4B - November 19, 2007 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 4 GAME STATISTICS injuries pain senior stars in loss Team Sats Fis Downsw Rush/Yds PasingYas OffensivePlays Toal Offense Return Yads Cmp/Att/In Punts/Avg Fmbles/Lost Penlalties/Yards Tme of Poss 59/229 50 72 7/13/1 11/37.4 3/0 3/40 MICH 8 24/15 76 61 12/37/0 12/45.9 2/0 4/45 22:10 M I C H I G A N C-A Yds 11-34 68 Att Yds Avg 18 44 2.4 1 -1 -1.0 3 -20 -6.7 24 is 0.6 TD 0 Int 0 Lg TD 12 0 0 0 0 0 12 0 9er No.' Yds Avg Lg ninghamn 5 34 6.8 10 er 4 24 6.0 8 ngton 2 13 6.5 8 TD By DANIEL BROMWICH Daily Sports Editor Losingto Ohio State always hurts. But for a senior quarterback with a sepa- rated shoulder and a senior running back with a bad high ankle sprain, the pain had to be nearly unbearable. "'Ithinkthey were in alot NOTEBOOK of discomfort," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "(Quarterback) Chad (Henne) got hit and knocked down once, I'm not exactly sure where it was, but from then on, he was hurting. The same thing happened to (runningback) Mike (Hart). "I wasn't in their shoes, but it was pretty obvious there was some discomfort there." Hart and Henne both indicated before the season that their winless record against the Buckeyes was a major factor in their return to Michigan. But Hart hasn't recovered from an ankle injury he suffered against Purdue five weeks ago, and Henne's shoulder hasn't healed in the four weeks since the Illinois game. "He wanted to come back, and I didn't think he threw the ball like I had hoped he would in the pre-game," Carr said. "We have no excuses here, but I think it's fair to acknowledge that Chad was not throwingthe football like he has. And Mike Hart was not at full speed - I mean, that's fundamental." Henne and Hart both attempted to play Saturday, but both had to remove themselves from the game at different points. Hart appeared to aggravate his ankle on Michigan's second offensive series and pulled himself out for the rest of the series. He alternated subbing himself in with sitting out throughout the rest of the game, never looking close to full health throughout. With fewer than four minutes remain- ing in the third quarter, Henne didn't come out on offense, instead jogging to the locker room with the Wolverine trainers. He didn't appear to be at full strength earlier in the game, under-throwing deep balls and loop- ing his passes on out patterns. Freshman Ryan Mallett came in for Henne and played one series. He gained a first down at the 50-yard line before the drive stalled. But Henne returned from the locker room just after the beginning of the fourth quar- ter and immediately inserted himself back into the game. "Chad Henne has led a few comebacks Yds Avg Lg 551 45.9 68 551 45.9 68 around here," Carr said. "And he wanted to play, and I listened to him because I think he deserved that." Henne couldn't lead a comeback in this one, even though some of his linemen didn't notice that he was in pain. "He's tough," right tackle Steve Schilling said. "If he was hurt, he didn't show it." Henne finished 11-of-34 for 68 yards, the only time he's finished with fewer than 100 yards in a game in his career (excluding last weekend's two-series game against Wiscon- sin). Hart wasn't more productive, gaining just 44 yards on 18 carries - the lowest total of his career in games where he's attempted more than nine rushes. DROPPING THE BALL: Even when Henne played through the pain (and the weather) and got the ball to his receivers, it wasn't always caught. Juniors Mario Manningham and Adrian Arrington might have had their worst games of the season. Manninghamdroppedfourpasses,includ- ing several key completions that would have resulted in first downs and extended Michi- gan drives. Arrington dropped a key pass on 2nd-and-11 in the fourth quarter that would have been good for at least 20 yards and put Michigan in Ohio State territory. The weather might have been an excuse, but Carr didn't want to use it. "I think there were balls that were dropped," Carr said. "I didn't think the weather was that negative. We just dropped some balls that we normally catch, that's all I can tell you." WEATHERING THE WEATHER: After struggling against Michigan State and Wis- consin, punter Zoltan Mesko returned to form Saturday, even in terrible weather con- ditions. In a game where field position meant more than usual, Mesko did as much as he could to help the Wolverines' cause. He punted a career-high 12 times and averaged 45.9 yards per kick. Mesko boomed a career-long 68-yarder in the second quarter that was downed at the four-yard line. The height of his punts, com- bined with theweather