Iowa 38, Michigan 28: Your comprehensive guide to Saturday's coverage
Dejected Michigan fans watch as time ticks off the clock in the fourth quarter of the Wolverines' 38-28 homecoming loss to Iowa on Saturday at Michigan Stadium.
Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com
The Michigan football team moved the ball practically at will against one of the nation's best defenses on Saturday. The Wolverines didn't, however, keep it long enough.
After turning the ball over just once while starting the season 5-0, they have given it away seven times in their last two games. That includes four more on Saturday -- three interceptions and a fumble -- in a 38-28 homecoming loss to Iowa.
And, for the second straight week, a field goal attempt was blocked to boot.
In the end, 522 yards of total offense against an Iowa defense that was allowing an average of 242.2 -- fourth best in the country -- wasn't enough. Michigan limps into its bye week with two straight losses.
AnnArbor.com had it covered from pregame homecoming revelry to post-game press conferences. Here's a comprehensive guide to everything you'll find on our site:
Post-Game Coverage
• Scoring summary and boxscore.
• Ridiculous. Inexcusable. And ridiculous again. No, Rich Rodriguez wasn't a happy man in his post-game press conference. As Pete Bigelow writes in his main game story, "instead of polishing the problems that contributed to last week’s loss against the Spartans, Michigan’s errors multiplied against Iowa."
• The Iowa offense executed to near perfection and converted in the fourth quarter, when it mattered most.
• Tate Forcier showed moxie in his relief role Saturday, but Denard Robinson -- "our starting quarterback," Rodriguez confirmed -- should be OK.
• Michigan safety Jordan Kovacs, a former walk-on, has turned into one of the Wolverines' most dependable run-stoppers.
• Iowa receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos leads the pack in Bigelow's game balls.
• In our notebook, we have stories about Michigan's field goal kicking woes, Taylor Lewan's interesting day and much more.
• Campus police arrest four and cite six at Michigan Stadium.
In-Game Updates
• AnnArbor.com photographers Melanie Maxwell and Lon Horwedel combined to bring a full day's worth of images that we've compiled in this slideshow:
• Jim Knight kept a running update file during the game. Check that out here.
• Rich Rezler and Mike Rothstein hosted a live chat during the game. Read that transcript here.
Summary, in Wordle We took every sentence from each of the stories linked to above and had a little fun with Wordle. The program generates “word clouds” from provided text with greater prominence given to words that appear most frequently.
Around the Big Ten (click on score for complete game recap)
• Wisconsin 31, Ohio State 18: David Gilreath returned the game's opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown and John Clay went over the century mark in rushing and had two scores in front of a rowdy crowd at Camp Randall Stadium. The Badgers (6-1, 2-1 Big Ten) built a three-touchdown lead before watching the Buckeyes get within three points early in the fourth quarter. James White answered with a 12-yard scoring run and Wisconsin held on to send the No. 1 team to a loss for the second straight week. Last Saturday, South Carolina pulled off its first ever win over a top-ranked team with a 35-21 triumph over Alabama.
• Michigan State 26, Illinois 6: The Spartans used a 23-point second half to improve to 7-0 for the first time since 1966. Illinois had a 123-77 advantage in total yards at halftime, but MSU led 294-255 by the end of the game. QB Kirk Cousins was 13-of-24 passing for 201 yards and a touchdown, Larry Caper led MSU rushers with 37 yards and a score and Don Conroy kicked four field goals.
• Purdue 28, Minnesota 17: Boilermaker quarterback Rob Henry, making his second career start, scored three rushing touchdowns and threw for another in West Lafayette. Henry was 13-of-20 passing for 163 yards and rushed 17 times for 57 yards. Minnesota QB Adam Weber was 20-of-45 passing for 214 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
• Indiana 36, Arkansas State 34: Ben Chappell threw for 382 yards and four touchdowns and the Hoosiers survived a non-conference game at Memorial Stadium. Chappell threw for nearly 300 yards and three touchdowns in the second half alone, as IU (4-2) ended a two-game losing streak. Arkansas State QB Ryan Aplin set a school record with 33 completions for 275 yards. He threw for two TDs and ran for another.
Comments
Sandra Samons
Sun, Oct 17, 2010 : 7:37 p.m.
I am very sad about Denard Robinson. I think Rich Rodriguez has over-used him and may ruin his future career. This poor coaching is costing a lot for many talented young guys. Didn't anyone notice that the team pulled together in Denard's absence yesterday? They have been taught to rely on him, at the expense of their own talents. I sat give Forcier a chance to see what he can do while Denard's knee really has a chance to heal. But with the current level of coaching, it probably wouldn't make any difference!
Wayne Stowers
Sun, Oct 17, 2010 : 7:32 p.m.
yes a2 comments, i agree with your 4th point 100%. tate is by far the better quarterback and a beefed up denard would make for a dangerous tailback. but still what we really need is that guy from stanford!
3 And Out
Sun, Oct 17, 2010 : 3:09 p.m.
PS: The assumption that Rich Rod goes 8-5 this year with this badly coached rag tag team that he put together....is another huge, pie in the sky stretch dream.
