The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com September 13, 2010 - 3B
GAME STATISTICS
TaN StatN
First Downs
Rush/Yds
Offensive Pays
Total Offense
Kick returns/ Yds
Punt returns/Yds
Comp/Att/Int
PuntT/Avg
Fubles/Lost
Penalties/Yards
Time of Poss
PASSING
Player
Robinson, D.
Totals
RUSHING
Player A
* A
Shaw
Hopkins
Totals 4
RECEING
Player Nc
Roundtee I
Odousp
Stenum I
Shaw
Grady
Tota 2
PUNTING
Player N
Hagerup
* A
Totals X
PUNT RETURNS
Player
Tota
TACKLES
Player A ,
Kovacs
Floyd
Ezeh
Furrha
Banks
" Van Bergen
Sion-m
De-es
wJams
Leach
PASSING
Player
Crist
Montana
RUSHING
Montana 4
CGist 4
Riddok 2
Tota 3
RECEIVING
Player N
Rudolph 8
R ddick 2
Eifert
Tota 2
PUNTING
Turk
Totals
KICKOFF RETURNS
Player N
Riddick
Wod C
TACKLES
Calabrese
Smith, H.
Wa"ls
Flerning
10 Gray, G.
*lanon
Johnson
Garcia
Nwanko
Neal
McDonald
Martin
Tota z
MICH
41/288
81
532
4/101
0/0
24/40/0
10/37.5
A/TA
8/99
34:09
ND
23
32/154
535
3/63
1/9
21/44/3
8/38.8
/A
4/29
25:51
Gibbons, Hagerup struggle
despite vote of confidence
M I C H I G A N
C-A Yds TD
24-40 244 1
24-40 244 1
Att
5
1
41
Yds
258
12
1
288
Avg
2.4
1.0
7.0
Avg
8.3
9.3
102
Lg
87
5
1
87
Lg
16
12
7
TD
2
0
0
1
3
TD
1
0
0
1
0
0
No. Yds
8 82
7 91
4 33
3 28
1 7
1 3
24 244
o. Yds Avg
9 345 38.3
1 3 300
Lg
53
30
No Yds A Lg TD
4 101 125.3 30 0
No. Yds Avg Lg TD
0 0 0.0 0 0
Solo Asst
6 4
4 3
Tto
10
3 2
2 2
1 1
1 1
1 1
1 1
0 2
0 2
1 0
1 0
0 1
0 1
0 1
0 1
0 1
31 32 &
N o t r e D a m e
5
4
2
i
5
By NICOLE AUERBACH
Daily Sports Writer
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - As
the Michigan football team
marched down the field in Sat-
urday's final minute trailing
24-21, there
was one ques- NOTEBOOK
tion rever-
berating through Notre Dame
Stadium.
Would the Wolverines have
to make a field goal to tie the
game?
After all, redshirt freshman
kicker Brendan Gibbons had
just missed two consecutive
field goals (a 39-yarder in the
middle of the third quarter and
a 40-yarder early in the fourth).
Would Michigan coach Rich
Rodriguez send Gibbons out
there with the game on the
line? Or would he go to Gibbons'
backup, Seth Broekhuizen?
Fortunately for Rodriguez,
those questions never needed
answers. His sophomore sensa-
tion quarterback Denard Rob-
inson methodically moved the
Wolverines down the field, com-
pleting a huge third-down pass
to Roy Roundtree that set up a
short rushing touchdown.
"I can tell you this: I'm glad
we didn't have to try a field
goal at the end," Rodriguez
said after the game. "Not that
I didn't have confidence we
(could) make it. But after you
miss two in a row, psychologi-
cally you may not be ready to go
out there at the end. So we tried
to call a play to get a first down
and move forward."
After Michigan scored the
go-ahead touchdown with
27 seconds left in the game,
Rodriguez sent redshirt fresh-
man Broekhuizen, listed as
second on the depth chart, to
kick the extra point - which
was good.
ROBINSON
From Page 1B
Tate Forcier's comeback vic-
tory against Notre Dame last
season, Robinson marched the
Wolverines down the field on a
12-play, 72-yard drive - adding
to his record-shattering 502-
yard performance - capping it
with a two-yard touchdown run
that left just 27 seconds remain-
ing on the clock. His touchdown
gave Michigan the 28-24 lead
it needed to finish off the Irish
for the second year in a row and
give coach Rich Rodriguez a
marquee road win.