conditions,bothered the Buckeye returners. Ohio State muffed two kicks and scrambled to recover them. "I thought there was a period there where he was absolutely unbelievable," Carr said. "The kick he made at the end of the half real- ly changed the momentum of the game." KICKOFF RETURNS Player Harrison, B. Totals PUNT RETURNS Player Mathews 04s Avg Lg TD 36 18.0 22 0 36 18.0 22 0 Yds Avg Lg TD. Player Solo Ast Tot Eeh 8 4 12 Adams 5 7 12 Cable 7 3 10 Graham, C. 4 6 10 Illisnois 6 42 9 3 Mihgan 6 2 1 4 Johnson 3 3 6 Talor 1 3 4 Pent 2 1 3 Pollock 2 0 2 towa 4 4 6 6 MW udros 1 0 1 Inanak3 70 iscans 1 0 1 N~lortstern 0 516 1 Minen 0 1 11 BIG TEN STANDINGS Team Big Ten Overall Ohio State 7 1 11 1 Illinois 6 2 9 3 Michigan 6 2 8 4 Wisconsin 5 3 9 3 Penn State 4 4 8 4 owa 4 4 6 6 Indiana 3 5 7 5 M ichigan State 3 5 7 5 Purdue 3 5 7 5 Northwestern 3 5 6 6 M innesota 0 8 1 11 THIS WEEKEND'S RESULTS Ohio State14, MIcHIGAN 3 ILLINOIS 41, Northwestern 22 MICHIGAN STATE 35, Penn State 31t NNDIANA 27, Purdue 24 Wisconsn4,MNNES OA 4 FortOrego ign (6 28, Ai),th AROUND THE NCAA DUCKS CRIPPLED: Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon suffered a season-ending knee injury and Arizona cornerback Antoine Cason returned both an interception and a punt for scores as the Wildcats stunned the No. 2 Ducks 34-24. For Oregon (8-2, 5-2 Pac-10), the loss signals the end of both Dixon's Heisman hopes and the team's National Title aspirations. For Arizona (5-6, 4-4 Pac-10), the win lends head coach Mike Stoops some much-needed job security. SOONER SWOON: Oregon's loss opened the door for No. 4 Oklahoma to reassert itself in the National Championship picture, but an injury to its own quarterback, freshman Sam Bradford, prevented the Sooners from taking advantage against Texas Tech. After falling behind 7-0 early in the game, the Red Raiders reeled off 27 consecutive points, spurred by three Graham Harrell touchdown passes. Okla- homa made things interesting late with a pair of fourth-quarter Maunel Johnson touchdown receptions, but the Sooners couldn't recover an onside kick with less than a minute remaining. Oklahoma (9-2, 5-2 Big-12) drops into a tie with Texas for the Big-12 North lead, while Texas Tech (8-4, 4-4 Big-12) sits 1.5 games back. WARRIORS WHACK WOLFPACK: Hawaii's 28-26 victory over Nevada answered a lot of questions. The No. 14 Warriors (10-0, 7-0 WAC) proved they can win close games, win on the road and win without star quarterback Colt Brennan. Backup quarterback Tyler Graunke did his best Brennan impres- sion, tallying 358 passing yards and 3 touchdowns, and Hawaii's defense forced three Nevada (5-5, 3-3 WAC) turnovers and a safety. The win sets up a showdown between Hawaii and Boise State, which has been blowing out teams, next week- end with a WAC championship and pos- sible BCS bowl bid on the line. A Senior running back Mike Hart couldn't perform up to the standard he's set all season. He failed to come close to 100 yards on the ground. He collected just 44. 4 BUCKEYES: Roses, Big Ten Title disintegrate From page 1B for a touchdown, running back Chris "Beanie" Wells broke through for a 62-yard score to increase the Buckeyes lead to 14-3. Although Michigan still had nearly an entire half to close it, it would get no closer. "The fact is they beat us these last four years. That's the measure of who is better or not," Kraus said. "That's the way I look at it. And we didn't win. They were the better team today." The loss marks the first time since 1963 Michigan lost four in a row to Ohio State. It also brings a bitter end to the senior's careers at the Big House, where they all accomplished so much individu- ally, but, ultimately, failed ever to bring it all together. And it ends what had been an incredible turnaround by the Wol- verines. From National Champi- onship contenders to pretenders to right back in the Big Ten race, Michigan saw moments - Henne's heroics - that made the season much more special. But those will be relegated to footnote status in a season that will largely be remembered for its bookends: Traditional powerhouse falls in one of the greatest college football upsets ever. And: Lloyd Carr, in his final reg- ular-season game as head coach, loses to the Buckeyes, defeating them just once in his final seven years. With the regular season over, Michigan still has a bowl game to play. The seniors have never won one of those, either, so they'll get another shot this year. Where exactly has not been decided. But one thing is clear: Pasadena will never have seemed further away. 4 4 RODRIGO GAYA/Daiy Ohio State defensive end Vernon Gholston collected three sacks and acquainted himself with the