4B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - October 3, 2005 Michigan 34, Michigan State 31 (OT) Hart's return carries Blue to rivalry win By Gabe Edelson Daily Sports Writer EAST LANSING - Days before Garrett Rivas kicked the game-winning field goal in overtime on Saturday, Michigan run- ning backs coach Fred Jackson had good reason to believe in a Wolverine victory over Michigan State. It was the middle of last week, and sophomore Mike Hart - who had missed the previous three games with a hamstring injury - uttered something Jack- son won't soon forget. "He told me, 'Coach, don't baby me. Let me go,' " Jackson said. Despite the coaching staff's caution in holding Hart out of last weekend's loss to Wisconsin, the star tailback convinced head coach Lloyd Carr, Jackson and the team's medical personnel that he was ready. By the time Michigan State had been removed from the ranks of the unbeaten, it would've been hard to convince any- body at Spartan Stadium otherwise. Hart churned out 218 rushing yards on 36 carries in his first action since the opening minutes of Michigan's game against Notre Dame on Sept. 10. It was the third-highest ground-yardage total in Hart's young career, and it came on the second-most car- ries he had ever received in a single game. "He's a difference-maker," Jackson said. "Whenever we have him, we're a different football team. When he doesn't play, it hurts us. ... He played a lot of snaps today. I wouldn't intend on playing him that much, but he's a warrior. And that's something that warriors do." It took all of three plays for Hart to make his presence felt. After Michigan gained nine yards on its first two plays from scrimmage in the first quarter, Hart took a handoff from quar- terback Chad Henne, burst through a hole in the middle of the line, and broke an arm tackle. The Syracuse, N.Y., native ran left in open space, and by the time he was finally dragged down by Michigan State's Sir Darean Adams, he had picked up a career- high 45 yards. Despite his record-breaking 1,455-yard freshman output, Hart never topped 34 yards on a single carry in 2004, and he made sure the Spartans knew he was excited about his new mark. "I was just ready to play," Hart said. "When I broke that run, I just wanted to tell them, you know, 'We're coming. We're playing today. It's not last week, it's not the week before that. We came to play, and we came to win.' " He made his point. It was clear that Hart was back. And he was everywhere. The runner's nine-yard gain on the Wolverines' next series set up Henne's 43-yard touchdown pass to freshman receiver Mario Manningham. On the scoring play, a play-action fake to Hart confused some Michigan State defenders and created more room GAME STATISTICS 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 Henna 26- Totals 26 RUSHING Player Att Hart 36 Bass 1 Grady 3 Henna 3 Totals 43 RECEIVING Player No. Avant 10 Tabb S Manningham 4 Ecker 2 Massaquoi 2 Hart 2 Thompson 1 Totals 26 MSU 21 37/173 282 68 455 48 20/31/2 3/144.0 1/1 5/27 29:28 MICH 21 43/232 256 79 488 105 26/36/1 4/1 50.0 3/1 2/7 30:32 ICHIGAN 3-: 6-: t r L t i C-A 35 -35 Yds 218 9 6 -1 232 Yds 96 35 66 37 11 6 5 256 No. 4 4 Yds 1 23 ? 57 1 8S Yds TO 256 3 256 3 Avg 6.1. 9.0 2.0 -0.3 5.4 Avg 9.6 7.0 16.5 18.5 6.5 3.0 5.0 9.8 Lg 64 9 5 3 64 Lg 23 9 43 29 6 6 5 43 Int 1 1 TD 1 0 0 O ~1 TD 1 0 0 3 gYAN WINR/aily Michigan tailback Mike Hart ran for 218 yards on 36 carries in his return from injury on Saturday. Hart broke runs of 45 and 64 yards in the game. downfield for the catch-and-run. The sophomore converted eight first downs, including two on third-and-one and two on fourth- and-one. "(Hart) has a great instinct, and he is just such a fighter," Carr said. "I did not expect him to play, or certainly to run the football as many times as he did. He is a great football player." Hart was even prominently involved on a defensive play. When Michigan State defensive tackle Domata Peko recov- ered a Henne fumble and rumbled 74 yards down the field for a game-tying touchdown in the fourth quarter, it was Hart who chased the 320-pounder to the other end of the turf, fighting off Spartan safety Otis Wiley and linebacker Kaleb Thornhill before attempting to trip up Peko with a dive across the goal line. Though the 5-foot-9, 193-pound Hart was hurdled by the lumbering lineman, it wasn't for lack of effort that Michigan State picked up six points. "He brings a