Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • 37

The Detroit News Section BOB det ESS WOJNOWSKI High schools Football Saturday Canton quarterback Shawn Little, gaining yards here against Plymouth, was among the winners on Saturday. Page 3D 2D 4D 60 16D' Scenes NFL NHL Golf Th Detroit Newt Online All day. every day. http :detnews.cofn WWi freshmen at key positions, U-M will have growing pains 1 BLOOMINGTON, Ind. Sunday, October 3, 2004 ffl Lte EM Ate I his is what to expect from Michigan right now, when you're not jx? Henne torches Indiana for3TDs By Angelique S.

Chengelis The Detroit News BLOOMINGTON, Ind. This was supposed to be the coming out party for Michigan's running game, considering Indiana has the worst rush defense in the Big Ten. Freshman tailback Michael Hart made his first career start, ran the ball hard and scored a Spartans' defense fails to stop Iowa By Dave Dye The Detroit News IOWA CITY, Iowa Michigan State's defense challenged the offense to stop being the weak link and start producing last week. This week, the defense needs to look in the mirror. The Spartans couldn't stop Iowa's previously lethargic offense, IOWA 38 allowing 464 yards Saturday in a 38-16 loss at Kinnick Stadium.

Sophomore quarterback Drew Tate picked apart MSU's sec touchdown, but it was freshman quarterback Chad Henne who stole the show for the Wolverines. I lenne threw for 316 yards and U-M 35 IU14 MSU16 really sure what to expect. Ups. Downs. Big plays and odd swings.

Dominance for scintillating bursts. The Wolverines are doing it the best way they can, buying time until their key players gain experience. In some ways, it's amazing what they're trying to pull off, starting true freshmen at quarterback and running back, fine players who will be excellent players soon soon enough? Ah, the question the Wolverines can't answer yet, although Chad Henne and Michael Mart delivered compelling evidence Saturday that something special is still possible. U-M beat Indiana, 35-14, partly because Indiana is lame, primarily because U-M is still loaded in lots of places. Now it gets interesting, with Minnesota next and Purdue two weeks after that.

Henne and Hart made huge plays all afternoon and helped Braylon Edwards prove again why he's the best receiver in the country. "I was never leery because I always knew these guys could make things happen," Edwards said. "And they keep proving me right." With the two kids, the future of U-M's offense looks brilliant. The problem is, to U-M fans, the future is loosely defined as "next week." i The revelation from this game is that Henne and Hart are accelerating timetables. Henne stood in against blitzes and delivered TD passes to Edwards of 69 and 38 yards.

Henne had a hand in almost every key play. OK, he had a hand in key mistakes too, committing two fumbles. Lloyd Carr doesn't enjoy making that trade, but he has no choice. He's also starting to like his chances. "I just think those two have a special maturity," Carr said.

"They're fun kids to watch and to coach because nothing intimidates them." U-M isn't the first team in the country to start a freshman quarterback but there aren't many that ever try the risky dual trick. It's working so far because U-M has found many other ways to score, like on Leon I Iall's 76-yard punt return. But don't fool yourself. U-M will ride Henne and Hart hard, and the kids look capable of handling it. Already, Hart has become the master of the third-down conversion.

At 5-foot-9, he's strong enough to break tackles and shifty enough to make defenders miss. When he finally earned his first start Saturday, he official yJ i i-W (Si 4 It 7-1 Uhn T. Creilkk Thr IMruit Michigan freshman running back Mike Hart had 79 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries in his first career start. ondary while completing 25-036 passes for 340 yards and one touchdown. Iowa (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten) extended its home winning streak to 15 games.

The I lawkeyes, normally a team that tries to establish the run first, caught the Spartans by surprise early on by aiming out passing, even on first dowa Iowa scored touchdowns on 80-yard drives on its first two possessions, setting the tone for a long day for MSU. Spartans Coach John L. Smith expected his defense to carry the team early in the season. Linebacker Ron Stanley, a captain, said he thinks the Spartans didn't give Iowa's offense much respect entering the game. "I think we looked at them on film and thought they weren't that tough," Stanley said.

"We played lackadaisical. I don't think we came to play today." Despite another solid performance by quarterback Drew Stanton (245 yards passing, 89 rushing), MSU couldn't score a touchdown until the final five minutes. The Spartans (2-3, 1-1) had two 15-play drives and one 14-play drive before that, but each time settled for a field goal. "We can't get it in," Smith said. "I sound like a broken record, but you have to make a play.

We were bad." The Spartans must win five of their final seven games to become bowl-eligible. They play four of the next five at home, beginning next Saturday against Illinois. three touchdowns in a 35-14 vic tory over Indiana at Memorial Stadium on Saturday. The Wolverines, who scored on their first three possessions of the second half, are 4-1, 2-0 Big Ten, while Indiana is 2-3, 0-2. Michigan has won 13 straight against Indiana.

