.%f.:
:
r
Toussaint collects 170
yards and two touchdowns
as lead running back
By TIM ROHAN
Daily Sports Editor
Hooting and hollering, the Michigan foot-
ball team sprinted up the tunnel exiting the
Big House. The uphill slope burned, but the
players were too excited not to run. Their
screams echoed off the walls.
Somewhere in the crowd was redshirt
sophomore running back Fitz Toussaint, the
running back who may have - at long last -
claimed his seat as Michigan's lead back.
Left tackle Taylor Lewan walked with a
slight limp with his arm around Denard Rob-
inson's shoulder. Lewan tweaked his knee in
pregame warmups then badly limped off the
field in the third quarter but didn't miss a
snap.
Michigan coach Brady Hoke was pick-
ing left guard Ricky Barnum's brain as they
brought up the rear. Barnum re-injured his
ankle midway through the game and couldn't
return. At guard, Michael Schofield and Pat-
rick Omameh stepped in, and stepped up.
Lewan, Schofield, Omameh, center Dave
Molk and right tackle Mark Huyge paved the
way for arguably the best running back per-
formance since 2009, as Toussaint ran for 170
yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries.
As a team, the Wolverines played "Michi-
gan football" and bullied Purdue, 36-14, simi-
lar to how they were bullied two weeks ago
against Michigan State.
"I think nationally, people think about
Michigan football and playing defense, then
running the football," Hoke said. "Being able
to run the football and knock people off the
line of scrimmage. And soI think, that's what,
in my mind, Michigan football is."
Michigan's defense was considered stout
this year - until Northwestern and Michigan
State showed the world the Wolverines were
weak on the perimeter.
Purdue followed Michigan State's lead. On
the Boilermakers' first drive, wide receiver
Gary Bush took a bubble screen 48 yards for a
touchdown - it was the first 40-plus yard play
the Michigan defense had allowed all season.
But Michigan's emphasis on technique
paid off, and Purdue punted on five of its next
seven possessions. The sixth ended in a Mike
Martin safety - which was Michigan's first
See RUNNING GAME, Page 3B
TODD NEEDLE/Daly
Redshirt sophomore Fitzgerald Toussaint rushed the hall 20 times and rocked sp a career-high 170 yards o Saturday.
Martin leads resurging
defense against Purdue
MARISSA MCCLAIN/Daily
Fifth-year senior Troy Woolfolk (29) has moved from cornerback to safety to replace redshirt junior Jordan Kovacs,
but Woofolk is expected to remain at safety permanently.
Countess, Woolfolk emerge
ofill in for injured Kovacs
Fifth-year senior
posts career-high
two sacks in win
By STEPHEN J. NESBITT
Daily Sports Editor
It's hard to overstate the differ-
ence defensive coordinator Greg
Mattison has made on the Michi-
gan football team through eight
games.
In the past 10 months, the Wol-
verines evolved from one of the
worst defenses into a depend-
able, sometimes dominant corps.
In Saturday's 36-14 victory over
Purdue, the defense caused a
red-zone turnover, a safety and a
turnover on downs.
After the defense allowed a
swift opening-drive touchdown,
capped by a 48-yard touchdown
reception - the longest play
allowed by Michigan all season -
fifth-year senior defensive tackle
Mike Martin took control of the
game.
Lined up at his own five-yard
line, Purdue quarterback Caleb
TerBush took a snap from under
center. Before TerBush dropped
back three steps, Martin had
brushed past Boilermaker guard
Peters Drey ready for the kill shot.
It's a sight no quarterback
MARISSA MCCLAIN/M
Senior Mike Martin made seven tackles and two sacks against Purdue, includ
ing a safety that gave the Wolverines their first lead of the game at 9-7.
By KEVIN RAFTERY
Daily Sports Editor
There's too many easy Hal-
loween puns for this one to
even make an
attempt. NOTEBOOK
in the F;
Michigan football team's 36-14
win over Purdue on Saturday,
Michigan redshirt junior safety
Jordan Kovacs watched from
the sidelines, nursing a knee
injury he suffered in practice
earlier in the week.
It was an unexpected sight.
Kovacs's injury hadn't been
released to the media until an
hour before kickoff.
During the team's practice
Tuesday, which was open to the
media, it appeared that Kovacs,
No. 32, was participating.
No. 32 was indeed playing.
But Kovacs was not.
According to sources, Michi-
gan coach Brady Hoke had
redshirt junior safety Matt
Cavanaugh, normally No. 28,
dress as No. 32. This wasn't an
early Halloween costume. This
was practice. It's unsure wheth-
er Cavanaugh's number switch
was to hide the Kovacs injury or
to impersonate Purdue starting
safety Albert Evans, who wears
No. 32,on the scout team.
Either way, when asked about
injuries throughout the week,
Hoke remained tight-lipped on
the situation, continually saying
his team was healthy. He didn't
want people to know about
Kovacs - and for good reason.
See NOTEBOOK, Page 3B
wants to see.
Martin powered through
Drey's last attempt to block him
and dropped TerBush two yards
deep in the end zone for a safety,
giving Michigan a 9-7 lead early
in the second quarter.
"(The safety) was a great
momentum (boost)," said Michi-
gan coach Brady Hoke. "When
you score defensively it always
brings great momentum and
morale for your team."
Nine minutes later, Martin
added another sack, giving him
a career-high two sacks for the
afternoon - matching his season-
long totals for his freshman and
sophomore seasons.
"That guy is a physical beast,"
said junior defensive end Craig
Roh of Martin. "He's a physically
dominating player."
Martin and the defensive line
needed the bounce-back perfor-
mance after No. 17 Michigan's
last test, a 28-14 loss to then-No.
See MARTIN, Page 3B
BYE BYE, BULLDOGS
Michigan swept Ferris State at Yost,
pounding the nation's No.1 defense for
nine goals. Page 2B
BIG TEN CHAMPS
With a win on Friday, the Michigan
field hockey team captured its eighth Big
Ten regular-season title. Page 2B
At-
0