Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • 50

100 The Detroit News Sunday, September 19, 2004 Michigan 24, San Diego State 21 Notebook SUMMARY -t- n-i whjrw.wwuij: J. Replay could have' helped Ji .1 1 il i' if 1 WV 5 1 i' a rain imJ 'f Hit- John T. Greilick The Detroit News Freshman Mike Hart ran for 121 yards for Michigan In its victory over San Diego State. Freshman carries load at I tailback ohn T. Greilick The Detroit News San Diego State's Robert Ortiz beats U-M's Leon Hall for a touchdown reception.

Scoring summary SDSU 14 7 0 0 21 Michigan 17 0 7 0 24 U-M: Braylon Edwards 54 from Chad Henne on the Wolverines' first play of the game with 13:20 left. Drive: 54 yards, 1 play, 10 Michigan 7, San Diego State a SDSU: Michael Franklin 4 run with 10:37 remaining, Garrett Palmer kick. Drive: 17 yards, 3 plays. 1:02. Key play: Antwan Applewhite interception of Henne.

Michigan 7, San Diego State 7. U-M: Garrett Rlvas 39 field goal with 3:45 left Drive: 51 yards, 9 plays, 3:43. Michigan 10, San Diego State 7. U-M: Lawrence Reid on fumble recovery with 2:51 left. Rlvas kick.

Key play: Roy Manning strips ball from SDSU quarterback Matt Dkj-goleckl. Michigan 17, San Diego State 7. SDSU: Jeff Webb 12 pass from Michael Franklin. Palmer kick. Drive: 81 yards, 3 plays, Key play: Robert Ortiz 61 yards on shovel pass.

Michigan 17, San Diego State 14. Photos by John T. Greilick The Detroit News San Diego State punt returner Michael Franklin puts a move on U-M's Darnell Hood. SDSU: Ortiz 14 pass from Diugoleckl with 7:57 left. Palmer kick.

Drive: 39 yards. 4 plays, :59. Key play: Marviel Underwood strip of Braylon Edwards recovered by Matt McCoy. San Diego State 21, Michigan 17. 1 "PI wm mn mm 1 U-M: Edwards 7 pass from Henne with 10:35 left Rlvas kick.

Drive: 79 yards, 10 plays. 4:25. Key play: Edwards 45 pass from Henne to SDSU 20. Michigan 24, San Diego State 21. YIN A) LA rlH5 14 Disputed calls were not reviewed at the request of Aztecs.

By Angelique S. Chengelis The Detroit News ANN ARBOR The Big Ten is utilizing instant replay this season, but San Diego State decided it did not want' replay to be part of the game Saturday. That's unfortunate, because there were some strange calls that could have been rectified. In the second quarter, Michigan receiver Jason Avant made a diving catch on third-and-7 at the U-M 36, but it was ruled an incompletion. Television replays clearly showed it was a catch.

It occurred during Michigan's first drive after San Diego State took a 21-17 lead. "I'll be glad when we go into the Big Ten, (and) hopefully get a replay," Avant said. "That (catch) could have kept the drive alive. A thing like that, you never know what could have happened. We could have gone down and scored and the game probably wouldn't have been that close or hurt the (Aztecs') will.

The game of football has breaks in it, but we just didn't get that one," Said Michigan Coach Lloyd Carr: "San Diego State had the choice of whether they would have had replay, and we could have found out for sure (about the Avant play). Obviously, in that situation we would have wanted a replay." The Wolverines benefited from not having replay, however, late in the third quarter. On third-and-10 at the Michigan 2, tailback Michael Hart dived for an n-yard gain. But Hart got a generous spot. TV replays showed his foot was out of bounds at the 11, a yard short of the first down.

Then file this one under weird officiating. Early in the second quarter, the down marker indicated it was fourth down and the Aztecs punted on what was really third-and-5. "I don't know what happened where they didn't get the down, and that certainly is a bad break for them," Carr said. "I knew something was wrong, but I was glad to see them punt the ball." San Diego State Coach Tom Craft said the officials blew the call. He said he was so caught up in the heat of the game, he looked over and saw "4" on the down marker and obviously chose to punt.

"The chain people missed it and the officials missed it," Craft said. "But that's not the difference in the game." Injury update Offensive guard David Baas, who suffered a bruised sternum in the Notre Dame game, left the San Diego State game late, limping slightly. No scoring. Attendance: 109,432. Team statistics if 20 11 7 2 616 11 Total Rushing Passing Penalty 3rd-downeff.

4th-oowneff. 15 4 10 1 5lfi VI 1 I 1 Vi 1 1 1 2322 48148 LO 3.1 NoYds Avq. rush 4327 2814 AttCmps Interceptions Avg. per pass SackedYds lost Passing yards Total yards 3 6.4 522 179 327 1 6.7 427 289 311 1 540.8 346 335 14 450 VI 33:01 7381 0 580 33 375 1194 42 26:59 NovAvg. Had blocked Kick returnsyds.

