The Michigan Daily -y michigandaily.com September 14, 2009 - 3B The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom September14, 2009 - 3B GAME STATISTICS jTeam Stats First Downs Rush/Yds Passing Yards Offensive Plays Total Offense Kick returns/ Yds Punt returns/ Yds Comp/Att/nt Punts/Avg Fumbles/Lost Penalties/Yards Time of Poss PASSING Player For.er Totals RUSHING Player Minr ForierI IRobinson frown Odoms Totals RECEIVING Player P Mathews Stom KOer &own Odoms Savoy Grady, Kel. Totals PUNING Per r Fcer - Totals IKICKOFF RETURNS Player Odoms PUNT RETURNS PlayerH TAKLESR Player Woofk WhiAs EHRHR Graham Kovcs RohA Matthews Flyd North Sith PASSING RUSHING Player . y Kem Grayj. iRick RECEVNG Player h PRudolph tiAllen Gray J. Karanr PUNIN Player Maust KICKOFF RETURNS Payer VGau Rddck Toal PUNT RETURNS Playr Hering TACKLES Smith, H. McCarthy Smith, B. Walls McNeil Smith, T. Fleming Johnson Williams Ryan Blanton Brown Gordon Lewis-Moore r Anel Telo Anello Slaughter Motta Totals MICH 21 38/190 240 71 430 7/202 0/U 23/33/1 4/40 3/0 6/59 28:35 ND 27 30/154 336 72 490 3/100 1/5 25/42/0 5/36 1/1 9/75 31:25 M IC H IGA N C-A Yds TO 23-33 240 2 23-33 240 2 Att Yds Avg lg 16 106 6.6 32 13 70 $.4 31 4 21 5.2 14 4 -3 -0.8 6 1 -4 -4.0 0 38 190 5.0 32 TD t t 0 0 0 2 No. 4 4 4 3 2 1 23 Yds 68 54 38 36 18 23 3 240 Avg 9.0 13.5 9.5 9 6 11.5 3 10.4 Lg 40 24 20 17 11 17 3 40 TD 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 No. Yds Avg Lg 1 50 50 50 5 180 36 50 No. Yds Avg Lg TD 6 108 18 25 0 No. Yds Avg Lg TD The Wolverines jump into the student section in celebration seconds after Greg Mathews' game-winning touchdown catch with 11 seconds left Saturday. Wolverine receivers react to Mathews' game-winning catch Solo Asst 5 3 4 4 2 5 3 3 3 3 4 1 4 1 3 0 2 1 1 2 2 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 38 26 Notre G-A 25.42 Tot 8 8 7 6 6 5 5 3 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 0 63 D a m e Yds TD 336 3 Att 21 1 1 2 3 1 1 30 No. 9 7 3 2 2 1 1 25 Yds 139 10 5 0 0 0 0 154 Yds 115 131 38 24 15 7 6 336 Avg 5 Avg 12.7 12 7.5 7 6 L9 24 10 5 1 4 0 0 24 L9 27 37 24 19 8 7 6 37 int 0 TO 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 TO 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 By COURTNEY RATKOWIAK Daily Sports Editor Saturday's now-famous Greg Mathews winning touchdown catch surprised even the other Michigan receiver on the field. "Actually, in practice, I caught the ball on the Y side of the field, because (quar- terback Tate Forcier) has more room to throw it," sophomore wideout Darryl Stonum said. "And I don't know if he saw something, like a blitz on that side, but he threw it to Greg." N On second-and-goal, NOTEBOOK two Notre Dame line- backers blitzed, giving Forcier little time to get rid of the ball. Forcier reacted by throwing the ball to Mathews, who made the catch and immediately ran along the back of the end zone in celebration. The play, in which Mathews ran a slant and then broke it outside, was one of three goal-line routes that Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said the team practices every day. "I just felt numb," Mathews said. "I didn't know what to do. I just felt numb and then the referee reminded me to be smart. It made me think of Coach Rod saying, 'Hand the ball to the referee and celebrate with your teammates,' and that's what I did." It wasn't Mathews' only unconven- tional catch of the game. On Michigan's first touchdown drive, Mathews leaped over a Notre Dame defender to grab a Forcier pass and give the Wolverines a first down. He finished as Michigan's top receiver with 68 yards on five catches. CISSOKO STRUGGLES: The lack of depth in the Wolverine secondary has been one of the team's biggest question marks early this season, and sophomore cornerback Boubacar Cissoko's perfor- mance Saturday did little to instill con- fidence in the unit. Cissoko covered both of Notre Dame's star receivers, Golden Tate and Michael Floyd, but couldn't prevent two of their touchdowns. The sophomore, listed at 5-foot-9 and 177 pounds on the ros- ter, looked outmatched from the start against the 5-foot-11, 195-pound Tate and especially against the 6-foot-3, 220- pound Floyd. The two receivers finished with a combined 246 receiving yards. On Notre Dame's first touchdown drive, in the second quarter with Michi- gan up 14-3, Cissoko was nowhere near Floyd as the receiver caught a 37-yard pass to put Notre Dame in field-goal range. A few plays later, Cissoko had man-to-man coverage on Tate but gave too much of a cushion, leaving Tate open to catch the four-yard touchdown pass. "It wasn't a point that we lost con- fidence," fellow cornerback Donovan Warren said. "Just playing corner, you're going to have amnesia. (You have) to get the next play, just play on the next play, and that's what we did." Cissoko ran into trouble again midway through