Wolverine offensive line as he blew around the edge throughout the gawe Detroit native sparks ue's ofensive woes By KEVIN WRIGHT Daily Sports Editor Ohio State defensive end Vernon Gholston stood at midfield as the two teams filed off the field. He had every right to take a breather after abusing the Michigan offensive line to the tune of three sacks, but he had one last sprint left in him. After giving a brief postgame interview, the Detroit native took off to the southwest cor- ner of Michigan Stadium to celebrate with the Buckeye band and the rest of his team. Gholston's performance was just a sample size of the pressure Wolverine quarterback Chad Henne faced from the Buckeye defense. "I'm sure (Chad) Henne will see Vernon in his sleep," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. "He's a great football player, and our whole defense put a lot of pressure, and that's the dif- ference in the game." Gholston won't just be roaming around in Henne's subconscious. Most of the five offen- sive linemen designated to protect him should have those nightmares, too. Michigan could muster just three points on 91 total yards of offense, and at least part of the problem - if not the majority of it - started with the offensive line. "It's tough when things aren't going your way, and it's frustrating when you can't seem to get anything going," said right tackle Steve Schilling, who was replaced by Mark Ortmann in the fourth quarter. "But we definitely had our opportunities, we just didn't take advantage." Those Wolverine opportunities were infre- quent, but whenever the offense appeared to have a small spark of momentum, sacks and penalties stymied drives. Late in the third quarter, on freshman Ryan Mallett's only drive of the game, the Wolver- ines drove the ball to midfield before miscues doomed the offense. First, tight end Carson Butler was called for holding, pushing Michigan back to the 41. On the next play, Mallett hardly had time to look downfield before Gholston blew by Schilling and threw Mallett to the ground for a six-yard loss. That possession was just one of two second- half Wolverine drives that made it into Ohio State territory. The second ended just as badly as the first. After wide receiver Greg Mathews set up Henne and the offense with a nice punt return to the Buckeye 46-yard line, the offense lost three yards in three plays. In 15 possessions, the Wolverines went three-and-out 11 times and gained just 38 yards in the second half. The Buckeyes tallied a touchdown on nearly 200 yards after half- time. "Whenever we tried to get something going, we either got penalties or sacked," running backs coach Fred Jackson said. "A lot times we had it, we just shot ourselves in the foot, and that's the truth." But it wasn't just the obvious mistakes, like the drops or penalties. It started with the offensive line and the run game. Hart, still hindered by an injured ankle, hardly got the ball before the Ohio State defense was in his face. That's the way Tressel planned it. "Our defense was not going to let them con- trol the game with the run, and we did a pret- ty good job of moving the chains a little bit," Tressel said. And with Henne struggling to move the Wolverines through the air, the Buckeyes keyed in on the Michigan ground attack. Ohio State held the Wolverines to 15 rushing yards, a part of the game the Michigan offen- sive line prides itself on dominating. "They're really good," Schilling said of the Buckeye front four. "They're big and strong and they came ready to play." As Gholston ran to the corner of the south end zone after the game, it must have felt just as wide open as his path to Michigan's back- field. a .4 Senior quarterback Chad Henne struggled with his accuracy and didn't look close to 100 percent healthy. He completed just 11-for-34 passes. BELL: Defining the seniors From page 1B for it. Nothing to show for it - that's a fitting distinction for this group of seniors. Long could be the best line- man to ever don the maize and blue. Hart and Henne are both their respective position's all- time leader. But amid all of the individual accolades, there are very few pieces of hardware this group brought in over the past four years. And even though Carr won five Big Ten Championships during his time at Michigan, the what- have-you-done-for-me-lately nature of fans will remember his 1-6 record against Tressel much more than him hoisting up the National Championship trophy 10 long years ago. Is it fair? It depends who you're asking. But the debate could have been prevented. All Michigan had to do was write its own happy ending Sat- urday. - Bell can be reached at scottebumich.edu. 4 I A