3 And Out
Sun, Oct 17, 2010 : 3:07 p.m.
Stanford the year before Harbaugh: 1-11. Stanford had not had a winning season in 7 years prior to Harbaugh. Stanford had Stanford Talent. Standford is Stanford. Michigan the year before Rich Rod: 9-4. Michigan had not had a losing season in the previous 39 years. Michigan had gone to 33 straight bowl games. Michigan had a running streak of 8 top 10 recruiting classes in a row. Michigan had Michigan level talent. Michigan is (was anyway) Michigan. and your point is....?? Ill make it clear for you: One man built up a program from nothing....the other man tore down a huge program in to the dust.
jameslucas
Sun, Oct 17, 2010 : 2:48 p.m.
Jim Harbaugh 2007 1st Year at Stanford 4-8 2008 2nd Year at Stanford 5-7 2009 3rd Year at Stanford 8-5 Rich Rodriguez 2008 1st Year at Michigan 3-9 2009 2nd Year at Michigan 5-7 2010 3rd Year at Michigan 8-5
Sean T.
Sun, Oct 17, 2010 : 2:09 p.m.
Contrary to belief, starting over with a new coach will push us in a better direction. I'm not sure why everyone thinks it will be a disaster to start a new system under a new coach. With the right hire we can eventually achieve greatness like we once had. Many other programs around the country have done it and it's even been done in our own conference. (MSU) Dantonio followed JLS which ran a spread offense and who were horrible for 3 years straight. He's done it with the last regime's players. But he slowly started to build his program and is 3-1 against us, though we have been historically better. He is changing the recruiting base in our state and is whooping us on the field. I'm not saying that Sparty is great but their program looks oddly familiar to what we used to see on the field when we were dependable, tough and winners. I"m thinking we're gonna have RR another year despite our yearnings to have him canned and I'm sure all the slappies will be happy with their dreams of spread-fairies dancing in their heads. But eventually when after his fourth year of futility comes to an end maybe the will finally wake up!
Ron Granger
Sun, Oct 17, 2010 : 1:06 p.m.
The Wolverines just need more practice time. I see this as yet another coaching failure. Rodriguez has the team spend all their time drilling on his twisted system, and they do not drill on the fundamentals of the game. Bo football is all about fundamentals. That notion seems lost on Rodriguez. The sooner the Rodriguez era ends, the better. If the Wolverines must lose the rest of their games this season to make that happen, so be it. So long as Rodriguez goes. Rodriguez is building a huge house, with pool, outside of Ann Arbor. He seems to think he's going to be around for a long time.
A2comments
Sun, Oct 17, 2010 : 12:38 p.m.
Anyone that watched this game has to come away with several observations: 1) With facemask penalties called nearly every game, either we have bad coaches or our players are hard of hearing. Or, the players have been told to grab the facemask to help tackle if you think it's the only way to prevent them scoring. Regardless, since players that commit this foul don't get benched, it's bad coaching. 2) With all the ability to recruit players, our kicking coach clearly must have been doing something else. My grandmother, who passed away decades ago, could kick better than our current kickers. 3) The blocked kick that resulted in "coach, whatta I do, whatta I do" shows bad coaching. 4) Tate clearly is the better all around quarterback. He should be given more of a chance to lead the team. He inspires the players, and the fans, and gets pumped. The more he plays the better he will get. Put Denard in as running back, have him gain some weight, and they will be a great team. 5) Lastly, our new coach has shown his inability to shape this organization, and his ability to violate rules. He, and his defensive coach, need to go. We need to recruit now for a new coach, and he happens to be in California, and a great assistant would be sitting at EMU...
clarklaker
Sun, Oct 17, 2010 : 11:41 a.m.
Time for a billboard in ann arbor(charlie weis)
michboy40
Sun, Oct 17, 2010 : 11:31 a.m.
This has been a loss on our schedule all year. Anyone that picked us to be 7-5, 8-4 (and that's pretty much everyone) acts so freekin' suprised. You can't chalk these games up as losses if you play good defense, dynamic offense, and mistake free football. So, see it for what it is. Iowa is deeper, more talented, more experienced than us, so they won the game. I hate to say it, but D Rob has a lot of work to do if he's going to keep his job long term. What Tate did when he came in shows me that DRob is missing something. There is only one QB in our lineup that fits the bill, and its the one sitting on the bench, Devin Gardiner. We need a throwing QB that can run and take punishment, not a QB that runs, but can only throw against lousy D's. Maybe he'll progress, I hope so, but it's turning into another "wait until next year" kind of season
Julius
Sun, Oct 17, 2010 : 11:21 a.m.
