The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com September 3, 2013 - 5B GAME STATISTICS With a stable of rushers, defensive line rotation dominates Chippewas TamStts First Dons Ru2sh/Yards Pasing Yards Offensive Plays Total Offens~e Kick reurns/yds ComRp/Att/GHt Punts/Av2g Penalties/Yrds Tie of Possession Michigan 22 47/242 68 463 5/108 4/40 14/21/3 1/51 1-0 7-55 34:16 C H I G A N PASSING Player C-A Yds TD Gardner 10-15 162 1 Mori 4-6 5 0 Potals S4-2 OAR 1o RUSHING Plaer Att Yd Av L Toussaint 14 57 4.1 20 Gardner 7 52 74 22 Norfeet 1 8 38 38 Rawls 3 12 4 9 Johnson 2 9 4.5 7 Totals 47 242 51 38 RECEIVING Player No. Yds Avg Lg Gallon 4 47 11.8 16 Funchess 2 47 23.5 36 Nleet 2 5 5 1 Reynolds 1 45 45 45 Jackson 1 17 17 17 Butt 1 8 8 8 Toussaint 1 -1 -1 - Totals 14 221 15.8 45 PUNTING Player No. Yds Avg Totals 1 51 51 KICKOFF RETURNS Player No. Yds Avg Norfleet 4 106 25.5 Totals 4 106 25.5 PUNT RETURNS Player No. Yds Avg L Gallon 2 -1 -0.5 Thoma 1 Reynolds 0 30 30 Tota' 4 40 10 CM8 29A 57 210 5/108 0/0 13/28/1 7/39.6 2-1 8-74 25:44 Int 2 TD 2 0 1 0 6 TD 1 0 0 0 30 20 8 9 7 38 Lg 6 36 5 7 8 -1 5 By EVERETT COOK Daily Sports Editor Earlier this week, defensive coordinator Greg Mattison said that his defensive line could rotate three deep, even if that means constantly swapping players. Some would play more than others, but Mattison had enough faith in the second and third string players to consider them a part of the regular rota- tion. On Saturday, we saw what Mattison has been seeing all off- season - a deep, talented group strong enough to comfortably rotate more than ten players on the line even though it's a group without much experience. In Michigan's 59-9 drubbing of Central Michigan, the defense registered four sacks, two of them by the defensive line. The Wolverines posted four sacks in a game just once all of last sea- son, when the defensive line con- tributed just 12 sacks all year. "(The defensive line) had a lot of energy," said junior line- backer Desmond Morgan. "They were flying around. Stunts came a little bit cleaner and guys com- municated a little bit better. It's something we kind of pride ourselves on, having depth and rotating guys in as much as pos- sible." The Wolverines were at it from the get-go, rotating differ- ent defensive lineman in on just the second play of the game. The game officially became a blowout in the second half, but even while the game was still close, the rota- tion never stopped. Veterans like fifth-year senior Quinton Washington played. Rookies like redshirt freshman Willie Henry played. There were budding stars like junior Frank Clark and lesser knowns like junior Brennan Beyer, who got the first sack of his career against Central Michigan. (Beyer switched to linebacker from defensive end, but played on the line at times Saturday.) Mattison had them all in Lg 51 51 Lg 39 39 Lg9 2 30 30 0 0 0 0 10 1 TACKLES Player Morgan, D. Stribling Furman Gordon Taylor Gedeon Wilson Countess Beyer Bolden Ross Lewis Wormley Thomas Strobel Pipkins Butt Johnson Heitzman Godin Ojemudia Chesson Wile Jenkins Totals Solo Asst 3 4 4 1 3 2 3 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 3 2 1 1 2 0 3 2 0 2 0 1 1 1 1 0 2 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 34 30 Sophomore defensive end Mario Ojemudia and junior linebacker Brennan Beyer highlight Michigan's uncommon defensive depth. there, in-and-out, almost like he That doesn't mean the unit off this game. We took 68 guys Make no mistake - Cen- had a limitless stream of depth to played perfectly. Hoke men- to the hotel last night and 36 of tral Michigan is not a Big Ten pull from. tioned a specific drive in the them were first and second year team. Notre Dame will make "It was good to get a lot of the second quarter where the Chip- players. That's a lot of babysit- this defense look a lot younger young guys in," Hoke said. "Wil- pewas rushed for 48 yards. Rush, ting and teaching going on. And next Saturday, even with start- lie Henry on defense and those first down, rush, first down, and it is babysitting." ing safety Thomas Gordon back guys. It will be good to watch so on. There were missed tackles But still, the defensive line from a one-game suspension. some tape with them and really and gaps in the line. It's a young depth speaks to the depth of But for one Saturday, the first coach them off that tape." group that could afford to make the defense as a whole. Playing Saturday, it was important to The last time Mattison could some mistakes against a vastly without three of its starters, the see what the defensive line was remember this much depth on inferior Central Michigan offen- defense held Central Michigan capable of, even if it's not the fin- the defensive line was when he sive line. Down the line, maybe to210 yards and forced two turn- ished product. was a defensive coordinator at next week against Notre Dame, overs. "You can say you gave up nine Florida. He had six first-string that youth will rear its inexperi- The biggest example: star points, so I guess they respond- guys. Five of them were NFL enced head. linebacker Jake Ryan is out until ed," Hoke said. "But did they Draft picks. Last week, Michi- "There's discipline and things mid-October. His replacement, respond well enough? This is all gan coach Brady Hoke said he's like that you need to play with," fifth-year senior Cam Gordon, about winning a championship. "never had that much on depth," Hoke said. "That's something was a wrecking ball and finished If we get satisfied, for one effort, on the defensive line. they'll learn. They'll learn a lot with two sacks. then we aren't going to win it." 