4B - The Michigan Daily - SportsTuesday - September 6, 2005

Michigan 33, Northern Illinois 17
One man squad? Not

GAME STATISTICS


for this
By Gabe Edelson
Daily Sports Writer


It reads like a cycling, semi-c
of Michigan's skill position playe
Massaquoi. Breaston. Ava
Breaston. Hart. Avant. Avant.
But no, it's not a drunk fan tr
ber his favorite players while to
the Big House. In fact, it's a s
sophomore quarterback Chad1
targets during the Wolverines
series against Northern Illinois o
it looks quite different from wha
remember from last year's Mic
2004 version went something lik
Braylon. Braylon. Braylon. Br
Avant. Braylon. Braylon.
A season ago, Braylon Ed
unquestioned focal point of the
eral and the passing game in
Biletnikoff Award winner's 97 c
59 more than the total of his ch
then-junior Jason Avant. But wi
playing for the NFL's Clevelandl
of the team has adopted a diffe
for the new season. Sharing has
in Ann Arbor.
"Last year, we had a designa
offensive coordinator Terry M
to Edwards. "He was actually
possession guy and our deep g
we have to find) different way
up and getting guys down the f
Though many see Edwards
disadvantage for the current W
close to the program don't ne
By spreading the ball aroun
receivers and backs - Henne
tions to seven different teamm
day - an offense can often dil
the breaking point.

Michigan team
"If we're running the ball well, then the safe-
ties have to come up," sophomore running back
Mike Hart said. "That's going to open things up
oherent roll call for Chad. When we start passing the ball, that
ers. makes it a lot easier on the running game. I think
nt. Massaquoi. (passing and running) balance and complement
each other really well. If one's doing good, the
rying to remem- other one's going to do good. We just have to keep
ailgating outside defenses on their heels."
equential list of With Hart, high-profile freshman Kevin Grady
Henne's passing and sophomore Max Martin leading the backfield
first offensive attack and Avant and playmaker Steve Breaston
)n Saturday. And heading up the receiving corps, there are plenty
t most observers of dangerous options at Henne's disposal. Some-
higan team. The times, the threat of lining up against so many
e this: potential weapons is enough to create weak spots
easton. Braylon. in the defense that can become targets for a pre-
cise, well-oiled offense.
wards was the - "When you spread your defense, you create
offense in gen- more creases," running backs coach Fred Jackson
particular. The said. "That's going to help the backs (and receiv-
atches gave him ers) be more effective."
osest teammate, Avant, now a senior co-captain, led the team
th Edwards now with nine catches for 127 yards and a touchdown.
Browns, the rest Still, the physical receiver realizes that a number
erent philosophy of his teammates are capable of putting up similar
become trendy numbers. Moreover, Avant acknowledges that he
probably won't fill Edwards's role as the superstar
ated man," said pass-catcher every game.
alone, referring "I was just one of the guys in the package that
our designated probably had some of the plays coming to me this
uy. "(This year week, and Chad was delivering the ball on time,"
s of getting set Avant said. "It can be Steve Breaston next week
ield." or Adrian Arrington or anybody out there."
's absence as a Malone's job this season is to worry less about
olverines, those feeding the ball to a particular player and more
cessarily agree. about confusing and exploiting defenses.
id to different "It wasn't really a plan to get the ball to any-
threw comple- body," Malone said of Michigan's preparation for
nates on Satur- the Huskies. "Hopefully (Henne) was going to
ute a defense to make his reads and throw it to the open guy, and I
thought he did an excellent job of that. I think the

Team Stats
First Downs
Rush/Yds
Passing Yards
Offensive Plays
Total Offense
Return Yards
Comp/Att/lnt
Punts/Avg
Fumbles/Lost
Penalties/Yards
Time of Poss
M
PASSING
Player
Henne 20
Gutierrez
Totals 21
RUSHING
Player Att
Hart 27
Grady 9
Bradley 2
Jackson" 3
Martin 4
Breaston 1
Gutierrez 1
Henne 1
Totals 48
RECEIVING
Player No.
Avant 9
Hart 4
Massaquoi 3
Breaston 2
Grady 1
Tabb 1
Dutch 1
Totals 21
PUNTING
Player
Ryan
Totals