the fourth quarter. With Notre Dame down by 11 but driving deep in Michigan territory, quarterback Jimmy Clausen threw the ball to Tate near the end zone. Cissoko, who was covering Tate, tried to make a play on the ball but missed, laying still on the ground as the receiver easily ran into the end zone. "Hey, he's a sophomore - they're try- ing to test him," senior defensive end Brandon Graham said. "He gonna learn as it goes. And he's gonna look at film, he's gonna make his mistakes and then he's gonna capitalize on them. Going against two good receivers, congratula- tions to Boubacar for sticking through it." WALK-ON FILLS IN: What could be a better plug for Michigan's upcoming open football tryouts than watching one of the walk-ons shine on a national stage? Walk-on safety Jordan Kovacs wasn't even listed on Saturday's depth chart behind starter Mike Williams and true freshman Vladimir Emilien. But after Williams had to be helped off the field with an injury during the third quarter, Kovacs entered the game and registered three tackles, two solo and one assisted. "When he came up on the field, he wasn't scared at all, actually," strong safety Troy Woolfolk said. "I was like expecting him to be all wide-eyed, but he was ready to get down to business and execute the plays. He's nice, a little shy, but he's not timid. ... Once he gets on the field, he's a mean, tackling machine." Kovacs is a second generation Wolver- ine walk-on -his father, Louis, played for Michigan as a defensive back and earned a varsity letter in 1982. The younger Kovacs originally tried out for the teamin September 2008 and was called back for further evaluation, but was not allowed to continue with the tryout process after the Michigan coaches found out about a previous knee surgery. In January 2009, Kovacs tried out again and made the fall roster. He ran the fastest 40-yard dash time of all athletes at both tryouts, run- ning a 4.68 in September 2008. Since coming to Michigan, Rodriguez has held four open tryouts, with the fifth scheduled for this afternoon at 4 p.m. He is very outspoken about the value of a solid walk-on program, and talking about Kovacs' performance after the game was no exception. "Notre Dame's got some outstand- ing players, some four, five star nation- al recruits ... and then we got Jordan Kovacs," Rodriguez. "Not only does he try out and make the team, he's in there playing at safety in the middle of crunch time on national TV against Notre Dame. To me, that's pretty special and I'm awfully proud of him." No. Yds Avg lg 4 160 40 46 * 10 4 4 MINOR:Senior gains 106 yards in 2009 debut No. 2 3 No. 1 Solo 4 5 5 4 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 47 Yds 77 23 100 Yds 5 5 Asst 7 4 2 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 24 Avg 38.5 23 333 Avg 5 9 7 4 4 4 3 2 2 2 2 Lg TD 52 0 23 0 52 0 Lg TD 5 0 5 0 From page 1B Tenuta has made a name for him- self by confusing offensive lines and wreaking havoc on quarterbacks, but Minor continuously picked up blitzers, giving Forcier more time to make his downfield reads. Several times during the game, Minor cut low on a linebacker or defensive back, flipping the player over his head. And even though blocking is a vastly underrated part of a running back's duties, Minor did his part to keep Forcier's uniform clean, figu- ratively, since the game was played on Michigan Stadium's field turf. "Brandon just brings so much because he's so physical," offensive coordinator Calvin Magee said, once again using the magic word to describe Minor. "You probably couldn't see with your naked eyes how much protection he was giving us on some of those passes. And he ran hard. And the guys kind of fol- low Brandon because he's a senior, he runs hard and he plays physi- cal." Although the Michigan offense found success without Minor in the Wolverines' 31-7 shellacking of Western Michigan, the senior is going to be an integral part of any success the team hopes to have this season. Sophomore running back Mike Shaw knows just what Minor means to the Michigan offense - and some- how described the back's leadership abilities without using the word "physical." "He came in and he took over the game," Shaw said. "He controlled the ball, and that's just the textbook way of a Michigan back, how to play. "So I know now I have it right in front of me how I'm supposed to play." EISENSTEIN From Page 1 B to under Carr just two years ago. Forcier is a defini- tive Rich Rodriguez-type of quarterback that can run the spread and take off with the ball. In 2007, the last time Notre Dame came to the Big House, Michigan put up 38 points in an emphatic win. It was a statement game to tell the country the Wolverines were back after losing to Appala- chian State and Oregon. It was the debut of then-freshman quarterback Ryan Mallett against another very highly recruited