Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • 49

t-n Sunday. October 10, 2004 The Detroit News 130 Michigan 27, Minnesota 24 Notebook SUMMARY 1tf cm 1 1 MA 1 IT A 3 It 1 John T.Creillck The Detroit Newt 'Chad Henne threw 49 and completed 33, for 328 yards and two IDs Scoring summary Mlmwfota 7 7 7 3 24 Michigan 10 7 0 10 27 U4A Michael Hart 8 run wtth 939 left Garrttt Rlvej kick Ortw 65 yards, 9pleyl, 2:54. Key play: Tim Massaquol 10 past from Chad Henne lo convert third down to Minnesota 49. Michigan U-M Rlvas 38 tTekJ goal with 42 seconds remelnlno, Drive: 35 yarns, 9 plays, 123. Kay play: Mastaquoi 12 pass to convert tfund down to Minnesota 28.

Michigan 10, Mlnnota a MMN Laurence Maronay 80 run with 30 sac onds remaining. Rhys Uoyd Mck. Drive: 80 yards, 1 play, :12 Michigan 10. Minnesota 7. John Gm'ick Thj Detroit News Braylon Edwards goes all out to catch this first-quarter pass from Chad Henne, but it slips off his fingertips in the end zone.

John T. Greilick The Detroit Newt Braylon Edwards takes the ball away from Minnesota's Ukee Dozler and scores. Michigan: comeback impresses Mason By Lynn Henning The Detroit News ANN ARBOR Doors didn't slam, and fists didn't pound. When Glen Mason spoke during Saturday's postgame media briefing at Michigan Stadium, he didn't fume, snort or spit out words like tracer bullets, the common response from a college football coach who has just lost a crusher of a game. Rather, on the day a dizzy Michigan rally had pushed the Wolverines to a 27-24 victory over the Gophers, Mason smiled after his team's first loss of the season and said: "Heck of a football game, wasn't it?" Mason's face was scorched red by Saturday's sua appropriate in that Minnesota's defense had just been burned by Michigan quarterback Chad Henne and U-Ms flock of fleet receivers during a breathtaking waning-minutes rally.

"It really became a one-series football game, face it," said Mason, whose Gophers had come into the game 5-0 and ranked 13th in the natioa a notch above the I4th-ranked Wolverines. "You think of Michigan as a UM Braylon Edwards 4 pass from Heme wrth 0 10:34 left. Rlvas kick. Drive: 76 yards, 14 plays, 436. Key play: Hart 3 run on third down conver- Hon to Minnesota 6.

Michigan 17. Minnesota 7. MMI Marion Barber 19 run with 7:32 remain. Ing. Uoyd kick.

Dm 80 yank. 9 plays. Key play: Emit Wheelwright 39 pais from Bryan Cuplto on first down to U-M 4L Michigan 17, Minnesota MMN- Jared Ellerson 26 pass from Cuplto with 8:33 remaining. Lloyd kick. Dm 34 yards, 5 plays, L'51.

Key piay: Maronay 3 run to convert third down to U-M 22 Minnesota 21, Michigan 17. MHN Uoyd 27 fWW goal with 13:14 left Drive: 0 yards. 4 plays, 53. Key play: An Pirns recovery of leon Hal punt return fumble at U-M 9. Minnesota 24, Michigan 17.

U-M Rrvas 29 field goal wtth 9:36 left Drive: 68 1 yards, 10 plays. 3:38. Kay play: Hart 17 run to Minnesota 39. Minnesota 24, Mk-Mgan 20. U-M Tyler Ecfcer 31 pass from Henne with 1:57 1 left Rival kick.

Drive: 87 yards. 6 plays. Kay play: Jason Avar 17 pass to Minnesota 40 Michigan 27, Minnesota 24. ets shufiQed agaie meg More online Live scores, running logs, game summaries -r 0 111518 en Michigan detf news, rosters. Team statistics 13 8 5 0 4716 13 Total i Rushing Passing Penalty 3rd-down erT 4th-downeff.

29 13 16 0 818 11 i 45190 42 39189 4.8 NoAds Avgrush ''WBSSB Wiee. 4933 2 99 12 328 518 228 1 18.5 2U 156 345 AttCmps Interceptions 'Avg. per pass ') SackedYds lost Passing yards Total yards Bl 536.8 0 2W 5727 00 531 00 3W4 844.8 0 355 2U 235 210 00 22:46 KWAvg. Had blocked Kick returnsyds. Punt returnsyds.

Int. leuaiBvyds. Penerttesyos. Fumbleslost Time of pets. second was a nail-biter for the Wolverines.

The snap on Rivas' 29-yard attempt was low, and holder Matt Gutierrez quickly scrambled to place it for Rivas. He made the kick, which drew Michigan within 24-20 in the fourth quarter. "It was a miracle kick," Carr said. "He'll be awfully thankful he had Matt Gutierrez, (who) some way got the ball down. And Garrett that was a great kick.

