The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
November 5, 2007 - 5B
DEFENSE
From page 'lB
came out with the intensity."
Said Michigan linebackers
coach Steve Szabo: "The first half
was what I would have expected
us to do, and then the second half
we didn't do it. That's disappoint-
ing. I'm glad it happened, because
it sends our players a message. We
haven't played a good running foot-
ball team in while, we had a chance
to play one today and found out we
were a little bit short."
After Michiganstopped the Spar-
tans' next drive, Ringer showed
why he's considered one of the
best running backs in the nation.
Ringer started his run left and was
met several yards behind the line
of scrimmage by linebacker Shawn
Crable. Crable spun Ringer around
but couldn't take him down. Ringer
kept his balance and, reversing field,
raced down the right sideline for
72 yards before Crable caught him
inside the Michigan 5-yard line.
"That's what I told Ringer after
the game. I said, 'You little blan-
kety-blank, I had you. And then you
get out on me,"' defensive coordina-
tor Ron English said. "But I respect
Ringer. He's a great player, and he
made a great run."
While English was disappointed
that the tackle wasn't made origi-
nally, he had trouble staying mad at
Crable. r
"I was so proud of (Crable) and
the play he made that, I couldn't
even get pissed off," English said,
"If you can't get excited about that
play, you shouldn't be out there."
But Michigan State threw a short
touchdown pass on the next play to
take a 17-14 lead. And after another
Michigan three-and-out, the Spar-
tans went back to the ground, run-
ning on eight of the drive's 10 plays.
Caulerick did most of the work,
gaining 35 yards on seven carries
and finishingthe drive with another
one-yard touchdown that extended
the Spartan lead to 10 with less than
eight minutes remaining.
After Chad Henne led a .quick
touchdown drive to cut the deficit
to three, the Wolverine defense
knew it needed a stop so its offense
could finish the comeback.
And it did. Caulerick gained
eight yards on second down, but on
third-and-two - the same down
and distance Caulcrick converted
numerous times earlier in the half
- the Michigan defense rose to the
challenge, stuffing him for no gain.
"We had to make a stand, and
we picked the right time to do.it,"
defensive tackle Terrance Taylor
said. "We didn't play too well in the
second half - people out of their
gaps, people not doing their job -
but we stepped it up and that's what
counts."
With another touchdown added
by Henne and wide receiver Mario
Manningham to regainthe Wolver-
ine lead, the defense stepped back
on the field in need of just one more
stop to lock up the victory.
Spartan quarterback Brian
Hoyer completed five straight pass-
es, quickly moving his team to the
Michigan 34-yard line with 1:34
remaining. But Crable and line-
backer Obi Ezeh met Hoyer in the
backfield'on first down, dropping
him for an eight-yard loss. Hoyer's
second pass was well-defended by
backup safety Stevie Brown, and
his third attempt was broken up
by cornerback Morgan Trent. On ,
fourth-and-18, Hoyer's pass intend-
ed for Kellen Davis was too far in
front of the well-covered tight end,
and Michigan finally breathed a
sigh of relief.
"We just had to man up," Tay-
lor said. "It was do or die. We were
going to stop them or we weren't.
Everybody stood up like a man and
did their job. Morgan made a great
play. Steve Browncame in andimade
a heck of a play. We just had alot of
guys step up the last two series."
Senior quarterback Chad Henne led two drives in the fourth quarter of Michigan's comebac
r HERMAN: Henne key for 'M'
From page 1B
that, save for a few passes with
a trainer Thursday morning,
Henne's shoulder injury kept him
from throwing a ball last week.
Exit: The 8-for-20 Henne, down
24-14.
Enter: The man who added
a whole year to Michigan State
Mark Dantonio's calendar. Chad
the Spartan Killer. Destroyer of all
dreams green.
Now 4-0 against Michigan
State, Henne has thrown for 14-
career touchdowns versus the
Spartans. But whereas Henne fol-
lowed freshman Braylon Edwards
in his four-touchdown perfor-
mance freshman year, Saturday,
the quarterback led the Wolver-
ines.
Not before somehow find-
ing another body part to injure,
though. On the first play of the
drive that began with less than 8
minutes left, Henne threw a first
down to Adrian Arrington, but
limped off the field in pain. As he
nursed the ankle he heard crack
under the weight of 298-pound
Steve Schilling, Henne watched
freshman quarterback Ryan Mal-
lett fumble for the 10th time this
season.
"I felt a little crackle, and I was
like 'Oh god, I can't put pressure
on my foot,' and I was like 'Not
another injury for me,' " Henne
said. "I kind of hobbled off, and
toward the sideline I felt a little
better. So there's no reason why I
couldn't go back in."
Luckily, he had a shot to.
Hart jumped on Mallett's
fumble and ran it for a first down,
giving Henne another chance to
lead a drive. And what a drive it
was. To Butler. To Mathews. To
Arrington. To Mathews.-To the
end zone. Nearly as quickly as
Henne's detractors had called for
Mallett to play earlier this season,
the senior had the Wolverines
within three.
Forty-eight seconds. Seven
plays. Seventy-nine yards.
And he wasn't done.
With 4:28 left, Henne (with
some help from Manningham and
Arrington) marched back down
the field, this time to the Michi-
gan State 31-yard line. Henne had
completed nine of his previous 12
passes. And then came No. 10.
On third-and-12, Henne
audibled and sent Manningham
to the end zone. And in almost but
not quite Braylon-esque fashion,
the junior jumped and made an
incredible catch over Ross Weav-
er's head.
Wolverines 28, Spartans 24.
Carr was a bit upset Henne
went for broke on that third-
down. Still 31-yards from the end
zone, the coach viewed it as four-
down territory.
But that's about the only way
Henne wronged him.
Tackle Jake Longreceives a lot
of attention because, as an offen-
sive lineman, he's not supposed
to get it. Running back Mike Hart
gets it because, well, he's Mike
Hart. And both deserve all that
praise.
But without quarterback Chad
Henne - rightly criticized and
wrongly booed earlier this season
- Michigan would be, at best, 5-5
and fighting for bowl eligibility
over the season's final two weeks.
In September, with an offense
thatlooked stagnant under
freshman Ryan Mallett, Henne
returned from a knee injury to
engineer a second-half comeback
against Northwestern. Less than
a month later against Illinois, he
returned from an injury to his
throwing shoulder to steady the
Wolverines after Mallett nearly
threw the win away.
But Saturday, Henne's per-
formance made his coaches and
teammates regret they had wasted
all their kind words on him two
weeks earlier.
Because now, what else did they
have left to say?
"Chad is crazy," cornerback
Donovan Warren said. "He
showed a lot of stuff. Showed a lot
of heart. He's a warrior. That was
the true definition of a warrior
there."
Michigan may not have wanted
the Paul Bunyan Trophy when it
first played for it in 1953. But after
this game, there was no way the
Wolverines weren't proud of their
newest mythical man.
- Herman can be reached
at jaherman@umich.edu.
'Mi\ORE ON LINE If you want more coverage from this weekend's Michigan action, includ-
ing staff picks, be sure to go online and check our website at
at michigandaily.com www.michigandaily.com.
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