The Michigan Daily I michigandaily.com I October 26, 2009
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0 Penn Statetailback Evan Royster runs past a slew of Michigan defenders during Saturday's fourth quarter en route to a 35-10 Penn State win ft marked Michigan's third straight Big Ten lns
PENN STATE 35, MICHIGAN 10
'D' lapses, inability to
stop Clark doom Blue
By MICHAEL EISENSTEIN
Daily Sports Editor
Michigan deserved an awful
review.
And the Wolverines provided it
themselves.
"It's embarrassing," Michigan
secondary coach Tony Gibson said.
"We missed big play after big play
(and) couldn't get anything going."
With each of Michigan's previ-
ous two losses coming essentially
on the game's final play, its deflat-
ing 35-10 defeat to No.13 Penn State
was the first time all season the
Wolverines looked like last year's
nine-loss team.
"It's reallydisappointingbecause
I feel like we've really progressed
since then," redshirt sophomore
defensive tackle Ryan Van Bergen
said about the defense after the
game. "To go back and regress at
this point in the season is just some-
thing that we didn't want to do."
And it's hard not to look to the
defensive side of the ball when fig-
uring out what happened Saturday.
Last year, the defense gave up
35 points or more on six occasions.
Saturday was the first time the
defense gave up that many all sea-
son, which left a struggling offense
in a hole too deep to overcome in
the final 15 minutes.
"Obviously we didn't prepare
hard enough for our opponent,"
redshirt sophomore linebacker
Brandon Herron said. "You know,
(Michigan) coach (Rich Rodriguez)
said it all in the locker room: big
plays we've given up on the field
have kind of hurt us. I just felt like
we should've worked a little harder
in order to win this game. No one's
to blame."
But those mistakes Herron
echoed are correctable. The most
alarming part of that comment is
about Michigan's preparation for
this critical game.
Sophomore Mike Martin said
that Rodriguez "told us he didn't
prepare us as well as he could, so he
took responsibility."
Even Penn State quarterback
Daryll Clark noticed it in the
defense, mentioning the Wolver-
ines "had trouble lining up" on a
few plays.
"They didn't do very much dis-
guising coverages," Clark said. "I
kind of knew where to throw the
football."
The lone highlight of the defense
was senior defensive end Brandon
Graham, who finished with seven
tackles - 3.5 of those tackles for
loss, which tied a career high - and
the first blocked punt of his career.
It's hard to pinpoint just one cul-
prit, though. The big-yardage gains
the Wolverines gave up were due
to mistakes by everyone, and Penn
State easily took advantage.
Senior Stevie Brown, a for-
mer four-star prospect, was beat
twice on end-zone routes by a for-
mer walk-on, Nittany Lions wide
receiver Graham Zug. Zug also
caught a third touchdown with
junior standout cornerback Dono-
van Warren covering him.
What was wrong with the
defense?
"I couldn't tell you," Warren
said. "I couldn't tell you what went
wrong, man. No clue."
Warren credited Penn State
for calling the right plays based
on what Michigan was running
schematically, but the huge, back-
breaking gains were rooted in the
smallest of mistakes.
Penn State capitalized on one of
them on its first offensive play after
the Wolverines gave up a safety
late in the second quarter. Herron
said he forgot to get his hands on
the tight end to slow him down, so
See NITTANY LIONS, Page 3B
I couldn't
tell you what
went wrong,
man. No clue.
- Donovan Warren,
junior cornerback
Cissoko plays
for first time
since Sept. 26
By RUTH LINCOLN
Daily Sports Editor
Boubacar Cissoko found himself in a familiar spot
during the waning moments of Michigan's 35-10 loss
to Penn State.
On the Wolverines' sideline, the sophomore corner-
back was lodged between the bench and the team's
space heater. Bracing himself with his left hand grip-
ping the bench and his right on the heater's handle,
the fire from the source hit squarely at his knees.
For more than two weeks now, that should feel
familiar - strugglingto find his place between the hot
seat and his teammates.
