The Michigan Daily I michigandaily.com I September 21, 2009 MAX COLLINS/Daily Senior Carlos Brown tallied 187 rushing yards on 13 carries. He also had two touchdowns, including a 90-yarder, the third-longest rushing touchdown in the history of Michigan football. MICHIGAN 45. EASTERN MICHIGAN 17 Gotta eel goodfor Carios Carlos Brown sat calmly on the sidelines in the waning minutes of Michigan's 45-17 win over Eastern Michigan. Looking es- pecially cool and col- lected, the senior run- ning back chatted with teammates as they trot- ted over to offer high fives and congratula- tions. RUTH His 187 rushing LINCOLN yards, including a 90- LINCOLN_ yard touchdown run, that was the third lon- gest in Michigan history, made him the hero of a Michigan offense that rushed for 380 yards, the most since 2003. His teammates definitely knew it. But Brown didn't seem to. "Our sideline was nuts," sophomore wide receiver Darryl Stonum said of Brown's 90- yard score. "I was actually trying to get to him to celebrate in the end zone and he took off on me, so I was like, 'All right, forget it. I'll jog. I'll catch you on the sideline: " He may have shunned the celebration, but it's on the sidelines where Brown has spent most of his career. Whether it was because of any number of nagging injuries or former Michigan running back Mike Hart's enormous shadow, we have only seen flashes of the real Brown. It'smuch too soon to say Brown is"back" and finally emerging as the five-star run- ning back that he was expected to be out of high school. If classmate Brandon Minor returns soon, he should solidify his spot as Michigan's No.1 tailback. Sure, Brown had a spectacular game. But throughout his ca- reer, he's had many one-game wonders. Illinois in 2007 -113 yardson 25 carries, the first back to break the century mark against the Illini that season. Minnesota that same year -132 yards. And last season against Northwestern, See LINCOLN, Page 3B Ground attack dooms EMU By ANDY REID Daily Sports Editor Just a week after Tate Forcier cemented his status as the Michigan football team's poster boy in a comeback win over Notre Dame, T-shirts boasting,"May The Forcier Be With You" began to show up in the Big House. In the student section, an enormous sign stating "We Love Tate!" appeared Saturday against Eastern Michigan, announcing the fans' unbridled adoration for the young- ster. And with highlights galore on ESPN and a Sports Illustrated cover story, it was gen- erally assumed that the Wolverines' future rested squarely on his shoulders. Hold on. Just as Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez repeatedly reminds himself that Forcier is still a freshman, everyone in Michigan Stadium needs to be reminded that Rodri- guez's offense is based around a bruising ground game. That was more apparent than ever on Saturday, with the sluggish defense giving up 128 rushing yards and Forcier's less- than-stellar 7-of-13, 68-yard performance. Forcier, who until Saturday had looked nearly unstoppable, had a few freshman miscues but was bailed out by the relent- less run support, which was too much for the Eagles in Michigan's 45-17 romp. With the win, Michigan (3-0) matched its win total from last year's disastrous 3-9 campaign. "I think, going into the Big Ten season, See EAGLES, Page 3B Freshman Tate Forcier eludes an Eastern Michigan defender during a 21-yard run in the third quarter. M' upset in season's first loss WOMEN'S SOCCER Luck on Wolverines' side in win over Miami No.6 Michigan upended by Oregon State in straight sets despite early lead By MARK BURNS Daily Sports Writer For the Michigan volleyball team, ad- versity has been a non-issue so far this season. The team sprinted out to a 12-0 start, including a win over then-No. 3 Nebraska three weeks ago. During that stretch, the team lost just three sets. But after unranked Oregon State swept the Wolverines Saturday (27-25, OREGON STATE 3 25-22, 25-23) at MICHIGAN 0 the Michigan/ Adidas Invitational, adversity is what ev- eryone, especially coach Mark Rosen, is talking about. "We've had very limited adversity so far this year," Rosen said. "Adversity - it's what builds teams, it's what builds athletes, it's what builds players . We can get a lot stronger because of the adversity we faced tonight" The Wolverines (12-1) began the tour- nament with two three-set victories over Marquette and Dayton on Friday. Late first-half penalty gives golden opportunity By TIM ROHAN Daily Sports Writer His teamgotlucky,and Michiganwomen's soccer coach Greg Ryan knows it. With less than aminute left in the first half, sophomore Courtney Mercier chased down a ball on the leftside and a Miami player fouled Mercier near the corner flag. "I was amazed,because the girl didn't need to foul Courtneyin the corner - there MIAMI (FLA.) 0 was only 2p, sec- MICHIGAN 1 onds to go,"lyan said. "And Courtney wasn't going to go any- where, and we got lucky that she fouled her" Junior Jackie Carron lofted a picturesque pass off the free kick towards the back goal- post. Freshman Holly Hein headed the ball straight into the crossbar but launched the rebound into the net, scoring her team-high third goal of the season. "Holly's a gamer," Ryan said. "She gets a chance (to score), she sticksathem in!' It was the only score of the day, enough for the Wolverines to beat the Hurricanes 1-0 yesterday at the U-M Soccer Complex. Yes- terday's victory, coupled with last Wednes- day's 3-0 win over Oakland marked Michi- gan's first back-to-back shutouts since the beginning of the 2007season. With the win, the Wolverines (5-5) sur- passed last season's win total. And after the game, Ryan said that the girls could startbe- lievingin themselves. Before the lone goal, the match had been somewhat even. Michigan had its chances but Miami's attack seemed relentless, with 10 shots and three corner kicks in the first half alone. But when the ball got deep in their half of the field, the Wolverine defense held its own and forced the Hurricanes to take most of their shots from outside the box. Miami threatened even more in the sec- ond half. With just over 18 minutes left to play, goalie Haley Kopmeyer tried to cradle the ball, but it took a funny bounce and got away. A Miami player took the ball, but sophomore Kim Siebert was in position to get her foot in, to give time for Kopmeyer to recover and make the save. Ryan said it was the only mistake that Kopmeyer made on the day, and Carron de- scribed Kopmeyer's play as "phenomenal." See HURRICANES, Page 2B HMV - - - -- - - Sophomore Alex Hunt and the Wolverines lost in straight sets in Crisler Arena Saturday The following day, however, could Instead, an hour-and-a-half match later, prove to be a turning point in the team's the maize-and-blue faithful were left season, for better or for worse. stunned inside the arena. For the first time since 2007, Michigan The Wolverines jumped out to a com- played at Crisler Arena rather than the fortable 12-2 lead in the first set, but fell usual home venue Cliff Keen Arena. from there. The change of scenery was designed "(Oregon State) served really aggres- to draw a larger-than-normal crowd af- sively," senior right side hitter Megan ter the football game - which it did. The Bower said. "We didn't take care of the turnout was moderately successful, with ball tonight. Their outside hitters were 2,673 people in attendance. great, and they shut down ours.... They At the same time, switching arenas just took us out of system." for one day was a move to celebrate the one of the outside hitters that exposed undefeated team and its No. 6 ranking. See BEAVERS, Page 2B HIGH-FLYING BLUE REID: SETTLE DOWN After shooting practice Friday, the Is it really great to be a Michigan Wolverine Wolverines piled five goals on Western : after beating a middling MAC program? Stop Michigan in Kalamazoo. Page 2B. overusing the big-win cheer. Page 2B. ,