MICH
29
48/212
239
81
447
48
21/33/0
1/41
1 /1
4/31
35:09

NIU
20
32/224
200
57
411
33"
17/25/1
1/38
4/4
5/37
24:51

I C H I G A N

C-A
0-31
1-2
,33

Yds TD
227 2
12 0
239 2

t
a
3
I
I
3
3
3
1
I
I

Yds
117
42
14
14
10
7
2
2
208
Yds
127
49
19
15
16
11
2
2$i9
No.
1
Yds
17
16
15
48

Avg
4.3
4.7
7.0
4.7
2.5
7.0
2.0
2.0
4.3
Avg
14.11
12.25
6.33
7.5
16.0
11.0
2.0
11.38

Lg
12
14
8
6
7
7
2
2
14
Lg
26
34
8
15
16
Ti
2
34

Int
0
0
0.
TD
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
TD
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
2

9
0

Yds Avg Lg
41 41.0 41
41 41.0 41

MIKE HULSEBUS/Daily
Senior co-captain Jason Avant (8) hauls In a first-quarter touchdown pass from quarterback Chad Henne as
Northern Illinois's Adrilel Hansbro looks on. Avant led a balanced Michigan attack with 127 receiving yards.
one thing is, we want to be as difficult as possible be capable of this year despite Edwards's depar-
to defend." ture.
By racking up 289 yards of total offense in the "If we spread the ball out like we did today,
first half alone - including 198 passing yards then the sky is the limit for us," Henne said.
and two touchdowns through the air for Henne And that list of Henne's intended receivers
- Michigan showed a glimpse of what it might might soon expand to include even more names.

KICKOFF RETURNS
Player No.
Breaston 1
Mason 1
Arrington 1
Totals 3
PUNT RETURNS
Player No.
None
Totals 1
DEFENSE
Player
Graham
McClintock
Mason
Burgess
Hall
Englemon
Barringer
Thompson
Watson
Hood
Van Alstyne
Johnson
Totals

Avg
17.0
16.0
15.0
16.0

Lg
17
16
15
17

TD
0
0
0
TO
TD
0

Yds Avg Lg
7 7.0 0

Solo
9
7
6
3
3
1
4
3
2
2
2
48

Asst
2
2
2
2
2
4
0
0
2
0
0'
0
1s

Tot
10.0
9.0
8.0
5.0
5.0
5.0
4.0
3.0
3.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
84

HUSKIES
Continued from page 1B
But one play into the second
quarter, Michigan was crippled
once again. Junior running back
Garrett Wolfe took the handoff
at his own 24 yard line and swept
to the outside. When the Michi-
gan secondary missed a couple of
assignments, Wolfe was gone down
the left sideline and Michigan had
given up its first big play - just 15
minutes in.
Wolfe didn't stop there. He ended
the game with 179 total yards, 142 of
which came on the ground.

0

"Let me say this," Michigan coach
Lloyd Carr said. "You saw a great
back in Garrett Wolfe. He's going to
play in the NFL."
Carr had plenty of praise for Wolfe,
but he certainly wasn't pleased with
his team's defensive performance.
Despite forcing five turnovers, the
unit gave up 411 yards of offense,
and Carr said he was especially dis-
appointed with the play of the front
seven. Yesterday, he called them
out for not playing hard enough and
added that there would be changes
before next week's game against
Notre Dame.

THIS WEEKEND'S BIG
TEN RESULTS
NORTHWESTERN 38, Ohio 14
WISCONSIN 56, Bowling Green 42
OHIO STATE 34, Miami (OH) 14
ILLINOIS 33, Rutgers 30 (OT)
IOWA 56, Ball State 0
MICHIGAN STATE 49, Kent 14
MICHIGAN 33, Northern Illinois 17
PENN STATE 23, South Florida 13
Indiana 20, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 13
Minnesota 41, TULSA 10

I

RYAN WEINER/Daily
Sophomore linebacker Chris Graham (37) closes in on Northern Illinois running back Garrett Wolfe. Graham led the Wolverines with
10 tackles - Including two stops for loss - In his first career start at Michigan and provided a rare bright spot on defense.

