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The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.cam

November 19, 2012 - 3B

The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom November 19, 2012 - 38

MICHIGAN
ATHLETICS
SCOREBOARD

Utah serves 'M' first loss of season ITHgeB

L A S T W E E K
MONDAY (NOV. 12)
Women's basketball: Michigan vs. Xavier, 7
P.M.{))
Men'sbasketball: Michiganvs. IUPUI, 9p.m. (*)
TUESDAY (NOV. 13)
Men's basketball: Michigan 77, Cleveland State 47
THURSDAY (NOV. 15)
Ice hockey: MichigansNotre Dame 3
FRIDAY (NOV. 1A)
Men swinmig: Purde Invitational 7th
Women'sswimming:Purdue Invitational7th
Women's soccer: Michigan 3, Portland 0
Women's basketball: Michigan 40, Utah 59
Volleyball: Michigan1, Northwestern3
Wrestling: Michigan 21, Oregon State 18
Ice hockey: Michigan1, Notre Dame 4
SATURDAY (NOV. 17)
Men's swimming: Purdue Invitational 7th
Women's swimming: Purdue Invitational7th
Women'scrosscountry:NCAAChampionships5th
Football: Michigan 42, Iowa17
Men's cross country:NCAA Championships 5th
Volleyball: Michigan1, Illinois 3
SUNDAY (NOV. 18)
Women'sswimming: PurdueInvitational7th
Men' simgmng Purdue nvitational7th
Wretling: Michigan 2, StanfordA6
Women's soccer: Penn State1, Michigan 1 (PK)
N E X T W E E K
MONDAY (NOV. 19)
Women'sbasketball: Michiganvs. Seton Hall,7
P."M*)
WEDNESDAY (NOV. 21)
Women's volleyball: Michigan at Michigan State,
6:30 p.m.
Ice Hockey: Michigan vs. Bowing Green, 7:35 p.m.
Men's basketball: Michigan vs. Pittsburgh, 9:30
p.m. (NewYork)
FRIDAY (NOV. 23)
Women's basketball: Michigan vs. Hardvard,
2:00 p.m.
Volleyball: Michigan at Ohio State 7 p.m.(Columbus)
Men'sbasketball: Michiganvs. KansasStateor
Deleware, TBA (New York)
SATURDAY (NOV. 24)
Football: Michigan vs. Ohio State, noon (Columbus)
Women'sbasketball:Michiganvs.Boston, 4:00
p.) )
Ice Hockey: Michigan vs. Cornell,8 p.m.(New York)
- (*) All home events are eligible to earn points for
the Athletic Department's H.A.).L program.

By ALEXA DETTELBACH
Daily Sports Writer
It took the Michigan women's
basketball team 6:15 to score its
first basket, and in their second
road game this week, the Wolver-
ines were
handed MICHIGAN 40
their first UTAH 59
loss of the
season in a 59-40 defeat at the
hands of Utah (3-0) and its suffo-
cating defense.
From the opening tip, Michi-
gan (2-1) didn't come out with the
same fire it has had during this
young season. By thetime injured
senior guard Jenny Ryan scored
the Wolverines' first points, the
Utes were spotted a15-point lead.
And what started out ugly only
got uglier for Michigan.
In the first half, the Utes start-
ed off hot shooting 9-for-13 from
the field. No matter what defen-

sive looks it sent Utah, nothing
worked. Senior forward Kate
Thompson got into foul trouble
early, and a thin bench behind
her crippled the Wolverines. The
offense didn't help, turning the
ball over eight times and only hit-
ting one three pointer in the -first
half.
"I think they did a great job
defensively of taking us out of
game and getting us frazzled
(right) away," said Michigan
coach Kim Barnes Arico. "We
had never been in a position like
(being down 15-0) before so I
don't think we really knew how
to respond to it. We couldn't get
anything going offensively."
After a media timeout, the
game began looking up for the
Wolverines who were able to cut
their deficit to nine after a layup
by Ryan with 4:10 remaining in
the half. Despite an offensive
spark, however, Michigan was

unable to close out the half letting
Utah hit three straight three-
pointers and end the half with an
18-point lead.
"We felt pretty good when we
cut (the lead) to nine," Barnes-
Arico said. "It didn't mat-
ter, though, because we really
couldn't stop them when we
needed to and we couldn't make
big shots when we needed to."
Unfortunately for the Wol-
verines, nothing got easier in the
second half. The Utes extended
their lead to as large as 24. Led by
junior forward Michelle Plouffe's
20 points and redshirt junior
forward Taryn Wicijowski's
17 points and seven rebounds,
Utah's offense never let up.
Offensively, Michigan never
got going, shooting 36-percent
from the field and only 2-of-10
beyond the arc. The Wolverines
turned the ball over 13 times and
had just eight assists. It didn't

