Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • 44

FOOTBALL. NORTHWESTERN VS. MICHIGAN Breaston returns to old form I (i I a v. That forced Breaston to miss part of fall camp, and it has slowed him all season. But then he fractured the ring finger on his left hand during a punt return against Iowa in the Big Ten opener.

He missed the Indiana game the next week after undergoing surgery to insert a metal plate and six pins in the broken finger. "I've never been that hurt," said Breaston, whose punt return touchdown was the third of his career. "Two surgeries in one year, I'd never gone through that before. "But my confidence wasn't down. I knew the injuries I was dealing with, I knew what I was going through.

And I knew I just had to go out there and do my job." You can reach John Niyo at jniyodetnews.com. Nothing was wrong with Steve. "It just takes a play all it takes is one and that's what happened today. He got the touchdown, then he came right back with the punt return. He was making it happen." His coach, Lloyd Carr, sensed he was ready to do it last week in practice, as Breaston finally began to resemble the player who turned heads a year ago.

"You could see and you could feel that something was about to happen," Carr said. Breaston felt it, too, mostly because the nagging pain he'd grown accustomed to the past few months was starting to dissipate. He developed a stress fracture in his right foot last season, and finally had surgery to correct the problem in July. of touchdowns and 272 all-purpose yards against the Wildcats. His two scores on a 10-yard reception and a 67-yard punt return came less than a minute apart in the fourth quarter, putting the game out of reach.

But it was the sheer volume of Breaston's touches that reminded the fans and even his teammates just what an electrifying player he can be. Breaston finished the afternoon with five receptions for 49 yards, two rushing attempts for 32 yards, four punt returns for 112 yards, three kickoff returns for 79 yards and one big sigh of relief. "He's the same guy, he just hadn't broken out of his shell," teammate Braylon Edwards said. "Everybody's saying, 'What's wrong with Steve? What's wrong with Receiver says he finally feels healthy, has 272 all-purpose yards, 2 touchdowns. By John Niyo The Detroit News ANN ARBOR Put away those milk cartons.

Steve Breaston, broken bones and all, might not have been lost. But he definitely has been found. Breaston, the fleet-footed receiver and return specialist, hampered all season by injuries, finally played a starring role Saturday in Michigan's 42-20 victory over Northwestern. Breaston, who quickly emerged as a game-breaking threat last season as a freshman, broke out of a redshirt-sophomore slump with a pair ohn T. Greilkk The Detroit News Braylon Edwards, who had seven catches for 54 yards, Is corraled by Northwest-ern's John Pickens.

Scoring summary Northwestern 3 3 7 7 20 Michigan 0 7 21 14 42 NU Joel Howells 23 field goal with 5:34 left Drive: 64 yards. 12 plays. 5:05. Key play: Noah Her-ron 29 run on third down to Michigan 14. North lT.iriT'rw1 John T.

GreilickThe Detroit Newt Steve Breaston scores one of his two touchdowns on a 67-yard punt return in the fourth quarter. Notebook vj '1 U-M ''western 3. Michigan 0. U-M- Michael Hart 34 run with 13:24 left. Gar-' rett Rlvas kick.

Drive: 57 yards, 5 plays, Key play: Steve Breaston 13 pass from Chk enne for first down at the NU 42. Michigan 7, North- western 3 JtU Howells 32 held goal with :22 left. Drive: 57 yards. 11 plays, 2:02. Key play: Shaun Herbert 14 pass from Brett Basanez to U-M 34.

Michigan 7, Northwestern 6. U-M Hart 4 run with 11:17 left Rlvas kick. Drive: "82 yards. 9 plays. 3:43.

Key play: Steve Breaston 20 run on reverse. Michigan 14, Northwestern 6. NU Noah Herron 68 run with 10:59 left Howells kick. Drive: 68 yards. 1 play, :18 Michigan 14, Northwestern 11 U-M Jason Avant 14 pass from Henrte with 6:40 left.

Rivas kick. Drive: 60 yards. 9 Plays, 4:11 Key play: Steve Breaston 13 pass from Heme to NU 43. Michigan 21. Northwestern 13.

U-M -Hart 15 run with 4:13 left. Rlvas kick. Drive: 47 yards. 5 plays, 138 Key play: Breaston 26 punt return to NU 47 Michigan 28, Northwestern CI Lr fi U-M Breaston 10 pass from Henne with 9:49 Rivas kick. Drive 54 yards, 8 plays.

4:08. Michigan 35. Northwestern 13. U-M Breaston 67 punt return with 9:14 left Rivas kick. Michigan 42, Northwestern 13.

