4B - The Michigan Daily - SportsWednesday - October 19, 2005
Michigan 27, Penn State 25
First Start?
No problem
for safetles
By Matt Venegoni
Daily Sports Editor
Starting two players making their first career starts at the
safety positions sounds like a recipe for disaster. But luckily
for Michigan on Saturday, two youngsters were able to hold
their own against Penn State in the Wolverines' 27-25 win.
With free safety Willis Barringer not dressed because of a
leg injury and strong safety Brandent Englemon dressed but
also out, freshman Brandon Harrison and sophomore Jamar
Adams stepped in to help the Wolverines in a must-win situ-
ation. The duo made mistakes, but filled in capably for the
injured regulars.
"I think that was one of the real positive things that we
took out of this game," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said.
"But hopefully we will get Englemon back and at some point
(Barringer) back and I think that, as a team, it's going to be a
position of strength when they come back, because these two
guys have proven they can do some things under the stress
of a big game."
Although the defense may have been limited with its calls,
Harrison and Adams made their share of plays in holding the
Nittany Lions' offense to 239 yards passing.
On a crucial third-and-goal from the Michigan seven-yard
line, Penn State quarterback Michael Robinson looked for
tight end Isaac Smoklo in the back of the end zone. As the
pass flew toward the open Smoklo, Adams streaked in from
behind to tip the toss away. The Nittany Lions had to settle
for a field goal.
"My coaches gave me an opportunity to go out there and
play, and (defensive backs coach Ron) English teaches us to
go out there and play at a certain level," Adams said. "So we
have to go out there and perform. Before the game, coach
English told me, 'You practiced well, go out there and play
well. Be confident. Whatever you do, be confident. If you
have a bad play, come out there and make the next one.' And
that was all I did."
Adams finished with eight solo tackles and one pass break-
up. Although this was Adams' first start, he gained valuable
experience last week in the 23-20 loss to Minnesota.
"When we recruited Jamar, we were fully expecting him
to be an outstanding football player," Carr said. "I thought
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 21
Totals 21
RUSHING
Player Att
Hart 23
Bass 2
Grady 5
Tabb 1
Breaston 2
Henne 6
Totals 39
RECEIVING
Player No.
Avant 8
Hart 4
Manningham 3
Ecker 3
Breaston 1
Massaquoi 1
Tabb 1
Totals 21
PSU
20
38/181
239
72
420
48
19/34/1
4/47
2/1
6/35
30:49
MICH
21
39/163
212
75
375
164
21/36/0
6/40.7
1/1
5/49
29:11
I C H IG A N
C-A
-36
1-36
t Yds
3 108
26
25
1 3
-2
13 63
Yds TD
212 2
212 2
3
3
3
3
1
1
t
Yds
75
40
49
29
10
2
4
212
Avg
4.7
13.0
5.0
3.0
1.5
-0.3
4.2
Avg
9.4
10.0
16.3
9.7
10.0
5.0
4.0
10.1
Yds
15
229
244
Avg
32.0
8.0
27.2
Lg
17
23
14
3
4
7
23
Lg
21
16
33
20
10
5
4
33
Avg
15.0
45.8
40.7
Lg
41
8
41
PUNTING
Player
Rivas
Ryan
Totals
No.
1
5
6
Int
O
0
TD
0
0
O
0
0
0
1
TD
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
2
Lg
15
64
64
ITD
0
0
0
ITD
0
t 0
Tot
10
10
8
8
8
7
3
3
3
2
1
1
1
1
0
67
JASON COOPER/Daily
Safety Jamar Adams had eight tackles and one pass breakup in his first career start on Saturday. Adams and Brandon Harrison
replaced regular safeties Willis Barringer and Brandent Englemon in the lineup against Penn State because of injuries.
he made great strides late last week. In the second half of the
Minnesota game, they came back with some things that they
had done to him in the first half, and a smart player is a guy
that doesn't repeat mistakes."
Harrison - who moved from cornerback to free safety mid-
way through preseason practices - also showed he could be
counted on to play.
Late in the second quarter, Penn State looked like it was
putting together a drive right before halftime. On second-
and-nine from the Michigan 49-yard line, Robinson scram-
bled to his left and found a seam. But linebacker David
Harris caught up to the speedy signal-caller and stripped
the ball from behind. Harrison was right there to fall on the
rolling ball.