help that Ryan, who hurt her
shoulder in practice this week,
was playing limited minutes.
"Obviously with Jenny Ryan
hurt it hurt us offensively,"
Barnes Arico said. "She's the
heart and soul of our team and
it hurt us not to have her playing
her (normal) minutes."
With Ryanplayingjust23 min-
utes, senior center Rachel Sheffer
stepped in as the lone bright spot
in the game. The only Wolverine
in double digits, Sheffer scored
15 points on 7-of-14 shooting.
But despite matching up well on
offense, the tough matchup of
Wicijowski on defense proved to
be too tall a task.
"I don't think we were able to
stop them at all," Barnes Arico
said. "Both of them did an excel-
lent job and exposed us early on.
We knew they were going to be
the two keys and we didn't do a
greatjob on them."


PENALTY KICKS
From Page 1B
incredibly successful - ended
in heartbreaking fashion.
The Wolverines got on the
board early in the match on
fifth-year senior midfielder
Clare Stachel's penalty kick
in the 16th minute. The senior
midfielder fired the 12-yard shot
into the upper corner of the net
to give Michigan a1-0 lead.
Stachel's goal was her third
in as many games. She scored a
crucial header against Central
Michigan with under a minute
to play to force the Wolverines'
first-round NCAA Tournament
game into overtime. She also
found the back of the net against
No.24 Portland to help the Wol-
verines advance to the Sweet 16.
The one-goal advantage was
similar to an Oct. 21 contest
against the Nittany Lions in

State College, when the Wol-
verines took a lead but allowed
a late goal and tied 1-1 after two
overtimes.
Similarly, Stachel's tally was
not enough to knock off the
perennial powerhouse. The Nit-
tany Lions tied the game in the
42nd minute when midfielder
Maddy Evans buried a header to
pull Penn State even.
"I was disappointed that we
gave up acorner-kick goal," said
Michigan coach Greg Ryan. "It
was a perfect service. It was 1-1
(at halftime), which I thought
was good."
The score would remain
knotted at one through the end
of regulation and both extra
periods, but there was still plen-
ty of excitement at Jeffrey Field.
In the second half, the Nittany
Lions controlled possession and
tested Michigan's back line,
but it held strong. Near the end
of regulation, the Wolverines

began counterattacking and
exploiting holes in Penn State's
defense, but they couldn't capi-
talize on a number of promising
runs.
Then, with less than a min-
ute to play, the Nittany Lions
created a series of fantastic
goal-scoring opportunities. But
Kopmeyer made a diving save to
parry away a short-range effort,
and the ensuing corner kick
was cleared off the goal line.
The final horn sounded, and the
match headed to extra time.
In the second extra period,
Penn State's Mallory Weber had
a one-on-one chance to end the
game with a golden goal, but
Kopmeyer charged the mid-
fielder and saved alow shot with
her leg.
"(Kopmeyer) made two or
three big-time saves," Ryan said.
The game then proceeded to
the shootout, where Kopmeyer
blocked the first two attempts


Tea Stats
First Downs
 Rush/Yds
Passing Yards
Offensive Flays
Total Offense
Kick returns/ Yds.
Punt returns/ Yds
Conp/Att/Int
Punts/Avg
Fumbles/Lost
Fenalties/Yards
Time of Poss

IOWA
17
17
34/128
1U)
6U
309
5/124
1/14
19/26/0
4/41.2
1/0
3/21
29:37

Player
Player
Robno, D.

