FooTBALL:
Special teams plays
extra special during
Michigan's big win.
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THE SPORTSMONDAY COLUMN:
The Cosmos did it in 1978.
Can it be done today?
PAGE 3B
WOMEN'S SOCCER:
Penn State proves
to be too much for
the Wolverines.
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By Stephanie Wright
Daily Sports Editor
All week in practice,
defensive line coach Steve
Stripling warned his players
that containing Wisconsin's
rushing attack would be
challenging. The Wolverines
boasted the nation's No. I
rush defense, but they hadn't
faced a run-first offense like
that of the Badgers in any of
their first three games.
So the question going into
the game was: How would
Michigan fare against Wis-
consin's bruising tailback
and imposing offensive line?
Stripling had little reason
to worry.
The sixth-ranked Wolver-
ines turned in another domi-
nant performance, holding
Wisconsin to just 12 net
rushing yards en route to a
27-13 victory in their Big Ten
opener.
"It's a great feeling," tail-
back Mike Hart said. "They
were getting three-and-outs,
three-and-outs. ... You're
always aware of it on the
bench. Because if you come
off and real quick you've got
to go right back in, you know
they're playing great."
On Saturday, great was an .
understatement.
Starting in the second
quarter, eight consecutive
Wisconsin drives ended with
a punt. Seven of those were
three-and-outs.
Michigan notched 10
tackles for loss, costing the
Badgers 54 yards.
The Big Ten's leading
rusher coming into the game,
Wisconsin tailback P.J. Hill,
finished the day with 54
yards on 20 carries. In the
second half, the Badgers
rushed 11 times for just four
yards.
Saturday represented the
latest chapter in Michigan's
defensive rebirth this season.
Last year, the Wolverines
allowed eight running backs
to gain at least 100 yards on
the ground. In four games
this season, Michigan has
given up just 74 total rushing
yards.
"The way they're stopping
the run - Wisconsin is a
powerhouse running team,"
said quarterback Chad
Henne, who completed 18-
of-25 passes for 211 yards.
"If teams need to throw the
ball every down, then our
defense is going to come up
with some stops."
Which is exactly what
Michigan did, except for a
small slip-up on the Badgers'
first offensive drive. Three
minutes into the game,
Wisconsin gained posses-
sion at its 40-yard line when
cornerback Allen Langford
intercepted a bobbled pass
intended for receiver Mario
Manningham, the first of
Henne's three interceptions.
From there, the Badgers
marched down the field for
their only touchdown of the
day, a 29-yard pass to a wide-
open Hill.
"We were kind of stiff out
there," defensive tackle Alan
Branch said. "Once we start-
ed playing the second series
and started having fun, we
See BADGERS, page 5B
Back-to-back gems
prove Mlario's a star
Two different years, two
different roles, two dif-
ferent results.
For sophomore wide receiver
Mario Manningham, Saturday's
Wisconsin game marked a full-
circle turn in his young career.
Last season, Manningham
was the silver lining in the
Wolverines' 23-20 loss at
Wisconsin. The then-true
freshman had his first career
100-yard receiving perfor-
mance in the losing effort,
4t
- 9
SCOTT
BELL
Too Soon?
which ended up being his lone
game with triple-digit receiv-
ing yards in 2005.
It was a nice story: A third,
maybe fourth option at best, who
is unfamiliar with the playbook
coming up with some big plays.
It's a game most role players would
kill for.
But Manningham no longer
has to have murderous thoughts
- he's the star now.
His biggest concern is no
See BELL, page 5B
TOP: Alan Branch celebrates one of four team sacks on the
day. BOTTOM: Mario Manningham keeps his eyes on the prize.
Stickers shine in
Iowa darkness
Knot too bad:
Blue ties Indiana
in Big Ten match
By Chris Herring
Daily Sports Writer
IOWA CITY - During its
Big Ten opener on Friday night,
it almost seemed as if someone
was controlling the Michigan field
hockey team's
momentum n 2
with a light
switch.
Literally.
With the Wolverines holding an
early 1-0 lead, senior captain Mary
Fox had just begun to distance her-
self from Iowa defenders as she
dashed down the right sideline for
a breakaway with about six and a
half minutes to go in the first half.
Just as she was making her move
toward the goal, the field lights
standing high above Iowa's Grant
Field suddenly went out, halting
play for over 20 minutes.
"I've never seen anything like
it," Iowa associate athletic direc-
tor Paula Jantz said, describing
the outage. "It's never happened
before."
But once the lights came back
on and play resumed, Michigan
looked as if it was still in the dark.
While the Wolverines were slug-
gish following the light outage,
the Hawkeyes returned to the field
ready to play.
Iowa picked up a goal to tie the
score at one just minutes after play
restarted and dominated the Wol-
verines defensively for the rest
of regulation, sending what had
already been a crazy contest into
overtime.
But Michigan had just enough to
pull it out in the end when junior
Lucia Belassi's overtime goal with
under three minutes to play in the
extra period sealed Michigan's 2-1
victory over No. 20 Iowa.
According to Fox, the win was
important simply because it was
against a team like Iowa.
"It would have been bad if we
had lost," Fox said. "Every Big Ten
game counts for us. It was a huge
win because it was against Iowa,
and we consider them to be one of
our top rivals in this conference."
Prior to the outage, the Wol-
verines (1-0 Big Ten, 5-5 overall)
controlled the opening half. Soph-
omore Stephanie Hoyer got the
By Jamie Josephson
Daily Sports Writer
In seven years, it never hap-
pened.
In nine tries, it remained elu-
sive.
In the,'
history of
the pro-
gram, the
Michigan men's soccer team has
never defeated Indiana.
Yesterday in Bloomington,
the Wolverines' winless streak
against the Hoosiers continued.
But for the first time, it was Indi-
ana who failed to tally a "W"
against Michigan.
After two overtime periods,
the game ended in a 2-2 tie.
"After the game, you could
see a couple of smiles on the
guys' faces because getting a tie
on the road against a good team
will help us in the end," Michi-
gan coach Steve Burns said.
"But at the same time, a lot of
guys were unhappy because of
the will to win that we've got
right now and the belief that we
are going to win."
From the opening minutes of
the first half, Michigan (0-1-1
Big Ten, 5-4-1 overall) looked
to be on its way to a historic vic-
tory.
After an Indiana foul inside
the 18-yard box in the fourth
minute of play, sophomore
Michael Holody took a penalty
kick for Michigan. As the go-to
player for penalty shots, Holody
got the job done and converted,
giving Michigan an early 1-0
lead.
"Mike has real good recogni-
tion of what the goalie is going
to do," Burns said. "He is real
solid when it comes to penalty
shots."
See HOOSIERS, page 2B
EMMA NOLAN-ABRA HAMIAN/Daily
Fighting hard early, Lucia Belassi came through late to deliver a win
for Michigan. The junior's overtime goal sent Iowa home disappointed.
team on the board first when she But then things got strange,
received a pass from sophomore and the conspiracy theory began.
Michaela McDermott and blasted a Hoyer jokingly said that the Hawk-
line drive into the upper left corner eyes (0-1, 4-5) may have known
of the goal to give Michigan a 1-0 more about the outage than what
lead almost 17 minutes in. See HAWKEYES, page 2B
A
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