"(Robinson) played outside
his body," senior linebacker
Jonas Mouton said on the field
after the game. "I don't know,
it's his heart. He's not the big-
gest guy, but he has a big heart."
After showing his electrify-
ing potential in the Wolverines'
week-one win over Connecticut,
Robinson obliterated his own
records in week two against
Notre Dame.
With 244 yards through
the air and 258 on the ground,
Robinson became the ninth
quarterback in Football Bowl
Subdivision history to run and
pass for more than 200 yards
in a game. The last to eclipse
the mark also happened to be a
member of a Rodriguez offense
- Pat White, to whom Robinson
is often compared. In his time at
West Virginia, White ran for the
most yards of any quarterback
in FBS history.
More staggering than his
numbers, though, was that they
came in essentially a one-man
show, as the sophomore sig-
Rodriguez said he was disap-
pointed in the kicking game's
performance on Saturday, but
seemed optimistic about its
future no matter who plays next
week.
"Those guys can kick," Rodri-
guez said. "Brendan's a lot bet-
ter than he showed today. And
Seth Broekhuizen, I think he'll
compete. And I don't know who
will be the starter next week."
While the kicking game gar-
nered the most negative atten-
tion after Saturday's game,
special teams on the whole was
a concern.
True freshman Will Hagerup
punted five times in the game,
averaging 40.6 yards, but didn't
pin the Notre Dame offense
inside its own 20-yard line at
any point. One of his punts
missed so badly that it sailed
into the stands.
Again, Rodriguez didn't
appear too concerned.
"Will Hagerup is the first one
back there in that room, prob-
ably disappointed in some of
his punts, but he's a true fresh-
man," Rodriguez said. "He's got
a great future. I'm not worried
about him at all. He's going to be
fantastic."
BACKFIELD WOES: While
Michigan fans spent the week-
end salivating over Robinson's
502 total yards of offense, one
group of players might be con-
cerned about this number: 30.
That's the total number of
rushing yards from Wolverines
who tie their shoes. In other
words, the running backs and
anyone not named Robinson.
Sophomore Vincent Smith
and junior Mike Shaw both
averaged exactly 2.4 yards per
carry, and together, they had 12
rushing attempts.
Freshman Stephen Hopkins
had a 1-yard touchdown run in
the first quarter on his first col-
nal-caller accounted for more
than 94 percent of Michigan's
offense, including the longest
play from scrimmage in Notre
Dame Stadium's 80-year his-
tory - an 87-yard sprint to
give the Wolverines the lead in
the second quarter. Last week
against Connecticut, Robin-
son accounted for 80 percent
of the offense. But offensive
coordinator Calvin Magee said
after the game that Robinson's
performance, despite the high
percentage of total offense, was
possible because of the play of
his teammates.
"There's 10 other guys block-
ing and catching and doing all
of this stuff," Magee said. "He's
not throwing it to himself and
catching it himself. He's not
making blocks and turning
around and running it. There's
some other guys (who are) a part
of that. So don't worry about it."
Rodriguez said after last
week's game that, in hindsight,
Robinson's 29 carries against
the Huskies was much higher
than he would've wanted. But
in South Bend, Robinson was
just one carry short of his 29
from last week. That shoulder-
ing of the load brought a sig-
nificant number of questions
about Robinson's durability
following his record-shattering
performance.
"Of course you don't want
to run him that much," Magee
said. "But at this point, this
-team has been working awfully
hard to try and play as a team
and win some games. We're try-
ing to do whatever it takes right
now."
And Robinson's poised sec-
ond-half performance may have
legiate carry.
All in all, their performance
was less than impressive -
especially for a running-back-
by-committee system that's
expected to take some of the
load off Robinson's back. The
running backs know they need
to contribute more.
"I think we're going to have
to," Shaw said. "It's great that
(Robinson) can do this, but
sooner or later we're going to
step up and make big plays.
We're working to get better and
the coaches are looking forward
to what we can do. But right
now it's Denard's show."
RECORD-SETTING DAY: Not
only did Robinson dazzle fans
on Saturday, but he also broke
some records with his perfor-
mance.