M I C H I G A N
C-A Yds TD
18-3 314 3
18-23 314 3
Att Yds Avg CI
13 98 7.5 4
3 3 103 1
8 22 28

MICH
23
39/199
314
A2
513
2/33
1/0
18/23/1
1/43
1/0
3/35
30:23
Int
TD
0
3
0
0
1

GARDNER
From Page 1B
field, Gardner simply shined. His
career day at quarterback paced
Michigan in its 4,2-17 win, lead-
ing the Wolverine offense with
such efficiency that Iowa was
powerless to try and match it.
Numbers sometimes lie,
but not in this case - Gardner
completed 18 of his 23 passing
attempts for 314 yards and three
touchdowns. He ran for 37 yards
and three more touchdowns,
bringing his total to six touch-,
downs.
His lone mistakes were an
interception and a fumble (which
Michigan recovered, but which
forced the team to punt). Both
miscues occurred in the fourth
quarter, when the outcome had
already been decided.
"He's doing great," said Rob-
inson, who has topped out at five
total touchdowns in one game
over his 34 starts at quarterback.
"He's been playing well, and we
all had faith in him and we all
knew he could do it. I'm behind
him 100 percent.
"He's doing a great job and I
can't wait to see what he can do
in the future."
But the future has become
now, in the wake of Robinson's
injury. Michigan coach Brady
Hoke said that though the regu-

lar starting quarterback can
throw the ball, he can't do so
with the effectiveness necessary
to play at his normal position -
hence his role on Saturday, when
he spent most of the day lined
up as a running back, either tak-
ing handoffs or catching short
screens.
When Robinson did line up
at quarterback against Iowa, it
was to run the ball - only on a
few occasions did he pose the
threat to pass, and it turned out
to be mere show to deke the
Hawkeyes. The passing was left
to Gardner, as it has been for the
last two weeks, with Robinson
relegated to the sidelines. He was
able to take advantage against a
subpar Iowa defense.
Gardner found holes in the
secondary with ease, allow-
ing him to find open receivers
downfield and accurately at that.
Among his better throws were a
37-yard touchdown pass to fifth-
year senior wide receiver Roy
Roundtree and a 51-yard strike
to redshirt junior receiver Jer-
emy Gallon, which set up a later
touchdown.
And as Gardner also displayed
in his first two starts, he was
able to keep plays alive against
the Hawkeyes when no options
presented themselves initially -
the junior scrambled for several
first downs, and at other times
he found open receivers after he

extended the plays.
Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said
bluntlythathis team "didn'thave
any answers" for the Gardner-
led Michigan offense, which
scored its six touchdowns on its
first six drives of the game. Hoke,
often reluctant to heap praiseon
his players, said that Gardner's
performance was "pretty good."
"A lot," Roundtree said when
asked about Gardner's improve-
ment since his first start against
Minnesota. "He's really calm in
the huddle.... I feel like he's really
stayed humble and led this team,
and is so confident in what he can
do."
Undoubtedly, part of Gard-
ner's success can be attributed to
the regained threat of Robinson,
who was effective in his new role
as all-purpose player.
Hoke said he and the offen-
sive coaches have been thinking
about ways to play both explosive
athletes at the same time for "18
months," which dates to his ini-
tial months on the Michigan job.
The Wolverines had placed both
players on the field at times last
season in what was termed the
"deuce" package, and Hoke said
that type of utilization is what
he imagined when contemplat-
ing how Gardner and Robinson
would be deployed together.
But Robinson's injury changed
that dynamic, leading to a flip
flop of roles in a way, with Gard-

on net. But her heroics weren't
enough and the Nittany Lions
stormed back to take the vic-
tory.
Thanks to the seniors, Kop-
meyer, Stachel and midfielder
Emily Jaffe, the Michigan pro-
gram looks to have a bright
future. As freshmen, Stachel
and Kopmeyer suffered through
a four-win season. This year,
the seniors led the Wolverines
to 16 wins as they helped galva-
nize the best defense in the pro-
gram's history.
In the process, Jaffe scored a
game-winning header to defeat
Michigan State, Kopmeyer set
the Wolverine record for saves
and Stachel tied the school's
mark for most goals scored by
a player in a single NCAA Tour-
nament. While the scoreboard
at Jeffery Field flashed the
final result - 1-1 - the seniors
walked off the pitch with their
heads held high.
ner the primary quarterback and
Robinson the secondary thereat.
Gardner said he never imag-
ined having as much success at
quarterback as he's had in his
three games as starter, in which
he's totaled 834 passing yards,
13 total touchdowns and, most
importantly for Michigan, three
wins.
"I never thought that, because
if Denard hadn't got hurt, I'd still
be playing receiver and we'd be
winning games in a different
way," Gardner said. "Just thank-
ful that I've taken advantage of
the opportunity."
It seems like that opportunity
will remain for Gardner for the
rest of the season, or at least for
next week's game against Ohio
State. Hoke didn't give a firm
answer, but in saying Robinson
"could" return to full-tite quar-
terback, it appears that Gardner
will keep the reins of Michigan's
offense for now.
Though redshirt junior run-
ning back Fitzgerald Toussaint
was lost to injury, Robinson is
back from his and the offense is
trending firmly upward, mostly
thanks to the revelation that has
been Gardner's passing.
The present and future quar-
terback spoke for all Wolverine
fans when asked to evaluate his
performance on Saturday.
"I'm happy about it," Gardner
said.

