The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com November 14,2011 -3B The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom November14, 2011 - 38 GAME STATISTICS Boylan leads 'M' over Gators By COLLEEN THOMAS Daily Sports Writer Team Stats First Downs Rush/Yds Passing Yards Offensive Plays Total Offense Kick returns/ Yds Punt returns/ Yds Comp/Att/Int Punts/Avg * Fumbles/Lost Penalties/Yards Time of Poss MICH 14 48/223 139 63 362 0/A 4/62 8/15/1 4/34.2 3/2 4/29 32:45 ILL 15 33/37 177 67 214 1/14 2/8 17/34/1 9/41.6 3/2 4/25 27:15 M I C H I G A N PASSING Player C-A Yds Robinson, D. 6-10 92 Garder, D. 25 4 RUSHING layer Att Yds Avg Tousain 2 492 21 Robinson 12 30 2.5 Gardner 2 9 4.5 Shagw 4 1374, Pmith N1 0 0.0 Totals 48 223 4.6 PCllN No. Yds Avg Hemingway 3 43 14.3 Odoms 2 46 23.0 PS 2 2 20 Totals 8 139 174 PUNTING Payep No. Yds Totas 4 137 KICKOFF RETURNSo ds Ag Totals 0 0.0 PUNT RETURNS Player No. Yds Avg Galon 4 62 155 Totals 4 62 15.5 TACKLES '. Player Solo Asst Martin 3 6 *oga 4 4 Van Bergen 4 3 Kovacs 3 2 Woolfolk 2 1 Gordon 2 0 Cavanaugh 1 Huyge 1 0 Black 1 0 Clark 0 1 Roh 0 1 Totals 31 28 TD 0 Ls 65 11 5 7 0 65 lg 20 27 40 8 40 Int 1 0 1 TD 1 2 0 0 0 0 TD 0 1 0 0 1 Courtney Boylan had the game of her career on Friday. The senior guard scored a career-high 21 points and posted a team- high seven MICHIGAN 69 rebounds FLORIDA 66 en route to a 69-66 season-opening win for the Michigan women's basket- ball team over Florida. With 27 seconds left, Boylan hit a layup and was fouled to put the Wolverines up by four. She sunk the free throw and iced the game for Michigan. Even though Boylan had almost a third of the Wolver- ines' points, the rest of the team had key roles in the win. Senior forward Carmen Reynolds and junior forward Rachel Sheffer both scored in double figures, posting 15 and 13 points, respec- tively. Junior guard Jenny Ryan and freshman guard Nicole Elmblad both came up big on the boards, combining for 13 rebounds and helping the Wol- verines outrebound the Gators 42-36. "That was a big surprise," Reynolds said. "Coach told us to outrebound them because we know they're the leading rebounding team in the South- eastern Conference, and we did that" Though the Wolverines looked better on the stat sheet, the game was close the entire way. Michigan's largest lead was six points, and there were 29 lead changes. Michigan (1-0 overall) shot 49 percent from the field and hit a couple of key shots TODD NEED Senior guard Courtney Boylan scored 21 points in Michigan's season-opening victory over Florida in Gainesville. Ag Lg Lg 0 TD 0 TD near the end of the game to pull out a victory on the road. "We knew at the beginning of the game it would be possession- by-possession," said Michigan coach Kevin Borseth. "I think these guys did a great job of being strong whenthey had to." The Wolverines' biggest strength was their presence in the paint, led by Sheffer, Reyn- olds and Elmblad. Michigan racked up an impressive 32 points down low, compared to Florida's 18. Reynolds said the team's pen- etration in the lane, in addition to its post game, was what con- tributed to the huge numbers in the paint. Boylan agreed and said she believes that the pres- ence in the paint will really help them during the Big Ten season. "(Getting the ball in the paint) was a huge focus of the game," Reynolds said. "Get it into Shef- fer, get it into whatever player is crashing into the. paint, and being able to do that was key. "As coach always says, 'when- ever you get into the paint, big things happen.' So that was huge for today's game.". With Florida forced to stop Michigan's post game, the Wol- verines were able to shoot from outside, hitting 47 percent of their 3-pointers. Junior forward Kate Thompson and Reynolds hit key 3-pointers down the stretch to give the lead back to the Wolverines before Boylan converted the three-point play to seal the game. Though the Wolverines played an all-around solid game, they weren't without faults. Michigan committed 18 turn- overs, which led to 15 Florida points. Boylan said taking care of the ball is something the team needs to continue to work on. Boylan also believes the Wol- verine defense could've been better throughout the game, but she's confident that it's something the team will keep improving. "It is a big win for us," Boylan said. "It's really important to remember that we're obviously taking it one game at a time, but it's always nice to be 1-0 and get that first win. "It's a great confidence boost- er knowing we can go on the road, play an SEC team, and have the game be close and come out with a win." Lgs 32 32 GARDNER From Page lB Last week against Iowa, Gard- ner struggled filling in for injured junior quarterback Denard Rob- inson. He hesitated to throw, then hesitated to run. When he did take off, he ran into defenders. Gardner threw a first down pass too high and chucked an underhanded ball to the sideline as he was getting sacked, which led to an intentional grounding call. Robinson eventually came back into the game to lead a last-minute drive. Saturday, Gardner didn't see the field early. The "Deuce" for- mation, which was featured sev- eral times since the game against the Golden Gophers, had Gard- ner at quarterback and Robinson as a back or