Game balls from the Michigan football team's 24-16 loss Saturday to Iowa.
IOWA’S BEST (4): Michigan struggled to contain Iowa’s three best offensive players: quarterback
James Vandenberg, running back
Marcus Coker and receiver
Marvin McNutt. Vandenberg was steady (14-of-21 passing, 171 yards), Coker solid with 132 yards rushing and two touchdowns and McNutt had a career-high nine receptions for 101 yards.
DENARD ROBINSON (2): The junior quarterback put Michigan in position to tie the game in the final seconds with a good-looking drive, and he passed for 194 yards and two TDs. But a fumble and a not-his-fault interception were part of his first half, and he was limited to 55 yards rushing.
KENNY DEMENS (3): The junior linebacker teamed with
Jake Ryan to stop Coker for a 1-yard loss on a third-and-one play, forcing Iowa to punt and giving Michigan a chance for a final drive. Demens also combined to stop Coker on first down on the same fourth-quarter drive. He finished with 11 tackles, two for a loss.
JUNIOR HEMINGWAY (2): The senior wide receiver dropped a few passes in the first half, but he rallied to lead Michigan with five catches for 64 yards. He was targeted twice in the end zone on Michigan’s last-gasp drive, and he nearly hauled in a touchdown in the back of the end zone.
Comments
58-44-6
Mon, Nov 7, 2011 : 3:36 p.m.
RichRod Comeback!!!!!!!!
MRunner73
Sat, Nov 5, 2011 : 10:41 p.m.
At least two drops by Junior Hemingway in the first half really hurt. Denard threw good passes. We should have never been down 17-6 at half time. The Michigan defense did very well during the second half. The offense needs a lot of work. Plugging in Devin sporadically is not working, especially in a close game. Borges can do that if Michigan is way up, like against Purdue. It is not a good idea to keep trying that for these last three games.
observer
Sat, Nov 5, 2011 : 9:30 p.m.
Come on, they get bullied again and you want to give out game balls.....when will they win a big game.....Iowa ran on them and punched them in the mouth, just like Sparty did.
DonAZ
Sat, Nov 5, 2011 : 9:58 p.m.
Not quite accurate ... somewhat accurate, but not completely. Yes, Iowa was playing physical. Yes, Michigan was absorbing some pretty good shots to the chin in that game. But they hadn't broken due to that. Their problem was more related to fundamental mistakes (poor tackling in spots, fumbles, interceptions) than the physical play of Iowa. Still, Iowa played a good game. Michigan did not.
Macabre Sunset
Sat, Nov 5, 2011 : 9:23 p.m.
I lean toward agreeing with Don, but it's a shame that Michigan didn't have the opportunity to try a game-tying conversion. That was a touchdown, and on the last play that was textbook interference. It's hard to win on the road against a decent Big Ten opponent. Even harder when you don't get credit for everything you accomplish.
DonAZ
Sat, Nov 5, 2011 : 9:59 p.m.
I'm not so sure. I've seen the replay about a dozen times. It's not quite so clear. At least to me.
DonAZ
Sat, Nov 5, 2011 : 9:20 p.m.
Michigan does not have the talent, nor the depth, to play mistake-filled football. The final touchdown -- or incompletion -- is absolutely not the point. Michigan should not have been in a position to require last minute heroics. A more disciplined game throughout would have made that drama unnecessary. A disappointing show by Michigan.
heartbreakM
Sat, Nov 5, 2011 : 9:08 p.m.
I think you missed a big one for Iowa. That #91 was a beast on defense. He was constantly disrupting DR's throwing, and he was in our backfield more than Touissant. And though DR came back for that last drive, half of his passing yards were on that, and even then, he kept going for the long one instead of ball control and move. I don't know if that's on him or the coaches, but he has not hit a super long pass all year.
burton163
Sat, Nov 5, 2011 : 8:25 p.m.
"He was targeted twice in the end zone on Michigan's last-gasp drive, and he nearly hauled in a touchdown in the back of the end zone." Correction, He didn't "nearly" haul in a touchdown, that was a touchdown. He caught it in-bounds, his knee was clearly down in bounds, and he maintained possession. That is a touchdown. Period. Too bad the ref had a C-note on the game...