freshman quarter- back, Jimmy Clausen. Mallett didn't last at Michi- gan. But Forcier will. He has that speed and improvisation to turn a fourth-and-three with a defender in the back- field into a 31-yard touchdown run - something he learned while doing one of his father's drills in the backyard with his brotherswhere theymastered how to avoid getting hit. On every touchdown pass, from his two to wide receiver Junior Hemingway last week to the ones to tight end Kevin Koger and wide receiver Greg Mathews on Saturday, he couldn't be more accurate if he walked over to them and put the ball directly in their hands. And it's impossible not to like the attitude the spunk he brings to the field, and the nerves he doesn't bring any- where near it. "Everybody kept saying a freshman can't do it," Forcier said after the game. "And I did it." His comfort, both on and off the field, as Michigan's starting quarterback makes it easy to believe he belongs. Not to mention his ambition. Jason, who lives with Tate, said Tate watched film until 10 p.m. this whole week to prepare for Notre Dame, until the coaches had to kick him out at night. Forcier's personality has radiated through the team. Mathews and senior running back Brandon Minor had de- cent games themselves but held nothing back when it came to the 19-year-old quarterback. Minor said that Forcier "really showed us some- thing" with his late drive. And Mathews said he just felt "blessed to have the opportu- nity to play alongside him." on the final play of the game,hereadtheman-to-man coverage, passed to his best option and started the erup- tion in Michigan Stadium. It may be different when we go to class today. Michigan football feels back. As for Forcier? It's impos- sible to predict the next four years. But fornow, he's already off to the races, even with the Wolverines on his back. - Eisenstein can be reached at mseisen@umich.edu. BIG TEN STANDINGS Team Big Ten Overall Michigan 0 0 2 0 Indiana 0 0 2 0 Iowa 0 0 2 0 Wisconsin 0 0 2 0 Minnesota 0 0 2 0 Northwestern 0 0 2 0 Penn State 0 0 2 0 Michigan State 0 0 1 1 Ohio State 0 0 1 1 Purdue 0 0 1 1 Illinois 0 0 1 1 Bis 'Ten Results Michigan 38, Notre Dame 34 Central Mich. 29, Mich. St. 27 Southern Cal 18, Ohio State 15 Indiana 23, Western Mich. 19 Penn State 28, Syracuse 7 Iowa 35, Iowa State 3 Wisconsin 34, Fresno St. 31 (OT) Oregon 38, Purdue 36 Illinois 35, Illinois St.17 Minnesota 20, Air Force 13 High expectations highlight Blue's first tournament By NICK SPAR from last season's run to he played so well, and he's Daily Sports Writer sophomore Matt Thompson's built some momentum for show-stealing performance the beginning of this fall." For the first time in over this weekend. After posting back-to-back 40 years, the Michigan men's At the two-day, 54-hole 69s, Thompson shot a career- golf team came into the sea- Wolf Run Intercollegiate at best, four-under 67 in the third son's first tournament with Wolf Run Country Club in round. He called it the bestgolf high expectations. Zionsville, Ind., Thompson he ever remembers playing. After an NCAA Final Four shot three-straight sub-70 Just as Thompson saved berth last season and the rounds (69-69-67) en route his best for last, so did Michi- team's first top-15 finish since to a third-place finish. His gan, who jumped five spots in 1968, No. 21 Michigan looked eight-under 205 is tied for the the final round to seal fourth poised for another breakout second-lowest 54-hole score place. The Wolverines shot a year. And for the first time in in Michigan history. 293 in the first round and a program history, was ranked "Matt played fabulously," 294 in the second round, but in the preseason top 25. Michigan coach Andrew finished strong with a 287 But the focus after yes- Sapp said. "He's coming off of yesterday. Big Ten rival and terday's final round shifted a tremendous summer when No. 12 Illinois won the tour- nament by 13 strokes. "Going into the last round, we knew that we had to make a move," Thompson said. "I knew we could play better (in the first two rounds) than we did on Saturday and we were able to do that." Given that the Wolverines came into the event as the defending champions, Sapp was disappointed with the fourth-place finish. But he was pleased with how the team responded in the final round, especially with a new lineup. Senior David Weisfeld, who finished tied for 66th, and freshmen Jack Schultz and Rahul Bakshi, who fin- ished 42nd and 47th, respec- tively, all made their first career collegiate starts. Junior Alexander Sitompul, a mainstay in Michigan's Final Four run last spring, missed the tournament due to a left foot injury. "Starting three people who hadn't started before, includ- ing two freshmen, you never know what's going to hap- pen," Sapp said. "The new faces definitely contributed and hopefully gained a lot of good experience.