Punt returnsyds. lot returnsyds. Penaltiesyds. Fumbleslost Time of poss. iWTI'IH IWSSMMWIII' Chad Henne returned.

Richard completed 3 of 4 passes for 17 yards. "We used him exactly the way we planned to use him," Carr said, "We've got to do what we can do to get Clayton some experience. He showed good poise." Kickers struggle Michigan sophomore Garrett Rivas, who made four field goals at Notre Dame, missed what would have been a career-best 49-yard field goal wide left in the final seconds before half-time. It could have tied the score. With a chance to go ahead, 27-21, Rivas missed left frpm 29 yards with 5:36 left in the third quarter.

"The last one, I think he just fell off it," Carr said. "It looked to me like he pulled off and didn't stay down through the kick." San Diego State's Garrett Palmer also missed wide left on field-goal attempts of 46 and 49 yards. Palmer missed the 49-yarder with just less than seven minutes left. It would have tied the score at 24. Late ejection San Diego State linebacker Heath Farwell was ejected with 1:11 left after he slammed into Michigan quarterback Chad Henne when he was taking a knee.

The Aztecs were assessed a 15-yard personal foul. They finished with 11 penalties for 94 yards. You can reach Angelique Chengelis at achengelis detnews.com. U-M's Tim Bracken dives over San Diego State's Hubert Callste during the second quarter. San Diego State statistics Franklin 16 Sornes 2 Diugoleckl 5 39 2.4 8 1 2 1.0 4 0 26 277 1 1 1 12 1 107 15 1 125 61 1 21 9 0 22 19 0 12 9 0 By Jim Spadafore The Detroit News ANN ARBOR Mike Hart was in awe the first time he saw a packed Michigan Stadium.

"It's crazy," he said. "You go from playing in front of 1,000 people to playing in front of 110,000. There's nothing like it" Hart, a 5-foot-9, 191-pound true fihman, made quite an impression of his own Saturday afternoon. He rushed for 121 yards on 25 carries and helped the Wolverines to a 24-21 victory over San Diego State. Most freshmen are redshirt-ed, but Hart was determined to contribute in his first year.

He showed Saturday he could be a big boost to the U-M rurining game. Hart had eight carries in the first two games, but he got a chance Saturday and he more than delivered. "The coaches are starting to believe in me," said Hart, a tailback. "They all don't believe in me yet But they're starting to give me a little test And I can't mess up. I have to be consistent and keep playing good "But it was more our line.

They came out real strong, and we've been working real hard on the running game. They did a great job today opening holes." On probably his biggest run with Michigan deep its end late in the game, Hart ran for yards, on third-and-9 to give the Wolverines a first down at the 22. Then they ran out the clock. "Mike Hart, I thought, did a great job," Coach Lloyd Carr said. "I think that run he made with a couple of minutes to go there on third down, it was a well-blocked play and he found away.

"He's a slippery guy. Mike isn't 220 pounds, but he has a big heart He has great leverage and he's tough. He will hit you." Hart, who is from Syracuse, NY, didn't hesitate when Michigan offered him a scholarship. He's always wanted to be a Wolverine. "It's a dream come true," Hart said.

"I have family from Detroit and I've always been a Michigan fan since I was young." Hart said he never lacked confidence that he could be a running back at a major college such as Michigan, even though he's short and comes from a small high school (Onondaga). He set a national high school career record for touchdowns with 204, but critics said his success came because he played against smaller schools. "I had no doubts," Hart said. "I know what I can do. My coaches know what I can do.

So, I don't care what other people say. "I had to come in here and show what I could da I have to keep proving myself each week. The first couple of games, I was getting one carry and coming out This game, I was getting a couple of running plays in a row and I felt a lot more comfortable." Carr said he didn't form an opinion about Hart or his size when he first saw him. He said he judges players more on heart and determination than size. Carr remembers another little back, Jamie Morris, who turned out to be one of the best mnning backs in U-M history.

"I remember when Jamie Morris walked in here, he was not the most highly touted guy," Carr said. "But he started the first game of his freshman year, and he held the rushing record here for a long, long time." Diugoleckl 42 Franklin 1 Webb 11 Ortiz 7 Pitts 4 Porter 2 Swain 2 from Aztecs quarterback Matt Diugoleckl. Lawrence Reid recovered and ran 5 yards for a touchdown. "They blocked me off the end," said Manning, who had five tackles, including a sack. "Our coaches teach us that if we get blocked, just keep going and keep fighting.

Those guys in the back must have been covering great, because when I got to (Dlu-golecki), he still had the ball. I just tried to go in there and throw my body into him." Richard plays Backup quarterback Clayton Richard entered the game with 11:02 left in the second quarter and played two series before starter "I'll live to fight another day," Baas said when asked about the injury. David Underwood, Michigan's starting tailback the first two games, was in uniform Saturday but did not play. Underwood suffered a concussion on the second play of the Notre Dame game. "David practiced (last week)," Carr said.

