4B - The Michigan Daily - SportsWednesday - October 18, 2006 THE BLITZ 4 Football GAME STATISTICS NO. 4 MICHIGAN 17 - PENN STATE 10 Team Stats Firrst Dow~ns Rush/Yds Passing Yards Offensive Plays Total Offense Return Yards Comp/Att/Int Punts/Yards Fumbles/Lost MICH +4 33/1 16 63 312 32 15/30/0 8/289 0/0 PSU 25/-14 200 56 186 135 17/31/0 7/279 2/1 Henne delights former coach i return By Scott Bell Daily Sports Editor Penalties/Ya PASSING Player Henne Totals RUSHING Player Grady Teamn Totals RECEIVING Player Arrington Breaston Butler Massey Totals PUNTING Player Ryan Totals KICKOFF RETU Player Breaston Totals PUNT RETURN Player DEFENSE Player Burgess Woodley Mundy Branch Hall Trent Biggs Harrison Taylor Crable Johnson Thornpson Oliugbo Savoy McClaurin Brown Englemon BIG7 rrds 6/50 1/8 STATE COLLEGE - As 110,000 disappointed fans filed out of Beaver Stadium Saturday night, there was at least one Pennsylvanian who wasn't M I C H I G A N cursing the name of Chad Henne. C-A Yds TD Int After Michigan's junior quarterback shook hands 15-30 196 1 0 with some friends on the Nittany Lions and did an 15-30 195 1 8 interview for ABC following the game, Henne's high school coach, Jim Cantafio, met him with Att Yds Avg Lg TD open arms and a huge smile. 2 t12 4.30 23 The two hugged near midfield and exchanged a 1 1 1.0 1 O few words before Henne exited to the locker room 1 -2 -2.0 0 0 to celebrate his team's 17-10 win. 33 116 3.5 23 1 "I'm very proud of Chad; he's such a classy young man," Cantafio said. "It's amazing that you can No. Yds Avg Lg TD come into this environment and do what he does 5 83 16.6 27 1 and stay so in control. 5 79 15.8 24 0 3 16 5.3 7 0 Henne, a Wyomissing, Pa. native, was the subject 1 10 10.0 10 0 of derogatory chants, signs and even T-shirts, the 1 8 8.0 8 0 brain child of angry Penn State fans. t5 196 10.1 07 t Byt the hostile homecoming couldn't stop Henne, who his former coach said was calm, cool and col- No. Toe Avg Lg lected considering the circumstances. 3 5 31 7 34 "He was so confident," Cantafio said. "He never 8 29 3e.1 43 seems to be nervous or uptight. He was looking for- ward to this opportunity because it was going to No. Yds Avg Lg TD be his only opportunity to come to his home state. 1 20 20.0 20 0 This was it, and he did, and I think he performed 1 20 20.0 20 0 very well." Ns His numbers may not have been jaw-dropping No. Yds Avg Lg TD (15-for-30, 196 yards, one touchdown), but Henne's 2 2 .0 0 0 leadership and poise in a crazy environment made up for the average numbers - and then some. Henne made checks at the line countless times, Solo Asst Tot fighting off the crowd noise to make adjustments to what Penn State's defense was showing. 3 2 5 "I think Chad Henne was just unbelievable in the 2 2 4 way that he was able to keep us in our offense and get us in the right play," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. 3 0 3 "There (are) a lot of teams that go into those situa- 3 0 3 tions and just decide they're not going to check the 2o 0o 2 play, they're just going to call a play and run it." 1 1 2 But Henne's poise and vocal cords weren't the 1 1 2 only things that led the Wolverines to victory. Not surprisingly, his arm did its part, too. 1 0 1 In the game's opening stages, Penn State's rush- 1 0 1 ing defense - second-best in the Big Ten - stifled 1 0 1 Michigan's star running back Mike Hart. 1 0 1 Henne was up to the challenge, playing mistake- 1 0 1 free football until finally breaking through and leading the Wolverines to their first touchdown in 0 1 1 the second quarter. 0 1 1 He threaded a 25-yard pass to sophomore Adri- 1 0 1 an Arrington perfectly through two Nittany Lion defenders, giving Michigan a lead it would never -- - - - - --- relinquish. "Henne made some outstanding plays," Carr TEN STANDINGS said. "That's really what enabled us to score some Junior quarterback Chad Henne extended his lifetime record against Penn State to 2-0 after helping lead his Wolverines into Happy Valley and escaping with a 17-10 victory. points." the game by angry Penn State fans who kept prank Henne's performance was even more impressive calling her. considering he was the Keystone State's most-want- But both the Wolverines from Pennsylvania and ed man Saturday night. their teammates were able to come together and "Of course there were some fans who were boo- remain undefeated despite all the obstacles caused ing and were saying names that weren't politically by the trip out east. correct," Henne said. "Just ignore it, let it go in one And in the process, Michigan was able to win ear and out the other and just come out and play over at least one Pennsylvanian. with your team." "Sure they can," replied Cantafio when asked if Henne wasn't the only Wolverine who didn't Michigan could run the table this year. "As long as get the kindest of welcomings during his return to they keep their heads on straight, they're going to Pennsylvania. Senior wide receiver Steve Breaston's head into Ohio State undefeated and play for a right mother was kept up until 4 a.m. the night before to the national championship." 