8A - Thursday, September 20, 2012 . ''z. }.. .- V - - tn.. ...... .. The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 'U' students pull prank in South Bend Group affixes 'Beat the Irish' banner to stadium, raises 'M' flag on quadrangle By BEN ESTES and ZACH HELFAND Daily SportsEditors Rivalries tend to bring the best out of the opposing teams. They also bring the best out of the respective fanbases, Wvhich was evidenced by events in South Bend early Wednesday morning. According to an e-mail sent to the Daily from someone with the e-mail address gobluebeat- theirish@ gmail.com, a group of University wanted students trav- eled to Notre our p: Dame's cam- pus and put up M ich a blue banner reading "Beat - the Irish," complete with a maize Block 'M' over one of the gates of Notre Dame Stadium. The pranksters insisted on anonymity, but the Daily traced the origin of the e-mail to University servers in Ann Arbor. One member said eight stu- dents made the trip to South Bend and another two were involved in planning. The anonymous Michigan studnt claimed the group had little difficulty scaling the gate, and once inside, they used zip ties to secure the banner. "The ironic part is that there were some Notre Dame students camped out on the other side of the stadium to protect it, but we came through the campus rather than from the road, so they didn't see us coming," one member said ina separate email. "The hardest part was making sure there was no one around ... when we went to put up the ban- ner, because there was absolute- ly no cover to hide behind as we hung it, and it is directly across from one of the main campus libraries." The group also claimed they raised e just a Michigan flag on a flag- to show pole in one of the campus' ride in quadrangles and adorned igan." statues of for- mer coaches with Michi- gan apparel. "With little lighting we couldn't get a great picture," the member continued. "Regard- less, it was well worth it know- ing that as kids were walking to class early this morning across the pristine lawns and perfect- ly manicured gardens of South Bend, there was a maize and blue 'M' flag flying above their heads. "Ultimately, we just wanted A'Beat the Irish' banner hangs from the Knute Rockne Gate at Notre Dame Stadium in the early hours of Wednesday morning. to show our pride in Michigan while encouraging passion for and loyalty to this great Univer- sity we call our own." The Big Ten Network report- ed that Notre Dame officials the morning of Nov. 19, 2009, student paper The Lantern removed the banner early when Michigan students trav- published a photo of the flag Wednesday morning. eled to Columbus and raised accompanied with the head- A similar situation occurred the 'M' flag outside Orton Hall line, 'A travesty strikes OSU on the Ohio State campus on and University Hall. Ohio State campus. FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @THEBLOCKM &=-55 PRESENT IJURSDAY OCT 1i DADA4.,, .LIFE Qu.Nr.'E Hoke no longer surprised by Robinson's athleticism By STEPHENJ. NESBITT Daily Sports Editor It really takes something spe- cial to impress Michigan coach Brady Hoke these days. Late in the second quarter on Saturday, with the Michigan football team (2-1) leading Mas- sachusetts 28-10, senior quar- terback Denard Robinson took a shotgun snap and stepped back to survey the coverage downfield. He pump-faked once, then again before escapingthe pocket. Robinson pumped again as he angled toward the sideline, then he decided on a different course of action. On his 12th step, Robinson planted his right foot and pivoted 90 degrees to his right. Without missing a stride, Rob- inson bolted back across the field, leaving two diving defenders in his wake, and then outran every- one to the pylon. The box score called it a 36-yard touchdown, though Robinson ran closer to twice that number. All told, the play took 15 sec- onds for Robinson to shake an entire defense. It was the 90-degree turn that had people talkingthis week. "He checked all his reads, sat in the pocket as long as he could, and then when he broke out he went and made a right-angle cut - I've never seen anyone make a right-angle cut directly the oppo- site way they were going without falling," said junior wide receiver Devin Gardner on Monday. "I told him, 'You're the best player I've ever seen,' after he came off. ... There's not much you can say after you see that." But it's much harder to sur- prise Hoke. "I'm sure there's going to be something that happens during a practice or a game that you say, 'Man, I didn't know you could throw itacross your bodythat far,' or, 'He stopped on a dime here and accelerated so fast,' Hoke said. What about that 90-degree cut - that was unexpected, right? "No, not really," Hoke said. "Because (the Michigan defense) chasedhimaround the firstspring. We were chasing him all over and when I knew we were coming around a little bit defensively, he said, 'You know, a year ago I could run wherever I wanted against our defense. Now I can't.' "So I mean, that was a year ago. That's kind of as good as an endorsement as anythingthat our guys are understanding getting to Senior quarterback Denard Robinson has stunned Notre Dame two years in a the football." Though Hoke and offensive coordinator Al Borges both con- tend that Robinson needs to have success through the air in Michi- gan's hybrid pro-style offense against No. 11 Notre Dame this Saturday, there's no question that Robinson's running ability has helped Michigan in its two wins this far this season. Robinson ran just 10 times in the season opener against then- No. 2 Alabama - he ran justtwice in the first half alone - collecting just27yards. Since then, he'sbeen let loose in the ground game. He had 20 rushing attempts for 218 yards against Air Force a week later and 10 carries for 106 yards in three quarters against Massa- chusetts last week. There have been more designed quarterback runs and an empha- sis on read options, but Robinson is also tasked with making snap decisions as the pocket collapses around him: Hold onto the ball or take off? Hoke said Robinson in general makes the right decision. "I'm pretty much OK 99 per- cent of the time, tucking it and taking it," Hoke said. "He's got such a gift, you know, that most of the time when he plants his foot and decidesto go north and south, it's going to be pretty productive with you, so I'm very comfortable with that." The ticking clock in the pocket changes from game to game. Rob- inson couldn't buy any time for three quarters against the Fight- ing Irish last season - "They boxed him in a couple different ways with backers and a safety," Hoke said - but he exploded in the fourth quarter of Michigan's last-second 35-31 victory. He finished with 338 yards and four touchdowns on11-of-24 pass- ing and 108 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown on16 carries. Though that game was just Robinson's second start under Hoke and in the new offensive system, the performance didn't surprise Hoke. "I've been aroundhimenough," Hoke said. "It's not shocking or surprising." 4 I