Game balls from the Michigan football team's 28-7 victory Saturday against San Diego State.
DENARD ROBINSON (3): The junior quarterback dominated the action, especially in the first half when he scored three touchdowns and rushed for 139 yards. He finished with 200 rushing yards. Why not four game balls? He struggled passing, going 8-of-17 for 93 yards and two interceptions.
JAKE RYAN (3): Ryan, a redshirt freshman linebacker, recovered two fumbles and finished with five tackles. Michigan forced three fumbles, and while San Diego State had 376 total yards, the Aztecs were 8-of-18 on third-down conversions and 0-of-3 on fourth down.
RONNIE HILLMAN (1): The San Diego State sophomore entered the game averaging 165 rushing yards per game and was second in the nation with 497 yards. He finished with a quiet 109 yards. His longest run of the day, a 30-yarder, ended with a fumble. He fumbled twice, his first fumbles of the season, and Michigan ended his six-game streak of scoring a rushing touchdown.
BLAKE COUNTESS (3): Michigan's freshman cornerback saw significant playing time after senior Troy Woolfolk was injured in the second quarter. He finished with seven tackles and broke up a pass in the end zone. San Diego State quarterback senior Ryan Lindley, who has more than 10,000 career passing yards, was limited to 253 yards on 23-of-47 passing.
Comments
semperveritas
Sun, Sep 25, 2011 : 12:38 p.m.
mr sports editor-----jim, trust me, i'm NOT employed by any sports gear company BUT rather than the generic 'game balls' let's call them WILSONS. so today denard/ jake ryan,/ blake countess earn 'three wilsons'.
1st Down
Sun, Sep 25, 2011 : 3:08 a.m.
Ryan Van Bergen played his butt off and deserves a game ball here.
heartbreakM
Sun, Sep 25, 2011 : 1:02 a.m.
I would give DR 2 footballs because of his poor passing. His runs were awesome and exciting, and he controlled the game, but he has turned into a one dimensional QB and at some point, possibly in 2 weeks, possibly more, he will be shut down on the ground and will have to pass to open things up. So far, in the best weather of the season, he has not come close. He looks like a different QB than last year, more like his first year. I don't get it. He should be much more comfortable at this point. The TE did not help him today, but he has not given Roundtree or Hemingway a chance to make plays. (except for ND) Defense is definitely looking better. Loved the way Countess played. Met his parents a few weeks ago and they were very high on Michigan also. They were excited that he was playing so early in his career. He looks like he will be the next secondary stud at Michigan if he can stay healthy. Too bad about Woolfolk, C. Gordon and Herron. These guys can't get a break.
JustfortheRecord
Sun, Sep 25, 2011 : 4:16 a.m.
if you believe in the wolverines, you know that our man will make a pass or two when the chips are down. Having a mildly mediocre defense this year makes this OK. Just like the John Navarre days, when he beat Ohio State in 2003.
MRunner73
Sat, Sep 24, 2011 : 8:42 p.m.
Give the Michigan defense 4 game balls! They shoulda, woulda and coulda had a shut out if it weren't for number 33; Stephen Hopkins dropping the ball after a nice gain. When you factor in the TOP battle, which Michigan lost again, it was a totally awesome defensive effort against a very good offensive team. The Michigan "D" was GREAT! They are ready for B1G conference play. As for Mr Hopkins, we probaly won't be seeing too much of him on the playing field for a while.
azwolverine
Sat, Sep 24, 2011 : 8:15 p.m.
Yeah, defense is getting much better. They're not a complete shutdown D, but holding SDSU to 7 points is pretty impressive, especially considering all of the turnovers by our O. I agree Blu-dogg...a lot of credit goes to Hoke, Mattison, and all of the defensive coaches, not to mention to the players who have bought in 100% are are giving everything they've got to both improve and help this team win. I'm excited about the direction the program is moving in. Go Blue!
Blu-dogg97
Sat, Sep 24, 2011 : 7:47 p.m.
My game ball is split between Jake Ryan and Craig Roh .. I can just imagine practice this week is going to be ball security,ball security,and some more ball security.. Defense is improving each week ! Great job G-Matt & Brady .. Holding Hillman to 0 TD's was the key,he was leading the nation in that category. I'm sure Michigan moved up in take aways ranking. GO BLUE...