3s .i 4 SSocIATED PREss POLL With a month standing between the Michigan-Ohio State bat- tie, the hype has already begun in earnest. The Buckeyes and Wolverines now hold the top two spots in the AP poll, with little standing in the way of a No. 1 vs. No. 2 battle on Nov. 18. Florida's gut-wrenching loss to Auburn opened the door for Michigan to move up and eliminated the final SEC team from the ranks of the unbeaten. Southern Cal fought off a tough challenge from Arizona State to remain at No. 3 in thepoll. Two Big East powers, West Virginia and Louisville, also both hold high spots in the AP poll, and seem destined for another clash of the unbeatens when the two meet in Louisville next month. Team Big Ten Overall Michigan Ohio State Wisconsin Purdue Indiana Iowa Penn State Illinois Michigan State Northwestern Minnesota 4 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 7 7 6 5 4 5 4 2 3 2 2 0 0 1 2 3 2 3 5 4 5 5 THIS WEEKEND'S RESULTS Michigan 17, PENN STATE 10 WISCONSIN 48, Minnesota 12 Ohio State 38, MICHIGAN STATE 7 INDIANA 31, Iowa 28 Purdue 31, NORTHWESTERN 10 Ohio 20, ILLINOIS 17 AROUND THE NCAA TIGERS TAME GATORS, NO UNBEAT- ENS LEFT IN SEC: Trailing 17-11 at half- time, Auburn came out of the locker room and clamped down the Florida offense, holding the Gators scoreless in the final two stanzas. The Tigers benefited from a blocked punt returned for a touchdown and a late Florida fumble in the redzone to take the game 27-17. Auburn used a balance air and ground attack, with quarterback Brandon Cox throwing for 187 yards and running backs Brad Lester and Kenny Irons running for a combined 161 yards. With the Gator loss, the highly touted Southeastern Conference no longer boasts an undefeated team, which could prevent the nation's top conference from placing a team in the national championship game. COMMODORES LATE DRIVE DOOMS GEORGIA: It's been 12 years, but it finally happened. Vanderbilt, winner of just four of its 43 contests againstrGeorgia, defeated the Bulldogs 24-22. After Georgia's Tony Taylor returned an interception 24 yards for a touch- down,the Bulldogsojumped out to a22-21 lead. But Vanderbilt drove to the Georgia 16 yard-line, and kicker Bryant Hahnfeldt nailed a 33-yard field goal with two seconds leftito stun Georgia. Commodore quarterback Chris Nickson passed for 190 yards and two touch- downs in the upset victory. Georgia had not lost to an unranked team since 2002. FLORIDA FIGHT NIGHT: Go into the Orange Bowl and you better not disre- spect Miami. At least that's what Florida International learned. On the extra-point attempt following a Hurricane score late in the third quarter, a team-wide brawl broke out, resulting in 33 players suspended and two Florida International players being removed from the team. Featured in the brawl were helmets used as weapons and numerous stompings on heads and calves. M'passing game survives sans Mari~o By Stephanie Wright Daily Sports Editor STATE COLLEGE - Mario Manningham might have been sidelined, but that didn't stop Michigan from airing it out. Instead, receivers Steve Breaston and Adrian Arrington proved they were up to the challenge of fill- ing Manningham's shoes. On the first play of the second quarter, quarterback Chad Henne completed a 15-yard pass to Breaston in traffic. One play later, Adrian Arrington gained 15 yards on his first catch of the day, which Breaston followed with an 11- NOTEBOOK yard reception. The drive culminated in a 25-yard touchdown pass to Arrington, who split two Penn State defenders to scam- per into the end zone for the Wolverines' first score. "(Arrington) caught two or three balls with people all over him, where his feet ... were extended, and he caught them early in the game," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "I thought Adrian made some great plays, particularly in the first half." Arrington finished the game with five receptions and 85 yards, both career highs. Breaston grabbed five balls for 79 yards, including a 24-yard catch