NU Brandon Horn 9 pass from Bassanez with 4:48 remaining. Howells kick. Drive: 73 yards, 15 plays, 4:26. Michigan 42, Northwestern 20. Attendant 111,347.

Team statistics tmmfsmmssBstma Total 21 24 Rushing 7 10 Passing 13 14 Penalty 1 0 3rddowneff. 717 611 4th-downeff. 12 01 NoYds 34190 39231 Avq. rush 5.6 59 Gabe Wilson stops Northwestern's Noah Herron for no gain in the second half of Michigan's victory. Jamar Adams grasp fails to prevent Northwestern's Brandon Horn from stretching for the touchdown.

2920 0 6.7 314 190 421 4424 0 43 18 215 405 AttCmps Interceptions i Avg. per pass SackedYds lost Passing yards Total yards MicMsaini semioirs win j. Ln rv fcr- 1:1. 'J- ''1' fc' ,11 I.J o- -It' sthujsmiMMssiM 540.0 0 6140 000 000 526 00 29:42 435.5 0 5110 4112 000 525 00 30:18 rWAvg. I lad blocked Kick returnsyds.

Punt returnsyds. Int. returnsyds. Penaltiesyds. Fumbleslost lime of poss st at Bis Hoese theii la Michigan statistics Hart 23 151 6.6 34 3 Underwood 3 51 17.0 46 0 Breston 2 32 16.0 20 0 Martin 5 12 2.4 6 0 Bracken 1 -2 0 0 -Henne 5 -13 2 0 Henne 26 19 187 2 0 Richard 2 13 0 0 Brmton 1 0 0 0 0 Edwards 7 54 13 0 i 54 49 20 10 3 16 13 20 10 3 Avant Breaston Hart Massaquoi Bracken Finley 4 142 42 0 Continued from Page iC "We practiced well, but we certainly did not come out there ready to play offensively.

It was obvious," Carr said. The Wolverines have won 15 straight at home and 13 straight in the Big Tea Northwestern is 5-5, 4-3- Freshman tailback Michael Hart, the leading rusher in the Big Ten, ran for 151 yards and a career-best three touchdowns. Receiver Steve Breastoa hobbled by a foot and hand injuries, had his breakthrough game. Breaston had 272 all-purpose yards, scoring on a 10-yard pass and a 67-yard punt return, his first of the season but third of his career. Senior Braylon Edwards had seven catches for 54 yards and now has 1,049 receiving yards this season, making him the first receiver in Big Ten history to have three consecutive seasons of 1,000 or more yards.

Freshman quarterback Chad Henne was i9-of-26 for 187 yards and two touchdowns, including one to receiver Jason Avant. Perhaps sluggish because they hadn't played for two weeks, the Wolverines looked disinterested in the first half and led 7-6 at half-time, i "They weren't doing anything different, we just weren't focused in the first half," Henne said. The second half was a different story, as the Wolverines scored the first five times they touched the balL After Hart scored on a 4-yard run to give Michigan a 14-6 lead early in the third quarter, Northwestern answered with a 68-yard touchdown run by Noah Herron. But the Wolverines scored 28 unanswered points to put the game out of reach. "In the second half we came out with a purp -se, and we were focused and we made it happen," Edwards said.

Northwestern entered the game ranked in the bottom half of the Big Ten in all defensive categories. The Wildcats were eighth in total defense, yielding an average 388.3 yards. Michigan, held to 126 yards in the first half, finished with 421 yards. "They took it to our defense," Northwestern Coach Randy Walker said. "They took that great running back (Hart) at us.

We needed a play or two in there, but we just didn't make a play or two on defense. They didn't help us any they didn't throw the ball to us, or lay it on the ground for us. Once they got oiled up, they played extremely well and they executed well." Northwestern had 405 yards of offense, including 214 rushing. Herron had 156 yards. Henne credited the second-half resurgence of the offense to the Wolverines incorporating more of their receivers.

Six different players caught passes, including Hart and tailback Tim Bracken. The Wolverines hope to keep the offense churning as they head to Ohio State. Obviously, this will be the first visit to Ohio Stadium for Michigan's freshman duo, Henne and Hart Even so, they already have a sense for the rivalry. "Until I get down there, I won't know," Henne said. "Everybody talks about it, but you just have to see it for yourself.

It's a hostile 112 67 Brpaston Breston 3 79 39 0 Mason 2 31 16 0 Hall 7 Shazor Sarantos Reid Woodley 1 Curry Weinberg Mason Burgess Fngteman VanAlstyne Harrison Watson Massey lackson Road Woods Branch Manning Harris Adams Munday Pollock Campbell MIsswJ Md goats None. Northwestern statistics Underwood, Brinton are among those in the spotlight in the game's final minutes. By Angelique S. Chengelis The Detroit News ANN ARBOR Seniors Braylon Edwards and Marlin Jackson embraced as they reached the end of the Michigan Stadium tunnel on Staur-day. Then they led the team charge onto the field, as every player jumped to touch the Go Blue banner at midfield.