"He was limited Tuesday, and even Wednesday I didn't think he was anything close to what he was going into the Notre Dame game. We just decided to give Jerome Jackson (the start)." Quarterback Matt Gutierrez, named the starter going into the season before reporting soreness in his right shoulder, threw a bit in pregame warm-ups. "I'm not going to make guesses on medical situations," Carr said. "He threw this week in practice, but from what I saw, he is not where we hope that he'll be someday." Gutierrez seemed upbeat as he left the game but would not shed any light on his physical well-being. "You have to take whatever (Carr) says and write about that, because I'm not at liberty to talk about it good or bad," Gutierrez said, smiling.

Manning stars Outside linebacker Roy Manning helped give Michigan a 17-7 lead with three minutes left in the first quarter, when he stripped the ball Justice 12 2 0 Huqhes 7 267 58 0 WW minm Conerly 2 -1 14 0 Franklin 14 4 0 Webb 1 17 17 0 Bornes 2 32 17 0 Franklin 2 31 16 0 McCoy Morrison Underwood Dean Lobel Callste Miller Demps Kelaho Farwell larsen Baiks Conerly Ortiz Kahul Applewhite Maze Maka Cleaver offensive line asserts itself Missed field goals Palmer 46, 49. Michigan statistics Hart 25 121 4.8 13 Jackson 8 28 3.5 11 0 Bracken 3 13 4.3 5 0 Rembert 2 11 5.5 10 0 Henne 7 -13 7 Heme 24 162 2 3 Richard 4 3 17 0 0 Edwards 8 130 54 2 Breaston 3 19 12 0 Avant 1 16 16 0 Gonzales 1 10 10 0 1 Ecker Flnley 5 204 45 0 Breaston 3 35 37 0 By Angelique S. Chengelis The Detroit News ANN ARBOR After two lackluster performances by Michigan's running game, the offensive linemen realized something had to change. Michigan entered the San Diego State game averaging 85.5 yards rushing, 94th nationally among 117 Division I teams. The Wolverines gained a paltry 56 yards rushing in a 28-20 loss at Notre Dame.

Something indeed had to change. "It's embarrassing when you don't run the ball like the way Michigan is supposed to," senior guard David Baas said. "We just got it in our heads the whole offensive line, the running backs, everybody that we needed to run the ball. We emphasized that all week during practice. That was one of our goals, to run the ball and be a Michigan running team." There was improvement in a 24-21 victory over the Aztecs on Saturday at Michigan Stadium.

ful guy. I think he's going to be, at some point, one of the great run-blockers we've had, one of the great tackles if he can continue to develop. He's got all the skills, he's got exactly what you want in a tackle, and that is the ability to knock somebody off the line of scrimmage." The linemen also drew inspiration from former Michigan offensive tackle Jon Jansen, who holds the school record for secutive starts with 50 during a four-year career. Jansen, recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered in an exhibition game while he was playing right tackle for the Washington Redskins, spoke to the team Friday. "When you see a guy who built up the tradition of Michigan like Jansen, you respect what he says," Baas said.

"He gave us some good words Friday, just knowing that not only are we playing for us, we're also playing for everybody else who has played here before. It's important to us and to him. We took that to heart" San Diego State) and made the step forward. "It wasn't the best (performance), but we moved in the right direction." Baas, a co-captain, said there was plenty of conversation among the offensive players last week about what needed to change. "Everybody took part in addressing that issue," Baas said.

"Certain people take different roles in addressing this issue, but there were words said and people called out, and we needed to do something about it." Michigan Coach Lloyd Can-said there was more "punch" in the offensive line play Saturday. He started redshirt freshman Jake Long at right tackle instead of Mike Kolodziej, who had started the first two games. "We've got some competition in our offensive line," Carr said. "Fm not sure we're exactly where we want to be. But I think we really took a step here in the right direction, "(Long's) a big, strong, power 17 Breaston It --r' A i- urns'' -if hrmrt-mF 1" w-i-i -m Braylon Edwards and U-M began the game with this 54-yard score.

Edwards had eight catches for 130 yards. Curry McCMock Shazor Mason Halt Manning Mundy Massey Peid Hood Harrison WoooTey Watson Jackson Avant Harris Graham Barringer 6 6 5 5 5 5 3 3 3 3 2 2 goah- Michigan gained 148 yards on 48 carries. Freshman Michael Hart was the spark. I fe carried 25 times for 121 yards, and three other backs had carries. David Underwood, the starter the first two games, has been out because of a concussion since the second play of the Notre Dame game.

"We've been really struggling for two weeks, and we needed somebody to step up and run the ball, and we needed some linemen to step up and open some holes," Baas said. "We did that and fought really hard (against You can reach Jim Spadafore at (313) 223-4638 or jspadaforedetnews.com..