I don't know how it got through, but I told Garrett when he came off, 'Great They all count three when they get through there." Diamond in the rough Michigan used a "diamond" formation three times during the game. It's a designed screen for receiver Braylon Edwards, who gained a combined 35 yards on the play. Michael Hart, Jason Avant and Tim Massaquol were the three front blockers on the formation, with Edwards back. "It's something you put in that the defense has to adjust to, because it's not something we had done," Carr said. The play was installed last week.

"When you do it at first, they're going to be confused 'This is Michigan? What the heck are they We had guys blocking, Hart, Massaquoi and Avant, and as soon as I got the ball, it was a lane. All I had Iiyury to Henige gives Riley a chance to start at left guard. By Angelique S. Chengelis The Detroit News ANN ARBOR Michigan changed its offensive line combination for the fourth time this season. This time, an injury forced the change.

Leo Henige, the Wolverines' starting left guard the last two games, suffered a season-ending knee injury during the Indiana game last week. He will require surgery, according to U-M Coach Lloyd Carr. David Baas, who had started 30 games at left guard before moving to center at the start of the Big Ten season, remained at center, and junior Ruben Riley was given his first collegiate start at left guard on Saturday. "(Riley) stepped in there, and this is his first significant playing time," Carr said. "So we did a good job against what I think is a good Minnesota pass rush.

They're a bend-but-don't-break defense, they didn't give us any big plays. "In the end, we had the kind of protection that final (winning) drive that enabled (quarterback) Chad (Henne) to find some open people, and that was enough." Bad snap Garrett Rlvas made two field goals in Michigan's 27-24 victory over Minnesota, but the team stats Game photo galleries Latest college football news, schedules, stats and standings for all conferences Matchup comparisons Polls, weather reports Odds, injuries Big Ten Talk forum Go to detnews.comAim to do was hit the lane and run, so they did a great job." Edwards was surprised that it worked the third time for an 11-yard gain, after two 12-yard gains. "The third time I was thinking, 'You guys know what's coming out of this Edwards said. "They played off of us a lot, and that's what allowed me to get the yards." Future gymnast? Edwards did a backflip in the middle of the field after the game concluded. "It was a lot of emotion going through my body," Edwards said.

"Just getting this win was tremendous. This is a huge wia This was another thriller against Minnesota, and so that's what happened. All that emotion culminated in the flip and it came out of nowhere." Edwards used to take gym- Michigan statistics Edwards 35 160 4.6 16 1 2 23 11.5 12 0 4 10 2.5 9 0 Gonzales 1 2 20 2 0 Heme 49 33 328 2 2 John T. Greitick The Detroit News U-M tight end Tim Massaquol, who caught four passes for 31 yards, runs away from a Minnesota defender. Edwards 10 98 32 1 Avar 6 87 20 0 Hart 6 53 18 0 Massaquol 4 31 12 0 Eokar 3 38 31 1 Breaston 3 16 9 0 Amnoton 15 5 0 mmmmswsssmsm, Rnley 184 53 0 running team, historically," Mason said, "but that's as fine-looking a group of receivers as I've ever faced.

And it's not just the Braylon Edwards show. They have a lot of weapons." Minnesota had done a remarkable job Saturday ahead of Michigan's nth-hour revival. The Gophers running the ball is their craft got just enough yards on the ground, hit on a couple of big passes, and beat Michigan 3-0 on turnovers to take a 24-17 lead early in the fourth quarter. Minnesota had another apparent advantage: Henne is a freshman. He had already thrown two interceptions, not exactly a habit during his impressive initiation at Michi-gaa but one more reason why any last-moment comebacks were going to be dicey ventures for U-M.

Mason was asked if he had seen many freshmen quarterbacks quarterbacks of any vintage, for that matter who had shown the stuff Henne flashed late Saturday. "Not like that I haven't," he said, still smiling. "It's hard for any freshman to play at this level. When you add the mental part of it the responsibility and the scrutiny that's put on a freshman quarterback especially nasties when he was a kid. He laughed as he said he was hopeful Carr did not see the flip.

Breaston returns Sophomore receiver Steve Breaston, who missed the Indiana game because of a broken 'finger in his left hand, returned for the Minnesota game. Breaston had three catches for 16 yards. He also returned two punts and two kickoffs. Network set Michigan's game at Illinois on Saturday will be televised live on ABC (Channel 7) at noon. Breaston Hall 5 26 1 26 Shator Mwiirtp Rted Jackson Massey Mundy McCllntock Adams Woods Curry Oflll Heme' Enolemon Crable Rembert goats -Revas-Nona.

Minnesota statistics iJ -'1 FTv iTj 19 145 7.6 80 13 40 11 19 8 16 14 1 1 10 1 1 -S -50 0 Maraney Berber, III Cuplto Valentine Wallace John T.Greilick The Detroit News U-M's David Underwood hoists the Little Brown Jug above his head, and Larry Harrison reaches for it. Cuplto 22 8 156 1 0' Ellerson 6 83 26 1 Wheehvrlght 2 73 39 0 side," Carr said. The troubles continued for Michigan in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter when Leon Hall mishandled a punt and fumbled. Amir Pinnix recovered at the Michigan 9 for the Golden Gophers. But the Wolverines kept Minnesota from scoring a touchdown, and the Gophers settled for a 27-yard field goal to extend their lead to 24-17.

