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8A - Wednesday, October 3, 2012
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
ICE HOCKEY
Wolverines to host
Blue/White Game
ERIN KIRKLAND/Daily
Fifth-year senior wide receiver Roy Roundtree and the Michiganfootball team's offense had 23 missed assignments in a 13-6 loss to Notre Dame.
'Unbelievably high' number of
missed assignments plague
By ZACH HELFAND
Daily Sports Editor
The worst part of film study,
Jordan Kovacs said, is when you
know you messed up. Those glar-
ing missed assignments, when
you should've done one thing
but did the other, and all you can
manage now isto pray thf coach-
es stop the film.
"It's not fun," the fifth-year
senior safety said with a laugh.
"Sometimes you get in those
meetings and you know the play
is coming, and you're thinking
'Oh God, here it comes. Please
don'tshow it, please don't show it.
What is coach goingto say?"'
Against Notre Dame, the
Michigan offense had 23 of those
missed assignments, according
to redshirt junior tackle Tay-
lor Lewan, a number he called
"unbelievably high." The mis-
takes could range from missed
blocks to improper reads to poor
communication.
"You should have one or two
maybe in a game," Lewan said.
"I've never seen (23 missed
assignments) happen before, per-
sonally."
Senior quarterback Denard
Robinson and his five turnovers
have received most of the blame
from Saturday's loss, but the rest
of the offense struggled with
even the smallest of details. Wide
receivers ran past unblocked
linebackers or didn't block at all.
Linemen got beat.
Runners made the wrong
reads. Minus the Hail Mary at the
end of the first half, Robinson was
pressured or hiton all of his.inter-
ceptions.
Lewan said the offense even
failed to communicate the proper
play call. Offensive coordinator
Al Borges called plays on several
occasions that never made it onto
the field.
"It's not just Denard," Lewan
said. "There's plenty of guys who
messed up."
Michigan coach Brady Hoke
calls those missed assignments
"game spasms," his word for
mistakes that never happen in
practice but can derail an offense
during a game. A few happen in
every game, but Michigan tends
to suffer more on the road. Think
Michgian State or Iowa or even
Virginia Tech last year, or Ala-
bama or Notre Dame this year.
When not in Michigan Stadi-
um, the number of missed assign-
ments rises and the Wolverines'
total yardage falls.
This year, Michigan has aver-
aged 504 yards of total offense
per game at home but just 284
yards away from Ann Arbor.
Granted, the level of competition
- Alabama and Notre Dame -
was much higher on road games
this year, but last year's trend was
similar. At home in 2011, Michi-
gan averaged 450 yards. On the
road, the Wolverines averaged
332 yards.
Borges said he used the bye
week to review his own perfor-
mance on the road. He looked at
his play calls from the past two
seasons on the road, every single
call, and evaluated his decisions.
He codified each play into three.
categories. One, where the call
gave an advantage to the offense,
the type of play that should be'
successful; two, where the call
could be successful but required
more execution; and a third
where a call gave the defense the
advantage.
Borges declined to say spe-
cifically what he learned form
his analysis, but the fact that he
reviewed his road play-calling at
all is revealing.
"As a play-caller, believe me,
as hard as the fans are on me,
I'm about eight times harder on
myself," Borges said.
Robinson didn't have an
answer for Michigan's road strug-
gles, and jokingly noted, "I don't
think I had a bad game when I
was at Notre Dame my sopho-
more year," as an understatement..
Lewan said it wouldn't happeni
again. Kovacs blamed a lack of
cohesion.
"It comes down to communi-
cation and just feeling comfort-
able with the guys that you're out
there with," Kovacs said.
By MATT SLOVIN and
LIZ NAGLE
Daily Sports Editor and
DailySports Wrter
The Michigan hockey program
will host its annual Blue/White
Game, featuring several alumni,
at Yost Ice Arena on Sunday. The
scrimmage will feature current
National Hockey League players
Mike Knuble, Jack Johnson, Matt
Hunwick and Andy Hilbert.
The puck is scheduled to drop
at 4:50 p.m.
Michigan NOTEBOOK
coach Red
Berenson said on Tuesday's "Red
Berenson Radio Show" that the
game will be a great opportunity
for fans to catch a first glimpse of
the renovated rink.
This summer, Yost underwent
a major facelift, which most nota-
bly included new windows at
both ends of the arena. The entire
rink is now outfitted with metal
bleachers, and luxury boxes have
been added where the press box
used to sit. The concourses were
also renovated and are now more
spacious.
Johnson, who was the first
alumni guest of the season on
the radio show, said he's excited
to take part in Sunday's scrim-
mage. He's been skating in Ann
Arbor during the NHL's lockout
- Johnson, who has been in the
NHL since 2007, is a member of
the Columbus Blue Jackets.
