4B - The Michigan Daily - SportsWednesday - October 20, 2004 I MICHIGAN 301 ILLINOIS 19 F- Everybody hoping to see the Breaston of old' 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 MICH 23 61/294 114 88 408 87 14/27/2 3/38.0 0/0 10/86 36:36 ILLINI 19 30/98 156 70 254 61 20/40/3 4/47.3 2/1 2/7 23:24 I CHAMPAIGN - Whatever situation Steve Breaston was in last year, the unthinkable seemed not just possible, but probable. Punt returns? Breaston had a knack for weaving through traffic, disappearing into the mass of tacklers and popping out the other end. He ran back two punts for touchdowns, and put Michigan within sight of the endzone countless other times. Line up at quar- terback and run the option? That's how he opened the scoring in the Wolverines' battle against Ohio State last year. SHARAD MATTU Catch a lateral from The SportsWednesday the quarterback and Column throw it back across the field? With Michigan falling apart on offense and defense against Minnesota a year ago, Breaston, a quarterback in high school, turned his only pass last season into a touch- down. No. 15 was responsible for eight touchdowns in all last year, but points and yards drasti- cally understated his impact. When he had the ball, players and coaches on the sidelines and fans in the stands held their breath in antici- pation. His combination of jukes, vision and speed almost seemed out of place in Michigan Stadium and the Big Ten; he looked like he belonged on Miami or an SEC team. But that was last year. This season - at least so far - has been a different story. The redshirt sophomore's yards per catch has dropped from 11.7 to 6.8 and his punt return average has dropped from 13.8 to 8.1 yards. What's contributed to his struggles? Well, depending on who you ask, Breaston's big- gest obstacle is simply getting healthy. He had foot surgery during the summer and suffered a "freak injury" when he broke a finger in his left hand against Iowa earlier in the season. Even after Saturday's game, he was walking with a noticeable limp. "I can't imagine anybody being able to come back as fast as he did," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "I mean that bone was in two, and he had to have a plate and five screws inserted, I think. He's a study in toughness. He's not a big guy, but he's got a big heart." That's fine, but then why does receiver Braylon Edwards insist nobody should worry about Breaston? Why does receivers coach Erik Campbell say: "Steve is fine. There's nothing new with him. Nothing different. Nothing wrong." What does Breaston himself have to say? Well, Michigan's reserved do-it-all star acts as if talking about his pain hurts more than actually playing with the pain. "It's been tough," Breaston conceded. "But if I come out and play I have no excuses. As long as I'm on the field, how I feel doesn't matter. I've just got to play my hardest and do what I'm capable of doing." Another reason Breaston's statistics have taken a dive has to be his laughably predict- able role when the Wolverines have the ball. Sure, Michigan's offense is successful, but often times it's easy to see what's coming. Any time Breaston is on the field, whether he's the first or third read, he seems to take the same shallow route to the sidelines. And, 100 percent healthy or not, it seems to take him so many moves to get past one tackler, the second and third arrive before he's even gotten five yards. It's gotten to the point where it seems as though the coaching staff fears that if it asks Breaston to run a route of any kind, disaster will undoubtedly ensue. Aside from during Michigan's comeback attempt against Notre Dame, it's hard to remember a single time Breaston ran a deep pattern. "I know how to run routes," Breaston said. "I've been coached, and I know how to play this game. "I know that my role is helping Braylon, Jason (Avant), the running game and every- body else on the offense. If Braylon catches a ball, I know I'm doing my job because I'm bringing coverage." All Campbell had to say about Breaston's role in the offense was, "That's just the way it is right now." But regardless of how banged up he is and what his role and stats are, Breaston is a threat that Michigan needs on every play. When he sat out against Indiana due to his injured finger, his replacements - it took three people to do what he alone normally does - caught a 40-yard touchdown pass, returned a punt 79 yards for a score and a PASSING Player Henne Totals RUSHING Player Hart Martin Breaston Dudley Henne TEAM Gonzales Totals RECEIVING Player Avant Hart Edwards Breaston Dudley Massaquoi Ecker Totals C-A 14-27 14-27 Yds TO 114 1 114 1 Att 40 12 4 2 61 No. 