4B - Monday, November 6, 2006 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com GAM: Tam, Stts Frst Downs eush/Yds PassigeYrds Offensive Pas Comp/At/Int Punts/Avg Fumbes/Lost Penaties/Yards TmTe of Pos PASSIN ARUSHI PayergA Hart, Mino Jackso Henne raston Totals1 RECEIVING Player BrEaston GBterA Arr igon ESTATISTICS Balanced backfield bowls over BSU BSU MICH 14 24 22/47 46/352 250 155 By MATT SINGER 56 71 Daily Sports Editor 297 507 169 175 18/34/1 17/2G/1 At the end of Saturday's game, the scoreboard at the 7/305 4/146 Big House displayed a disturbingly close 34-26 Michi- 1/U 1/U gan victory. 3/25 8/71 But on the ground, it was a much different story. 2:28 34:32 The Wolverines' running game completely dominated Ball State's defense, racking up a season-high 352 yards M I C H I G A N on 46 carries. "Whenever you can put 300- NOTEBOOK C-A Yds TD Int plus yards rushing on the ground, 1725 155 1 1 you smile as an offensive lineman," fifth-year senior 11-25 115 1 1 offensive lineman Rueben Riley said. "You just wish the scoreboard could be a little prettier." Att Yds Avg Lg TD Michigan tailbacks Mike Hart, Jerome Jackson 25 154 6.2 42 1 and Brandon Minor took advantage of massive holes TA 108 970 4G 1 punched by the offensive line and pumped out big gain A 11 1 U3 o after big gain againstthe Cardinals' overmatched defen- 1 1111 U 11 sive front. Each back scored a touchdown. 46 352 7.7 42 3 "We go out there with the mindset that every week we're gonna have to run the ball," guard Adam Kraus said. "It's good that we got to give Mike a little bit of a Y so Ag 12 o break. And the (other) guys came in and did an excel- 4 49 12.1 28 1 lent job." 2 25 125 17 U In the nine games prior to the Ball State contest, the 2 8 4.0 s 0 Wolverines had amassed just three rushing plays of IA14 l4G0 A4 Uo more than 30 yards. Michigan surpassed that total on 1 155 91 28 1 Saturday, rushing for 30-plus yards on four separate occasions against the Cardinals. With the Nov. 18 matchup against No. 1 Ohio State No. Yds Avg Lg looming, the coaching staff tried not to lean on Hart as 3 1630 38.7 HG much. But the game was tighter than expected, so Hart 4 146 365 52 carried the ball 25 times and picked up 154 yards - his eighth 100-yard performance int10 games. Still, the other backs had opportunities to shine. Jack- No. Yds Avg Lg TD son, a senior, played a key role in his final game at the Big 133 26.6 45House. He picked up 68 yards on six carries - including scampers of 23 and 30 yards - all in the first half. But Minor stole the show. The big freshman looked No. Yds Avg Lg TD extremely comfortable in the most extensive action of 2 22 110 11 his Michigan career. Hitting the holes with abandon, 11111.0 110 Minor finished with 108 yards on 12 carries, more than 4 42 17 11 o doubling his previous-best rushing total. Minor's most impressive moment came late in the second quarter, when he exploded outside of the right Solo Asst Tot tackle, chugged down the sideline and leapt to the pylon 1A S IA for a 40-yard touchdown run. 2 2 A "He's got some speed, he's a big guy, and I thought 3 0 3 the touchdown run he showed a burst," Michigan coach 3 0 3 Lloyd Carr said. "I think that gives him confidence, that 3 U 3 gives us confidence as we go to Indiana (next week)." Out on top: Even though it wasn't a blowout, Mich- 2 0 2 igan's victory was still a sweet send-off for this year's 2 S0 2 senior class. The Wolverines finished their home sched- 1 1 ule undefeated for the third time in the past four sea- l 0 1 sons. Over that stretch, Michigan has owned the Big House, amassing a 22-3 record in Michigan Stadium. 1 0 1 The seniors - along with their parents - were hon- 1 0 1 ored in an on-field ceremony prior to the game. 1 0 1 "(Senior Day is) a big deal," fifth-year senior Dar- 1 0 1 nell Hood said. "It's emotional. You really want to win, 1 0 1 more than anything. That's one thing I'm really satisfied about. I haven't lost this year, my last year in this sta- dium. It's a wonderful place that I'm going to miss." The Devil's Work?: Michigan's running game was dominant, but there was one glaring mistake: Hart's first-quarter fumble. N STANDINGS With the Wolverines pinned at their own two-yard line, Carr called Hart's number. But Ball State's Cortlan Big Ten Overall Booker punched the ball out of Hart's hand and out of the side of the end zone for a safety. MIKE HULSEBUS AND FOREST CASEY/Daily TOP: Senior running back Jerome Jackson trots into the end zone during his first-quarter touchdown. He gained 68 yards on the day. BOTTOM: True freshman running back Brandon Minor finds a hole in the Ball State defense. He picked up 108 yards with a touchdown. Hart had gone 665 carries since his last lost fumble. His