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After losing to Michigan State for the third year in a row, the
Wolverines will look to bounce back this week against Iowa,
but it won't be easy. The Hawkeyes come to the Big House hav-
ing not given up a rushing touchdown yet this season. It will be
interesting to see how Michigan responds in wake of its first Big
Ten loss.
Daily Football Beat
Nicole Auerbach, Ryan Kartje, Tim Rohan and Joe Stapleton
TABLE OF CONTENTS
GAME PREVIEW: Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz says he
doesn't have anyone to keep up with Denard. We'll
see if Denard even gets out of the backfield.
MIDSEASON REPORT CARD: The football beat
gives out grades through the season's first six
games. Agree with our assesments?
BREAKDOWN: Iowa's excellent run defense will
face Michigan's excellent rushing attack.
BEHIND ENEMY LINES: Tim Rohan caught up
with Iowa defensive end Adrian Clayborn at Big
Ten Media Day in August.
Cover photo illustration by Marissa McClain, Max Collins & Sarah Squire
Center spread design by Zach Bergson, Liz Vukelich & K.C. Wassman
STAFF PICKS
The Daily football writers do their best
to predict, against the spread, what Nicole
happens in the 2010 football season. Auerbach

2010 Schedule
Connecticut(Sept.4):cDenarhaallorIowa (Oct.t16): Michigan looks to rebound from
UConn eric ud't (S et 4)b e rd an alth bl d o vr arguably its worst loss in two years. Iowa's
U~on. H proed e cold ass he ail oovaunted tront tour stand in the Wolverines' way.
and Rich Rod's hot seat began to cool down.

Breakdown: Wolverines look to bounce
back against second-best 'D' in nation

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Notre Dame (Sept. 11): After UConn, the ND
game was Denard's encore on steroids, with a
game-winning drive.

Massachusetts (Sept. 18): Michigan squeaked
by the Minutemen last weekend, winning by less
than a touchdown. A win is a win is a win.
Bowling Green (Sept.25): Michigan piled on the
points against the falcons, somewhat curing the
Massachusetts hangover.
Indiana (Oct. 2): The Wolverines survived their
first Big Ten test - but defense was once again
suspect. Denard saved the day with 494 yards.
Michigan State (Oct. 9): The game itself didn't
live up to the hype, due to Denard's three INT. It
was over by halftime, State's third in a row.

r Penn State (Oct. 30): PSU has a freshman QB.
Michigan knows what that's like. 'Nuff said.
Illinois (Nov. 6): Ron Zook is probably the only
i ' S coach in the nation who makes RichRod feel like
[_ M his job is secure.
Purdue (Nov. 13): Danny Hope did something
last season RichRod would kill for: beat OSU. But
they've had a rough year thus far. Yikes.

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Wisconsin (Nov. 20): The Badgers basically
return their entire team. But hey, their last visit
to the Big House went pretty well for Michigan.


Ohio State (Nov. 27): Who knows, maybe
Terrelle Pryor and OSU will have to try and derail
Michigan's title hopes.
Lee Quackenbush
Joe Men's Glee Club
Stapleton President

Ryan
Kartje

Tim
Rohan

No.15lowa(-3)at Michigan Iowa Iowa Michigan Michigan Michigan
No.1 Ohio State (-6.5) at No.18 Wisconsin Ohio State Ohio State . Ohio State Wisconsin Wisconsin
No.3 Boise State (-38) at San Jose State Boise State Boise State San Jose State San Jose State Boise State
No.4 TCU (-28) vs. BYU TCU BYU BYU BYU TCU
No. 5 Nebraska (-8) vs. Texas Nebraska Nebraska Nebraska Nebraska Nebraska
No.6 Oklahoma (-23) vs. Iowa State Iowa State Oklahoma Oklahoma Iowa State Iowa State
No.7 Auburn (-2.5) vs. No.12 Arkansas Arkansas Auburn Arkansas Arkansas Arkansas
No.8 Alabama (-21) vs. Mississippi Alabama Alabama Alabama Alabama Alabama
No.9 Louisiana St. (NS) vs. McNeese St. Louisiana St. Louisiana St. Louisiana St. Louisiana St. Louisiana St.
No.10 South Carolina (-6.5) at Kentucky South Carolina South Carolina South Carolina South Carolina South Carolina
No.11 Utah (-20) at Wyoming Utah Utah Utah Utah Utah
No.13 Michigan State (-9.5) vs. Illinois Michigan State Michigan State Michigan State Illinois Michigan state
No.16 Florida State (-23) vs. Boston College Florida State Florida State Boston College Boston College Florida State
No.17 Arizona (-24) at Washington St. Arizona Arizona Washington St. Washington St. Arizona
No.19 Nevada (-8) at Hawaii - Nevada Nevada Nevada Hawaii Hawaii
No. 20 Oklahoma State (+3) at Texas Tech Oklahoma State Oklahoma State Oklahoma State Texas Tech Oklahoma State
No.21 Missouri (+3) at Texas A&M Missouri Texas A&M Texas A&M Missouri Missouri
No. 22 Florida (-9.5) vs. Mississippi State Florida Florida Florida Florida Mississippi State
No.23 Air Force (-4) at San Diego St. Air Force Air Force Air Force Air Force Air Force
No.24 Oregon State (PK) at Washington Oregon State Washington Oregon State Washington Oregon State
No. 25 West Virginia (-13.5) vs. So. Florida So. Florida West Virginia So. Florida So. Florida West Virginia
Last week 11-9-1 6-14-1 9-11-1 6-14-1 11-9-1
Overall record 67-43-3 58-52-3 60-50-3 62-48-3 11-9-1
To apply to be a guest picker, e-mail naauer@umich.edu. If you're chosen and can beat at least two of us, you'll stay on for another week. The longest-tenured guest picker will get a prize at the end of the season.

