Lanme - a .
through his progressions.
"It has probably just naturally happened,"
Edwards said. "Young guys always look for the
older guys who are reliable. I remember when
(John) Navarre was a sophomore, he'd be look-
ing to Marquis (Walker) all the time."
Lloyd Carr praised the play of Henne - who
tossed for 240 yards on 25-for-40 passing with
a touchdown and an interception - while
admitting that his starting signal caller has a
ways to go.
"Playing on the road in a place like this, I
thought he did very well," Carr said. "Every
game is a learning situation for a kid that young
you certainly can't learn his position in two
weeks."
NOTES: Saturday's attendance of 80,795 is the
largest crowd ever to witness a Michigan-Notre
Dame game at Notre Dame Stadium ... Senior
Markus Curry leads the NCAA with three inter-
ceptions ... Junior Jason Avant has caught at
least one ball in 14 straight games.
Team
Indiana
Iowa
Minnesota
Ohio State
Purdue
Wisconsin
Michigan
Penn State
Illinois
Michigan State
Northwestern
_Bi Ten Overall
0
0f
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1.>
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
2
2
a
6
THIS WEEKEND'S RESULTS
Northwestern 21, ARIZONA STATE 30
MICHIGAN STATE 24, Central Michigan 7
WISCONSIN (22) 18, UNLV 3
ILLINOIS 17, UCLA 35
IOWA (17) 17, Iowa State 10
PURDUE (23) 59, Ball State 7
Michigan (7) 20, NOTRE DAME 28
MINNESOTA (24) 37, Illinois State 21
OHIO STATE (9) 24, Marshall 21
INDIANA 3O, Oregon (25) 24
BOSTON COLLEGE 21, Penn State 7
WHO'S NEXT:
SAN DIEGO STATE
San Diego State comes into Ann Arbor two
weeks after defeating Idaho State 38-21.
In what should be their toughest game of
the season, the Aztecs will need to rely on
junior quarterback Matt Duglolecki, who
had a solid performance going 16 for 27
for 233 yards, two touchdowns and one
interception. The defense is the weakest
link after allowing 398 total yards against
the-Bengals, a Division I-AA team.
'M' SCHEDULE
0
Date
Sept. 3
Sept. 11
Sept. 18
Sept. 25
Oct. 2
Oct. 9
Oct. 16
Oct. 23
Oct. 30
Nov. 13
Nov. 20
oponent Time/Result
Miami (Ohio) W, 43-10
at Notre Dame L, 20-28
San Diego State Noon
Iowa TBA
at Indiana TBA
Minnesota TBA
at Illinois TBA
at Purdue TBA
Michigan State TBA
Northwestern TBA
at Ohio State Noon
0
TONY "N"/Daiy
Twelve of Michigan's 25 completions were caught by Braylon Edwards. With Chad Henne still adjusting to the offense, Edwards has become Henne's first option.
I . I
A Slice of CkjCago
P ei re in Ann Apk0r!
OEN .. N
OPEN EVERYDAY K
WEEKEND'S BEST
KICK START: No. 5 Miami won
its ACC debut 16-10 in overtime
against its heated rival, No. 6
Florida State. The Seminoles took
the halftime lead 10-0 thanks to an
Xavier Bettia field goal and a fumble
recovery that was returned for a
touchdown by freshman cornerback
Antonio Cromartie. The second
half belonged to the Hurricanes as
they scored 10 unanswered points,
capped off by a 30-yard touchdown
pass from Brock Berlin to Sinorice
Moss with 30 seconds remaining.
In OT the Hurricanes were able to
rarnvar a ,,,, MY ,fi ..nh a , , wo
HOW THE AP TOP 25 FARED
Associated Press Poll for the week of Sept. 7.
Games updated through Sept. 6.
NEW AP
TOP 25
(first-place votes in parentheses)
Team:
1. Southern Cal.
2. Oklahoma
3. Georgia
4. LSU
5. Florida State
6. Miami
7. Texas
8. Michigan
9. Ohio State
10. West Virginia
11. Florida
12. Kansas State
Last week:
beat Colorado State 45-0
beat Houston 63-13
beat South Carolina 20-16
beat Arkansas St. 53-3
lost to No. 6 Miami 10-16
beat No. 5 Florida State 16-10
beat Arkansas 22-20
lost to Notre Dame 20-28
beat Marshall 24-21
beat Central Florida 45-21
beat Eastern Michigan 49-10
lost to Fresno State 21-45
This week:
at BYU
Houston
Marshall
at Auburn
UAB
Louisiana Tech
Rice
San Diego State
at N.C. State
Maryland
at Tennessee
La Lafayette
TEAM
1. Southern Cal. (52)
2. Oklahoma (10)
3. Georgia (3)
4. Miami (Fla.)
5. LSU
6. Texas
7. West Virginia
8. Florida State
9. Ohio State
10. California
11. Florida
12. Virginia
13. Tennessee
14. Auburn
15. Utah
16. Iowa
REC
2-0
2-0
2-0
1-0
2-0
2-0
2-0
0-1
2-0
2-0
1-0
2-0
1-0
2-0
2-0
2-0l
PTS
1,611
1,552
1,478
1,398
1,344
1,311
1,087
1,058
1,030
969
955
812
798
739
699
Pvs
1
2
3
5
6
7
10
4
9
12
11
15
14
18
17
16f
II
s j