"It's a great way to stay in
shape," during the NHL lockout,
Johnson said.
HERE COMES THE... DP?: This
_summer, Red Berenson strolled
into a wedding reception to find
a familiar face behind the disc-
jockey booth - junior defense-
man Mac Bennett.
"He's pretty good, so you guys
watch yourselves," Berenson told
the hosts of the radio show, which
- airs weekly on WTKA.
Former Michigan hockey play-
er Danny Fardig chose Bennett to
man the turntables, as he has been
known to do, for his summer wed-
ding.
"I think that's a one-time
thing," Bennett said. "Literally,
I did not sleep for four nights
before the wedding. All I could
think about was that if I mess this
up, everyone's going to know. But
it went well."
Bennett added that the wed-
ding was a perfect match for him
because the bride enjoyed techno
house music - Bennett's special- i
ty.
PRESEASON AWARDS: Tues-
day, the Central Collegiate
Hockey Association released its
preseason all-conference teams,
which included four Michigan
hockey players.
Junior defenseman Jon Merrill
was chosen as the lone Wolver-
ine on the first team. Sophomore
forward Alex Guptill and senior
defensemanheLeecMoffie were
posted to the second team, and
senior forward A.J. Treais was
named an honorable mention.
Merrill earned a preseason
accolade for the second-straight
year, tallying eight first-place
votes and 44 total points amongst
the CCHA's head coaches. The
Brighton, Mich. native notched
seven goals and 18 assists in his
rookie campaign. After missing
the first 22 games last year due
to suspension, Merrill posted 11
points, including four multiple-
point games.
Last season, Guptill accumu-
lated a handful of conference
awards en route tobeing named
CCHA Rookie of the Year. He
tied for the team-high with 16
goals, including five power-play
goals and four game-winners.
In his first three seasons, Mof-
fie registered 61 points, includ-
ing last year's team-high of 25
assists. He was selected for the
All-CCHA Tournamentteam and
received a trio of first-place votes
on 2012-13 preseason ballot.
Treais, this year's team cap-
tain, led Michigan with 134 shots
on goal last season, scoringon 15.
FOOTBALL
Defense gains confidence
entering Big Ten season
Barnes Arico excited for season
By LUKE PASCH
Daily SportsEditor
Following an underwhelming
2-2 start for the Michigan foot-
ball team this fall, the team's
rhetoric has not changed: The
goal for the season is to win the
Big Ten Championship.
"Why not?" asked fifth-year
senior safety Jordan Kovacs on
Tuesday. "I'm not discouraged
at all by the way things have
started. We're undefeated in the
Big Ten right now, right? Aren't
we undefeated?"
Reporters w chuckled. The
Wolverines are the only team
in the Legends division of the
Big Ten to not play a conference
opponent. So, yes - they have
statistically as good a chance of
winning the Big Ten title as any
other team.
"That's what I thought,"
Kovacs said.
That glass-half-full mental-
ity was apparent from most of
the personnel that spoke with
the media on Tuesday, espe-
cially from the defensive play-
ers. Even defensive coordinator
Greg Mattison, who is never sat-
isfied with his defense's perfor-
mance, seemed proud of how his
unit played against Notre Dame
before the bye week.
To be clear, no Wolverine left
South Bend two Saturdays ago
feeling content with the 13-6
loss to the Fighting Irish. But
Mattison still recognizes good
defense when he sees it. The
offense turned the ball over six
times at Notre Dame Stadium,
and his players still surrendered
just 13 points. That's impressive,
regardless of the outcome.
"Well, I'm encouraged that it
re-emphasized that if we play
really hard, if we run to the foot-
ball - and that was tusing in
that gar
that we
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me that stood out to me, doesn't like it in the trenches?"
really had a lot of hel- Kovacs' presence - in the
the football - that's the trenches may have been why
y we can play here," Mat- Michigan defended the run
id. "And I told the players particularly well against Notre
ore the game: I felt they Dame. The unit gave up 94 yards
sing to play well because on the ground, but it took the
ally prepared. They real- Fighting Irish 31 carries to get
ed at understanding the there.
lan, understanding what That's a vast improvement
d to do." compared to the cumulative
defense is confident that 721 rushing yards the Michigan
ess at Notre Dame will defense allowed over the first
te 'into more high-effort three weeks of the season.
n Big Ten play. "I think that we're starting to
cs agrees with Mattison. get better," Kovacs said. "We're
ggest factor of success starting to stop the run, start-
the Fighting Irish was ing to keep the ball inside and in
.m's collective effort to front of the defense. I'm excited
he ball, and he mentioned about the way we're headed.""
