4B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - November 21, 2005 Ohio State 2 5, Michigan 21 Loss merely a microcost Start with extremely high expectations, immediately get put in place, then make everyone believe something great can hap- pen, only to fall short. I'm not just talking about the pat- tern over a period of a three-month season. I'm talking about the pattern over a 60-minute game. This game. The Wolverines have a knack for stringing their fans along, allowing them to believe just long enough. The preseason hype: I don't know if everyone remembers, but Michigan was supposed to be one of the nation's elite this year - up there with South- ern Cal and Texas State. It was a team with all the tools. A national title con- L tender with an unstoppable offense. HE But that was just the hype. A loss to The Spo Notre Dame quickly put everyone in Co their places and lowered the goals of the Michigan faithful to a "reason- able" level - a Big Ten Championship. The pregame hype: Coming into Saturday's game, the aura around the Michigan program was pretty much as high as it had been all year. The way Michigan had stormed through big games over the last four games - games against undefeateds Penn State and Michigan State and on the road at Iowa and Northwestern - and the way teams such as Wisconsin so predictably blew it had fans think- ing about a Big Ten Championship. After coming out of the gates fast - I'd call a defensive stop for negative-four yards and an incomplete pass fast - the Wolverines gave up their first big play. It was a 15-yard pass to Santonio Hol- mes that gave Ohio State a first down on third-and-14. When the Buckeyes scored six minutes later, the 111,000 fans at Michigan Stadium seemed to let out a collective gasp, and they low- ered their standards to a more reason- able goal of not getting embarrassed by the Buckeyes. N The game starts to slip away: BERT On Saturday, things only got worse sWonday for Michigan after the offense's first o drive. The Wolverines were stopped cmn on fourth-and-one from Ohio State's 28-yard line after a bullet from Chad Henne zoomed by wideout Jason Avant. Then Ohio State got the ball back. Troy Smith marched his team 42 yards on 11 plays and Josh Huston nailed the 47-yard field goal to go up 9-0. Because of Michigan's inability to run the ball and help- lessness against Troy Smith a win seemed almost impossible. m of disappointing year The season starts to slip away: Things only got Ohio State's mobile quarterback, Troy Smith. Even worse for Michigan's season two weeks after Notre though Michigan was out-played all day, it looked Dame, when the Wolverines journeyed to Wiscon- as if it might pull out a win. sin. Another loss - on a final-minute drive by the The game's collapse: Reverting back to a Badgers - put Michigan behind in the Big Ten familiar trend, the Michigan defense gave up a race, and a loss to Minnesota two weeks later made game-winning drive in the final minute - it was -it seem almost impossible. the fifth time this year the Wolverines collapsed to The season's comeback: It was the string of finish the game. Smith walked all over them, mak- four wins in the middle of the Big Ten season that ing big play after big play. He ran for 14 yards on really had hopes high heading into "The Game." third-and-10 and threw two 26-yard passes to break It was the come-from-behind wins against Penn Michigan's back. The hopes of a third straight Big State and Iowa and the defense's new uncanny abil- Ten championship disappeared and the student sec- ity to stop good offenses, combined with missteps tion stood in disbelief. from preseason favorites Purdue and Iowa that The season's collapse: Back to one more trend: revived fans' spirits. Even without Mike Hart, the Michigan lost another big game. The team is now 3- offense won games on last-second drives against 9 in the last four years in bowl games and in games Penn State and Iowa, and it looked as if everything against Notre Dame and Ohio State. It broke the was finally clicking; it looked as if Henne was in a hearts of everyone in the Big House, not to mention groove; it looked as if, with a little help, Michigan the millions of fans watching across the country. might win the Big Ten after all. I've had chest pains all day, but I can't figure The game's takeover: It was a string of care- out if it's just heartburn from the spaghetti I ate less turnovers and stupid penalties by Ohio State for lunch or if my heart is actually breaking. And that gave Michigan some hope heading into half- I don't know if my heart is breaking because of time down just 12-7. It was three offensive drives in Saturday's loss or because of another disappointing the second half that gave Michigan the nine-point Michigan season. I guess the two are really just lead heading into the final seven minutes of the starting to blend together. game. Even with Mike Hart stuck on the sideline, the offense moved the ball and found ways to score. - an -ebertnran he reached a, More