SportsMonday, September 18, 2006 - The Michigan Daily - 5B
MAIZE GAUGE
The Michigan Daily football writers break down the weekend's stats that don't show up in the box-
score. The defense-o-meter measures the intensity of the defense, the Carr-o-meter judges Lloyd
Carr's demeanor following the game, and the hypemeter measures the fans' game performance.
_:
° ;
DEFENSE-0-METER
4 OK, so Michigan gave up 21 points. Let's analyze. Seven
points resulted from a four-yard drive. Consecutive blown
4 pass interference calls caused another score. That leaves
LaMarr one legitimate TD by Weis's vaunted offense. Amazing.
Woodleys
CARR-O-METER
4 Lloyd definitely enjoyed this one. After losing more often
/ than not in rivalry games the last few years, Carr finally
/ got payback. You could see it in the press conference,
Lloyd when Lloyd broke out in a smile and even enjoyed a laugh.
carrs
HYPEMETER
2/4 We immediately deducted a point when we saw blue shirts
/ replaced green in the student section. The crowd wasn't
much more impressive after Michigan stormed out to an
Student early lead. But it deserves credit for sticking around.
T-shirts
ale Aicigan yIr
STAFF PICKS
Predictions against the
spread for Sept. 16
No. 11.Michigan (+6.5) at No. 2 Notre Dame
Maryland (+16.5) at No. 5 West Virginia
Cincinnati (+29.5) at No. 10hio State
Duke (+34.5) at No. 14 Virginia Tech
Iowa State (+13.5) at No. 16 Iowa
UAB (+17) at No. 10 Georgia
No. 6 Louisiana State (+3.5) at No. 3 Auburn
No. 17 Miami (FL) (+4) at No. 12 Louisville
Youngstown State (+35) at No. 25 Penn State
No. 15 Oklahoma (+4.5) at No. 18 Oregon
No. 8 Texas (31.5) at R ic e
Portland State (+35) at No. 21 California
No. 24 Texas Tech (-1.5) at No.20 Texas Christian
No. 22 Arizona State (10.5) at Colorado
BYU (+7) at No. 23 Boston College
Clemson (+4.5) at No. 9 Florida State
No. 19Nebraska at (+18.5) at No.4 Southern Cal
No. 7 Florida (-4) at No. 13 Tennessee
Best Bet
Record
Overall
K'
,... 'e b
,..
. _ _
,<
a -
a y-s.
*, y ;
,
E
k
Bell
Notre Dame
West Virginia
Ohio State
Virginia Tech
Iowa State
Georgia
Auburn
Louisville
Penn State
Oklahoma
Texa
California
Texas Christian
Arizona State
Boston College
Florida State
Southern Cal
Florida
West Virg nia
11-6-1 (10)
23-11-2 (1-1)
Singer
Michigan
Maryland
Ohio State
Virginia Tech
Iowa State
UAB
Auburn
Louisville
Penn State
Oregon
Rice
California
Texas Tech
Arizona State
Boston College
Clemson
Nebraska
Florida
Oregon
9-1 (0-1)
18&162 (0-2)
Wright
Michigan
Maryland
Ohio State
Virginia Tech
Iowa
Georgia
Auburn
Louisville
Penn State
Oklahoma
Texas
California
Texas Tech
Arizona State
Boston College
Florida State
Nebraska
Tennessee
California
20-14-2 (1.1)
Notre Dame
West Virginia
Ohio State
Virginia Tech
Iowa State
Georgia
Louisiana State
Louisville
Penn State
Oklahoma
Texas
California
Texas Tech
Arizona State
Boston College
Florida State
Nebraska
Florida
Arizona State
10-7-1 (1-0)
19-52 (2-0
Kansas City Sta
Michigan
West Virginia
Ohio State
Virginia Tech
Iowa State
Georgia
Auburn
Louisville
Penn State
Oregon
Texas
California
Texas Tech
Arizona State
BYU
Clemson
Southern Cal
Florida
Virginia Tech
11-6-1(1-0)
22-10-2 (1-1)
Three-way tie for week's best after solid week by all
For the second-straight week, all five prognosticators were over the .500 mark. Celebrity picker J. Brady McCollough tied Scott Bell and Kevin
Wright for the week's best, notching the week's highest win total and getting his best bet correct. But Bell remains in the lead for the season, lead-
ing the rest of his beat mates by at least three games. Stephanie Wright, last season's winner and the only returning picker, seems poised on mak-
ing another run at the title and is the only person to get both best bets right. Matt Singer could learn a thing or two from her on those games.
THE MICHIGAN DAILY TOP 10 POLL
Junior running back Mike Hart continued Michigan's ground game dominance on Saturday.
3. Southern Cal: Isanyoneesegettingfredofthis
team? Sucks if youuare, because the Trojans aren't going
anywhere,especially after they easily dispatchedNebraska.
Now SouthernCaltfaces a succession of Pac-0 peons
- not that it has any in-conference competition, anyway.
8. Louisville: This team was supposed to be dead in the
water when star runningback Michael Bush went down.
But the Cardinals keep winning and keep winning
big - as Miami learned the hard waytlast week.
Louisville completely blew away the Hurricanes,317.
to take he <the Sear trophy :Georg a fes
- ldin't pt up s petC t D UMbers, but the
derip nse .shinzed i it s econd ,trjight, shu t.t
10. Louisiana State: It's hard to fault the Tigers
for losing to a team like Auhurn. But even io the
hard-hitting SEC, three points ain't gonna do it.
