The Wolverine

February 2013

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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Follow Michigan Sports Year-Round in THE WOLVERINE! The Wolverine covers all sports at U-M with an emphasis on football, basketball and recruiting. n You'll receive 11 full-color information-packed issues from August to June. n In July you will receive The Wolverine Football Preview, a glossy, full-color, action-packed magazine full of great information about the upcoming season. n During football season, you will have access to 26 issues of The Wolverine Now, our online newsletter that is published Sundays and Wednesdays during the season. basketba ll recr uiting issue h ig h n You will also have access to digital editions of The Wolverine through the iPad app as well as at www.TheWolverineOnDemand.com, including an archive of past issues. Aud io &  By THe numBeRs THe seAson Only $49.99 for one year ThewritersofThe Wolverine weighin withtheirtakeonU-Mfootball. • The bad news is, Michigan hasn't stopped anybody on defense since the wind and slop turbo-boosted the Wolverines' effort in West Lafayette. The good news is, nobody has put a serious knock on Denard Robinson in more than a month. As has been the case all season, the latter represents Michigan's best hope against the second MSU on the U-M docket. For the year to end on an upbeat note, Robinson has to be the doit-all force he was in the season's early games. Prediction: Michigan 35, Mississippi State 31 — John Borton EXtRa p INts • Michigan has done well against non-conference opponents in the last two years under Rich Rodriguez, has seen the read option plenty in practice and will play well in its first bowl game in three years. Quarterback Denard Robinson, too, is healthy and will be able to show the same explosion he did in the early part of the year. Mississippi State did a great job slowing Auburn's Cam Newton in a 17-14 loss, but the Wolverines are going to score points. Unfortunately, so will the Bulldogs. Prediction: Mississippi State 38, Michigan 34 — Chris Balas U-M Football injury Report Player CB Troy Woolfolk S Jared Van Slyke LB Mike Jones CB J.T. Floyd TB Teric Jones S Mike Williams WR Martavious Odoms DT Mike Martin DE Craig Roh TB Michael Shaw OT Taylor Lewan TB Vincent Smith WR Jeremy Gallon WR Darryl Stonum WR Junior Hemingway Games Injury Missed Ankle/Leg 12 Clavicle 12 Leg 10 Ankle Four Knee Four Head 12 Foot Six Ankle Three Head None Head Two Head One Head None Arm One Ankle None Head One Gator Bowl? Out for the year Out for the year Out for the year Out for the year Out for the year Out for the year Possible Will play Will play Will play Will play Will play Will play Will play Will play • I'm very interested to see how the offense stacks up against the Bulldog D, one of the best in the SEC. Against some of the best defenses they faced this year — Ohio State, Iowa, Wisconsin — the Wolverines struggled to move the ball early, which, combined with the defensive struggles, put them in a huge hole. Prediction: Mississippi State 35, Michigan 21 — Andy Reid • Under Rich Rodriguez, Michigan has played its best football coming out of fall camp. U-M started with four straight wins in 2009 and five straight wins in 2010. The 30-10 victory over UConn to start 2010 was arguably the Wolverines' most complete win of the season. Like fall camp, the Jan. 1 Gator Bowl has given Michigan five weeks to prepare for one opponent, so expect a better team than the one that took the field against Wisconsin and Ohio State. However, Mississippi State plays strong defense and will bring a balanced offensive attack — traits that have given Michigan problems throughout the season. Michigan will not have the firepower to outlast the Bulldogs in a tight game. Prediction: Mississippi State 31, Michigan 28 — Josh Helmholdt 7th By the Numbers Gator Bowl's rank among the best bowl matchups this season, according to Rivals.com college football editor Mike Huguenin. Years since multiple U-M defenders had 100 tackles or more in the same year — Sam Sword (109), Jarrett Irons (106) and Marcus Ray (104) in 1996 — until safety Jordan Kovacs (112) and linebacker Jonas Mouton (111) accomplished the feat this fall. The Big Ten's bowl record since 2003; the conference posted a losing record from 2003-08 before going 4-3 in Safety Jordan Kovacs and line2009. Current Wolverines backer Jonas Mouton both that have previously topped 100 tackles this season for the Wolverines. traveled to a bowl game, inPHOTO bY ERiC bROnSOn/ bROnSOnPHOTO.COM cluding eight fifth-year seniors. 