Michigan 42, UMass 37: Your comprehensive guide to Saturday's coverage
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
Phew. That was close, eh?
Just three years removed from what some consider the biggest upset in college football history, the Michigan football team avoided more national headlines by escaping with a 42-37 win over UMass.
Appalachian State blocked a Michigan field goal attempt with six seconds left in its 34-32 stunner back in '07, which was the first time a Football Championship Subdivision program beat a ranked Football Bowl Subdivision team. On Saturday, the Minutemen couldn't come up with the big special teams play they needed to become the third FCS team to manage the feat.
After scoring twice in a three-minute span late in the fourth quarter, a UMass onside kick attempt with 1:28 remaining sailed out of bounds, giving Michigan possession and, eventually, the win.
AnnArbor.com had the game covered, from pre-game tailgates to post-game press conferences and everything in between. Here's a compilation of what you can find on our site:
POST-GAME COVERAGE
• Scoring summary and boxscore.
• Except for a stretch when Michigan scored touchdowns on four straight possessions, there wasn't a lot that went well on Saturday as Pete Bigelow writes in his game story. “We didn’t play well at all defensively,” coach Rich Rodriguez said. “Special teams were awful, and on offense we made a few mistakes that killed us.” That about summed it up.
• Denard Robinson wasn't perfect on Saturday, but he did enough to win writes Mike Rothstein.
• Special teams continue to be a major concern for Michigan, Bigelow writes. How much of a concern? Injured cornerback Troy Woolfolk sent out a plea via Twitter during the game: “Kicker wanted.”
• Oh yeah, the defense is a pretty big concern, too. As Jeff Arnold writes, the Wolverines gave up 439 yards to a FCS opponent, missing tackles and losing containment along the way. “We have some warts that are still out there," Rodriguez said. "Let’s not pretend we’re the 1985 Chicago Bears. Let's not pretend we're that. Three games in, we should get a little bit better."
• Our notebook covers nose guard Mike Martin's strong play on defense, Rodriguez's post-game visit to the UMass locker room and more.
• Pete Bigelow handed out game balls, with Denard Robinson, Kyle Havens, Michael Shaw and Darryl Stonum each earning three of four.
• Check out the game's highlight video from the Big Ten Network.
• Finally, here's our post-game poll (which can also be viewed here):
IN-GAME UPDATES
• Photographers Melanie Maxwell and Angela Cesere combined to catch some great images throughout the game. Check out the complete slideshow.
• Jim Knight compiled live updates throughout the game. Check them out here.
• Rich Rezler moderated a live chat, with analysis from Mike Rothstein. That transcript lives here.
• Our halftime poll asked if Michigan would hold on to its 21-17 halftime lead. Sixty-one percent said 'Absolutely, Michigan's offense is rolling now.' (No fair changing your vote now!)
Michigan senior Laura Swierzbin dressed as Lady Gaga for the game. It is unknown if she wore a meat dress to her pre-game tailgate.
Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com
• George Parks, the director of the UMass marching band, died Thursday night as the band made its way to Ann Arbor. Jeff Arnold talked to members of the band, who voted to continue on to Michigan Stadium.
• In a video report, James Dickson asked people to finish this sentence: "Denard Robinson is so fast ... "
• Heather Lockwood toured some tailgate spots, discovering it's not all about hot dogs and chips. Some fans enjoy some pretty elaborate spreads.
UMASS COVERAGE
• Ron Chimeles of The Republican writes that even in defeat, UMass removed any doubt about its ability.
• And here is Chimeles' game story.
AROUND THE BIG TEN (Click on score for full game recap.)
• Michigan State 34, Notre Dame 31 (OT): Aaron Bates completed a 29-yard touchdown pass to Charlie Gantt on a fake field goal in overtime for an MSU win at Spartan Stadium. Kirk Cousins completed 23 of 33 passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns for the Spartans while Le'Veon Bell ran for 114 yards and a score and Edwin Baker had 90 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Dayne Crist threw for 369 yards, with four touchdowns for Notre Dame, who kicked a field goal on their first overtime possession. (See also MLive coverage of the game here and here.)