the win was clouded by an appar-
ent left leg injury to redshirtjunior
running back Fitzgerald Toussaint.
Toussaintwas tackled frombehind
on a run, and his left shin appeared
to buckle outward. Toussaint was
carted off the field and was later
hospitalized, where he will under-
go surgery. Gardner - who joined
Robinson and redshirt junior
offensive tackle Taylor Lewan in
comforting Toussaint before he
was carted off the field - called the
injury "heartbreaking."
Toussaint's carries were divided
between Robinson and sopho-
more Thomas Rawls. Offensive
coordinator Al Borges frequently
employed a full-house forma-
tion, with Rawls as the deep back
flanked by Robinson and senior
Vincent Smith. Out of that set,
Michigan called traditional rushes,
throws and exotic looks like hand-
off options. Hoke said Borges had
designed 15 plays specifically for
Robinson as a running back.
Two of Michigan's touchdowns
were set up by that full house set
with Robinson on the field. Michi-
gan had scored once in the first
quarter - on a Gardner boot-leg
- and once at the beginning of the
second quarter on a 37-yard touch-
down pass to fifth-year senior
receiver Roy Roundtree. On the
next drive, Gardner faked a hand-
off to Robinson out of the full-.
house formation,thenpitchedback
to Rawls, who rushed to Iowa's
two-yard line. Gardner later scored
on another boot-leg to put Michi-
gan ahead 21-10.
On the following drive, Gard-
ner again faked to Robinson and
rolled right, then threw a screen
across the field to Smith, who could
have walked into the end zone. The
score put Michigan ahead 28-10 at
halftime.
Gardner said he knew the full
house was difficult to stop because
the Michigan defense struggled in
practice - and they knew what to
expect. This week, Gardner ran
the slip screen inpractice. Before
the play, Gardner said, sophomore
defensive end Frank Clark yelled,
"You know what's coming!"
"No you don't," Gardner said.
"You have no idea. You think you
do, but you don't. And then we
threw it right over their head, and
it happened the exact same way in
the game today, and we scored a
touchdown."
Fifth-year senior safety Jordan
Kovacs can relate.
"When we go against our
offense in practice, we just get
played," Kovacs said. "We just
shake our head like,'I don't know.'I
don't know whatI would do. Ihave
no idea."
Iowa had few answers for the
three-back look but had even fewer
for Michigan's air attack. Twice,
Gardner found receivers with no
defenders in the area for easy long
scores. One the first, the 37-yard
touchdown pass to Roundtree,
Gardner also could have thrown
to a wide-open Drew Dileo in the
middle of the field.
To open the second half, Gard-
ner scored again, on - you guessed
it - a boot-leg. On the next drive,
freshman tight end Devin Funch-
ess was uncovered down the field
for another easy 29-yard touch-
downreception.
The score was Michigan's 28th
unanswered point, and the Wol-

verines had scored on every single
possession through three quarters.
Only a Gardner interception at the
start of the final frame ended the
streak.
Throughout the game, Borges
peppered in Robinson runs. In the
first quarter, Robinson scampered
for 40 yards, freezing, then beat-
ing one defender, before he ducked
out of bounds. Near the end of the
third quarter, Robinson caught a
pass down the sideline, reversed
field completely and dashed down
the opposite sideline for a gain of
20 yards.
After a shaky quarter and a half,
the Michigan defense shut down
Iowa for much of the rest of the
game. By the fourth quarter, the
win was assured, though Hoke still
called the defensive performance
"awful."
But the effort was more than
enough for a happy, if not tradi-
tional, exit for -Robinson, Kovacs
and the rest of the seniors. The two
walked off the field together, smil-
ing and "reflecting on our journey,"
Kovacs said.
Then Robinson - Michigan's
quarterback and redeemer and,
now, running back - turned to
his fellow captain and said, "This
is crazy man. I can't believe it's
alreadyhere."