split out wide. With both playing at the same time and Gardner taking the snap,it created a sense of Robinson as quarter- back IA and Gardner as 1B. Borges didn'tcall the formation the entire game against the Fighting Illini. But when Robinson bruised his wrist and left the game, Gardner didn't disappoint in backup duty this time. Coming in with about 10 min- utes left in the third quarter, he instantly led a drive that resulted in a field goal. The highlight came when Gardner rolled out to his right and hitfifth-year senior wide receiver Junior Hemingway inthe hands coming across the field. "My coaches always say if one person goes down, you got to step up and do the same as he was doing," said senior wide receiver Martavious Odoms. "That's what he did." The numbers weren't impres- sive: 2-for-5 passing for 47 yards and a touchdown, two rushes for nine yards. But it only took one play for Gardner to show everyone his potential. Michigan coach Brady Hoke said after the game that Robinson could have returned late. But in a 10-point game early in the fourth quarter, Hoke sent Gardner trot- ting back onto the field. On 3rd- and-15, Gardner dropped back, feelingpressure fromthe edge. He stepped up in the pocket. - "We forced the quarterback to step up, just like it was designed," said Illinois defensive coordinator Vic Koenning. "Our fourth rusher should have been right there." Instead the rusher was playing off the line of scrimmage. As he challenged Gardner, the quarter- back didn't hesitate this time. He stepped to throw and hit Odoms, who had come open between the safeties, in the chest. Odoms trot- ted into the end zone untouched. "That's a great play," Hoke said. "I think he played as well as I've seen him play." Robinson will be the starting quarterback next week. There is no guarantee that the "Deuce" formation will reappear. But on Saturday, Gardner proved to be a weapon, making believers out of the Fighting Illini. "He's a stronger guy, not quite as elusive but he did get away from us, unbelievably so," Koen- ning said. "It just looked like he ran right through arm tackles." Tot 9 8 7 7 5 4 4 3 2 2 2 t 1 1 1 1 1 59 I L L INNO0 1S5 PASSING 0 Player C-A Scheelhaase 16-31 RUSHING Playe, AttI Y Scheelhaase 16 Pollard 5 Yds 170 TD Int D 1 Yds 26 14 1s -14 67 RECEVING Davs 4 Lankford 1 Polard 1 *on T Aug 2.4 0.9 3.0 -14.0 1.1 Avg 12.9 70 18.0 14.0 1.0 &0 1.0 12.2 Ls 8 13 11 0 13 L8 32 11 18 14 7 6 1 44 TD 1 i 0 0 2 TD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 103 28 18 6 1 PUNTING Play,, No. 14, Avg Lg Duivrmos 9 74 41. 6 Totas 9 374 41.6 61 KICKOFF RETURNS No Yd Av g Playe, No 114s Gvg Lg Osei 1 14 1420 14 Totals 1 14 14.0 14 lae Solo Asst Tot * SPRS Bon, 2 7 ,9 Thomas 1 8 9 Hull 2 5 7 Green 1 3 4 0Sanni 2 1 3 M i chduly ball3 Henry 1 1 2 Hawthorne 1 1 2 Foster m 2 2 Scheelhaase 1 0 1 Kynard 0 1 Prosch 0 1 1 Bates 0 1 1 Totals 23 60 83 MOR E FOL LOW US ON TWIT TE R @ ichdailysports @miChdailyf ball @m ichailyhockey @miChdaily bbal| TRAIN From Page 1B against Purdue. After the Wolverines' defense forced the Fighting Illini's third-straight punt, redshirt sophomore receiver Jeremy Gallon gave the Wol- verines great field position after he took freshman Justin DuVernois's punt 32 yards to the Illinois 41-yard line. Michigan stuck with the ground game on the ensuing possession, going 41 yards on seven running plays - finished by a two-yard rush by Robin- son to make it 14-0 Michigan early in the second quarter. Toussaint continued to excel, gaining 22 more yards on the scoring drive and finishing the first half with 144 yards on 18 rushes. Meanwhile, the Michigan defense continued to stunt the Illinois offense, giving up just one first down in the first half, allowing the offense to have plenty of time to further its rushing dominance. Dominance in the ground game, that is, until the Fight- ing Illini seemed to figure out MICHIGAN DEFENSE From Page 1B get back to playing "Michigan football." They knew what that meant. In the first three days of fall camp, Mattison put on a clin- ic about what it meant to play Michigan defense. He installed just two defenses in three days, making sure he had time to set his expectations. "All we talked about was defensive philosophy - 'This is what we do. This is who we are,"' Van Bergen said. "'We haven't been that, we will be that.' So far, it's held true. We've been as dom- inant as he's said we could be." The defense has improved in every way possible this season, and the road win in Champaign served as the crowning achieve- ment in Mattison's turnaround effort. The numbers say they allow 20 fewer points per game (15.5) and 132 fewer yards (317) than last season. And as the offense sputtered and turned the ball over three times againstIllinois,the defense was dominant. The goals they set for themselves during camp became more than just expecta- tions. They became reality. "We wanted to hold our offen- sive opponent to 33 percent or what they needed to do to stop Toussaint and the onslaught of run plays. "The blitz was hurting us in that it seemed like we were getting up field, and we didn't make the tackle," said Illi- nois defensive coordinator Vic Koenning. "So once you create a vertical seam, you don't make the tackle, we were running right by them. "We