14 19-31 23 tHE WoLVERINE fumbles Penalties no./Lost no./yards 0/0 8/99 1/1 7/55 attendance 90,413 Cowboys Stadium Air Force Michigan 25 31 26 19 290 214 127 208 10/19 14/25 0 1 2/0 0/0 5/35 5/45 112,522 Home Massachusetts Michigan 13 63 15 27 112 294 147 291 15/30 16/25 0 1 4/1 2/0 10/69 5/40 110,708 Home Michigan Notre Dame 6 13 19 14 161 94 138 145 13/25 11/19 5 2 2/1 0/0 5/38 5/49 80,795 Away Michigan Purdue 44 13 19 15 8/16 23/35 0 2 1/1 3/2 Illinois Michigan 0 45 7 21 105 353 29 174 7/16 9/15 1 0 1/1 2/1 5/45 5/45 110,922 Home Michigan State Michigan 10 12 16 16 112 163 192 163 21/34 14/30 1 1 2/0 0/0 7/50 6/55 113,833 Home Michigan Nebraska 9 23 18 20 304 56 95 160 105 157 93 166 9/27 14/24 3 1 1/0 1/1 3/44 8/104 4/36 3/30 86,160 Away Michigan Minnesota 35 13 18 21 155 128 234 147 12/18 14/31 1 0 1/0 2/1 7/69 9/68 48,801 Away Iowa Michigan 17 42 17 23 128 199 181 314 19/26 18/23 0 1 1/0 1/0 3/21 3/35 Vide o En han ced Michigan 1st Qtr. Time of Possession 6:25 3rd-Down Conversions 3-3 4th-Down Conversions 0-0 Avg. Field Position MICH-25 Iowa 1st Qtr. Time of Possession 8:35 3rd-Down Conversions 1-3 4th-Down Conversions 1-1 Avg. Field Position IOWA-25 50,105 Away 113,016 Home 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 8:14 12:01 3:43 3-4 3-4 0-1 1-1 1-1 0-0 MICH-19 MICH-27 MICH-21 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 6:46 2:59 11:17 1-3 0-2 4-6 0-0 0-0 0-2 IOWA-30 IOWA-31 IOWA-37 Rushing yards 73 32 Plays 19 11 U-M IOWA 3rd &1 M/a Pct. 1/2 50.0 1/1 100.0 fIRST anD Ten Passing Plays yards avg. Plays 10 191 19.1 29 264 13 79 6.1 24 111 THIRD-DOWn effICIenCy 3rd & 2-5 3rd & 6-9 3rd & 10+ M/a Pct. M/a Pct. M/a Pct. 5/6 83.3 1/2 50.0 2/2 100.0 4/8 50.0 1/3 33.3 0/2 0.0 avg. 3.8 2.9 ReD Zone eFFIcIency (InsIDe 20-yARD lIne) What is the best Big Ten bowl matchup? vIDeo: click play to watch on the interactive edition Poss. 4 4 TDs 4 2 fGs 0 1 no Score 0 1 yards ...................................................u-M (- ) Yards...............................................................2 0-5 Yards.............................................................35 6-9 Yards..............................................................9 10-19 Yards.........................................................9 20-29 Yards.........................................................2 30-39 Yards.........................................................3 40-49 Yards.........................................................1 50 or more Yards ..............................................1 THe wolVerIne TCU vs. Wisconsin (Rose) Total 30:23 9-12 2-2 MICH-23 final 29:37 6-14 1-3 IOWA-31 Totals yards 9.1 4.6 avg. thewolve rine.com | August 2012 | $3.95 Totals M/a Pct. 9/12 75.0 6/14 42.9 issue wrest ler Kellen rus capped sel A second his u-m career l wi straight na tional th tit le IOWa 8 29 10 11 1 1 0 0 MICHIGan •3-1 U-M30 Robinson rush for 40 yards to the IOWA30 •3-17 IOWA37 Gardner pass complete to Roundtree for 37 yards to the IOWA0 •1-10 U-M39 Gardner pass complete to Gallon for 51 yards to the IOWA10 •2-4 U-M34 Gardner pass complete to Gallon for 31 yards to the IOWA35 •1-10 IOWA43 Gardner pass complete to Gallon for 31 yards to the IOWA12 •1-10 IOWA29 Gardner pass complete to Funchess for 29 yards to the IOWA0 IOWa •3-2 IOWA20 Vandenberg pass complete to Fiedorowicz for 37 yards to the U-M43 TH e fu TuR e Is B R IG H BIG PlAys (25 yARDs oR moRe) PlAy cHART (no. oF PlAys) gamE WEEk poLL 2nd Half 15:44 3-5 1-1 MICH-25 2nd Half 14:16 4-8 0-2 IOWA-35 review O On TOuT p sITuATIon TABles U-M IOWA U-M Iowa thEWoLVErinE.Com 1st Half 14:39 6-7 1-1 MICH-22 1st Half 15:21 2-6 1-1 IOWA-28 year in Five-S tar Glenn ro Small For wa rd binson u-m 's we iii heads up ll-r class of egarded 2012 mIcHIGAn vs. IoWA QuARTeR-By-QuARTeR comPARIson Game-By-Game first yards yards Passes Had Summary Score Downs Rush Pass Com./att. Int. Michigan 14 11 69 200 11/27 3 Alabama 41 20 232 199 11/21 0 Makes a terrific gift for your Michigan Fan! flye r OinG G thewolve rine.com | june/july 2012 | $3.95 T Junior Qb devin Ga Stepped rdner Up Final mo in the Season's Great Pro nth, Show ing mise For 2013 • Page 9 40% Arkansas vs. Ohio State (Sugar) 27% Michigan State vs. Alabama (Capital One) 13% Michigan vs. Mississippi State (Gator) 17% 331 votes Top four responses shown Oct. 