"That defense had an opportunity after we fumbled the punt, they could have folded, (but) they held Minnesota to a field goal," Carr said. "In my mind, that's when I knew that we had hope." Michigan drove 10 plays on its next possession and scored on a 29-yard field goal by Garrett Rivas to pull to 24-20. After both teams stalled on their next two drives, Minnesota got the ball with 4:57 left in the game. On third-and-15 at the Gophers' 19, Cupito completed a 34-yard pass to Ernie Wheelwright to the U-M 47. But Michigan safety Ernest Shazor, who finished with a tackles, including 11 solo, stuffed Maroney for a 6-yard loss on the next play, then held him for no gain on the next.

The Gophers were eventually forced to punt with just more than three minutes left. "We were playing great defense in the second half, and the thing that really hurt us was on third-and-long they hit the sideline pass, and that put a damper on things," said Carr, whose defense held Minnesota to 24 second-half rushing yards. "I was confident if we had enough time where we got the ball back and I was confident we would get the ball back this kid (I lenne), he's pretty good." Among the six passes Henne threw in the winning drive were completions of 20 and 17 yards to Jason Avant. "He kept his poise," Ecker said of Henne during the final drive. "For a young quarterback, he's amazing." For the second straight year, Minnesota has lost in heartbreaking fashion to Michigan.

A year ago, Michigan trailed by 21 points going into the fourth quarter and scored 31 to wia "We got the turnovers, we got the field positioa and we squandered it away," Minnesota Coach Glen Mason said. "We went through a number of situations, especially late in the game, where the tide could have turned our way. "It became a one-series football game, let's face it We jockeyed back and forth, and Michigan had to go to the defense when time was running out. I credit them they made the plays, and criticize us, we didnt" You can neach Angelique S. Chengelis at achengelisdetnews.com.

U-M Continued from Page iD "We knew the game was going to come down to a last drive, so we prepared all week for this to happen," Ecker said. The Gophers, who had only 93 yards of offense in the second half, also envisioned a final drive to win the game. "We knew it was going to be a close game, and we knew it was going to come down to the end," said defensive end Mark Losli. "We thought all along that we were going to pull out ahead." The Wolverines ran 94 offensive plays including 49 passes against the nation's 105th-worst pass defense outgained the Golden Gophers, 518-345, and held the ball for nearly 15 minutes more. Michigan was 8-of-18 on third down, as welL Michigan's dynamic freshman duo of Henne and tailback Michael Hart were impressive.

Hart had 213 yards of offense, including a freshman single-, game record 160 yards rushing and one touchdown. Henne was 33-of-49 for 328 yards and two touchdowns, but he also had two interceptions. "The pass today set up the run, because we were trying to take what they gave us," Coach Lloyd Carr said. "I thought we were real patient." The Wolverines led 17-14 at Loyd 8 358 63 0 Barber III 2 11 9 0 Barber IS 1 13 13 0 Maraney 2 42 22 0 Michigan if you didn't know he was a freshmaa you wouldn't know he was a freshmaa" Mason's postgame grace might have given way to other expressions had things been different Saturday. But it seemed as if the head coach could take deep consolation in that his Gophers had played admirably, nearly squeezing out what would have been a momentous victory for Minnesota as 111,000 Michigan Stadium fans howled and shrieked.

"I don't know that," Mason said, not necessarily buying into thoughts his team had played an otherwise terrific game. "I'm proud of my kids. I know Ym paid to win games that's what holds me accountable to some people but to me, I'm a college coach, I'm not a pro coach. If the kids lay it on the line, and play as hard as they possibly caa that's enough for me." You can reach Lynn Henning at (313) 222-2472 or lhenningdetnews.com. Frakw 8 10 10 14 11 10 10 10 9 5 Stms McKeiule Banks Campbell Pawlelskl Clark Dozler Raid los Montgomery vert the turnover, but on their second series of the third quarter, Bryan Cupito completed a 26-yard pass to Jared Ellerson to take their first lead of the game, 21-17.

With eight minutes left in the third quarter, Michigan was driving again and reached the Minnesota 34- when Henne was intercepted for a second time. He threw deep to Braylon Edwards, who was double covered in the end zone. Ukee Dozi-er had the interceptioa Again, Minnesota failed to convert "We thought we could play-action and get Braylon (Edwards) deep, and Chad threw the ball back into the middle of the field, and he's got to keep the ball to the out halftime. Minnesota's running game, which entered the game ranked third nationally, averaging 323.4 yards, had 165 yards rushing in the first half, including an 80-yard touchdown run by Laurence Maroney, Michigan, meanwhile, was pass happy, as Henne was 22-of-30 for 166 yards, spreading the ball among seven receivers. But things changed quickly in the second half.

Henne threw his first interception in 79 attempts on the first series of the second half with Michigan at the Minnesota 33. Henne was looking for Ecker but instead found linebacker Brandon Owens cutting across. The Gophers did not con Whit 2 Russell 2 Wallace 1 WofclechowsU 1 Mcgarry 0 Plmbi 0 Lloyd 0 Mlsead Weld goals-1.