weren't making plays, and we went back to just kind of trying to stay in our gaps and playing base and that seemed to help us, but we got our butt beat." The change in strategy worked. After Michigan took over at the Illinois 43-yard line with three minutes to go in the half, Toussaint gained just three yards on three rushes during a seven-play, 22-yard drive. The Wolverines were forced to attempt a 38-yard field goal, but redshirt sophomore kicker Brendan Gibbons missed it wide left. After a sizzling start offen- sively, Michigan went into the half with a 14-0 lead after gain- ing just one net rushing yard in the second quarter. less on third downs, which we've done a pretty good job of that," Van Bergen said. Michigan stopped the Fight- ing Illini on their first eight third down attempts, and Illinois fin- ished 5-of-17 - or 29 percent. "Short yardage situations, we wanted to win all those - we do that," Van Bergen continued. Illinois was 1-for-5 on short yardage situations on third or fourth down. And the Wolver- ines forced seven three-and- outs, including three straight to start the game. "Red-zone defense has to be great," Van Bergen said. "We've been good at that. Turnovers (too)." Illinois converted both of its red-zone trips into touchdowns, but that was after the game was well in hand. And the defense picked off Illinois quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase to ice the game and forced running back Jason Ford to fumble, only one play after Michigan's offense failed to score in the red zone itself. "Pretty much, the defense bailed me out," said Hoke, who had called for his offense to go for it on 4th-and-1. But failed. Those five words - "the defense bailed me out" - were laughable a year ago when Michi- gan played Illinois in a 67-65 tri- "In there, and we ball," Zook. tied do the wa ing." The contini ing th up 156 in the gained and he headin utes of "If irn t] Buti Michig bined perforr interce back J the first couple series too much for Illinois. we were not tackling After the Fighting Illini e were over-running the tightened the score to 24-14 said Illinois coach Ron with just over three minutes "Then (the defense) set- to play, Toussaint came up big wn and started playing again, scoring on a 27-yard ay they had been play- run. The run gave Michigan a 17-point lead and put the game Fighting Illini's defense out of reach for the'Fighting ued to improve follow- Illini. e break - after racking "I think I feed off of others," 5 yards on the ground Toussaint said. "If my offen- first quarter, Michigan sive line has juice, then I have just 22 additional yards juice." Ad just a 17-7 advantage . In a game where Robinson g into the final 15 min- and sophomore Devin Gard- the game. ner, who took over for the injured Robinson in the third quarter, finished a combined 8-for-15 in the air for just 139 my offensive yards, Toussaint proved to be the game-changer in a crucial le has juice, road win for the Wolverines. "I know as a team we hen I have haven't felt real good about ourselves because of how we juice." played in East Lansing and Iowa City," Hoke said. "We played about 30 minutes of Michigan football in Iowa in the final quarter, the City. We talked about that a lot an running game, com- - playing 60 minutes of Michi- with a stout defensive gan football. mance. aided by a key "It was great to win a foot- ption by junior corner- ball game, great to win on the .T. Floyd, proved to be road." ple-overtime shootout win. Van Bergen remembered it hurt most that the defense wasn't consid- ered "reliable." The offense had to bail the defense out. On Saturday, Michigan's defense proved it could play well on the road. It proved it could win a game its offense couldn't put away. It proved that it could prevent a team from crossing midfield for an entire half. "You should think we're a dominant defense that can be relied on," Van Bergen said after the game. "You should think that the defense is a staple of Michi- gan right now and that's what's going to continue at Michigan. Michigan will always be able to rely on its defense. It always has been and it always will be that way." And the defensive line will always lead the defense, Hoke has decreed. Van Bergen had 2.5 sacks. His friend, senior defen- sive tackle Mike Martin, had a half sack and nine tackles, dis- rupting any and all of Illinois's intentions of running the football all game. Illinois averages nearly 200 yards rushing per game. It fin- ished with 37. It may be come as no surprise about 80 percent of Michigan's practice time is focused on stop- ping the run. That's another Senior Mike Martin set the tone, chasing down Illinois runners all game. staple of the "Michigan defense." It's hard to argue with results as the buzzwords that Mattison and Hoke preached have become the group's identity. "I think when you stop the run, it starts there," Hoke said. "I think when you play with a physicalness. I think when you see those maize helmets hitting the ball carrier multiple times. I think that's Michigan defense." It sounds like the stuff of fairy tales, but the sight of it nearly reduced a grown man, Mattison, to tears. "For a lot of years, Michi- gan was known for Michigan's defense," Hoke said. "They really want to represent that."