He set Michigan's single-game
individual record for total offense
with his 502 yards (breaking his
own record of 383 from last week
against Connecticut).
He set the Big Ten quar-
terback single-game rushing
record with 258 yards.
He also became the ninth
quarterback in NCAA history to
rush and pass for 200 yards or
more in a game. The last player
to accomplish the feat? Rodri-
guez's own Pat White at West
Virginia, who did it against
Pittsburgh in 2006.
For all this, Robinson became
the first player ever to earn the
Walter Camp National Offen-
sive Player of the Week honor
for two consecutive weeks.
For Robinson, who Rodri-
guez has said is very humble,
these records and statistics
don't mean much. At the post-
game press conference on Sat-
urday, he wasn't even aware of
his numbers.
"I'm a team player, and I don't
worry about the stats," Robin-
son said.
been the only answer to Michi-
gan's woes after halftime.
Leading 21-7 at the half, the
game's momentum strongly
leaned in Michigan's favor, as
Notre Dame junior quarter-
back Dayne Crist missed much
of the first half with an injury
to his right eye. But the Irish
held in the game long enough
for Crist .to return, and with
their starter back, the Irish
charged down the field on two
separate touchdown drives to
take the lead.
With little help from the Wol-
verines' special teams play after
redshirt freshman kicker Bren-
dan Gibbons missed two make-
able field goals in the second
half, the heightened drama of
a possible game-winning drive
seemed to do little to affect Rob-
inson, despite the fact that his
only previous game-on-the-line
experience ended in an inter-
ception at Iowa last season.
Quarterbacks coach Rod
Smith said after the game that
that poise is something the
players and coaches knew about
Robinson all offseason. But
Smith told the sophomore quar-
terback after the game that even
he was shocked and impressed
by his growth on that final
drive.
"(I said,) 'Son, you don't know
how much you have matured,
just that one drive, just moved
you forward light years (from)
where you need to be,' " Smith
told reporters after the game.
"It takes experiences like that
in order for quarterbacks to
grow - especially young ones."
Added Rodriguez: "I've got
my shoes untied in honor of
Denard."
DEFENSE
From Page 1B
But it was too high. And the
Fighting Irish's last chance land-
ed just to the right of the Michi-
gan marching band.
"I was a little concerned, but we
practice that play over and over,"
redshirt sophomore safety Jordan
Kovacs said after the game. "It
was kind of scary that they made
it that far, but they threw it out of
the end zone."
The Wolverines' defense
responded when it most desper-
ately needed a stop in Saturday's
28-24 win over Notre Dame.
Michigan did allow the fourth
most yards in school history - the
second highest total in a win-but
it didn't allow the yards when it
mattered most.
It had also answered the call
when the first half was coming to
an end. Nate Montana, who was
playing while Crist sat out with
an injury, led a drive down to the
three-yard line with only three
seconds remaining. Instead of
kicking the easy field goal, Notre
Dame coach Brian Kelly called for
Montana to throw the ball. His
pass also ended up closer to the
fans than a receiver.
Michigan had a 21-7 lead
at haftime after the stop. And
the Wolverines built that lead
because of the defense's ability to
slow down Notre Dame's offense
after its opening touchdown
drive. After that series, Crist left
the game with an eye injury, and
freshman quarterback Tommy
Rees replaced the junior signal
caller.
On the second snap of his colle-
giate career, Rees handed the ball
off to senior running back Arman-
do Allen, who flipped it back to
Rees. The flea flicker didn't work.
Rees threw the ball, and senior
linebacker Jonas Mouton stepped
in front of the intended receiver
for the interception.
Later in the half, the Wolver-
ines once again showed they were
opportunistic. Redshirt sopho-
more cornerback J.T. Floyd picked
off Montana on a pass intended
for Michael Floyd - whom, last
week, redshirt junior defensive
end Ryan Van Bergen called the
best receiver Michigan faced in
2009.
Montana, a junior and former
walk-on, and Rees were limited
to just five first downs on the first
seven drives after Crist left the
game.
"There's so many guys on this
team who are going all-out," soph-
omore linebacker Craig Roh said.
"Mistakes are made up through
hustle and effort. Whereas, last
year, I don't think we were as
vicious going to the ball. We
weren't as bound together. This
year, these guys are just so hun-
gry: hungry for tackles, hungry
for sacks, hungry for intercep-
tions - hungry to be great."