Louisiana State has plenty of weapons. Now, it must
learnhow omuse he to gnet back in the endizone.
WRIGHT
Continued from page 1B
Michigan. Sure, the defense and running game
looked good, and everybody on the team
explained the passing struggles by praising the
effectiveness of the ground attack.
For those outside the program, the questions
remained and the ugly 7-5 mark continued to
enter into Michigan football conversation.
The Wolverines hadn't traveled on the road
yet, especially to a place where they hadn't
won in 12 years. The defense hadn't faced a
potent offense, which offensive genius and
Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis boasts. And
the passing game - regardless of the running
attack - looked like its flight was delayed.
Sixty minutes. That's all it took for the Wol-
verines to permanently silence the 7-5 talk and
the falling off of the Michigan program.
The defense dirtied Notre Dame pretty boy
Brady Quinn. Woodley and defensive tackle
Alan Branch spent more time in the Irish
backfield than Notre Dame's running backs. It
was so bad that a despondent Quinn, hitched a
ride sprawled out in the flatbed of a Gator after
holding interviews following the game. Even
Notre Dame running back Darius Walker,
who has torched Michigan in years past, could
explain the defeat in just one word: "complete"
The Wolverines dominated the Fight-
ing Irish in every aspect of the game. Notre
Dame didn't register a first down until midway
through the second quarter, never moved the
chains in the third quarter, gave up the most
first half points (34) since 1998 when Michigan
State scored 45 in South Bend and totaled just
four rushing yards on the game.
Even when Notre Dame looked like it would
come alive with a touchdown at the end of the
half and another Wolverine collapse could be
placed in the annuals, the defense stood tall and
the offense kept the heat squarely on the Irish.
I saw just a few instances where a Michigan
defender had the chance to make a tackle and
missed. Quarterback Chad Henne and his
receivers turned wide receiver screens from the
first two games into fly routes and fades against
the Irish.
Henne, embattled since his struggles last
season, completed two more attempts than his
effort against Central Michigan, but compiled
107 more yards. He threw three perfect passes
to wideout Mario Manningham for three
Michigan's touchdowns after an early intercep-
tion. Most importantly, he outdueled Heisman
candidate Quinn, who used garbage time to
pad his stats to a respectable 24-for-48 for 234
yards day.
As for Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, he mas-
terfully guided his team while the media and
fans thought he had lost his edge. In the post-
game press conference, every answer Carr
gave reinforced the magnitude of the win. He
knew he had to win this one (the Wolverines
had been 0-6 in rivalry and bowl games the
last two seasons), and even received an early
shower, compliments of linebackers Shawn
Crable and Prescott Burgess.
Weis, a week removed from a 41-17 trounc-
ing of Penn State, was quick to point to Carr's
preparation as a reason for the lopsided loss.
"They've (Michigan) been much maligned
coming into this game," Weis said. "I have a lot
of respect for coach Carr and his staff."
You could look at this game as just the third
Michigan victory of the season. You might try
to downplay the win because a tough Big Ten
schedule awaits this Wolverine team.
Or you could see, and afterward hear,
Saturday's game for what it really was: The
birth of a new Michigan team.
- Wright can be reachedatkpwr@umich.edu.
5. Michigan: The Wolverines derailed Notre
Dame's hype train in dominating fashion. We're
not quite sure if Notre Dame was really overrated
or if Michigan truly is that good. Either way, the
Wolverines clearly earned a spot in our top five.
HART
Continued from page 4B
Hart's most impressive runs
weren't always his longest. In the
first quarter, Hart leaped over the
pile to score his lone touchdown of
the day. Late in the second quarter,
he ran over a Notre Dame defensive
lineman for a two-yard gain.
INJURY REPORT: It was a scary sight
for any Michigan fan.
Wearing a blue jacket over his uni-
form, Manningham walked through
the tunnel and into the Michigan
locker room just three minutes into
the third quarter. The sophomore
had fallen on his wrist during the
Wolverines' first drive of the second
half.
But Manningham's day wasn't
done just yet. At the end of the
quarter, he caught a 26-yard pass
that gave Michigan a first down and
helped set up another Garrett Rivas
field goal.
Talking to reporters after the
game, the sophomore said he wasn't
hurt and twisted around his wrist to
show that it felt fine.
Manningham wasn't the only
Wolverine to suffer an injury in the
third quarter. Right tackle Rueben
Riley missed most of Michigan's
first series of the quarter after his
left knee got kicked during a play.
The fifth-year senior went into the
locker room to ice his knee and
returned to the field for the Wolver-
ines' next drive.
NOTES: With a 17-yard return in
the third quarter, Steve Breaston
became the Big Ten's career punt
return leader. The senior wide
receiver had a season-high 64 yards
on four returns, giving him 1,352
punt return yards in his career ...
Placekicker Garrett Rivas moved
into fourth place on Michigan's all-
time scoring list. The senior made
two field goals and four of five PATs
to give him 290 career points ...
Cornerback Leon Hall's first inter-
ception of the season moved him
into a tie for ninth place on the Wol-
verines' career interceptions list.
HATE Us?
LOVE US?
WRITE TO THE
FOOTBALL BEAT
AT SPORTS@
MICHIGANDAILY.COM,
AND WE LL POST
YOUR COMMENTS
AND QUESTIONS
ON OUR BLOG.
4 1
I