4B - November 19, 2012
The Michigan Daily - michiganclaily.com
THE. QUICK BREAKDOWN
A The Michigan Daily football writers break down the weekend's stats that don't show up in the box score. The Denard-o-Meter measures the success of quarterback
Denard Robinson, the Man-o-Meter judges Michigan's "Manball," how physically it played in the trenches, and the Hype-o-Meter meassres the tans' performance
0
DENARD-O-METER
4/ Denard, Gardner and touchdowns, oh my. Robin-
son was dynamic, Gardner was exceptional and the
Michigan offense just changed drastically in the
Denards penultimate week of the regular season.
MAN-0-METER
HYPE-0-METER
3/
Brady Hokes
Even without the injured Toussaint, Michigan
gained 199 yards on the ground. On defense, the
Wolverines struggled early, but mostly through the
air. A solid performance in the trenches.
1/4
Big Houses
a
This is our last chance to act like grumps about the
student section so here it is: it was half-filled for the
Senior Day ceremonies, and didn't fill up complete-
ly for the game. Good job, good effort this year.
I OOKING GOOD
FFFI ING RI LF
JUNIOR QUARTERBACK
DEVIN GARDNER: Everyone
laughed last year when
Robinson said Gardner
could be the Big Ten's best
player, if only he played.
Some balked earlier this
season when Gardner said
he still considered himself
a quarterback. But his
progression has been faster
than anyone could have
expected. On Saturday,
he turned in Michigan's
best performance from
a thrower all year. He
was i8-for-23 passing for
314 yards, with just two
mistakes - a meaningless
interception in the fourth
quarter and a fumble, which
was recovered by Michigan.
Plus, he scored six
touchdowns total. "Pretty
good," as Michigan coach
Brady Hoke described it.
REDSHIRT JUNIOR RUNNING
BACK FITZGERALD
TOUSSAINT: Toussaint
appeared to suffer a serious
injury to his left leg in the
first quarter of Saturday's
game. Toussaint was tackled
from behind, and his left
foot got caught underneath
him, causing his shin to
buckle outward. Toussaint'
was carted off the field and
transported to the hospital
where he was expected to
undergo surgery. After the
game, Gardner called the
injury "heartbreaking,"
and Robinson spoke of
Toussaint's toughness,
saying that he is confident
Toussaint will recover.
Hoke said that Toussaint
was accompanied by two
brothers at the hospital,
but did not give more
information on Saturday.
6
ERIN KIRKLAND/Daily
ERIN KIRKLAND/Daily
NOTABLE
QUOTABLE
This is his
team.,... He*
has been
the face of
Michigan
football.
-Michigan coach Brady Hoke on Denard
Robinson.
A BRIGHT FUTURE
THE MICHIGAN DAILY TOP-10 POLL
Each week, Daily sports staffers fill out ballots, with first place votes receiving 10
points, second-place votes receiving nine, and so on.
I
1. NOTRE DAME (13): Just
USC stands in the way of
the Irish and the National
Championship game.
Wow.
2. ALABAMA (3): Welcomee
back, Bama. We've missed
you. Looks like another
year with a SEC champion.
Sigh.
3. GEORGIA: Somehow,
the Bulldogs have played 4
just two top-25 teams.
4. OREGON: The Ducks
quacked out due to a
missed field goal.M
5. FLORIDA: Would the
Gators sneak into the
National Championship
game without winning the
SEC East?
6. OHIO STATE: Can the
ineligible Buckeyes still
win an AP title? There's
one clean answer left: The
Game.
7. KANSAS STATE: Heavy
lies the crown. The
Wildcats collapsed in their
first week with the No.1
ranking.
8. FLORIDA STATE: The
ACC might be worse than
the Big Ten this year.
9. TEXAS A&M: We humbly
request to switch lives with
Johnny Football.
10. SOUTH CAROLINA:
The Cocks have kept it up
all season. Now it's time
to finish it off with a big
splash.
Junior quarterback Devin Gardner smiles while walking off th
urday's victory.