Not everything went perfectly for the inexperienced safe-
ties. On the Nittany Lions' first touchdown drive, Harrison
took a poor angle to running back Tony Hunt, allowing him
to go through the Michigan secondary and sprint up the right
sideline.
But despite the mistake, Carr and the coaching staff came
away impressed with what they saw.
"If you had told me that we would play as well defensively as
we did with a true freshman at safety and Jamar Adams getting
his first start, I never would have believed it," Carr said.
KICKOFF RETURNS
Player No.
Breaston 4
Thompson 1
Totals 6
PUNT RETURNS
Player No.
Breaston 2
Totals 2
DEFENSE
Player
Harris
Mason
Adams
Burgess
Woodley
Hell
Trent
Watson
Branch
Massey, P.
Thompson
Tabb
Harrison
Massey, M.
Van Astyne
Graham
Totals
Yds
128
B
136
Yds Avg Lg
28 14.0 23
28 14.0 23
Solo
7
7
B
7
6
6
3
2
1
2
1
1
1
1
0
0
53
Asst
3
3
0
2
1
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
14
Front seven saved by zesty offensive play
By Stephanie Wright
Daily Sports Editor
While Michigan's offense marched
down the field in the game's final min-
ute, defensive end Alan Branch stood
by himself, away from his teammates
near the student section.
With the Wolverines up by three
late in the fourth quarter and Penn
State driving into Michigan territory,
Branch had a chance to stop Nittany
Lions quarterback Michael Robinson
on what turned out to be a three-yard
touchdown draw.
"I was the first person who touched
him," Branch said. "I reached my arm
out, but I didn't have enough body to
get him down. I was right there."
That play gave Penn State a 25-21
lead with 58 seconds left.
Branch placed the blame squarely
on his own shoulders.
So Branch stood alone, disap-
pointed that he had let Robinson run
right by him. That is, until Mario
Manningham caught Chad Henne's
pass on the game's final play. Then
Branch's melancholy turned into jubi-
lation. Not knowing what to do, the
sophomore "ran back and forth three
or four times" before grabbing his
helmet and joining his teammates to
celebrate on the field.
The victory certainly took the sting
off his missed tackle.
"It's a lot easier when you win the
game," Branch said. "I'm going to
look at the film in a completely dif-
ferent way now."
Aside from Robinson's scramble,
Branch played well on Saturday in
just his second start at defensive end.
He recorded three tackles - includ-
ing a stop on Penn State tailback Tony
Hunt that forced the Nittany Lions to
attempt a field goal on their opening
all 73 yards that Penn State gained
on its final scoring drive.
"It was tough," linebacker David
Harris said of defending Robinson.
"He's a heck of an athlete. He can run
better than most tailbacks. He can
also throw the deep ball very well, so
we just had to ... try to contain him."
Said rush linebacker LaMarr
Woodley: "We just gave up big plays.
And those big plays - they cost."
Although Michigan's propensity
for giving up big plays is troubling
- especially when it has to face Iowa
quarterback Drew Tate this weekend
- the defense did make a number of
big stops of its own on Saturday. After
the Wolverines tied the score at 18,
Michigan's defense prevented the Nit-
tany Lions from crossing midfield on
their ensuing series. Woodley sacked
Robinson for a loss of eight yards to
stop the drive at Penn State's own 27-
yard line.
Woodley's four tackles for loss
were the most in the game and as
many as the Nittany Lions recorded
as a team. The junior leads the Big
Ten and ranks 16th in the nation with
14 tackles for loss this season.
But Woodley wouldn't have forgiv-
en himself or the rest of the defense if
Michigan had lost the game.
"Instead of stopping Penn State, we
ended up letting them score," Wood-
ley said. "We put our offense in that
situation. The whole time they were
down there, I wastblaming the defense
for getting bit in that situation."
Manningham's catch allowed the
defense to forget about those mistakes
- at least until they sit down to watch
film.
"I'm not going to think about that
right now," Harris said with a smile
after the game. "We won; that's all
that matters."