3 3 3 2 1 14 Yds 237 67 9 2 -3 -4 -11 320 Yds 48 23 18 7 13 4 114 No. 3 3 Yds 53 20 73 Avg 5.8 5.6 9 2.0 -0.8 -2.0 -11.0 4.8 Avg 16 7.6 6 3.5 13 4 1.0 8.14 Lg 32 21 9 2 2 0 0 32 Lg 21 8 10 5 13 4 21 TD 1 1 O 3 TD O O O 0 0 0 0 1 M I C H I G A N q Int 2 2 I U PUNTING Playert Finley Totals KICKOFF RETURNS Player No. Breaston 2 Thompson 1 Totals 3 PUNT RETURNS Player No. Breaston 2 Totals 2 DEFENSE Player Shazor Jackson Reid Burgess Mundy Yds Avg Lg 114 38.0 44 114 38.0 44 Avg 26.5 20.0 24.3 Lg 28 20 28 TD 0 0 0 TD TO 0 0 a JEFF LENHART/Daily After a spectacular freshman season, receiver Steve Breaston has struggled so far this year. kick 97 yards. But it took just one half in Michigan's next game against Minnesota to get his role entirely back. That's because everyone - teammates, coaches and fans - looks at Breaston, thinks back to last year, blocks out the Wolverines' first seven games and says, "Just one play, and everything will be back to normal." "He's an 'any play' guy," receiver Jason Avant said. "If he keeps touching the ball one of these times he'll make something hap- pen. When he's got the ball, there's always a chance." If the Breaston of old is set to reappear, Saturday at Purdue wouldn't be a bad game to do it. Michigan hasn't faced a prolific offense like the Boilermakers' this year, and after Purdue's loss to Wisconsin, it'll be eager to salvage its season. "I always feel like if I'm on the field, I have the chance to do something big," Breaston said. "But it's really all about the team with me. I'm a team player and this team is winning right now, so I'm happy and have nothing to complain about. I love this team." Sharad Mattu can be reached at smattu @umich.edu. Manning McClintock Curry Woodley Massey, P Hall Harrison Woods Englemon Henne Mason Massaquoi Of i Biggs Branch Barringer Watson Rembert Totals S Yds Avg Lg 14 7.0 9 14 7.0 9 olo Asst 8 4 4 3 3 4 ~ 6 1 4 1 5 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 3 - 1 2 - 2 2 1 - 1 - 1 - - 1 S 31 - 1 - 1 - 1 33 34 Tot 12 7 7 6 5 5 4 4 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 67 4 A BIG TEN STANDINGS McClintock leads defense with two picks By Bob Hunt Daily Sports Editor CHAMPAIGN - After starting the season with a flurry of turn- overs, Michigan started to hit a slump against teams that took extra precaution to hold onto the ball. Enter Scott McClintock. One of the Wolverines' unsung heroes, the linebacker shined on defense Saturday with two intercep- tions. Both plays came at crucial moments during the contest. The first came during Illinois' first drive of the second half with the ball up by seven. McClintock cut in front of Illi- nois wide receiver Franklin Payne, v)0 picked off quarter- back Jon Beutjer's pass and took the ball to the Illinois' six-yard line. Michigan scored a touchdown three plays later to come within one. But Garrett Rivas missed the extra point. The second came when Illinois was driving late in the fourth quar- ter and trying to make it a one-pos- session game. Beutjer threw the ball into the middle of the endzone, right into the hands of McClintock, seal- ing the victory for the Wolverines. But that was not the only aspect of McClintock's game that impressed Michigan coach Lloyd Carr. "I saw him make a lot of other plays today," Carr said. "Scott's a tough guy; he's paid his dues. As a senior, as a fourth-year guy here, he's having his best year." McClintock has fought injury this year to become a crucial part of the defense. Before the season, McClintock was slated to have a consistent starting role for the first time after playing in mainly nickel situations last year behind fellow linebacker Carl Diggs. Carr said that the Bell Vernon, Penn. native was one of the fastest non-skill players on the team. McClintock suffered a setback when he hurt his leg against San Diego State and walked out of the locker room after the game on crutches. Although the coaching staff thought that he had little to their importance. "He's played very well," Carr said. "We expected when we recruited him that he was going to be an out- standing football player. I think last year he really began to come into his own; he played two years ago quite a bit, and he still has another year. To be able to step in there as a starter this year and play as well as he has, it's been a great bonus for our team." SWITCHING IT UP: Woodley, a sopho- more outside linebacker, has been a consistent starter. Senior Pierre Woods, on the other hand, has mys- teriously received less playing time this year after being on the field a lot last year. Carr said that Woods was injured, even though Woods would not confirm that this was the