The Wolverine

February 2014

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/246097

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 1 of 160

Follow Michigan Sports Year-Round in THE WOLVERINE! Fifth-year Senior Safety Thomas Gordon emerges As A leader The Wolverine covers all sports at U-M with an emphasis on football, basketball and recruiting. A one-year subscription includes: n 11 monthly full-color, information-packed issues (double issue in June/July). n The Wolverine Football Preview, over 250 full-color, action-packed pages filled with great information about the upcoming season. (Mailed in July.) A R n 26 issues of The Wolverine Now, our digital newsletter, published every pre-game Wednesday and post-game Sunday during football season. un R emem T o beR Trey Bur ke And For An The NCAA Champ Wolverines' Dri ionship Falls Jus ve t Short n Digital access to current and archived editions of The Wolverine through the FREE iPad app as well as at www.TheWolverineOnDemand.com. Digital editions are optimized for viewing on computers or tablets. Aud io &  By THe numBeRs THe seAson 26 19 290 214 127 208 10/19 14/25 0 1 fumbles Penalties no./Lost no./yards 0/0 8/99 1/1 7/55 25 31 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 15 304 56 105 157 8/16 23/35 0 2 1/1 3/2 4/36 3/30 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 95 160 93 166 9/27 14/24 3 1 1/0 1/1 3/44 8/104 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 Michigan 1st Qtr. Time of Possession 6:25 3rd-Down Conversions 3-3 4th-Down Conversions 0-0 Avg. Field Position MICH-25 4th Qtr. 3:43 0-1 0-0 MICH-21 1st Half 14:39 6-7 1-1 MICH-22 2nd Half 15:44 3-5 1-1 MICH-25 Total 30:23 9-12 2-2 MICH-23 1st Half 15:21 2-6 1-1 IOWA-28 2nd Half 14:16 4-8 0-2 IOWA-35 final 29:37 6-14 1-3 IOWA-31 50,105 Away Illinois Michigan 113,016 Home Oct. 86,160 Away M 63 47 touchdowns) and scrambled past the defensively hapless Hoosiers on the ground (15 carries, 81 yards, three TDs) for another school record of 584 individual total yards. Wideout Jeremy Gallon snagged 14 catches for a Big Ten-record 369 yards and two TDs, and the Wolverines played just enough defense in the end to win. Safety Thomas Gordon's two fourth-quarter interceptions set up Gardner's game-clinching plunge into the end zone and then put away what seemed like Indiana's 100th charge downfield. "Coach [Brady] Hoke always reminds me we need more," Gardner acknowledged. "Coach [Fred] Jackson came up to me and said it's going to be like a basketball game. Plays 19 11 U-M IOWA 20, 2013 Wild Ride By John Borton U-M IOWA 3rd Qtr. 12:01 3-4 1-1 MICH-27 Rushing yards 73 32 3rd &1 M/a Pct. 1/2 50.0 1/1 100.0 fIRST anD Ten Passing avg. Plays yards avg. Plays 3.8 10 191 19.1 29 264 2.9 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 ReD Zone eFFIcIency (InsIDe 20-yARD lIne) Poss. 4 4 U-M Iowa You have to keep scoring." It felt like an NBA All-Star game for a while, Indiana ringing up 572 yards of offense on its own, including 288 yards passing and three touchdowns by quarterback Tre Roberson. In the end, Michigan Stadium breathed one major sigh of relief in a game that left its denizens breathless. "A lot of frustration," noted Hoke, as defensive-minded as they come. "Sickening, sick feeling, that kind of thing. You don't win championships without playing defense, and we didn't play good defense today." But they did enough, on this day, to move on at 6-1 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten. Indiana delivered an early airmail reminder of its quick strike ability. Starting QB Nate Sudfeld (8-of-19, 122 yards) gunned a 59-yard touchdown strike to wideout Cody Latimer in the opening five minutes, putting the Wolverines in rally mode. Little did anyone know, that marked the tiniest snowflake on the iceberg, for both teams. The Wolverines wasted no time, either. Set up by a 44-yard kickoff return by sophomore Dennis Norfleet, the Wolverines covered the other 56 in five plays, Gardner bolting in on a keeper to square the scoreboard at 7-7. U-M then demonstrated big-play ability of its own, Gardner tossing a quick pass to Gallon, who bolted away for 70 yards. With the skies opening into a downpour at Michigan Stadium, Gallon then made a juggling grab 2nd Qtr. 8:14 3-4 1-1 MICH-19 Makes a terr ific gift for you r Michigan Fa n! sITuATIon TABles Wolverines