that helped set up Michigan's second touchdown. Even though the receiving corps played well, Man- ningham was still missed. Henne tried to connect with Breaston on a few deep passes - Manningham's calling card - but the fifth-year senior couldn't pull them in. At his weekly press conference, Carr seemed opti- mistic about Manningham's progress, reporting that the sophomore had suffered minimal swelling after undergoing knee surgery. But Carr didn't give a time- table for Manningham's return. On Monday, Carr confirmed that Manningham started rehab on his knee late last week. Apparently, the encouraging news put Carr in a jok- ing mood. "I saw him in there on Friday and asked him if he had run, and he said, 'No: " Carr said after Saturday's game. "I said, 'That's because you're soft and you're not tough.' Of course that got a big smile out of him." BRINGIND' A NOISE: When the student section started filling in more than two hours before kickoff, you knew Beaver Stadium was going tobe loud. By game time, it was deafening. "It was definitely a lot louder than the crowd noise we prepared forin practice" Henne said. "I was screaming at the top of my lungs just so everybody could hear." Said linebacker Prescott Burgess: "This is one of the loudest stadiums I've ever played in" To get ready for the hostile Happy Valley, Michigan practiced with its crowd noise machine on full blast last week, blaring music while Henne tried to relay plays to Steve Breaston shined in Mario Manningham's absence. the rest of the offense. The Wolverines' preparation seemed to be for naught at the start of the game. Michigan racked up two false start penalties on its opening drive, forcing back- to-back second-and-long situations. But the offense adjusted and didn't commit another false start for the rest of the contest. "It was a real problem early on; it was pretty rowdy in there" Arrington said. "But we kind of settled down, and once we got on the board, the noise kind of sub- sided and it was pretty easy until the end." Penn State tailback Tony Htnt's late touchdown off a 43-yard screen fired up the Nittany Lion faithful, mak- ing it almost impossible to hear on the field. That is, until Michigan's defensive stand shut the Penn State fans up for good. LET'S Go BowLING: During Sunday's NFL telecast, FOX announced the Bowl Championship Series stand- ings for the first time this season. Thanks to their big road win over Penn State and Florida's first loss, the Wolverines debuted at No. 3. Predictably, Carr said he isn't concerned with Michi- gan's place in the rankings, BCS or otherwise. "As far as putting any stock into them, it doesn't mat- ter because they're going to change next week:' Carr said. "Somebody is going to fall, somebody is going to rise, so you better take care of the business at hand" Not surprisingly, Ohio State came in at No. 1. The Buckeyes have been the near-consensus No. I team in the AP and ESPN/Coaches polls since the season began. Southern Cal's No. 2ranking was a little more contro- versial. The Trojans have eked out a series of close wins over mediocre teams recently, and pundits have ques- tioned whethoer they deserve to be ranked so highly. Either way, the Wolverines' No. 3 position means they control their destiny as the season progresses. If Michigan wins out, it's almost guaranteed a spot in the BCS national championship game. TEAM 1. Ohio State 2. Michigan 3. Southern Cal 4. Westvirginia 5.Texas 6. Louisville 7. Tennessee 8. Auburn 9. Florida 10. Notre Dame 11. California 12. Clemson 13. Georgia Tech 14. Loulslana State 15. Arkansas 16. Oregon 17. Nebraska 18, Boise State 19. Rutgers 20. Oklahoma 21. Wisconsin 22. Boston College 23. Texas A&M 24. Missouri 25. Wake Forest LAST WEEK THIS WEEK beat Michigan Indiana State 38-7 beat Penn Iowa State 17-10 beat Arizona at Oregon State State 28-7 beat at UConn Syracuse 41-17 beat at Nebraska Baylor 63-31 beat at Syracuse Cincinnati 23-17 idle Alabama beat Tulane Florida 27-17 lost to Georgia Auburn 27-17 Idle UCLA beat Washi ngton Washington Slate 21-3 beat Tewple 63-9 Georgia Tech Idle at Clemson beat Kentucky 49-0 Fresno State beat SE. Missouri Mississippi State 63-7 beat UCLA 30-20 at Washington State beat Iowa Texas State 21-3 beat New Mexico at Idaho State 40-28 beat Navy 34-0 at Pittsburgh beat Iowa Colorado State 34-9 beat Minnesota 4812 at Purdue beat Virginia at Florida State Tech 22-3 beat Missouri 25-19 at Oklahoma State lost to Texas Kansas State A&M 25-19 betNorth Carolina Idle State25-23 4 I I I I 4 Games updated through Oct. 16,