importantly, the defense found ways to stop iherbert@umich.edu. Team Stats. First Downs Rush/Yds Passing Yards Offensive Plays Total Offense Return Yards Comp/Att/nt Punts/Avg Fumbles/Lost Penalties/Yards Time of Poss osu 25 35/118 300 72 418 -15 27/37/0 2/31.0 4/2 5/50 31:39 MICH 17 24/32 223 61 255 35 25/37/0 4/37.5 2/0 3/20 28:21 GAME STATISTICS 0 MI I C H I G A N .A art, Flu PASSING Player Henne Totals RUSHING Player Hart Grady Bradley Manningham Henne Bass Totals RECEIVING Player Breaston Manningham Avant Massaquoi Bass Ecker Hart Grady Totals C-A 25-36 25-36 Att 9 6 1 1 5 2 24 No. Y 7 4 4 2 2 2 2 1 2 1 2 25 2' Yds 15 11 7 1 -3 32 Yds 53 64 36 24 15 13 11 7 223 Avg 1.7 1.8 7.0 1.0 0.2 -1.5 1.3 Avg 7.6 16.0 9.0 12.0 7.5 6.5 5.5 3.5 8.9 Yds 223 223 TD 1 1 Lg 4 3 7 1 4 7 Lg 12 38 22 13 8 7 15 5 38 TD 0 1. O 0 0 TO 0 0 1 Int O 0 I I Smith comes up clutch to' defeat Varsity By Ian Herbert Daily Sports Editor The Buckeyes were down nine points with 7:49 left in the game. But that didn't worry quarterback Troy Smith, who quickly led his team down the field for two quick scores. "Troy Smith took over the last couple drives to give us a chance," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. "Troy gives you that will to win and that command of his team." It took Smith just five plays to get Ohio State within two, but, like so many times before, Michigan's defense almost had him contained. It was third-and-10, and the secondary had Ohio State's receivers blan- keted. With nowhere to throw, Smith rolled to his left. He sidestepped Michigan defender after Michigan defender and somehow managed to pick up 14 yards and a first down. On the next play, Smith found Holmes for a 26-yard touchdown grab. "In the end, Troy Smith made too many plays," Carr said. "He scram- bled out of there when we thought we had him sacked and he made the pass. Prior to that, he made a big play on third down." They were supposed to be able to contain mobile quarterbacks. They were supposed to have figured out how to stop a spread offense. But Smith made everyone think otherwise. Much like last year, when the Buckeyes' quarterback torched the Wol- verines' defense for 390 all-purpose yards, Smith had all the answers on Saturday. After the game, it seemed everyone wanted to sing Smith's praises. Senior co-captain Pat Massey, who has started at defensive tackle every game this year, said that Smith was the best quarterback the defense has faced all season. "We've seen some good ones at Michigan State and Penn State, but I think Troy was the difference-maker out there, and we just didn't do a good enough job stopping him," Massey said. But it wasn't just one of those tales of late-game heroics. It had that too, but Smith's story started right from the beginning. Michigan came PUNTING Player Ryan Rivas Totals No. 3 4 Yds 128 22 150 Avg 20.0 15.0 17.5 Avg 42.7 22.0 37.5 Lg 20 15 20 Lg 50 22 50 TDO 0 O 0 KICKOFF RETURNS Player No. Paul 1 Breaston 1 Totals 2 PUNT RETURNS Player No. Totals O DEFENSE Player Burgess Harris Hall Mason Englemon Woodley Crable Branch Barringer Massey, P. Woods Trent Adams Johnson Massey, M. Watson Jamison Totals Yds 20 15 35 Yds O Solo 8 4 7 7 4 4 4 4 2 2 3 3 2 1 1 57 Avg Lg TD 0.0 0 0 Asst 2 4 0 0 0 0 O 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 12 Tot 10 8 7 7 5 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 2 1 1s 4 sYsTN WIy. ' y /haidy Defensive lineman Tim Jamison (90) rushes Troy Smith during Saturday's game. Smith's mobility enabled him-to elude Michigan's pass rush. out of the tunnel for the final time of the year fired up. Alan Branch stuffed running back Antonio Pittman on first down for a four-yards loss, and, after an incomplete pass on second down, it was third-and-14. Smith sat patiently back in the pocket and waited for wide receiver San- tonio Holmes to break free - 15-yard catch and a first down. That play was a back-breaker for the Wolverines, who then watched as Smith finished a 13-play, 80-yard scoring drive. The trip downfield ate up more than six minutes and got Ohio State on board first. "He was just a little more patient back there, scrambling around a little bit and waiting for the receivers to get open," rush end LaMarr Woodley said of Smith. Last year, Smith burned Michigan with his legs, rushing for 150 yards on 18 carries. This year, he had just 48 yards on the ground but was con- tent to beat the Wolverines with his arm. Like he did on that first drive, Smith converted third-and-long after third-and-long to keep drives alive, and he finished with 300 passing yards - a career-best. For almost two quarters in the middle of the game, it looked as if the defense might have figured Smith out. After allowing the Buckeyes to score on the first two drives of the game, Michigan gave up just one field goal on the next six Ohio State possessions - forcing two punts and two fumbles (one of which was by Smith) in that time. Last year, Michigan appeared almost helpless against mobile quar- terbacks. The Wolverines ended the year with games against Ohio State See SMITH, page 58 BIG TEN STANDINGS Team Big Ten Overall ww v g vvC g"i Penn State Ohio State Wisconsin Northwestern Michigan Iowa Minnesota Purdue Michigan State Indiana Illinois 7 7 5 ,5 5 5 4 3 2 0 1 1 3 3 3 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 9 8 7 7 7 7 5 5 4 2. 