WRIGHT
Continued from page 1B
In Carr's eyes, Watson has failed
to live up to that potential, and his
late-season slide last year didn't
earn him any points.
Even more damning, Watson was
listed in an "either/or" situation
with sophomore Will Johnson on
the depth chart.
So I wouldn't be shocked if Wat-
son didn't start this week.
Part of me was a little surprised,
that Carr chose to take such a
hard-nosed stance this early in the
season.

Then again, two words seem to
explain it all - Notre Dame.
The Fighting Irish lit up the
scoreboard against then-No. 23
Pittsburgh Saturday night, scoring
five touchdowns on their first six
possessions. That the Notre Dame
offense was so explosive against
a Dave Wanstadt-coached defense
makes their already impressive 42-
21 win damn near astonishing.
First-year Irish head coach Char-
lie Weis has been quoted as doubt-
ing whether a college defense can
prepare for his NFL-style offense in
one week.
I'm certain the Michigan defense
I saw give up 411 yards to Northern

Illinois isn't up to the challenge.
At least not yet.
Carr seems to have realized that it
doesn't matter what kindof offense
his defense faces if his players aren't
up to the challenge. Shaking up the
lineup may be what it takes to knock
the unit out of the slump it's been in
since late last season.
Carr can't control what Weis or
any other offensive coach throws
his way, but he can control how he
responds.
We'll have to wait for Saturday to
see what that response is.
Stephanie Wright can be reached
at smwr@umich.edu.

WEEKEND'S BEST
ADRIAN WHO?: With their 17-10
win over the No. 7 Oklahoma
Sooners on Saturday, the TCU
Horned Frogs completed their
biggest upset in 45 years. The
Sooners committed four turn-
overs, and Heisman runner-up
Adrian Peterson was held to 63
yards. Meanwhile, TCU's quar-
terback, Tye Gunn, threw for
226 yards and a touchdown. It
was OU's first home loss since
2001.
SAVED BY A FUMBLE: Louisville beat
Kentucky, 31-24, thanks to a late
fumble by Wildcat quarterback
Andre Woodson. Louisville's 28-7
lead had shrunk to 31-24, and with
7:21 left, the Wildcats were at the
seven yard line. But on the follow-
'ing play, Woodson fumbled at the
two yard line. Louisville's Brandon
Johnson recovered the fumble, and
the Cardinals held off Kentucky for
the win. Louisville's Michael Bush
rushed for 128 yards and two
touchdowns, while teammate Elvis
Dumervil sacked the UK quarter-
back a school-record six times.

HOW THE AP TOP 25 FARED
Associated Press Poll for the week of Aug. 21.
Games updated through Sept. 6.

Team:
1. Southern Cal.
2. Texas
3. Tennessee
4. Michigan
5. LSU
6. Ohio State
7. Oklahoma
8. Virginia Tech
9. Miami (FL)
10. Florida
11. Iowa
12. Louisville
13. Georgia
14. Florida State
15. Purdue
16. Auburn
17. Texas A&M
18. Boise State
19. California
20. Arizona State
21. Texas Tech
22. Boston College
23. Pittsburgh
24. Fresno State
25. Virginia

Last week:
beat Hawaii 63-17
beat UL Lafayette 60-3
beat UAB 17-10
beat Northern Illinois 33-17
North Texas postponed
beat Miami (OH) 34-14
lost to TCU 10-17
beat NC State 20-16
lost to Florida State 7-10
beat Wyoming 32-14
beat Ball State 56-0
beat Kentucky 31-24
beat Boise State 48-13
beat Miami (FL) 10-7
DNP
lost to Georgia Tech 14-23
lost to Clemson 24-25
lost to Georgia 13-48
beat Sacramento State, 41-3
beat Temple 63-16
DNP
beat Brigham Young, 20-3
lost to Notre Dame, 21-42
DNP
beat Western Michigan, 31-19

This week:
Arkansas
at Ohio State
at Florida
Notre Dame
Arizona State
Texas
Tulsa
at Duke
at Clemson
Louisiana Tech
at Iowa State
Oregon State
South Carolina
Citadel
Akron
Mississippi State
Southern Methodist
at Oregon State
at Washington
at LSU
Florida International
Army
at Ohio
Weber State
at Syracuse


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