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The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com September 20,2011
MICHIGAN 28, SAN DIEGO STATE 7
Robinson helps Hoke beat former team, former QB
By TIM ROHAN
Daily Sports Editor
Would Brady Hoke trade Denard Rob-
inson for Ryan Lindley?
Would he choose his newer, sleeker,
faster quarterback or his former tall,
prototype, NFL-made model?
The junior quarterback Robinson
made several good arguments on Satur-
day, running for 200 yards for the third
time in his career, and three touchdowns,
tying a career high. Plus, his team won -
Robinson and the 22nd-ranked Wolver-
ines beat Lindley and the rest of Hoke's
former players at San Diego State 28-7,
improving to 4-0 on the season.
So what's the debate?
Well, Robinson did most of his talking
with his legs, not his arm. Tradition says
quarterbacks aren't supposed to pass
for less than 100 yards in consecutive
weeks, as Robinson has, and be consid-
ered stars.
Denard Robinson isn't traditional.
Hoke and offensive coordinator Al
Borges are realizing that, because the
offense that Robinson ran on Saturday
was hardlyrecognizable from the one
Aztecs' quarterback Lindley played in
the past two years under Borges and
Hoke.
"If the best player on the field - and
I'm talking about both teams now - the
best player is a spread quarterback, it's
not unusual that they're in the spread
about 80 percent of the time," said San
Diego State coach Rocky Long, Hoke's
former defensive coordinator.
"Every once in awhile they line up the
same way and they hand the power play,
and they ranI thinka couple sprint outs.
And they ran a bootleg or two, but that's
the only thing that looks like last year's
(San Diego State) offense. The rest of it is
spread, which is smart."
In the first quarter, it seemed like the
debate would beover rather quickly.
Robinson'sthird snap of the game was
a nifty 19-yard run. Three plays later, he
scored an easy follow-the-leader five-
yard touchdown.
Three plays later, Robinson and junior
running back Vincent Smith ran a rare
option play. Seeing no one between
him and the endzone, Robinson knifed
through the line for a 53-yard touch-
down run.
Long's sophisticated 3-3-5 defense
blitzed Robinson too often in the first
half. So Robinson, Smith and redshirt
sophomore running back Fitz Toussaint,
who started at running back, ran past
the pressure and into the open space
behind it.
When Long adjusted, dropping his
players back in coverage in the second
half, Robinson had an even tougher time
throwing the ball.
Receivers were underthrown. His feet
weren't always set. Sometimes Robinson
had all day to throw. And he just missed
his receiver or, on a couple of occasions,
made poor decisions.
The instance came on a third down,
when Robinson stepped up and had room
to run for the first. But perhaps con-
scious of what Borges had taught him
about staying true to his progression, he
tried to force the ball into a well-covered
receiver and it was tipped and picked.
It was Robinson's third-straight poor-
ly thrown ball, his second interception
of the game and his sixth of the young
See ROBINSON, Page 3B
Aztecs give 'tribute' to former
coaches, Countess shines as sub
Lindley, Hillman hounded by Blue
By KEVIN RAFTERY
Daily Sports Editor
During the Michigan football team's
28-7 victory over San Diego State on
Saturday, several Michigan coaches
- including head coach Brady Hoke
- spent the entire
game on the Aztecs' NOTEBOOK
sideline.
But don't panic - the coaches were
on the Michigan sidelines, too. The
only difference was they were in their
full human form on the Wolverines'
sideline. For the Aztecs, they were sim-
ply signs indicating formations.
Throughoutthe game, the San Diego
State coaches held up pictures of all
the coaches and administrators who
departed the team last year for Michi-
gan. Each picture represented a differ-
ent type of play for the Aztecs.
"We chose the pictures based on, we
know those guys and we respect those
guys," San Diego State coach Rocky
Long said. "They related to certain cov-
erages by their personalities."
For example, Hoke, who is known
for his defensive mind, represented
See AZTECS, Page 3B
By STEPHEN J. NESBITT
Daily SportsEditor
It was only after the San Diego State
players removed their helmets and
approached him after the game that
Michigan coach Brady Hoke recog-
nized his offense from last season.
NFL-caliber quarterback Ryan Lind-
ley was harassed in the pocket. And
Heisman Trophy candidate Ronnie
Hillman was contained by the Michi-
gan defense in the Wolverines' 28-7
victory.
It was the most lopsided Aztec defeat
since Hoke led them to a 38-7 loss to
then-No. 18 Utah on Nov. 21, 2009 -
also the last time a defense held San
Diego State to a single-digit score.
Hoke's Aztec teams the past two sea-
sons averaged 35 points per game. Now
his Michigan defense nearly shut them
out.
Prior to the game, defensive coor-
dinator Greg Mattison gathered the
Michigan defense at the hotel - and
later in the locker room - to stress the
importance of playing sound defense
from the first snap.
In their three previous games, the
Wolverines suffered through open-
ing drives of 74, 57 and 55 yards, twice
allowing touchdowns. Against the
Aztecs, Michigan took control of the
line of scrimmage early, snothering
Hillman behind the line on third-and-
one to force a punt on the first set of
downs.
Three and out, just the way Mattison
wanted it.
"(Michigan's defense) had alot to do
with us playing poorly," said San Diego
State coach Rocky Long. "We played
poorly in the first half, so obviously I
did a bad job coaching."
On San Diego State's next possession,
Hillman fumbled the ball away. Later,
he did it again -both times inside
Michigan territory.
It was only the second and this
See DEFgNSE, Page 3B
I
..
TEeA MULOAENGAiF AND MARiSSA MCLLAIN/Daily
(Left) Junior defensive end Criag Roh had a sack and a forced fumble before being spelled by sophomore defensive end Jibreel Black (center). Junior quarterback Denard Robinson (top) ran for 200 yards and passed for another 93 yards against
San Diego State, who Michigan coach Brady Hoke's (bottom) coached for the past two seasons.
TWITTERED OUT
U Twitter is changing the dynamic
between athletes and fans. Denard Rob-
inson made the mistake of giving an open
invitation to his birthday party. Page 2B
BIG TEN BLUES
* The Michigan volleyball team has
struggled the past five years in its second
Big Ten game. Saturday, the trend contin-
ued as 'M' lost to Purdue. Page 3B