1 2 3 4 4 4 4 6 6 7 9 Buckeyes dismantle 'M' round attack in Blues loss 4 4 By Stephanie Wright Daily Sports Editor There's a reason it's called running out the clock. Holding onto a two-point lead, Michigan's offense took the field with more than six minutes left in the game. But the Wolverines attempt- ed two passes before freshman. Kevin Grady took a handoff up the middle for a loss of one yard $0 - the only time Michigan ran on 8 the drive. Unable to gain any yards on the ground, the Wolverines gave the ball back to Ohio State with 4:17 remaining. "The game was still in our hands," tailback Mike Hart said. "But down at the end of the game, when you want to work the clock, we didn't have the running game to do it. So we had to throw the ball." Michigan knew before the game began that it would have a hard time establishing the run against Ohio State. After all, the Buckeyes possess the second-stin- giest run defense in the nation and have allowed just one running back to gain more than 100 yards this season. But the Wolverines didn't expect its ground game to be completely shut down. Ohio State's front seven dominated Michigan at the line of scrimmage from the start, allowing the Wol- verines to gain more than two yards on just seven of their 24 rushing attempts. Even Hart - who briefly returned to the lineup after missing almost three games due to injury - couldn't find a way to churn out yards against the Buckeyes. Michigan started the contest with five straight pass- es before Hart notched a four-yard draw, but the Wol- verines didn't run again until their first drive' of the second quarter. On that series, Hart carried the ball four times with little success, gaining just six yards. Throughout the first half, most of the Wolverines' runs went up the middle, where Ohio State lineback- See RUSHING, page 58 THIS WEEKEND'S)RESULTS Ohio State 25, MICHIGAN 21 IOWA 52, Minnesota 38 Northwestern 38, ILLINOIS 21 Penn State 31, MICHIGAN STATE 22 Purdue 41, INDIANA 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 opponent 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 W, 23-20 at Northwestern W, 33-17 Indiana W, 41-14 Ohio State L, 21-25 RYAN WEINER/Daily Freshman taliback Kevin Grady (3) gained just 11 yards against Ohio State's stiff run defense. The Buckeyes stopped the Wolverines' rushing game despite losing linebacker Bobby Carpenter early. WHAT'S NEXT: A BOWL GAME Even though it's hard for the Maize and Blue faithful to think about anything other than the loss to Ohio State right now, the Wolverines' seven wins mean they're bowl eligible once again. But it's still unclear which bowl game Michigan will play in. The Wolverines' most likely destinations are San Antonio for the Alamo Bowl, Tampa for the Outback Bowl and Orlando for the CapitalOne Bowl. At least there's no chance Michigan will be celebrating the holidays in Detroit. WEEKEND'S BEST TROJANS PROTECT HOME FIELD: Southern Cal running back Reggie Bush strengthened his Heisman Trophy can- didacy in the No. 1 Trojans' 5042 win over No. 16 Fresno State on Saturday night in Los Angeles. The junior broke a Pac-10 record by rolling up 513 all-pur- pose yards, including 294 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. The Bulldogs gave the undefeated Trojans a scare, scoring twice in 12 seconds to take a 42- 41 lead with under 10 minutes remain- ing. LenDale White's rushing touchdown and Mario Danelo's field goal composed Southern Cal's comeback. The Trojans have won 33 games in a row. CREW' SINKS THIE':' No . Miami HOW THE AP TOP 25 FARED Associated Press Poll for the week of Nov. 20 Games updated through Nov. 19 NEW AP TOP 25 I (first-place votes in parentheses) Team: 1. Southern Cal 2. Texas 3. Miami 4. Louisiana State 5. Penn State 6. Nofre Dame 7. Virginia Tech 8. Alabama 9. Ohio State 10. Oregon 11. Auburn 12. UCLA' '1 W -,*tVi.gini Last week: beat Fresno State 50-42 Idle lost to Georgia Tech 14-10 beat Mississippi 40-7 beat Michigan State 31-22 beat Syracuse 34-10 beat Virginia 52-14 lost to Auburn 28-18 beat Michigan 25-21 beat Oregon State 56-14 beat Alabama 28-18 Idle H I This week: Idle at Texas'A&M Virginia Arkansas Idle at Stanford North Carolina Idle Idle Idle Idle Idle mitch urph TEAM 1. Southern Cal (50) 2. Texas (14) 3. Louisiana State 4. Penn State 5. Virginia Tech 6. Notre Dame 7. Ohio State 8. Oregon 9. Auburn 10. Miami 11. UCLA 12. West Virginia 13. Georgia 14. Alabama 15. TCU 16. Fresno State REC 11-0 10-0 9-1 10-1 9-1 8-2 9-2 10-1 9-2 8-2 9-1 8-2 9-2 10-1 8-2 PTS 1,586 1,550 1,449 1,390 1,283 1,281 1,249 1,107 1,101 981 932 862 857 723 722 663 PVS 1 2 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 3 12 13 14 8 15 16 - I I I I