case. But Woods was placed above Woodley on the depth chart that was released yesterday. Carr would not delve deeply into why he made that change. "Pierre has done a great job in every area," Carr said. "He's getting a little healthier. I think that's the reason." Carr had just this to say about Woodley: "As I always say, it's bet- ter to be three hours early than one minute late." ROLLING THE DICE: Having already missed an extra point, Michigan has decided to go for two occasions on Saturday. Having taken a 22-17 lead on a run by true freshman Max Martin, Carr decided that with the two-point conversion chances were better going for two. Henne threw an incomplete pass. He felt that, with the strong gusts of wind that blew up to 35 miles per hour and the fact that Michigan would have the wind in the fourth quarter, the Wolverines would have been better off going for a seven- point lead. "I went for two because I felt like it was the thing to do," Carr said. "I normally am very reluctant until late in the game to go for two, because I really think the odds are against you. But at that particular point I felt it was worth the risk because I felt anybody was going to have trouble kicking field goals." ADDING TO THE ROTATION: After Mike Hart was on the field for every play except one against Minnesota, Carr decided to feature Martin in spells against Illinois. Martin played well, carrying the ball 12 times for 67 yards and a touchdown. At the beginning of the season, Carr didn't mention Martin among the pool of backs competing for a starting role. But after the game, Carr said Mar- tin has made strides in practice and that he will likely be used down the stretch. Carr also mentioned that senior David Underwood, who started the season as the No. 1 tailback, had a good week of practice and may see time in upcoming weeks. "We're going to need everybody, and I think the key is just that everyone keeps working hard," Carr said. Team Wisconsin' Michigan Purdue Minnesota Michigan State Northwestern Iowa Ohio State Illinois Indiana Penn State 4 4 2 2 3 2 2 0 0 0 0 Big Ten Overall 0 0 1 2 1 1 1 3 4 3 3 7 6 5 5 4 3 4 3 2 2 2 0 1 1 2 3 3 2 3 4 4 4 THIS WEEKEND'S RESULTS: Michigan 30, ILLINOIS 19 Wisconsin 20, PURDUE 17 MICHIGAN STATE 51, Minnesota 17 IOWA 33, Ohio state 7. NEXT WEEKEND'S GAMES: Michigan at Purdue, 3:30 p.m. Iowa at Penn State, 12:00 p.m. Northwestern at Wisconsin, 12:00 p.m. Indiana at Ohio State, 12:00 p.m. Illinois at Minnesota, 2:00 p.m. I I IONYDING/ Dany Max Martin got his first extended action on Saturday AP PHUTO Purdue quarterback Kyle Orton WEEKEND'S BEST ALL ABOUT THE 'U': In arguably the best game of the year, Miami scored 34 points in the second half to squeak by Louisville on Thursday night. The Canes trailed 24-7 at the half before quarterback Brock Berlin led the offense to six straight scor- ing drives, including a sensational punt return by specialist Devin Hester. Hester racked up 184 total return yards and provided Miami with good field position all day long. a1min TAA n-w v..K1- I- 7 F1 -AA- c.v.. 'n. HOW THE AP TOP 25 FARED Associated Press Poll for the week of Oct. 12-17 Games updated through Oct. 17 NEW AP TOP 25 UP NEXT: PURDUE (first-place votes in parentheses) TEAM Team: 1. Southern Cal. 2. Oklahoma 3. Miami 4. Auburn 5. Purdue 6. Virginia 7. Florida State 8. California 9. Texas 10. Wisconsin 11. Utah This week: beat Arizona State 45-7 beat Kansas State 31-21 beat Louisville 41-38 beat Arkansas 38-20 lost to Wisconsin 20-17 lost to Florida State 36-3 beat Virginia 36-3 beat UCLA 45-28 beat Missouri 28-20 beat Purdue 20-17 beat North Carolina 46-13 Next week: Washington Kansas at N.C. State Kentucky Michigan at Duke at Wake Forest at Arizona at Texas Tech Northwestern UNLV 1. Southern Cal. (50) 2. Oklahoma (13) 3. Auburn (2) 4. Miami 5. Florida State 6. Wisconsin 7. California 8. Texas 9. Utah 10. Georgia 11. Tennessee 12. Purdue 13. Michigan 14. Virginia REC 6-0 6-0 7-0 5-0 5-1 7-0 4-1 5-1 6-0 5-1 5-1 5-1 6-1 5-1 PTS 1,610 1,567 1,478 1,448 1,304 1,240 1,215 1,081 1,072 1,40 999 957 895 738 PVS 1 2 4 3 7 10 8 9 11 12 13 5 14 6 Not since Drew Brees's senior year in 2000 has their been this much excitement revolving around a Purdue Boilermakers team. Despite their heart-breaking loss to Wisconsin, the Boilermakers still have BCS aspirations and would love to improve head coach Joe Tiller's 1-6 record against the Wolverines. Purdue quarterback Kyle Orton gets most of his team's headlines - 19 touchdowns, 1,877 passing yards and a quarterback rat- ing of 165.1 warrant them - but it will be the Big Ten's third-best rushing defense that will need to have a game-breaking performance 4 I I