I hope I'm wrong, but I see way too many similarities between the Michigan Football program and the Detroit Lions of 10 years ago. Both organizations completely abandoned tradition to bring in someone who had a questionable level of experience. We were promised great things. Seeing how that turned out with the Lions, I'm scared of what Michigan football is turning into. There's now doubt that the offense is explosive and exciting -- against lesser known programs like BG, Massachusetts and UConn. They play these games and they're ready to hand the Heisman to Tate Forcier (last year) and Denard Robinson (this year). Once they hit the Big 10, the wheels fall off. Face it. They barely beat Indiana. They couldn't come up with stops vs. State or Iowa. All of a sudden, the offense is average. I'll admit. I got a little carried away early on this year. The solution is said to be more time. The Lions gave Millen 10 years and it never got better. The bright spot was a 6-2 start just before the 0-16 season. Rich Rod's system has potential, but he's got to be more versatile with it. He needs a back that can carry tackers over the first down marker. He needs opposing defenses to respect other parts of the offense. Right now, they're a one trick pony. On the defense, I can't stand up for Rich Rod. I'm willing to give the offense a chance, but this defense is horrible. How would Bo have reacted to giving up 15 rushing yards on 3rd and 14? I can understand if a good QB just beats you on that play, but there's no excuse for missing all those tackles in the process of giving up that kind of run. If this defense was better, the offense would be in great shape. Before he got here, Michigan defense was very highly regarded. The thought of starting over is scary to me, too. I'm not sure what to expect. If I'm the A.D. I'm telling Rich Rod that he's got 2 years to fix that defense.
Jim Pryce
Sun, Oct 17, 2010 : 10:57 a.m.
What I'm disappointed in are all the dumb penalties, false starts, facemasks, it's something that should not be happening in the middle of the season. Maybe 2 more wins for RR(Goober)reminds me of Goober(Mayberry RFD)the way he jabbers.
Jaxon5
Sun, Oct 17, 2010 : 9:54 a.m.
Neutron Bill- ripped the guts out of Michigan football, but left the buildings in place. The stadium is there. The practice facility is there. The press box and suites are there. Where is the team? Where is the coaching? Where are the results?
GEK
Sun, Oct 17, 2010 : 9:25 a.m.
Yeah, the offense is exciting regardless of Tate or D Rob at the helm. Nothing else is good about this team. I can't count the number of times I heard the comment on the telecast about our defense and poor technique. Don't these players come to Michigan with technique? What happens to it after they arrive? With pending probation, poor conference results, players leaving, etc... we need to cut our losses at the end of the season and put the full court press to get the poster boy for hard work, motivation and integrity - Jim Harbaugh.
tommyf0412
Sun, Oct 17, 2010 : 9:13 a.m.
Is it me, or can RR not get this team up for a big game? I will tell you...no. They talk about going back to basic's for the defense, I thought that is what camp is for? The offense looks like a high school team. Big games you throw different formations, some trick play's...not this team. I am available to help pack the bags of the whole defensive staff after the season. 24 hours a day, 7 day's a week. This is not high school, these coaches are paid big money to produce. I heard from a friend that they are down on talent this year, are you kidding me? Many coaches have top 25 defense, with a lot less to work with. This is a embarrasment. We need a entire defensive staff, and a new coach after 2011 if he can't get this offense rolling on a consistant basis. The good thing is that with a week off, they can prepare for the next three games that should be a win in all 3, then the last two with Wisconson and Ohio State present a new challenge. I said that they would go 8-4 this year, and have a chance for a breakout year next year. We will have to wait and find out...what we are made of.
Jaxon5
Sun, Oct 17, 2010 : 8:45 a.m.
M traded everything away for this. Had: Top 20 teams every year; Shot at B10 title every year. Now Have: Top 20 team until B10 season; Shot at B10 title once per decade. All in!
GettingBluer
Sun, Oct 17, 2010 : 8:18 a.m.
RR, time to think of yourself, not the team. How does all this look on YOUR resume???
clarklaker
Sun, Oct 17, 2010 : 8:09 a.m.
time for a new leader.
kidmich
Sun, Oct 17, 2010 : 1:19 a.m.
No more wins for Michigan, this year. There is no worse defense, in all of college football.
A2D2
Sat, Oct 16, 2010 : 11:30 p.m.
Denard Robinsons our starting quarterback, Coach Rod said definitively. Tate Forciers a pretty good quarterback too.. Coach Rod almost had it right. The more accurate quote would have been, "Denard Robinson is our best athlete (wildcat, running back, slot guy, etc...). Tate's a pretty good Q.B., too.". I was there. It was easy to spot the difference.. Tate is a Quarterback, born and bred. He is a precise passer, with strong numbers today, made even more impressive by the fact that 113,000 people in the stands and everyone in Iowa knew he was going to throw, throw, throw.. Denard is a runner, born and bred. MSU and Iowa had it figured out: contain Denard's running, and make him beat you passing. He can beat UConn passing, but not Iowa, not MSU, and probably not many other Big 10 teams.. A question for the Coach: What's the big deal? Why not let the best runner and the best passer play in the same backfield and let each of them do what they do best?. Makes a lot more sense than a pretend fake punt by a true freshman (oh yeah, like anybody believed that!) at the end of the first half............
3 And Out
Sat, Oct 16, 2010 : 11:29 p.m.
Lloyd Brady looks very sad.
truebluefan
Sat, Oct 16, 2010 : 10:32 p.m.
Lloyd (Christmas) (Tom) Brady in the front row! That guy is the most photographed fan in Michigan history!