8A - Wednesday, November 23, 2011

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

8A -Wedesda, Nvembr 2, 201 Te Mchign Dily mihigadaiyAo

Breakdown: Toussaint looks for
holes in stingy Buckeye defense

ICE HOCKEY
Blue tries to regain
momentum at home
outside of CCHA lay

By STEPHEN J. NESBITT
Daily Sports Editor
Like every Michigan-Ohio
State football game, there's plen-
ty on the line on Saturday. But
instead of it being a one-sided
affair, with Michigan just hop-
ing for a happy ending to a brutal
season, the Wolverines are back
on top.
What's at stake? Well, Michi-
gan is lookingto add to its 57-44-
6 all-time series record and likely
earnitsfirstBCS-bowlberthsince
2007.
Michigan pass offense vs. Ohio
State pass defense
Michigan junior quarterback
Denard Robinson bounced back
from consecutive poor outings
with an 11-for-18, 180-yard pass-
ing day in the Wolverines' 45-17
shellacking of No. 17 Nebraska
last Saturday. But the passing
game is still a work in progress,
and the Buckeyes' secondary is no
liability.
Ohio State has registered 12
interceptions this season - five
more than Michigan - and is led
by redshirt junior safety Orhian
Johnson and promising first-year
cornerback Bradley Roby, who
both have three interceptions.
And Robinson is an interception
machine, as he's thrown 14 picks
on the season.
Edge: Ohio State
Michigan rush offense vs. Ohio
State rush offense '
The emergence of redshirt
sophomore running back Fitzger-
ald Toussaint to complement Rob-
inson in the running game has
given the Wolverines one of the
most dangerous backfields in the
nation. Robinson is seven yards
from breaking the 1,000-yard
mark this season, and Toussaint
is 102 yards behind. Command-
ing the bulk of Michigan's carries

in the past four games, Toussaint
has gained on 550 yards and five
touchdowns on 93 carries in that
time.
Staring the running back down
from across the line of scrimmage
will be stud Buckeye defensive
linemen John Simon and Jona-
than Hankins. The pair anchors
the Big Ten's fifth-leading rush
defense, which is allowing just
130 rushing yards per game. Still,
Ohio State's only chance to stop
the two threats in Michigan's
backfield is to plug the holes in
the middle and contain the out-
side. With Michigan's veteran
offensive line, that's a stretch for
any defense.
Edge: Michigan
Ohio State pass offense vs.
Michigan pass defense
Last season, Buckeye quar-
terback Terrelle Pryor had no
problem embarrassing the Wol-
verines' notoriously awful sec-
ondary. Pryor ran for 63 yards and
added another 220 yards and two
touchdowns through the air on
18-of-27 passing. But what differ-
ence a year makes. Pryor is in the
NFL, replaced by true-freshman
quarterback Braxton Miller.
Miller took the starting job
away from Joe Bauserman
early this season, but he hasn't
impressed in the passing game.
In 10 games, the mobile fresh-
man has not eclipsed 19 passing
attempts, with his completion
percentage wavering dangerously
at 48.6 percent.
The Michigan secondary isn't
embarrassing itself anymore,
either. The nation's 14th-best
passing defense is allowing just
184.3 yards per game, though
Miller won't likely test it much.
Edge: Michigan
Ohio State rush offense vs.
Michigan rush defense
This Michigan-Ohio State bat-

Redshirt sophomore running back Fitzgerald Toussaint has
past four weeks as Michigan's lead running back.

tle will be won on the ground. If
Michigan's Robinson and Tous-
saint have their way with the
Buckeye defense, it could be a
blowout in the Big House. But
if Miller and running back Dan
"Boom" Herron can break the
Wolverines defensive front, it's a
toss-up. Herron was suspended
early in the season and will only
be playing in his sixth game of
the season, but is averaging 111.8
yards per game since his return.
The Wolverine defense has
certainly turned a corner, and its
ability to stop the ground game
is a key component of the unit's
success. After struggling against
quality backs early in the sea-
son, Michigan held Illinois to 37
rushing yards two weeks ago and
Nebraska's Rex Burkhead to a
season-low 36 rushing yards last
Saturday.
Edge: Push
Special teams
Ohio State sophomore Drew
Basil is money. He's 13-for-16 on
field goals for the season, but has
missed just two from inside 50
yards. Safe to say there has been