different dimension to the team," fifth-year senior Pierre Woods said. "He can do everything. Mike Hart is like Superman. He runs with heart, and that's what he's all about." Hart amazed onlookers by surpassing his new career-long run in the fourth quarter. On the Wolverines' first offensive play of the frame, Hart burned the Spartans with a 64-yard carry. Five plays later, he kept his balance with a hand on the ground, main- taining his momentum and willing himself to dive forward. Hart put Michigan ahead by stretching the ball over the goal line for a one-yard score. On the Wolverines' final drive in regulation, Hart carried the ball 11 times in 13 Michigan plays before Rivas missed a 27-yard field goal. Regardless of the drive's outcome, it was obvious whom the Wolverines were looking to with the game on the line. "I want the ball in my hands at the end of the game," Hart said. "The coaches knew I wanted it, (and) they did a great job giving it to me. The line did a great job, and we just pushed it downfield." Said offensive coordinator Terry Malone: "He adds more than just yards to our team. He adds a confidence and a spirit. He's really special, (and) it rubs off on everybody else." PUNTING Player Ryan Totals KICKOFF RETURNS Player No. Tabb 1 Mason 2 Totals 3 PUNT RETURNS Player No. Hall 2 Totals 2 DEFENSE Player Englemon Burgess Harris Barringer Watson Branch Mason Woods Hall Woodley Harrison Massey Graham Jam ison Biggs Trent Adams Thompson Stewart Totals Avg 23.0 28.5 26.7 Yds Avg Lg 150 37.5 43 150 37.5 43 Lg 23 32 32 TD 0 TD O 0 Yds Avg Lg 25 12.5 13 25 12.5 13 Solo 10 4 5 5 3 3 3 2 2 2 1 41 Asst 3 3 1 3 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tot 13 7 6 6 4 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 1 1 _0 16 64 Defense stops Stanton from running all over the field BIG TEN STANDINGS Team Big Ten Overall By Ian Herbert Daily Sports Editor EAST LANSING - There was no question whose shoulders - literally - Saturday's game was going to rest upon. Michigan State quarterback Drew Stanton came into the intrastate show- down having thrown for 1,184 yards in four games while complet- ing nearly 75 percent of his passes. The H-word had surfaced, and there was talk of Stanton joining Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart and Vince Young in New York for the Heisman presentation. That's a long way off, and, by throwing for 11P 282 yards and a touchdown, Stanton didn't 8p exactly hurt his chances. But, unlike last year, Stanton didn't run, skip and jump his team to a big lead. Last year, Stanton rushed for 84 yards before leaving the game at halftime with an injured shoulder. In Saturday's game, he had eight carries for just 20 yards. "Stanton makes them go," Michigan defensive line coach Steve Stripling said. "He's a tremendous player, and we just didn't want him to be able to set up where he normally sets up. We just talked to our defensive line about being relentless." On the Spartans' first drive of the game, Michigan came out rushing just three defensive linemen. But even with just three guys, it was able to pressure Stanton. They hurried him on the first play of the game and Stanton was able to complete a two-yard pass. Then, later in the first drive, defensive lineman Rondell Biggs and Pat Massey hurried Stanton again and sacked him for a 13-yard loss. That play put the Spartans in a third-and-23 situation and led to the first punt of the game. Biggs said it seemed that a lot of the Spartans' opponents this year were getting frustrated by not getting to Stanton early in the game and allowing him to run wild. The focus of the Michigan defensive line was on getting to Stanton early in the game. "It's a very good offense, and I feel like we're the best defen- sive front that they've played this year," rush end LaMarr Wood- ley said. "We put a lot of pressure on Stanton early, and he was doing a lot of scrambling. That was something that we wanted him to do." The defense stopped Stanton for the first two drives while the offense built up a 14-0 lead. Even when the Spartans came back and tied the game, the front seven looked strong, forcing Michigan State into a lot of third-and-long situations. But the Spartans com- pleted a third-and-ll, a third-and-15 and a couple more third-and- long situations to keep drives alive. In the third quarter, a Michigan turnover gave the Spartans' offense the ball on the Wolverines' 17-yard line. The