By RYAN KARTJE
Daily SportsEditor
After the Michigan football team
dropped its first game of the season
last week to Michigan State, there's
an awful lot riding on the Wolver-
ines' matchup with Iowa.
Sophomore quarterback Denard
Robinson will get his chance to prove
that he can indeed tear up a Big Ten
defense - and a stout one at that -
while the rest of his team aims to
prove it can earn a signature confer-
ence win for the first time in Rodri-
guez's tenure in Ann Arbor.
One thing's for sure, though. The
Wolverines will have their work cut
out for them, as the Hawkeyes boast
the fourth-best defense in the coun-
try, allowing just 242 yards per game.
MICHIGAN RUN OFFENSE VS.
IOWA RUN DEFENSE
This category is where the best of
both teams clash, when an unstoppa-
ble force meets an immovable object.
Robinson is easily one of the most
exciting in the open field that college
football has seen in the last decade.
But if the Hawkeyes contain on the
ends well enough, then he may not be
a factor.
Iowa doesn't boast linebackers as
skilled as Michigan State, which held
Robinson back significantly more
than expected, as he had to settle for
five-, six- and seven-yard gains. He'll
have more potential for the big play
against Iowa, but a great deal of the
burden will beon the offensive line.
In the end there will be very few
ways to stop Denard Robinson. Look
for him to bounce back this week.
EDGE: MICHIGAN
MICHIGAN PASS OFFENSE VS.
IOWA PASS DEFENSE
Robinson will get his opportunity
for redemption this week against
the Hawkeyes after throwing three
interceptions last weekend. But
Iowa's pass defense is rated signifi-
cantly higher than Michigan State's,
so Robinson may have some trouble
getting started.
Iowa hasn't replaced cornerback
Amari Spievey, who was drafted in
the third round by the Detroit Lions
last April, but its secondary has been
everything that Michigan wishes it
was: effective.
The Hawkeyes' pass rush could be
what Robinson has to worry about
more, though, as Iowa boasts one of
the best defensive ends in the country

in Adrian Clayborn. If Clayborn gets
penetration, Robinson will be throw-
ing on the run all day, which doesn't
bode well for limiting mistakes.
This matchup, however, really
depends on Robinson and his poise,
which has been the question all week
for the Wolverines.
EDGE: IOWA
IOWA RUN OFFENSE VS. MICHI-
GAN RUN DEFENSE
The Hawkeyes are far from the
top of the Big Ten in rush offense.
They've experienced a ton of inju-
ries the past few years, especially to
star-in-the-making ballcarrier Jewel
Hampton. So, it's kind of been a rag-
tag group carrying the ball in Iowa
City.
That being said, the Michigan
rush defense has been nothing spec-
tacular either, as the Wolverines'
linebackers have underperformed on
several occasions and were torched
by Michigan State's dynamic trio last
weekend.
The load for Iowa falls into the
hands of Adam Robinson who is a low-
er-tier back in-conference. If Michi-
gan can fill holes like they failed to
do last week, then the Wolverines can
definitely shut this category down.
But that's a big if Sep
EDGE: MICHIGAN low
the
IOWA PASS OFFENSE VS. so.
MICHIGAN PASS DEFENSE I
cial
Gulp. With an experienced quar- Mic
terback at the helm in Ricky Stanzi, up-
Michigan may have a very, very long last
day trying to stop the Hawkeye pass C
attack. retu
The Wolverines are playing a whole bee
lot of young guys out in the secondary, I th
and they should be getting better, but ito
Stanzi is a very effective passer who spe
has very, very effective receivers in
Marvin McNutt and Derrick John-
son-Koulianos. That trifecta of talent
may demoralize the Michigan second-
ary unlike it has been all season. 1
In case you weren't aware, the gan
Wolverines' pass defense allows 304 Wo
yards per game - the worst in the Big po&
Ten (and 119th out of 120 FBS teams). V
For comparison's sake, that's 79 more circ
yards than the second-worst Big Ten Mi
team. Yikes. mid
EDGE: IOWA a lo
def
SPECIAL TEAMS bot
Somehow, the Hawkeyes are the inti
only other team in the Big Ten that has can
made just two field goals. Of course, yea

ARIEL BOND/Daily
tomere quarterback Denard Robinson leads the nation in rushing, though the Spartans held him to 86 yards last week - a career-
us a starter tor Robinson.
y didn't need seven attempts to do interception Robinson threw on the gible battle goes to the home team.
last drive. Considering this game is EDGE: MICHIGAN
owa isn't much better on spe- at home, and Robinson has all the
teams than the Wolverines, and motivation in the world to prove his FINAL SCORE:
chigan really seems like it's on the doubters wrong, I'd say the intan- IOWA 27, MICHIGAN 24
and-up with a decent performance
week.
Call me crazy, but I think a big
urn isn't unlikely, as Stonum has
n caged up for much of the season.
.ink we see that, or something like
n Saturday, when two slightly poor
cial teams' units faceoff..
EDGE: PUSH
INTANGIBLES
There's a lot on the line for Michi-
in this game. With a win, the
lverines can go into the bye on a
.itive note, 6-1 and bowl eligible.
With a loss, the vultures start C
cling again and talks about how
:higan is on pace for another
dseason breakdown begin. That's
it on the shoulders of Michigan's
ense and Robinson especially;
h have a lot to prove in this game.
But remember, Michigan came w E
o Iowa's house with a signifi- 1 . C
tly more inferior team than this
r and lost only because of an
TheMichiganDaily, www.michigandaily.com 7B

2B I FootballSaturday, October 16, 2010