40
19

3 9
2 4
39 201
No. Yds
5 133
5 83
3 22
2 24
1 29
1 18
1 5
18 314

3 6
s1 40

26.
166
7.3
174 =

37
20
29
5

No. Yds Avg Lg
1 43 43 43
1 43 43 43

KICKOFF RETURNS
Player No. Yds
NfIHt 2 H3
PUNT RETURNS
Player No. Yds
Totas 1 0


Avg
16.5
16.5

Lg TD
19

Avg Lg TD

BIG TEN
STANDINGS
Legends Division Big Ten Overall
Nebraska 6 1 9 2
Michigan 6 1 8 3
Northwestern 4 3 8 3
Iowa 2 5 4 7
Minnesota 2 5 6 5
Michigan State 2 5 5 6
Leaders Division Big Ten Overal
Ohio State 7 0 11 0
Penn State 5 2' 7 4
Wisconsin 4 3 7 4
Indiana 2 5 4 6
Purdue 2 5 4 7
Ilinois 0 7 2 9
THIS WEEKEND'S RESULTS
MICHIGAN 42, (owa17
NoRTHWESTERN 23, Michigan State 20
PosN 51ATE 45, Indiana 22
NEBRASKA 38, Minnesota 14
OHIo STATE 21, Wisconsin 14
PURDUE20, Iiiinois17

ROUNDTREE
From Page 1B
ing as senior quarterback
Denard Robinson's favorite tar-
get. He made 16 catches for 266
yards and four touchdowns in
eight games.
He took catches away from
Roundtree, who had just 13
catches for 175 yards, and red-
shirt junior slot receiver Jeremy
Gallon. Gallon had three more
catches than Gardner, but it
was Gardner, the receiver trans-
plant, who had emerged as the
true deep threat.
When Robinson went down
with an ulnar-nerve injury three
weeks ago, the roles reversed.
The receivers took over again,
as Gardner transitioned back to
quarterback..
After his first career start at
Minnesota on Nov. 3, Gardner
explained that moonlighting at
receiver had aided his develop-
ment at quarterback because he
knew the tendencies of receiv-

ers, what they liked, what they
didn't.
In consecutive victories over
Minnesota, Northwestern and
Iowa, he helped. them. They
helped him right back.
Roundtree and Gallon both
made highlight-reel catches in
a last-minute comeback against
the Wildcats a week ago, and
Michigan's receiving num-
bers have sky-rocketed. In the
last three games, Gardner has
passed for 234, 286 and 314
yards - three of Michigan's top
four passing totals of the season
- and seven touchdowns.
And Roundtree and Gallon
have been the main benefactors
in the air game, combining 485
yards and two touchdowns on
28 catches. Against Iowa, both
made five catches, with Gallon
going for a game-high 133 yards
and Roundtree for 83.
They were, at long last, the
favorite targets once again.
Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz,
whose secondary was gashed
again and again in the passing

game, came away impressed
with the receiving corps.
"They've got very good
skilled players," Ferentz said.
"They have had that traditional-
ly, and it looks to me like they've
got it again. We didn't do a great
job keeping up with those guys
when we were in the right cov-
erage, then we dropped a couple
coverages too, which made it
really easy for him. Gardner did
a good job finding them."
Michigan coach Brady Hoke
praised Gallon's concentra-
tion, Roundtree's corrections.
Roundtree, who has been criti-
cized for catching the ball with
his body instead of out front
with his hands, credited receiv-
ers coach Jeff Hecklinski's
training.
"Back in the spring is when
Coach Heck had us (using) ten-
nis balls and had all the wide
receivers working on eye coor-
dination," Roundtree said. "It's
just something I really worked
on this year, just using my hands
away from my body. (It) really

helps if the defender's on your
back."
Hoke said one of the fin-
est catches of the afternoon
was an out-route to Roundtree
along the sideline. Gallon led
the downfield, vertical passing
game with catches of 51, 31 and
31 yards.
"Roy made big plays, Gallon
made big plays," Gardner said.
Roundtree kept his response
short. He was just having fun.
"It's always fun catching
balls, being a receiver," he said.
When the clock came to a stop
on Michigan's decisive 42-17
victory over the Hawkeyes,
Roundtree took his time leaving
the turf He shook hands, sang
"The Victors" and slowly moved
toward the tunnel.
Finally, he jogged toward
the tunnel, grinning and high,
fiving kids on both sides of the
entrance. He disappeared into
the tunnel for the final time in
his career, finishing just the way
he dreamt. Just the way he visu-
alized.

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