defense stopped Stanton on three straight plays and left the field having given up just one field goal, something that Stripling said he was particularly proud of. Because of lack of production offen- sively, the defense was on the field for more than 12 minutes in the third quarter. "We just left them out there too long," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "I think you give Michigan State credit for what they did in the third quarter. It was certainly not the way we wanted to play the third quarter." INJURY UPDATE: Redshirt junior Steve Breaston did not play on Saturday because of an injury that Carr said he sustained during the Wisconsin game. Redshirt junior Carl Tabb started in his place and had five catches for 35 yards, both career highs. Breaston is in the middle of a sub-par year in which he has caught just six passes for 43 yards. Last week in Madison, he made one catch for nega- tive-one yard. Linebacker Scott McClintock also did not dress on Saturday. Carr said that the fifth-year senior has been struggling with back problems all season. McClintock recorded nine tack- les against Northern Illinois in the first game of the year - the only game he started. Biggs injured himself in the third quarter of Saturday's game and left Spartan Stadium on crutches. "I can't tell you right now, but I think it is going to take a while (for him to return),"'Carr said about Biggs's injury. Biggs said he was just banged up. NoTEs: Michigan has played in just four overtime games and has won all four of them ... All three of placekicker Garrett Rivas's game-winning field goals have come on the road ... Quarterback Chad Henne has thrown a touchdown pass in every game at Mich- igan for a school-record 17 straight games with a touchdown. Penn State Wisconsin Ohio State Minnesota Michigan State Michigan Iowa Indiana Purdue Northwestern Illinois 2 0, 5 2 0 5 1 1 4 1 1 4 1 1 3 1 1 3 0 Z 3 0 2 2 0 1 2 0 2 2 0 0 1 1 2 2 1 2 2 3 THIS WEEKEND'S RESULTS Michigan 34, MICHIGAN STATE 31 IOWA 35, Illinois 7 Notre Dame 49, PURDUE 28 WISCONSIN 41, Indiana 24 PENN STATE 44, Minnesota 14 'M' SCHEDULE Date Sept. 3 Sept. 10 Sept. 17 Sept. 24 Oct. 1 Oct. 8 Oct. 15 Oct. 22 Oct. 29 Nov. 12 Nov. 29 Oonent Time/Result Northern Illinois W, 33-17 Notre Dame L, 10-17 Eastern Michigan W, 55-0 at Wisconsin L, 20-23 at Michigan State W, 34-31 Minnesota 1 p.m. Penn State TBA at Iowa TBA at Northwestern TBA Indiana TBA Ohio State Noon RYAN WEINER/Daily Michigan rush end LaMarr Woodley tries to get around Michigan State right tackle Mike Gyetvai in the Wolverines' overtime win. Woodley recorded three tackles in the game. I WEEKEND'S BEST USC COMEBACK: Just like last week's game against Oregon, the top- ranked Trojans were losing at halftime. This time they were playing against the No. 14 Arizona State Sun Devils in Tempe, Ariz. Coming out of half- time down 21-3, the Trojans' dynamic offense decided to show up. Led by tailbacks Reggie Bush and Lendale White, who each had two touchdowns, Southern Cal scored 35 second-half points and ran away with the game. Heisman trophy-winning quarterback Matt Leinart got the decisive score on a quarterback sneak late in the fourth quarter as the Trojans won, 38-28. 'BAMA BLOWOUT: It was supposed HOW THE AP TOP 25 FARED NEW AP TOP 25 Associated Press Poll for the week of Sept. 25 Games updated through Oct. 1 (first-place votes in parentheses) Team: 1. Southern Cal 2. Texas 3. Virginia Tech 4. Louisiana State 5. Florida 6. Florida State 7. Georgia 8. Ohio State 9. Miami 10. Tennessee 11. Michigan State 12. California 13. Notre Dame Last week: beat Arizona State 38-28 beat Missouri 51-20 beat West Virginia 34-17 beat Mississippi State 37-7 lost to Alabama 31-3 beat Syracuse 38-14 DNP DNP beat South Florida 27-7 beat Mississippi 27-10 lost to Michigan 34-31 (OT) beat Arizona 28-0 beat Purdue 49-28 This week: Arizona Oklahoma Marshall at Vanderbilt Mississippi State Wake Forest at Tennessee at Penn State Duke Georgia DNP at UCLA DNP TEAM 1. Southern Cal (59) 2. Texas (6) 3. Virginia Tech 4. Florida State 5. Georgia 6. Ohio State 7. Alabama 8. Tennessee 9. Miami 10. California 11. Louisiana State 12. Notre Dame 13. Florida 14. Wisconsin 15. Texas Tech 16. Penn State REC 4-0 4-0 5-0 4-0 4-0 3-1 5-0 3-1 3-1 5-0 2-1 4-1 4-1 5-0 4-0 5-0 PTS 1,619 1,564 1,494 1,391 1,318 1,279 1,150 1,143 1,118 988 978 966, 792 773 588 493 PVS 1 2 3 6 7 8 15 10 9 12 4 13 .5 17 16 NR t I