21, 2012 thewolve rine.com Michigan Vs. Notre Dame all-time head to head in Winning percentage School G W L T Pct. U-M 1,227 884 307 36 .7351 ND 1,181 844 295 42 .7324 * Both Michigan and Notre Dame went 7-5 this season. KicKing The habiT 2010 FootbaLL sChEDuLE Date Sept. 4 Sept. 11 Sept. 18 Sept. 25 Oct. 2 Oct. 9 Oct. 16 Oct. 30 Nov. 6 Nov. 13 Nov. 20 Nov. 27 Jan.1 Opponent Connecticut at Notre Dame Massachusetts Bowling Green at Indiana Michigan State Iowa at Penn State Illinois at Purdue Wisconsin at Ohio State MississippiState • pagE 13 The Wolverine Now, our Internet-based newsletter, is published every Sunday (game reports) and Wednesday (scouting reports) during football season on TheWolverineOnDemand.com. Wolverines Snap Ugly Streak On Game-Winning Field Goal everybody ran on the field." Time/TV By John Borton his one wasn't about bruRobinson, who rushed 20 W, 30-10 nette girls, the tougher times for 96 yards and went W, 28-24 team, or even shutting up the 14-of-29 passing for 163 yards, W, 42-37 green-clad neighbors. This kept his eyes wide open leading W, 65-21 was about freeing Paul Bunup to the historic kick. Trailing W, 42-35 yan, held hostage in East Lan10-9 with exactly two minutes L, 34-17 sing for four long years, and remaining, Robinson had one L, 38-28 preventing an unprecedented last chance. He'd snapped off L, 41-31 Michigan State win streak in a a 44-yard run on Michigan's W, 67-65 bitter rivalry. truly previous possession, only to W, 27-16 For Michigan, there was see penalties torpedo a shot at L, 48-28 more, when redshirt junior a game-winning field goal. L, 37-7 placekicker Brendan Gibbons Now, after Michigan's de1:30p.m. slammed through a 38-yard fense secured a crucial stop, field goal with five seconds rethe Wolverines saw one more maining, giving the Wolverines opportunity, from their own a wildly celebrated 12-10 win. 38. Senior Vincent Smith imIt was about another step tomediately broke off a 12-yard ward the prize for the 5-2 Wolrun, and Robinson himself verines, who are still perfect in stretched out on a crucial twothe Big Ten at 3-0. yard pickup to the MSU 40 on "It's an in-state rival," U-M third down. head coach Brady Hoke afRobinson then scrambled firmed, stiff-arming a chance and found the giant killer of to revel. "But we have bigger the day — junior wideout Drew expectations." Dileo (four catches, 92 yards), Those hopes almost took a redshirt junior placekicker Brendan Gibbons provided the winning margin when who snagged a 20-yard pass to forearm to the throat against he booted a 38-yard field goal with five seconds remaining. the MSU 21. photo by lon horwedel Michigan State (4-4 overall, "We knew their DBs didn't 1-3 Big Ten), whose defense didn't yield nard Robinson admitted. "I just took a really cover once the quarterback started a touchdown all afternoon. When Gibbons knee and prayed. I was just thanking the scrambling, so I just got open, he found hit the clincher, some couldn't even look. man above for giving us the opportunity to me, threw a good ball, and I caught it," "I didn't watch," senior quarterback Destep on the field today. I didn't see it until Dileo noted. T | decembe r 2012 | $3.95 Seconds later, he made another huge catch — as the holder for Gibbons' gamewinner. "Drew is not the biggest guy, he's not the fastest guy, but the one thing Drew is, he is a football player," Hoke said. The Wolverines all stood a little taller, after surviving a head-knocking defensive struggle that saw the Spartans' Le'Veon Bell rush 26 times for only 68 yards, and MSU quarterback Andrew Maxwell go 12 10 21-of-34 for 192 yards and the game's only touchdown. This one was about hanging on, and the Wolverines did so at times like a man clinging to a skyscraper ledge. The game turned dramatically early in the fourth quarter on MSU's longest run of the day — not by Bell, but by Michigan State punter Mike Sadler. The U-M defense had done its job, bottling up the Spartans at their own 23-yard line. With the clock ticking away, it looked as if Michigan would get great field position with a 9-7 lead. Instead, Sadler took the long snap and bolted right, finding no resistance from the Wolverines' punt return team. He rumbled 26 yards for a first down, the key play in MSU's 90-yard, 18-play, field goal drive. "They saw we weren't leveraging the outside … that got them some hope, got them in the game," Hoke said. 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