GENNARO FILICE:
The Ann Arbor
rumor mill needs
new fuel for the fire.
PAGE 3B
The SportsMonday Column
THE TROPHY TOUR
The Daily catches up with the Larry O'Brien
Trophy, which recently made a trip to Ann Arbor.
PAGE 8B
September 27, 2004
SPORTS
lB
MICHIGAN 30,
Hawk,
yeah!
Turnovers
help Blue
get revenge
By Bob Hunt
Daily Sports Editor
As Michigan began Big Ten play, its offensive weap-
ons continue to develop. But the part of its arsenal that
shined the brightest was on the other side of the ball.
While the offense turned in 27 points, the Wolverines'
defense forced five turnovers on Saturday, leading them
a 30-17 win over the Iowa Hawkeyes. Michigan ended its
two-game losing streak against Iowa and won its confer-
ence opener for the 23rd consecutive year.
The barrage of takeaways allowed Michigan (1-0 Big
Ten, 3-1 overall) to take a 16-7 halftime lead that it would
not relinquish. Seventy-nine of 117 of Michigan's points
this season have come off turnovers.
"If you force five turnovers, you're going to win,"
Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said.
Because both teams gave the ballup a combined seven
times - Michigan lost two fumbles - the game had
little sense of flow.
The Hawkeyes shredded through the Wolverine sec-
ondary on their opening drive, which was highlighted by a
personal foul on Michigan cornerback Marlin Jackson that
kept Iowa on offense and a diving touchdown catch by Ed
Hinkel. But Hinkel would lose the ball following a recep-
tion three possessions later after getting hit by linebacker
Lawrence Reid. Michigan safety Ernest Shazor recovered
the fumble, and the Wolverines would capitalize.
On the next play, quarterback Chad Henne threw a
deep fade on the sideline intended for Braylon Edwards,
but in the path of heralded Iowa corner back Jovon John-
son. The 6-foot-3 Edwards snatched the ball right atop of
the 5-foot-9 Johnson and proceeded to scamper for the
58-yard touchdown and a 10-7 Michigan lead.
"I don't know how Braylon caught the ball," Carr said.
"The ball was perfectly thrown, but I thought the defender
had pretty good position. Some way this guy found a way
to catch it and score a touchdown.'
Iowa (0-1 Big Ten, 2-2 overall) gave up the ball again
on the third play of the ensuing possession. Iowa quarter-
back Drew Tate overthrew his pass intended for Clinton
Solomon and cornerback Leon Hall, who replaced senior
Markus Curry in the starting lineup, laid out and caught
the errant pass.
Despite Tate's two interceptions and one fumble, he
didn't believe that the miscues came from a lack of prepa-
ration.
See HAWKEYES, Page 5B
ELISE BERGMAN/Daily
Sophomore Leon Hall, center, celebrates his interception with Lawrence Reid, left, and Ryan Mundy. Michigan's defense forced three fumbles and two Interceptions, leading to-27 of Michigan's 30
*intuI
P01ns.
Defense 'ba
fficially, Michigan linebacker Roy Manning
finished Saturday's 30-17 victory over Iowa
with seven tackles. But his best play of the
day won't show up on any stat sheet.
With just under 12 minutes left in the fourth quar-
ter, Michigan cornerback
Grant Mason picked off
an overthrown pass from
Iowa's Drew Tate. Just.
yards short of the Hawk-Y
eyes' end zone, Mason
appeared to be falling out
of bounds - until Man-
ning spun, grabbed him CHRIS
' and tossed the corner for- BURKE
: oward for Michigan's final
touchdown. Goin' to Work
All told, the Michigan
defense forced five turnovers in the game. And, if
you ask Manning, that means trouble for the rest of
the Big Ten.
"That old Michigan defense is coming back, that
old Michigan defense," the fifth-year senior said.
"We're just relentless and getting out there, and we're
going to keep on getting turnovers game after game."
ck
and leading Varsity
Through four games this season, the Wolverines'
defense has forced a nation-leading 19 turnovers.