Arizona 34, Iowa 27: Nick Foles threw a four-yard touchdown pass to William Wright late in the fourth quarter to lead the 24th-ranked Wildcats over No. 9 Iowa. Foles completed 28 of 39 passes for 303 yards and two touchdowns. Ricky Stanzi connected on 18 of 33 passes for 278 yards and three touchdowns for Iowa.
• Northwestern 30, Rice 13: Dan Persa threw for 307 yards and one touchdown for Northwestern. His favorite target was Drake Dunsmore, who caught six passes for 87 yards.
• Indiana 38, Western Kentucky 21: Ben Chappell threw for a career-high 366 yards and three touchdowns for Indiana and the Hilltoppers lost their 23 consecutive game, the longest losing streak among schools in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
• USC 32, Minnesota 21: Robert Woods' 97-yard kickoff return in the third quarter began a string of 19 straight Trojans points. The USC defense held Minnesota to 305 total yards, with Adam Weber completing only 15-of-29 throws for 226 yards with two TDs and two interceptions.
• Wisconsin 20, Arizona State 19: Jay Valai blocked an extra point late in the fourth quarter to help the No. 11 Badgers hold on for a win at Camp Randall Stadium. Scott Tolzien threw for 246 yards with one touchdown for Wisconsin. Steven Threet was 21 of 33 for 211 yards and nearly pulled off what would have been his second career comeback against the Badgers. Threet, a transfer from Michigan, led the Wolverines to a comeback victory over the Badgers in 2008.
• Ohio State 43, Ohio 7: Terrelle Pryor set an Ohio State school record with 16 straight completions, finishing 22-of-29 for 235 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Pryor also ran for 35 yards and a touchdown for the Buckeyes, who host Eastern Michigan next Saturday.
• Penn State 24, Kent State 0: Freshman quarterback Robert Bolden completed 17 of 27 passes for 217 yards and a touchdown, and ran for another score for the Nittany Lions. Kent State was limited to 228 total yards.
• Purdue 24, Ball State 13: The Boilermakers used two quarterbacks, but one favorite target: Cortez Smith, who caught five passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns. Robert Marve completed 12 of 20 passes for 111 yards while Rob Henry also got involved, completing 3 of 6 passes for 89 yards. Henry also led the Boilermakers in rushing with 10 carries for 65 yards.
• Illinois 28, Northern Illinois 22: Mikel Leshoure rushed for 180 yards and one touchdown and quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase ran for 115 yards and another score for Illinois. Scheelhaase threw just 16 times, completing eight for 70 yards.
• Big 10 standings.
AROUND THE NATION
• Check out our Top 25 scoreboard, with links to game stories and boxscores.
Comments
CybeRolf
Sun, Sep 19, 2010 : 9:48 p.m.
When your stupid blog format states: Our notebook covers nose guard Mike Martin's strong play on defense, Rodriguez's post-game visit to the UMass locker room and more. and the link doesn't lead to the notebook about Mike Martin and the post-game visit, it makes reading this stuff unpleasant, and that particular piece downright impossible online.
CybeRolf
Sun, Sep 19, 2010 : 9:43 p.m.
When your stupid blog format states: Our notebook covers nose guard Mike Martin's strong play on defense, Rodriguez's post-game visit to the UMass locker room and more. and the link doesn't lead to the notebook about Mike Martin and the post-game visit, it makes reading this stuff unpleasant, and that particular piece downright impossible online.
Sean T.
Sun, Sep 19, 2010 : 9:11 p.m.
@thosewhostay, I certainly think we were lucky. We beat a FCS school by 5 points with superior athletes, whom also had first time starters playing. The truth is the truth, no matter if you like it or not! I'm also not sure why you bring up MSU when ND couldn't stop their RB's but how many yards did our RB's get against ND? Everyone knows that deep passing is the key to scoring on the spartans. But can we throw deep? Don't think we'll have an easy time with MSU, rivalry games are always the toughest.
heartbreakM
Sun, Sep 19, 2010 : 1:16 p.m.
