'Team 133' seniors hope for happy send-off
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By STEPHEN J. NESBITT
Daily Sports Editor
Iowa visits Ann Arbor on Sat-
urday riding a three-game win
streak against the No. 23 Michi-
gan football team. The Hawkeyes
toppled the Wolverines last fall
after a disputed last-ditch pass
to Junior Hemingway was ruled
out of bounds in
the back of the
Iowa at
end zone, giving
Michigan one of Michigan
its two losses of Matchup:
the season. Iowa 2-4,
The last time 4-6; Michi-
the Wolverines gan 5-1, 7-3
beat Iowa was When: Sat-
Oct. 21, 2006, a urday noon
20-6 victory at Where Michi-
Michigan Sta- ghnre:adicmi
dium, but with a
40-13-4 all-time TV/Radio:
record, Michi- ESPN
gan still holds a
significant edge in the matchup.
And this could be the year
things turn back around.
Michigan rush offense vs. Iowa
rush defense
When junior quarterback
Devin Gardner stepped in to
replace injured senior quar-
terback Denard Robinson two
weeks ago, all eyes turned to the
Michigan running game to see if
it could buoy the offense and help
the first-time starter at quarter-
back.
But, as it turns out, it may not
be so important after all. Gardner
has passed for 234 and 286 yards
in the past two starts, respec-
tively. The rushing numbers,
while not necessarily an accurate
barometer of the offense's suc-
cess, have come crashing down
from the marks set with Robinson
at the helm.
Gardner has teamed up with
redshirt junior running back
Fitzgerald Toussaint, often
spelled by sophomore bruiser
Thomas Rawls, to combine for 155
and 133 rushing yards in victories
over Minnesota and Northwest-
ern, though the attempts haven't
dwindled drastically. With Rob-
inson at quarterback this sea-
son, the Wolverines had just one
game with lower rushing totals -
Michigan rushed for just 69 yards
on 29 carries in a season-opening
defeat to then-No. 1 Alabama.
Toussaint did break loose for
a 50-yard gain against the Wild-
cats, but he made one cut too
ERIN KIRKLAND/Daily
Junior quarterback Devin Gardner has impressed in his first two career starts at quarterback, beating Minnesota, Northwestern.
many and fumbled the ball on the
three-yard line.
Iowa's front seven, anchored
by junior linebacker Christian
Kirksey - who has two intercep-
tions and four fumble recoveries
this fall - has-posted middle-of-
the-pack numbers in the ground
game, allowing 154.4 yards per
game, but that might be enough
to get it done against a suddenly
pass-reliant Michigan offense.
Edge: Iowa
Michigan pass offense vs. Iowa
pass defense
Gardner changes everything.
Michigan averaged 171.5 pass-
ing yards through the first eight
weeks of the season with Gardner
platooning at wide receiver and
Robinson at quarterback - with
redshirt freshman Russell Bello-
my playing one game in relief. In
the past two games with Gardner
under center, Michigan has aver-
aged 250 passing yards.
Facing a Hawkeye defense that
allowed 406 passing yards to
Indiana two weeks ago and 279
to Purdue last Saturday, Gardner
shouldn't have a problem picking
apart the secondary.
Senior cornerback Micah Hyde
and Kirksey - who intercepted
Robinson on the goal line last
fall - are the playmakers to keep
an eye on. But, if you're looking
for a good omen, one play before
Kirksey's interception, Gardner
got a snap and completed a two-
yard pass. So, he's perfect against
Iowa. Take that to the bank.
Edge: Michigan
Iowa rush offense vs. Michigan
rush defense
Do you know the AIRBHG?
That's the Angry Iowa Run-
ning Back Hating God. It's a real
thing, or at least the college foot-
ball scene believes it is.
The tailback Michigan faced
last year was Marcus Coker. He
transferred to Stony Brook this
spring.
Then sophomore Jordan Can-
zeri tore his ACL in spring ball.
Sophomore De'Andre Johnson
had two run-ins with the law this
summer and was dismissed from
the team.
Freshman Barklay Hill tore his
left ACL in mid-August. Sopho-
more Damon Bullock took over
as the starter but missed four
games after suffering a concus-
sion in mid-September in a game
against Northern Illinois. He was
replaced by freshman Greg Gar-
mon, who also had a run-in with
the law during the summer, but
Garmon injured his right arm
later in the game.
Guard yourselves, and your
ACLs, out there.
Bullock has since returned to
form and has led the Iowa rush-
ing attack along with sophomore
fullback Mark Weisman. But
Iowa ranks second-to-last in the
Big Ten with 124 rushing yards
per game.
Michigan's front . seven has
made marked improvements
since early struggles against Ala-
bama and Air Force, in particular,
and ranks sixth in the Big Ten,
allowing 153.7 rushing yards per
game.
Edge: Michigan
Iowa pass offense vs. Michigan
pass defense
Considering that the Michi-
gan secondary is the No. 1 pass
defense in the nation at 149.2
passing yards per game, it could
be a very difficult afternoon for
Iowa senior quarterback James
Vandenberg.
The secondary has allowed just
two more passing touchdowns
(nine) than interceptions (seven).
Iowa's offense has that ratio rath-
er backward - five passing touch-
downs to six interceptions.
Though Vandenberg posted an
impressive stat line of 25 touch-
downs and seven interceptions
last fall, his hype train has fal-
tered considerably. Under the
senior signal-caller, Iowa's five
passing touchdowns are good for
third-worst of all FBS teams.
Edge: Michigan
Special teams
The kickers in this matchup
cancel each other out. Michigan's
Brendan Gibbons is 14-for-16 this
fall; Iowa's Mike Meyer is 16-for-
19.
The punters are punters, and
therefore all but cancel each
other out. (Though, let's face it,
Michigan junior Will Hagerup's
44.7 yards per punt gives him the
edge over Iowa punter Connor
Kornbrath.)
Iowa has a few dangerous
return men in Hyde and junior
Jordan Cotton. Cotton has
returned a kick for a touchdown
and leads the Big Ten with a 27.9-
yard average.
(And keep in mind that the
Wolverines allowed a kick return
for a touchdown that was called
back last week.) But Michigan
freshman Dennis Norfleet's 23.7-
yard average isn't too shabby,
either.
Special teams need to be spe-
cial, and both teams are, well,
equally special.
Edge: Push
Intangibles
For the sake of simplicity: This
game is tipping in Michigan's
favor more than the Leaning
Tower of Pisa.
Michigan coach Brady Hoke is
a perfect 13-0 at Michigan Sta-
dium since taking over as head
coach last year. He is 58-6 all-
time on the Michigan sideline.
This is the last home game for a
senior class that has seen the best
and worst of times for the Michi-
gan football program:-
. And this is a bad Iowa team
across the field.
It's stacked up just right, now
it's just time to fill the student
section - before the second quar
ter - and see how it plays out in
between the lines.
Edge: Michigan
Final Score: Michigan 35, Iowa
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8 FootballSaturday - November 17, 2012