Although Michael Floyd was
held relatively in check, finish-
ing with five catches for 66 yards,
Michigan struggled to contain
the Fighting Irish's other great
receiving threat, junior tight end
Kyle Rudolph.
Crist connected with Rudolph
on a 95-yard touchdown pass
that gave Notre Dame the lead
with less than four minutes to
play. When Crist first returned in
the second half, he started with
a bang and hit freshman wide
receiver T.J. Jones for a 53-yard
touchdown pass.
"They seemed to rally around
Dayne Crist," Kovacs said. "He
played very well. When he was in
there they seemed to get a lot of
momentum. He's a good quarter-
back."
With Michigan clinging to a
four-point lead in the third quar-
ter, and the momentum squarely
on Crist's right arm, Mouton
tipped one of his passes which
was then intercepted by Kovacs.
But the Wolverine offense didn't
capitalize on the turnovers that
the defense forced. The Michigan
defense still held Crist and the
Fighting Irish offense to 51 yards
over the next three drives - all
ending in punts.
"I think we made some fresh-
men mistakes, but at the same
time, we held them for most of
the game," Kovacs said. "We con-
tained them pretty well. We gave
up a few big plays, but those are
things we're going to correct."
In the second half when Rob-
inson and the offense was stall-
ing, Michigan made sure Notre
Dame's did too. The opportunistic
attitude and key defensive stops
showed signs of an improved
defense.
Michigan defensive coordina-
tor Greg Robinson wasn't worried
about the amount of yardage that
his unit allowed. He pointed to
Rudolph's long catch and the 47
yards during Notre Dame's final
drive as outliers.
The last time the Wolverines
allowed so many yards in a win
was in 2002 against Illinois.
Michigan allowed 543 yards of
offense, but won 45-28. The other
two times the Wolverines allowed
more than Saturday's 535 yards,
they lost.
Because of how obscene Notre
Dame's offensive stats seem, the
defense's contribution to Satur-
day's win could easily be glossed
over.
"What won't be overlooked is
that we won," Robinson said.
C-A
13-25
8-17
Yds
277
104
0
0
z
4
4
2
32
Vo.
8
2
1
Yds
89
23
19
10
10
3
154
Yds
164
66
73
39
17
13
9
381
5.8
4.8
15
48
Avg
20.5
19,5
17.0
181
L9
29
10
19
10
2
3
29
Lg
95
17
53
37
17
13
9
95
TD
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
TD
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
No. Yds Avg Lg
8 310 38.8 47
8 310 38.8 47
No. Yds Avg Lg TD
1 19 19.0 19 0
2 44 220 2
Solo Asst
6 7
3 7
6 3
7 1
3 3
3 3
2 4
5 0
2 2
2 2
1 2
2 0
1 1
1 1
0 2
1 0
1 0
0 1
0 1
46 40
Tot
13
10
9
8
6
6
6
5
4
4
3
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
86
Wolverines blank three
opponents in home tourney
By ZAK PYZIK afternoon by defeating Chicago
Daily Sports Writer State 3-0, and holding their sec-
ond straight opponent to a nega-
As Big Ten play looms right tive hitting percentage.
around the corner for the No. 22 Michigan's 2-0 record pitted
Michigan volleyball team, the them in a final contest against
Wolverines found themselves fac- Miami (Ohio). Like the rest of
ing three teams with a combined the weekend's competition, the
2-18 record entering the Michi- RedHawks were no match for the
gan/Adidas Invitational this past Wolverines.
weekend in Ann Arbor. Miami kept all three sets close,
Some may have seen it as a but the Wolverines still smashed
vacation. But the Wolverines took their way to a 3-0 win. With the
no time off. victory, Michigan remained unri-
Michigan (8-1) kicked off the valed throughout the entire invi-
weekend by blanking Youngstown tational. Though, the whole team
State 3-0 on Friday night in front had contributed to the victory, it
of a Maize and Blue faithful that was senior setter Lexi Zimmer-
helped rowdyup CliffKeen Arena. man who pushed the team the
The Wolverines then repeated extra distance and won the tour-
their performance on Saturday nament's MVP award.
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