Survive Record-Setting Shootout ichigan athletics director David Brandon probably doesn't want to invest in new stadium scoreboards this quickly, following a mega-million remake of Michigan Stadium. He'll have technicians checking the meltdown, though, after the Wolverines and Hoosiers left them smoking. U-M surged to a school-record 751 total yards in stiff-arming the high-scoring Hoosiers, 63-47. Devin Gardner fired away through the air (21-of-29, 503 yards, two Vide o En han ced Iowa 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. Time of Possession 8:35 6:46 2:59 11:17 3rd-Down Conversions 1-3 1-3 0-2 4-6 4th-Down Conversions 1-1 0-0 0-0 0-2 Avg. Field Position IOWA-25 IOWA-30 IOWA-31 IOWA-37 attendance 90,413 Cowboys Stadium Air Force Michigan TDs 4 2 fGs 0 1 THe wolVerIne • Page 9 avg. Totals M/a Pct. 9/12 75.0 6/14 42.9 BIG PlAys (25 yARDs oR moRe) no Score 0 1 PlAy cHART (no. oF PlAys) 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 vIDeo: click play to watch on the interactive edition Totals yards 9.1 4.6 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 The writers of The Wolverine weigh in with their take on U-M football. •3-2 IOWA20 Vandenberg pass complete to Fiedorowicz for • The 37 yards to the U-M43 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 redshirt junior Devin Gardner set a U-M record by passing for 503 yards in the win over Indiana, marking the first time a Michigan quarterback had thrown for even 400 yards, much less for 500. photo by lon horwedel The Wolverine Now, our digital newsletter, is published every Sunday (game reports) and Wednesday (scouting reports) during football season on TheWolverineOnDemand.com. 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 iNe.Com Only $52.99 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 TheWolver • 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 | mAy 2013 | $3.95 c at c h if you me can Sophom ore devin move to receiver Funche ss' A boon has bee For the n off ense thewolver ine.com | december 2013 | $3.95 thEWoLVErinE.Com gamE WEEk poLL What is the best Big Ten bowl matchup? TCU vs. Wisconsin (Rose) 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 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. 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 Mississippi State Time/TV W, 30-10 W, 28-24 W, 42-37 W, 65-21 W, 42-35 L, 34-17 L, 38-28 L, 41-31 W, 67-65 W, 27-16 L, 48-28 L, 37-7 1:30 p.m. • pagE 13 send to: The Wolverine • circulation dept. • P.o. box 2331 • durham, nc 27702 Please send the following subscriPtion: q One-year subscription for me at $52.99 q One year gift subscription for the recipient listed to the right. total $_________________ q My check or money order payable to The Wolverine is Please call 919-688-0218 for delivery options outside the U.S. enclosed. (Checks/money orders must be drawn on U.S. banks.) q Charge to: q Visa q MasterCard q AmEx q Discover MY naMe and address Name ___________________________________ Acct. ** __________________ Address ___________________________________________________________ City ___________________________________ State___________ Zip _________ Phone (_______) ____________________________________________________ E-mail: ____________________________________________________________ ** If you are renewing, please give us your account number. You can find it above your name on your mailing label on the cover of The Wolverine. Exp. Date______________ Card Verification Code_______________ Please send a gift subscriPtion to: Name _____________________________________________________________ Card No. __________________________________________________ Address ___________________________________________________________ Signature _________________________________________________ Gift Occasion: ___________________________________________________________ Charges will appear as Coman Publishing Co. (as it appears on your credit card) call for faster service on credit card orders 1-800-421-7751 City __________________________________ State___________ Zip __________ q Send me a blank gift card. q Send the gift recipient a gift card and sign it as follows: _______________________________________________________________ or order online at: thewolverineondemand.com

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of The Wolverine - February 2014