After starting in Michigan's first four games, Cis-
soko was benched in the fourth quarter against Indi-
anaanddidn'tplayinthenextthreegames.Hisinjured
shoulder had been an issue earlier in the season, but
Michigan coach Rich.Rodriguez officially suspended
Cissoko before the Wolverines' Oct. 10 matchup with
Iowa. The Detroit native began practicing with the
scout team, and his status has been day-to-day since.
Rodriguez said last Monday that he had met with
Cissoko nearly every day to discuss his personal and
academic progress, consistently noting that it was
"really up to him" when Cissoko would return. But on
a Friday mgoblue.com walkthrough video, Rodriguez
said Cissoko would participate against the Nittany
Lions.
"He just kept working the last couple of weeks com-
ing off of an injury and hadn't played well early on, but
See CISSOKO, Page 3B
SAID ALSALAH/Daily
VOLLEYBALL
Wolverines lose
composure and
match in four sets
By MARK BURNS
Daily Sports Writer
Frustration is an emotional
reaction that can easily get the
best of a sports team, which is
why a coach hopes it doesn't
happen to his players.
But Saturday night, Michi-
gan volleyball coach Mark
Rosen saw it happen to his
11th-ranked Wolverines after
they were snakebitten on the
road against No. 9 Minnesota
in a four-set match (20-25,
25-19, 25-22, 25-10).
"We got frustrated," Rosen
said. "There'snothingpositive
that can come out of getting
frustrated when you're play-
ing volleyball or any sport."
Michigan had some posi-
tives, though, it the begin-
ning of its match at Williams
Arena.
After surrendering a 9-2
lead in the opening frame. of
the match, the Wolverines
(6-4 Big Ten, 18-5 overall)
regained their composure
and tied the score at 13 before
taking the set 25-20.
Sophomore Alex Hunt led
the offensive attack with four
kills in the set while the Wol-
verines held Minnesota to a
.075 attack percentage, the
lowest of all the sets in the
match.
That's whenthe tide turned
for the road team.
In the final three stanzas,
Michigan had a mere .130
offensive attack average and
no blocks.
Rosen noted that at the
beginningnoftthe fourth set
- with his team down 2-1 in
the match - the Wolverines
had a perfect opportunity to
swing the momentum in the
match. The Golden Gophers
gave Michigan a series of free
See GOPHERS, Page 2B
LOST CHANCE
Find out why a bloody
upper lip and a referee's
whistle cost Michigan a
game-tying goal against
Michigan State. Page 2B.
REID: R-E-S-P-E-C-T
What college
football fans can learn
about respect from
Connecticut's reception in
Morgantown. Page 2B.
Check out www.michigandaily.com for
coverage of women's swimming and
field hockey. NN
Penalties kill Michigan
By MICHAEL FLOREK
BOSTON - In a matchup of top-
five teams, it was the sixth man
that was the problem.
It wasn't the Agganis Arena
crowd that caused the No. 5
Michigan hockey team's 3-2 loss
Saturday as much as it was the
Wolverines' own extra man on the
ice.
No. 3 Boston University (1-2-0)
scored two power play goals to
take a 2-0
lead, with MICHIGAN 2
both com- BOSTON U. 3
ing after
the Wolverines were handed pen-
alties for having too many men on
the ice in between shifts.
"We have to work harder to get
off the ice, and we have to be more
patient about getting on the ice,"
Michigan coach Red Berenson
said. "I can't blame our players for tRIBNsD/Daily
wnting on, but you hav wa t Junior Bryan Hogan allowed a fluke game-winning goal with 2:31 left in regulation.
till the other guy's off or nearly off the box. Freshman Chris Brown switch the lines.
and then if the puck's in that vicin- was ejected three minutes into The line change paid dividends
ity, it's an opportunity for the ref the third period, and senior Steve minutes later as sophomore Rob-
to call it." Kampfer got a 10-minute miscon- bie Czarnik and junior Matt Rust
The bench minors were the duct at the same time. Those pen- each scored in a third-period
start of a flurry of penalties - the alties, along with Michigan's lack onslaught.
teams combined for 66 minutes in of offense, led the coaching staff to See TERRIERS, Page 2B