Notre Dame is second in the category with 16, and
no one else has topped 13. Those turnovers have led
to 79 of Michigan's 117 points this season.
There may have been Michigan defenses that land-
ed more sacks, gave up fewer yards or were more
effective in keeping opponents off the scoreboard.
But Michigan's 3-1 record is a direct result of the
fact that this year's Wolverines feature - so far
- the most opportunistic defense in the country.
"We just know - it's a mentality that we have
now - we expect to get turnovers," cornerback Mar-
lin Jackson said. "We don't want to get turnovers, we
expect to get turnovers every game - at least three."
In spite of the 17 points Iowa scored or the 270
yards Tate threw for, Saturday's game was probably
the Wolverines most impressive of the season, if
for no other reason than because of how quickly the
defense righted the ship after Iowa marched 75 yards
for a touchdown to start the game.
After that, Michigan allowed just 100 yards
for the next three quarters before Iowa finally put
together a second touchdown drive. And by that
time, Michigan enjoyed a 30-10 cushion thanks to
two Tate interceptions and three Iowa fumbles.
Not to mention the fact that the Wolverines' defen-
sive front was dominant. It held Iowa running back
Jermelle Lewis to just 49 yards on 14 carries, and
had Tate running around like a little kid who just
ate a pillowcase full of Halloween candy. Michigan
sacked Tate four times, and the Iowa quarterback fin-
ished with negative 49 yards rushing.
Yeah, you read that right.
"I think (the defense was) magnificent all day,"
Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "Our defense con-
trolled the line of scrimmage. Any time you hold a
team to that few yards rushing, you are really con-
trolling up front."
Now, if there were ever a year for the Michigan
defense to be a turnover-forcing machine, if there
were ever a season where the Wolverines needed
their defense to make big play after big play, then it's
this year.
With true freshmen starting at both quarterback
and running back, Michigan cannot necessarily rely
on its offense to win games for it.
That being said, the Wolverines can force all the
turnovers in the world, but if the offense cannot take
See BURKE, Page 5B
DEFENSIVE TURNAROUND
Michigan's defense appeared to be in trouble when it allowed
Iowa to march right down the field to begin the game. But the
Wolverines rebounded and allowed just 31 yards the rest of
the half. They finished the game with five forced turnovers
and currently lead the nation with 19 turnovers this season.
Here's every Iowa drive.
Plays Yards Time of Possession Result
7 75 3:29 Touchdown
4 2 2:18 Punt
3 -15 2:21 Punt
4 38 1:15 Fumble
3 0 1:35 Interception
5 5 2:32 Punt
3 1 1:09 End of Half
9 79 3:27 Field Goal
3 6 1:31 Punt
2 3 0:19 Fumble
1 6 0:09 Fumble
3 -8 1:59 Interception
10 80 4:16 Touchdown
4 2 0:55 Downs
Stickers sweep Hoosier State trip
By James V. Dowd
Daily Sports Writer
MUNCIE, Ind. - Being in the right place at
the right time paid dividends for the No. 7 Michi-
gan field hockey team this weekend. Precision
passing and immaculate positioning helped the
Wolverines to a Hoosier State sweep, as they
with seniors Kate Dillon and Katy Moyneur
denying the Ball State offense any chance to even
the score. The few shots that the Cardinals were
able to slip past the Wolverines' defense were
swiftly turned aside by sophomore goalkeeper
Beth Riley.
Meanwhile, Michigan continued to pressure
Bannister and the Ball State defense by spread-
with a slap shot from the top right of the circle.
Once again there was nothing Bannister could
do, and Cardinals' coach Annette Payne called
a timeout, hoping to rally her players before the
game was beyond their reach.
The revival lasted' a mere three minutes until
Michigan senior Adrienne Hortillosa ended all
hopes of a Cardinal comeback with a shot from 10
t,.. ,