At this point, the secondary
seems to be playing exceed-
ingly well, as Michigan's pass
defense ranks first in the Big
Ten, allowing opponents just
155 passing yards per game. But
.nd this is a players have taken that statistic
with a grain of salt.
ew season." Alabama didn't really need
to pass - its stable of running
backs effectively ran all over
Michigan's front seven. Pass-
coaches ran a number of ing is rarely a part of Air Force's
drills leading up to the game plan. And Massachusetts
Dame game. He also had just wasn't talented enough to
ortunity to get to the ball truly challenge the Wolverine
ten because coaches had defensive backs.
ing up in the box more But there's no denying that
ual. the Michigan secondary com-
much time Kovacs pletely befuddled Notre Dame
with the front seven is starting quarterback Everett
ent on a given week's Golson, who was replaced by
an, but with his nose for Tommy Rees.
1, he fully embraces the Ultimately, the Notre Dame
game has appeared to give con-
ou're down there you fidence to a defensive unit that
ave to worry about get- severely needed some.
at deep," Kovacs said. "Obviously the last game
n just play football once wasn't exactly what we wanted,"
down in the box. That's Kovacs said. "But we did make
kyard football. some steps. And this is a new
a football player. Who season."
By GREG GARNO and
DANIEL FELDMAN
Daily Sports Writers
Michigan women's basketball
coach Kim Barnes Arico stood
in the William Davidson Player
Development Center with a smile
splashed across her face, stand-
ing relaxed and waiting to begin
practice.
You didn't need to see her
demeanor, though, you could hear
her excitement in her voice.
"We're all extremely excited
to be here, from the staff to the
players down, to the support
staff," Barnes Arico said. "I think
the culture that we're creating is
extremely exciting. Everybody
wants to be a part of it and get
started."
Though just two days of offi-
cial practice have passed, Barnes
Arico's upbeat personality has
already carried over to the court.
Barnes Arico enters her first
season as head coach at Michi-
gan, replacing former coach
Kevin Borseth. Before coming to
Ann Arbor in April, she capped
her 10-year tenure at St. John's
with three-consecutive NCAA
Tournament berths. In her final
season at the helm of the Red
Storm, she guided the team to the
Sweet 16.
While her expectations are
high for her new program, Barnes
Arico said she isn't focused on
buildingoff of last season - Mich-
igan's first NCAA Tournament
appearance in 11 years, which
ended with a loss to Oklahoma
in the first round. Instead, she is
building an entirely new founda-
tion for the 40-year-old program.
"Ithinkoneofthebigthings for
me is not to compare it to things
they've had in past," Barnes Arico
said. "It's a new time for them as
players, it's a new time for our
program and it's a challenge for
me."
Michigan returns 11 years
this year, including five seniors.
Among them is senior center
Rachel Scheffer, the team's lead-
ing scorer in 2011-2012.
a
Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico is preparing for her first season in Ann Arbor.
that the
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Known for running a fast-
paced offense and a strong
defense, Barnes Arico was also
clear abouther plans for the 2012-
2013 squad.
"We would like to get up and
down (the.court) - we would like
to be the best-conditioned team
in the country as well as the team
that works the hardest," Barnes
Arico said. "That's what we're
really stressing early on - just
going hard in everything you do."
Barnes Arico has also had 'to
adjust to life off the court in Ann
Arbor with her husband and three
children.
From coaching clinics to speak-
ing at the student watch party at
Michigan Stadium before Michi-
gan football's season opener, she
has quickly immersed herself in
the city and the University com-
munity.
"I would have only left (St.
John's) for something incredibly
special - and that is Michigan,"
Barnes Arico said. "It's an incred-
ible place. Everything about the
place - from the facilities to the
academic reputation, the nation-
al reputation, the resources, but
even the entire community.
In her free time, Barnes Arico
a
trains and runs on the streets of
Ann Arbor. Her training may be
an effort to run another marathon.
after completingher first, the New
York City Marathon, last year.
Her goals also extend beyond the
court as well, as Barnes Arico said
she hopes to enhance the reputa-
tion of Michigan women's basket-
ball inthe community.
"I think the number one thing
is for the community to feel con-
nected," she said. "They need to
feel a relationship with us and I
think it's partof my job is to go out
and build that relationship. (We
want to) promote the program
and what these young ladies stand
for and how much they work and
how we're building a champion-
ship year for the women's basket-
ball program."
If the animated Barnes Arico
has one setback in her outstand-
ing career, it may be working late
into the night.
"I'm just a high-energy per-
son," Barnes Arico said. "Unless
you catch me after nine, then I'm
not really high energy. That's a bit
of a problem."
Someone should warn her
about the 13 night games she plays
this season, then.
& A
J
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