no drop-off after losing Devin
Barclay last season.
Redshirt sophomore kicker
Brendan Gibbons can't quite
stand up to Basil's mark, but his
9-for-13 is certainly an upgrade
from last season. Michigan
redeems itself on special teams by
collecting three turnovers in the
last two games on kickoffs and
punts.
Edge: Ohio State
Intangibles
Considering the Buckeyes'
seven-year winning streak over
Michigan, giving the Wolverines
the nod isn't easy. But it's hap-
pening. Michigan coach Brady
Hoke and Co. are world-beaters
at home, with a record of 7-0 and
outscoring teams 267-65. Add
that it's the final appearance at
the Big House for the embattled
Michigan seniors, and there's
both emotion and momentum on
the Wolverines' side. Chalk this
one up for the Wolverines.
Edge: Michigan
Final Score: Michigan 24,
Ohio State 10

By LIZ VUKELICH
Daily Sports Writer
At first glance, it seems like
the Michigan hockey team's
Friday night matchup against
Northeastern
will be a wel-
comed break
from the at Michigan
tough CCHA Matchup:
play. Northeastern
But Michi- 3-7-2; Michi-
gan coach gan 7-5-2
Red Berenson When: Friday
knows better. 7:35 P.M.
"I wouldn't Where: Yost
call it abreak," Ice Arena
Berenson said. Liveblog:
"I wish we Michigandaily.
were staying com/sports
in the league
so we could
stay in the hunt in terms of try-
ing to gain some ground back."
That "ground" is a reference
to the past two weeks, in which
the Wolverines have only tal-
lied one point in four games.
Michigan (3-5-2 CCHA,
7-5-2 overall) is one of the few
CCHA teams that isn't play-
ing a conference opponent
this week. Instead, it'll play
Northeastern and Union. Usu-
ally, Thanksgiving week was
reserved for the College Hock-
ey Showcase, when the Wolver-
ines would face Minnesota and
Wisconsin.
This year marks the first sea-
son without the Showcase since
1993. The absence of the Show-
case made Fridays game with
the Huskies a possibility.
Though Northeastern (3-7-
2 Hockey East, 3-7-2 overall)
doesn't boast an impressive
record, the weekend's open-
ing game will be important for


getting Michigan back on the
track.
"I think it is a good game for
us," said senior captain forward
Luke Glendening. "It's more
(time) we get to play and get on
the ice asa team."
The Wolverines don't know
much about the Huskies. They
haven't played Northeastern
since 2008. But Berenson has
been paying attention to North-
eastern's losses.
The Huskies have lost to
Merrimack - currently the No.
1 team in the country - three
times. One was an overtime
loss, another a shootout.
"I know enough (about
Northeastern) that I think
they're a lot better than their
record," Berenson said. "They
played some of the top pro-

"We have to
come out and
make strides
forward."

4

--I

grams and they don't have as
good a record as they might, but
neither do we really.
"I'm glad we're playing. It
won't be a break, it will be a
working week for our team. We
hope to take a step forward."
That step forward is a direct
address to Michigan's defense.
Berenson has reiterated that
the team can't give up eight
goals over the course of one
weekend and expect to walk
away with two wins.
Keeping the Huskies out of
Michigan's zone might fall on
the defensemen's shoulders.
But the power play is one area
where the whole team will have
a chance to make a difference -
if it can be opportunistic.
Northeastern's opponents
have converted on 22 percent
of their power plays. Michigan
scored twice on the power play
last Saturday.
Though last weekend shows
that the units have the poten-
tial to be effective, Berenson
said he isn't always satisfied
with the special teams' perfor-
mances.
"I think we're getting a little
bit of confidence but ... we've
got to do a better job no matter
who we're playing," Berenson
said.
Considering the Wolverines
are in the midst of their lon-
gest losing streak since 2009,
Berenson does not appear to be
too concerned.
He noted that it sometimes
takes months before a team
fully jells, but each player is
working hard to get there.
Glendening reiterated this
sentiment after Monday's prac-
tice by noting that the team
has entered this week "in good
spirits."
"We have to come out and
make strides forward," Glen-
dening said. "We can't take any
steps backwards."
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