@tater: There have been many embarrassing losses, including under your beloved Rodriguez and also under Bo and before that. The App State was a big one, yes, but the Oregon loss was no different than the loss to Syracuse in 98 in that it followed a devastating loss (98 to ND after our championship) and Michigan got cleaned out. Coaching for Oregon game was bad, but they were just not prepared to play. The label of "underachieving" though is crazy because of how the season played out. Michigan finished third in the big ten, had its key players injured for most of the season, and ended the season with a big win over Florida and Heisman Tebow. Perhaps we all overestimated how that team would play, and perhaps it was the beginning of the way down, but perhaps Michigan actually overachieved that year by winning despite playing a future Heisman winner as QB (Mallett) and having raw talent as backups in running back and defense. Rodriguez so far has done a good job coaching the offense this year--they are not stoppable consistently--but the defense continues to be mysteriously not good. At times they look great but other times,, defense looks lost. Is it because of the players or because of poor coaching? Rod cannot take a pass on defensive side of the ball because he is the head coach, not the o-coordinator. So, sorry, let's not label this team yet because 1 year ago (5-7 for those with a short memory)--we were 4-0 before finishing with 7 straight losses against divI teams. We do not know how this team will finish. Let's not keep throwing out Carr and his record to talk about how great RR is. Carr's record on and off the field speak for itself. Not perfect, but pretty darned good. And by the way, Carr's 16th loss came in his sixth and not second year of coaching. And that year, Michigan won the Orange Bowl.
Leon
Sun, Sep 19, 2010 : 11:24 a.m.
I love Michigan but it is delusional to think that we are better than MSU because we beat ND on the road. Crist was out half the game and the 21-7 lead was built off turnovers from the backup QB. We played conservatively in the 3rd Quarter??? haha that is when they brought back Crist. Our final drive sealed it for us and MSU's fake FG sealed it for them. I watched the ND/MSU game last night and to me it seemed like both teams played really well and it was anyone's game. Dantonio went for the win, no shame in that. Shaw ran well against and FBS school lets see how he does against the Big Ten.
ThoseWhoStayUofM
Sun, Sep 19, 2010 : 10:20 a.m.
I'm sorry stunhsit... but don't make me laugh. Michigan is a better team than Michigan State. Look at the Michigan vs Notre Dame game ON THE ROAD. Michigan had Notre on it's heals all game long jumping out to an EARLY 21-7 lead. Michigan played very conservatively in the third quarter and allowed Notre Dame to come back and make it a game but to be quite honest, if you take away a couple big mistakes by freshman DBs, Michigan manhandled them all game. Michigan State looked HORRIBLE yesterday against the Irish on both sides of the ball. They got away with MULTIPLE BLATANT miscalls by the refs and had to resort to a gimmick field goal fake in order to win in OVERTIME. You think Michigan was lucky to beat UMass? Relative to what? Obviously not how lucky Michigan State was to beat Notre Dame AT HOME! How can you justify the belief that Michigan is a one trick pony? Michigan averages 288 rushing yards per game and 215 passing yards per game. That is about as balanced as you would want any offense to be. Not a single team thus far has demonstrated any way to stop Michigan's offense. UMass was stunned, taken completely off guard. Notre Dame tried to take away our RBs and MAKE Denard beat them on the ground and in the air... and that is exactly what he did. UMass put 8 in the box and devoted a LB to spy on Denard ALL GAME and Denard ended up going 10-14 for 241 passing yards and handed the ball off to RB (Michael Shaw) for 126 rushing yards. What a one trick pony!
stunhsif
Sun, Sep 19, 2010 : 9:40 a.m.
Michigan's defense is sad, go Green go White. Gonna be a tough "rest of the season" for Michigan.
Sean T.
Sun, Sep 19, 2010 : 12:41 a.m.
Over-achieving teams are not ranked 20th in the nation after 2 games. That same App St team would've ran circles around us today and would've had their reserves in by the half. The purpose of trying to tarnish the last regime is futile because they have achieved unarguable accolades compared with our current coach. That 07' game was about two incredible offenses and the athletes that played that game. It hurt but it is now over and we were lucky to win today, that's what athleticism will do for you when the game plans are evenly matched. (Maybe) On to next week!
clarklaker
Sat, Sep 18, 2010 : 7:06 p.m.
That was an ugly display of defense.It is the responsibility of the coaches to be prepared.