Henne was i7-of-2i for an 81 percent completion rate and he went deep on his three touchdown passes. He completed a 40-yard pass to Jermaine Gonzales for the Wolverines' first score and threw third-quarter touchdown passes of fx) and 38 yards to Braylon Fdwards. Michigan Coach I.loyd Carr credited the improving running game for opening the down-field pass attack. "The great thing if we can run the football, if they want to bring eight, nine (defensive) guys down there, they're going to play three-deep or they're going to play man with a free safety in the middle, we've got some guys who can get open and Chad made some great throw Carr said. Fdwards, who just may be sneaking his way into Heisman Trophy consideration, had a career-best 105 receiving yards on eight Hart had 20 carries for 79 yards and a touchdown, and he also had two catches for 36 yards.

Please see U-M. Page 10!) IHS1DE Two-minute drill Instant-replay reviews lengthen the end of U-M's first half. Page 100 Fundamental loss MSU can blame missed tackles, dropped passes for its defeat. Page 12D Loving it Terry Love finished with nine catches for 103 yards for MSU. Page 12 Davis returns Anthony Davis returns from i try? 1 7 ')) Pale a.

Young The Petmit News eye injury, runs for 213 yards Jerramy Scott, left, who had seven catches for 50 yards, is stopped by Iowa's Antawn Allen to power Wisconsin. after getting a first down. Page7D 6 FOILED CRUISING Adrian Peterson and Oklahoma run over Texas Tech. and SEC SHOWDOWN Reggie Brown's receiving helps No. 3 Georgia put away No.

13 Louisiana State; No. 8 Auburn routs No. 10 TennesseeTPage 7D No. 15 Purdue pounds Notre Dame and Brady Quinn, and No. 6 West Virginia stumbles.

Pages 7D, 11D Miami and Texas also coast. jM jt v. Paop7D I J- ii mi- Tigers must improve poor defense, bullpen Brown returns to NBA lifestyle ly gave U-M its first true-freshman tandem in history, and they're getting more responsibilities each week. "We're really starting to open it up for Chad," offensive coordinator Terry Malone said The worrisome part is, you go to hed Friday night and you're not sure what you'll see Saturday. But they've certainly shown they can handle the pressure." Henne showed off his strong arm, completing 17 of 21 passes for 316 yards.

Hart was a workhorse and finished with 79 yards. The Wolverines aren't immune from the mood swings of youth, but Henne and Hart look different. They're uncommonly cool, which might be their best trait the next few weeks, when the competition gets uncommonly hot. "It's going to get a lot tougher," Carr said, smiling. But so far, so good." So much more suddenly Sjeems possible.

Sob Wojnowski's column appears regularly on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Reach him at wojofanaol.com. CP Will RMn Buckson The Detroit News Larry Brown: "This is what I do. I know without question there is nothing else I am capable of doing." By Tom Gage T7ie Detroit News DETROIT True, they had a better year. They were much improved.

In some areas, as General Manager Dave Dombrowski said, the Tigers Analysis cf 2O04 maje "dramatic improvement." Dmitri Young believes, "We're on the brink of a turnaround here. We definitely made a statement." Be careful, however, in thinking that the Tigers had a good year because they did not. No team finishing as many games under .500 as the Tigers are about to finish had a good year. Not the Pittsburgh Pirates, not the New York Mets, nor anyone else in the neighborhood of under-75 victories. If you think they did, you are redefining "good" to suit your hope and possibly your belief that next year the Tigers might be.

But that's the point. From where they came from the abject embarrassment and miserable depths of 2003 it would have been too much to expect the Tigers to be good this year as in pennant-contention good. You don't go from winning 43 games to winning 93- Please see TIGERS, Page 14D Assttciated Press Bengie Molina hugs Troy Percival after Anaheim beat Oakland to clinch the A.L. West title. Inside baseball Roundup: Angels, Dodgers clinch division titles.

Page 14D Tigers: Thames helps set home run record in victory. Page 150 Coming Monday: Tom Gage grades the Tigers. By Terry Foster The Detroit News AUBURN HILLS His lips stretched into a smile even before the words roared from Rasheed Wallace's mouth. "Hey, pound for pound. 1 low is it going?" Wallace screamed toward Pistons Coach Larry Brown during a recent workout.

Brown, sitting courtside at the Pistons' practice facility, grinned and looked Wallace over from head to toe. "You are big," he said, pointing toward Wallace's chest, covered with a number 30 jersey. "Those numbers look tiny. They look like (those) on one of those offensive linemen in the NFL. Those guys are so big that their numbers look small." The two men shared a laugh.

Wallace resumed his workout and Brown continued to savor every moment next to his assistant coaches as regulars and free agents played a pick-up game at the Pistons practice facility. Please see BROWN, Page 5D Call It ly To IV Pro-Approved 1 'i a .4, A 1js I A A A A. AiAvili iftn -3- 1 1 bp.