streak ended on what would have been his 666th consecutive fumble-less rush. Move over A-Train: With a 23-yard field goal in the n fourth quarter, senior kicker Garrett Rivas moved ahead of former Wolverine running back Anthony Thomas for first place on Michigan's all-time career scoring list. Rivas now has scored 339 points in his Michigan career, compared to Thomas's 336 points. "It's a great honor," Rivas said. "I didn't even know till a little bit ago, when somebody told me I had done it. I'm excited, but it's really not one of the goals I wanted to achieve this year. The main thing I wanted to achieve this year was to end the season undefeated." Injury update: Tight ends Tyler Ecker and Mike Massey both dressed on Saturday, but didn't play. Carr said they could have played, but he decided to give them an extra week of rest. Senior linebacker Prescott Burgess went down early in the game with an ankle injury. He was seen on the sideline in street clothes during the second half. Carr indicated that the injury wasn't serious. Sophomore running back Kevin Grady sat out the game with a shoulder injury, but said he'd be ready to return next week against Indiana. Redshirt junior offensive lineman Jake Long came out of the game momentarily after he was kicked in the head. He returned to action soon after. BIG TE Team Michigan 6 0 10 0 Ohio State 6 0 10 0 Wisconsin 6 1 9 1 Penn State 4 3 6 4 Purdoe 3 3 6 4 Indiana 3 3 5 5 towa 2 4 6 4 Michigan State 1 5 4 6 ttinois 1 5 2 8 Minnesota 1 5 4 6 Northwestern 1 5 3 7 THIS WEEKEND'S RESULTS MIcHIGAN 34, Ball State 26 Ohio State 17,1LLINOS1 0 WIScoNslN 13, Penn State 3 Purdue 17, MIcHIGAN STATE 15 Northwestern 21, lowA 7 MINNEsoTA 63, Indiana 26 AROUND THE NCAA LOUISVILLE OUTLASTS WEST VIRGINIA IN MATCHUPOF UNDEFEATEDS: No. 5 Louisville put itself in the driver's seat for the Big East conference's BCS berth and possibly a title-game appear- ance with a 44-34 victory over previ- ously undefeated West Virginia. The Thursday night game was an offensive shootout, as the Big East powerhouses combined for 1,008 total yards. The host Cardinals broke the game open early in the third quarter with fumble and punt returns for touchdowns three minutes apart. Quarterback Brian Brohm led Louisville with 354 yards passing and a touchdown, while his counterpart, Pat White, rushed for 125 yards and four scores for No. 3 West Virginia. LOUISIANA STATE STUNS HOST TEN- NESSEE WITH TOUCHDOWN IN FINAL SECONDS: Trailing 24-21 in the final minute, Louisiana State quarterback JaMarcus Russell found Early Doucet for a 4-yard touchdown pass with 9 seconds left that held up in this SEC showdown. On the play, half of the Tennessee second- ary bit on the fake to the running back in the flat, leaving Doucet wide open in the back of the end zone. No. 8 Ten- nessee lost a 17-7 third-quarter lead before going ahead in the middle of the fourth quarter on a 54-yard connection from Jonathan Crompton to Robert Meachem. But Russell marched No. 13 LSU down the field late including a 4th-and-10 conversion before the dra- matic touchdown reception. OKLAHOMA HANGS ONOVER TEXAS A&M 17-16: With a 4th-and-1 on its own 29-yard- line and just under two minutes left in the game, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops played it risky and went for it. The con- version sealed the victory for the visiting Sooners. Both teams gained over 200 rushing yards while failing to muster tri- ple digits in passing yards. After an Aggie field goal with 328 remainingmade it 17- 16, No. 18 Oklahoma ran out the clock for a crucial Big12 victory. This result all but assures a Nebraska-Texas matchup in the Big XII Title Game. Manningliam's return makes Blue optimistic In a week where the top two teams in the polls, Ohio State and 4 Michigan, had shaky performances, Louisville proved the most impressive. The Cardinals knocked West Virginia from the ranks of the unbeaten. Louisville will have another chance to defeat an undefeated team when it squares off against Rutgers this Thurs- day. Meanwhile, California continues to roll through the Pacific 10. The Golden Bears have recovered nicely from the season- opening loss to Tennessee, who lost in heartbreaking fashion Saturday to Louisiana State. Brigham Young and Maryland found their way into the Top 25 for the first time this year. By SCOTT BELL Daily SportsEditor That uneasy feeling in fans' stomachs with Michigan's defen- sive struggles late in the game wasn't the only stimulus making its comeback on Saturday. Three weeks after undergoing successful knee surgery to replace a torn meniscus, crowd favorite Mario Manningham returned to action against Ball State. Manningham's appearance energized the crowd and motivat- ed an