It was the final game for 15 seniors, and they went out in style. The ninth-ranked Wolverines defeated Northwestern, 42-20. "I don't think it's really set in yet," Jackson said. "I thought about it all week, I thought about it when I first woke up (Saturday) that it would be my last time playing in the stadium. It felt different.

When we first came out and ran out and jumped and touched the banner, I was on the sideline looking around like this is the last time I'm going to get to play in front of these fans." Edwards, who became the first receiver in Big Ten history to have three seasons of 1,000 or more yards receiving on Saturday, said there are still two more games on his mind. "It hasn't hit me yet," said Edwards, who has 1,049 yards this season. "This isn't our last game, so I wasn't able to completely focus on this being the last game of my career. It definitely will set in once the season is over with or maybe toward this week as I start to realize I will never play in that stadium again." Several seniors who have not played much got a chance to play late. Senior tailback David Underwood, the starter before a concussion knocked him out of the Notre Dame game and Michael Hart took over, had three carries, including a 46-yard run.

Tim Bracken had a carry and a reception, and quarterback Spencer Brinton attempted a pass. Jeremy 23 156 6.8 68 7.5 10 Herron Robertson 1 1 Basanez Fields Jordan f'Malleo 3.7 5 80 8 07 3 tO 6 imJff: mt.aiif.u Basanez 43 23 211 1 0 Malleo 1 14 0 0 Photos by John T. Greilkk The Detroit News Larry Harrison (96) and Ernest Shazor smother Northwestern back Noah Herron, who had 156 yards rushing. 9 17 12 8 14 13 30 29 46 36 12 33 18 30 Home, Sweet Home what about shazor? Horn Thompson Herron Fields Aikens Herbert Jones tertian Safety Ernest Shazor is a Michigan's fifth-year seniors capped their third undefeated season at home with Saturday's 42-20 victory over Northwestern. Pederson 3 121 45 0 Huffman 2 79 43 0 None 0 00 00 0 2003 7-0 t-i Ionian 4 102 33 0 Robertson 2 38 21 0 2m 2001 2000 5-1 visiting teams to go in and be victorious." Said Edwards: "It's nasty.

When you go down to Ohio State, it's about playing ball. The atmosphere is going to be rowdy, it's going to be one that you've never experienced before from the fan level to the noise to the extreme obscenities the fans yell out. You can only focus on the game. You have to have tunnel vision." Notable Michigan defensive lineman Pat Massey got his second blocked field goal of the season. He blocked Northwestern kicker Joel Howells' 36-yard attempt with six minutes left in the second quarter.

Massey blocked a field goal at Purdue. suffered an undisclosed injury to his left knee. He was removed from the field on a cart midway through the third quarter. Barringer was injured on kickoff coverage. Starting safety Ryan Mundy endured a stinger to his left shoulder in the third quarter, but Carr said Mundy assured him he is fine.

It's Buckeye time Only the Michigan veterans know what it's really like to play in the raucous Ohio Stadium environment. "It's hard to make people understand when they haven't experienced anything like that on that level," Jackson said. "Their fans are wild and crazy. They hate us with a passion. It's a great place for them to play, but it's hard a place for senior with one year of eligibility remaining, and he admits he is contemplating leaving Michigan.

So was this his last game at Michigan Stadium? "They always joke with me about maybe this was my last (home) game, but I don't know yet," Shazor said smiling. "I'm playing the next game and the bowl game, and I'll think about it then and talk to Coach Carr. I don't know what I'm going to do." Injury update Starting inside linebacker Scott McClintock missed the Northwestern game because of the flu. Joey Sarantos started in his place. Safety Willis Barrlnger McGarigle Castillo Roach Pickens Ward H.nez Clark Ctifield Henderson Price I Battle Slack Cobb Jenkins OtouS Schuttz McPherson Simpson Backes Rooertson 14 9 9 7 6 4 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 7 6 6 5 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 Read also got in at inside linebacker.

"Any time you get a chance to play some of those guys who ordinarily labor in anonymity, and they get a chance to play in front of their family, in front of their friends, in front of their teammates, that's really rewarding," Michigan Coach Lloyd Carr said. That's what was fun for me (in Saturday's game)." environment. It's the biggest tradition in college football. They hate us, and we hate them" And Ohio State has much less to lose. You can reach Angelique S.

Chengelis at achengelisdetnews.com. Brownley Mend fWdgoe Howells 35. blocked.