BIG TEN STANDINGS
Team
BaTen Overall
v.6 vlw v Wvoml
Penn State
Wisconsin
Iowa
Ohio State
Northwestern
Minnesota
Michigan
Indiana
Michigan State
Illinois
Purdue
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
Z
2
0
0
1
1
2
1
2
2
2
2
3
3
6
6
5
4
4
5
4
4
4
2
2
1
2
2
2
2
2
3
2
2
4
4
0
THIS WEEKEND'S RESULTS
MtCHGAN 27, Penn State 25
Wisconsin 38, MINNEsoTA 34
IOWA 38, Indiana 21
OHIO STATE 35, Michigan State 24
Northwestern 34, PURDUE 29
Date
Sept. 3
Sept. 10
Sept. 17
Sept. 24
Oct. 1
Oct. 8
Oct. 15
Oct. 22
Oct. 29
Nov. 12
Nov. 29
'M' SCHEDULE
Oooonent 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 L, 20-23
Penn State W, 27-25
at Iowa 1 p.m.
at Northwestern 7 p.m.
Indiana TBA
Ohio State noon
Defensive lineman Alan Branch (80) and the rest of Michigan's front seven did a good job containing Penn State quarterback Michael
Robinson for most of the game. When the Nittany Lions moved the ball in the fourth quarter, the Wolverines' offense responded.
drive - but lost containment on Rob-
inson twice.
It was that type of day across the
front seven. Michigan contained Rob-
inson and the rest of Penn State's
playmakers for most of the game.
But as they've done all season, the
Wolverines gave up big plays in the registered just one sack. But the Wol-
contest's critical moments. verines' defense prevented the fifth-
Michigan let Robinson exceed year senior from turning those yards
his season averages through the air into points until the fourth quar-
and on the ground - throwing for ter. Then, in addition to a four-yard
239 yards on 19-of-34 passing while touchdown run three minutes into
rushing for an additional 67 - and that frame, Robinson accounted for
WHO's NEXT: IOWA
Coming into the season, the Hawkeyes
were receiving a lot of media attention.
After losing games to Iowa State and Ohio
State, the hype disappeared. But Iowa has
quietly won three games in a row. Quarter-
back Drew Tate had the honor of being the
Big Ten preseason Player of the Year, but a
concussion knocked him out of two games
this year. He has come back, and with
the help of running back Albert Young and
receiver Clinton Solomon, put the Hawk-
eyes back on track.
WEEKEND'S BEST
NO LUCK OF THE IRISH: No. 1 South-
ern Cal escaped South Bend with a
dramatic win on a Matt Leinhart quarter-
back sneak from the one-yard line with
three seconds left. No. 9 Notre Dame
appeared as if it had won when time
expired with the Trojans driving close to
the goal line, but Pete Carroll convinced
the refs to put seven seconds left on the
clock. It was tight throughout, and Notre
Dame appeared set for the win when
Brady Quinn scored on a five-yard keeper
with 2:02 left. Reggie Bush led the Tro-
jans with 160 rushing yards and three
touchdowns, while Notre Dame's stand-
out Jeff Samardzija had six receptions for
HOW THE AP TOP 25 FARED
NEW AP
TOP 25
Associated Press Poll for the week of Oct. 9
Games updated through Oct. 15
Team:
1. Southern Cal
2. Texas
3. Virginia Tech
4. Florida State
5. Georgia
6. Alabama
7. Miami
8. Penn State
9. Notre Dame
10. Louisiana State
11. Florida
12. UCLA
Last week:
beat Notre Dame 34-31
beat Colorado 42-17
DN P
lost to Virginia 26-21
beat Vanderbilt 34-17
beat Mississippi 13-10
beat Temple 34-3
lost to Michigan 27-25
lost to Southern Cal 34-31
beat Florida 21-17
lost to Louisiana State 21-17
beat Washington State 44-41
This week:
at Washington
Texas Tech
at Maryland
at Virginia
Arkansas
Tennessee
Georgia Tech
at Illinois
BYU
Auburn
DNP
Oregon State
TEAM
1. Soul
2. Tex
3. Virg
4. Geo
5. Alab
6. Miar
7. Loui
8. UCL
9. Notr
10. Tex
11. Flo
12. Pe
13. Bo
14. Oh
15. Or
(first-place votes in parentheses)
REC PTS PVS
thern Cal (57) 6-0 1,617 1
as (8) 6-0 1,566 2
inia Tech 6-0 1,495 3
rgia 6-0 1,426 5
ama 6-0 1,306 6
mi 5-1 1,278 7
siana State 4-1 1,201 10
A 6-0 1,085 12
e Dame 4-2 1,020 9
xas Tech 6-0 1,007 13
rida State 5-1 1,003 4
nn State 6-1 854 8
ston College 6-1 809 14
io State 4-2 798 15
egon 6-1 665 20
I