offense that had sputtered during his hiatus. "It was pretty cool to see every- body has that much respect for him," captain Jake Long said. "He deserves it because he's a great player. It was cool because all of us came out really fired up, too." With 2:29 remaining in the first quarter, the sophomore trotted onto the field for the first time since injuring his knee against Michigan State in early October. The Michi- gan faithful greeted Manningham - the nation's leader in touchdown receptions at the time of his injury - with a standing ovation. "I'm sure it made Mario feel great," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "I can tell you when he came back to practice on Tuesday his teammates felt the same way. ... Tuesday was really fun to see. Every time he ran downthe field, it brought a smile to everybody's face - especially Chad Henne." Maybe the biggest smiles should have belonged to the running backs. He didn't catch a pass, but Man- ningham still left his stamp on the offense thanks to his impact on the ground game. On two consecutive drives in the second quarter, backup run- ning back Brandon Minor broke 30-plus yard runs the play after Manningham entered the game - including his 40-yard touchdown scamper. Manningham's mere presence forced Bali State to drop an extra person into coverage, someone who otherwise would've concen- trated on stopping the run. "I think he makes a big differ- ence in the way that we're going to be defended," Carr said. "I think there's no doubt about that. We had a lot of success running the football today, and I'm sure that helped." TEAM LAST WEEK THIS WEEK 1. Ohio State beat Illinois at Northwester 17-10 2. Michigan beat Ball State 34-26 at Indiana 3. Looisvitle heat West Virginia at Rtgers 44-34 4. Texas beat Oklahoma State at Kansas Stat 36-10 5. Auburn beat Arkansas State Georgia 27-0 6. Florida beat Vanderbilt South Caroling 25-19 7. Southern Cal heat Stanford 42-0 Oregon 8. California beat UCLA 38-24 at Arizona 9. Notre Dame heat North Caro- at Air Forte ins 45-26 10. West Virginia lost to Louisville Cincinnati 44-34 11. Arkansas beat Tennessee South Carolina 26-20 12. Louisiana State beat Tennessee 28-24 Alabama 13. Tennessee lost to Louisiana at Arkansas State28-24 14. Boise State beat Fresno at San Jose Sta State 45-21 15. Rutgers beat Louisville Connecticut 24-13 16. Wisconsin beat Penn State13-3 at Iowa 17. Oklahoma beat Texas A&M 17-16 Texas Tech 18. Wake Forest beat at Florida Stat Boston College 21-14 19. Georgia Tech beat North at North Caroli Carolina State 31-23 20. Virginia Tech beat Kent State Miami (FL) 17-10 21. Oregon heat at Southern CQ Washington 34-14 22. Boston College lost to Wake Forest Duke 21-14 23. Maryland eat Clemson 13-12 Miami (FL) 24. Teoas A&M lost to Oklahoma 17-16 Nebraska 25. Brigham Young heat Colorado Wyoming State 24-3 rn t -1 te no :at Sophomore wide receiver Mario Manningham returned to action after missing three games with a knee injury. He played 13 snaps in his return. In all, the Warren, Ohio, native eluded reporters who sought com- participated in 13 plays, 11 of which ment multiple times. occurred in the middle two quar- He didn't answer any questions, ters. Carr said the team intended but assured reporters that he was to get him eight-to-10 snaps for the fine. game. Just getting Manningham back In terms of the passing game, on the field serves as a confidence Henne looked Manningham's way booster for the Michigan offense, during his progression multiple which had struggled without its times when the sophomore was on top wide receiver. the field. But Manningham drew After undergoing surgery on Ball State's full attention with mul- Oct. 10, Manningham missed the tiple double teams. Penn State, Iowa and Northwest- The one passsHenne did throw erngames - Michigan's three low- Manningham's way - on the est-scoring games of the year. receiver's 10th snap of the game And though Manningham was - was a fly pattern down the right held without a catch for the first sideline. The long ball ended up time in 16 games, Carr was happy sailing over Manningham's head with the progress he displayed on and falling incomplete. Saturday. After Carr eased Man- "It was a good shot because ningham back into the lineup they gave us single-high coverage, against the Cardinals, Manning- which would be one-on-one, but ham should be back to normal for the guy was playing too for off," the rest oftheyeor. Henne said. "It was kind of o no- "I think right now he's right win situation right there." where he needs to be, and I think Manningham's stealth contin- he'll be ready to start the game this ued following the game, when he week (against Indiana)," Carr said. I Games updated through Nov. 5.