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 1 t t 1 1 1 1 1 64 W e s t e r n M i c h i g a n PASSING Niznak Kater Totals RECEHING Player Totals C-A Yds 11-22 131 2-6 13 TD 0 0 FIVE THINGS From Page 1B the first touchdown of his career. He still looked big, but if Hoke and Co. have anything to do with it, he won't be that big all year. Fifth-year senior Fitzgerald Toussaint has the starting job locked up. Green won't be chal- lenging for that spot any time soon. But after backup Drake Johnson was lost for the year with an ACL injury, Green has a good chance to see the field when the game is still close. 3. The kids are alright. This team is going to be a strong national contender with- in the next two years, regardless of how this season goes. That's how good these freshmen could be, especially when the highly- ranked recruiting classes of 2014 and 2015 join. IncludingGreen, 13 freshmen Att 10 4 4 29 No. 4 2 1 2 1 1 1 13 Yds 52 16 16 66 Yds 79 28 17 8 8 7 1 144 Avg 5.2 4.0 2.5 2.3 Avg 19.8 14 17 4 8 7 1 11.1 Lgs 7 15 TD 0 or redshirt freshmen played on Saturday. They made an impact from the get-go, when Dymonte Thomas blocked Central Michi- gan's first punt attempt and fifth-year senior Joe Reynolds returned it for the first touch- down of the game. Channing Stribling had the second-most tackles on the team, while Smith and Green split 10 carries on a 55-yard touchdown drive in the third quarter. Hoke also got backup quar- terback Shane Morris some much-needed game reps. Mor- ris had a tipped interception in the third quarter that was inch- es away from being a fantastic pass to fellow freshman tight end Jake Butt. That pass, like the rest of these young players, will come with time. 4. The depth is there. Michigan's defense was miss- ing three of its starters and the unit still only allowed nine points. Again, it was Central Michigan, but it's still a good sign. Next week, fifth-year strong safety Thomas Gordon is back from a suspension, but senior free safety Courtney Avery will miss another week or two, and captain Jake Ryan is out until mid-October. And yet, some of their replacements were key players on Saturday. Fifth-year senior Cam Gordon had two sacks in place of Ryan, while redshirt junior Josh Furman and sopho- more Jarrod Wilson did a solid job from the safety spots. The defensive line rotated more than 10 players through- out the game, confirming defensive coordinator Greg Mattison's idea that he could go three-deep on the defensive line. Many of the defensive line- men are inexperienced, but it's still a talented group that will consistently rotate enough guys to stay fresh. This team's depth is inexpe- rienced but talented, and could NOTRE DAME be a big factor late in the season. From Page 1B Lg TD 43 0 7 0 43 0 0 PUNTING Player Hogan Totals KICKOFF RETURNS Player Davis Lavali Totals TACKLES Wilson Cunningham Chapman Benton Walton Hamilton S,7y Smith Gaier Henry Armstead Annese Ricketts Johnson Losiniecki Latta No. Yds Avg Lg 6 277 46.2 67 6 277 46.2 67 No. Yds Avg Lg 4 88 22 27 1 20 20 20 5 108 216 27 Solo Asst Tot 6 2 8 5 2 8 3 3 6 2 4 6 2 1 3 0 3 3 2 0 2 2 0 2 2 0 1 01 2 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 5. Bold Prediction: Den- nis Norfleet is going to win a game for Michigan this year. Man, he's fast, and man, can he read the field. In the first quarter, the sophomore wide receiver/kick returner took a reverse handoff on a 38-yard gallop, and late in the game, he had a long punt return that was called back because of a block- in-the-back penalty. It still doesn't seem that Michigan is entirely certain how to use Norfleet yet. He caught two passes along with his reverse and came close to breaking a kick return on more than one occasion. He might not be a factor in every game, but he's too quick to not turn a game at one point this season. It might not be against Notre Dame, but before the sea- son ends, a game will belong to Dennis Norfleet. WANT TO JOIN THE DAILY? COME TO A MASS MEETING AT 420 MAYNARD ST. Thursday Sept.12 Sunday Sept.15 Tuesday Sept.17 Thursday Sept.19 All meetings at 7:30 p.m. of the older kids talk about what that atmosphere will be like." But many of these true fresh- men will take on a minor role. Redshirt sophomore cornerback Blake Countess recalled how during the Under the Lights game his freshman year, his principal job was to act as a sup- portsystemfortheolder players. In the meantime, Hoke is using every resource at his fin- gertips to try and keep a sense ofnormalcythis week while still promoting the importance of the rivalry. "With technology today, you can show (the freshmen the atmosphere)," Hoke said. "Then you talk about not being distracted. Taking care of your job, being accountable to the teammates thatyou have on this team." NOTE: Redshirt freshman running back Drake Johnson is out for the remainder of the sea- son with a torn anterior cruciate ligament sustained during the Central Michigan game. This makes him the third player since the spring to suffer from an ACL injury. Saturday was Johnson's first career game for the Wolver- ines. He had two carries for nine yards and one tackle on special teams. "You just hate it for Drake, but he's as tough as anyone on this football team, and he will make it back from this," Hoke said in a statement. "He worked so hard through his redshirt season and had a really good camp in back- ing up Fitz (Toussaint), not to mention he was areallyvaluable special teams player for us." According to Hoke, John- son was injured trying to make a tackle but was pushed from behind. He also said that the strength staff and the trainers would take a look at preventa- tive measures to protect the team from more ACL injuries. Sophomore wide receiver Dennis Norfleet has the speed and athletiCism to win a game for Michigan.