Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • 53

Sunday, November 2004 The Detroit Newi 13D College Football: Michigan vs. Ohio State summary rr -t OSU's defensive changes work I Or i. 11 1 mi 1- 1. I A si at, 1 John T. Greilick The Detroit News Lloyd Carr gives Chad Henne a pat on the head after he threw a scoring pass.

Buckeyes blitz Henne and key on Hart to slow down Michigan's offense. By Angelique S. Chengelis The Detroit News COLUMBUS, Ohio Michigan was scoreless in the second and third quarters against Ohio State and had a total of 90 offensive yards in that spaa This lack of productivity came after a promising first quarter in which the Wolverines gained 141 yards mixing the pass and run nicely. They scored twice and led 14-7 going into the first quarter. That was Michigan's only lead in its 37-21 loss at Ohio State on Saturday.

What changed? Plenty. Ohio State geared its defense to stop freshman tailback Michael Hart ism 1 "They were bringing guys from everywhere, so we were a little bit confused," Henne said. The Buckeyes isolated on Hart as well, stacking the line to curb his productivity. It worked. Hart, who entered the game as the Big Ten's leading rusher, averaging 131.1 yards, had 34 yards on six carries and a touchdown in the first quarter.

He finished with 61 yards on 18 carries. "We were able to come in and stop the run," OSU junior linebacker Bobby Carpenter said. "Michigan's offensive line has always been historically good. We just went out there and played as hard as we could to see who came out as the better team." Carr praised Ohio State's defensive scheme. "They did a very good job on (Hart)," Carr said.

"When the game started, I thought we hit some plays there. That's a big front It's a big, physical front They're bigger than they were a year ago, and their linebackers are very good, and they were most of the time bringing an eighth guy into the box (to stop the run)." Lost in the final result was the fact that senior receiver Braylon Edwards caught passes for 172 yards and a touchdown. Fifth-year senior center David Baas said the offensive line fell hard in the Ohio State game "We just didn't execute," Baas said. "We came out there and stumbled and never really recovered. "They're a great defensive team.

They bring a lot of stunts and blitzes and we just made mental mistakes. We just didn't get our assignments down and didn't execute. We knew Ohio State was good. It didn't matter what their record was. We knew this was the game." and decided to blitz freshman quarterback Chad Henne frequently.

They really started to blitz a lot more," Michigan Coach Lloyd Carr said. "They created a lot better pressure on the quarterback after the first quarter. They really did a great job preventing us from running the football as we hoped to do. They did a great job mixing their coverages. They played a lot of combination coverages where they doubled certain receivers, and with the pressure they (had) Chad got hit too many times." After Ohio State scored on Ted Ginn 82-yard punt return at the start of the third quarter to take a 27-14 lead, Michigan was forced into more throwing situations.

Henne was 27-054 for 328 yards. He had two touchdowns and two interceptions. Although he was sacked only once, he was often flushed out of the pocket by OSU defensive pressure. Scoring summary Michigan 14 0 0 7 21 Ohio St. 7 13 14 3 37 OSU Anthony Gonzalez 68 pass from Troy Smith, 13:47.

Mike Nuotnt kick. Ortve: 80 yards, 5 ptay. 1:11 OMs Stal 7, MkMgtn a Jason Avar 4 pass torn CruyJrterne, Garrett Rlvas kick. Drive: 87 yards, 9 plays, MS. Key play: Michael Hart 39 screen from -rrr Nm to OSU la ONo SUM 7, Mchtgan 7.

UM Hart 1 run, 6:03. Rtvas kick. Drive: 43 6 playt. Kay play: Jtrmalna Gonzales 19 paH from Hem to OSU a Michigan 14, Ohio State 7. John T.

Greilick The Detroit News Michigan freshman Michael Hart scored a touchdown. but he was held to 61 yards on 18 carries. OSU Snath 1 run. 13 J6. Nugent lock.

Drive: 99 rot, 12 plays, 4:35. Key play: Santonlo Hoenes 3) pan from Snath to U-M 24. Michigan 14, ft Notebook Ohio State 14. OfU Nugent 21 held goal. 2:16.

Drive: 28 yard U-M Continued from Page iD 8 alays, 4:30. Key play: Troy Smith 15 run to U-M 2. OMo State 17, Michigan 14. OSU Nugent 42 field goal. :00.

Drive: 46 yards, 8 ptoys, 101 Key play: Ted Gam 26 pau from Smah on third down to U-M 24. Ohio State 20, OSU Gam 82 punt return, 9:56. Nugent kick. Ohio State 27, Michigan 14. OSU Holmes 12 pass from Smith, 1:53.

Nugent kk. Drive: 97 yards. 10 playt, 6.06. Kay play; Smith 46 run to U-M 18. Ohio State 34, Michigan 14 U-M eYaytai Edwards 38 pais from Heme, 10:56.

lavas lock. Drive: 62 yard. 4 plays. L04. Ohio State 34, Michigan 2L OSU Nagent 48 fWd goal 7:15.

Drive: 1 yards, 4 plays, Ohio State 37, Michigan ZL Attendance: 105.4S6. Team statistics I 1 lK I Ar Total 20 18 Dusnmg 6 10 Passing 12 Penalty 2 0 3rdkwnefT. 515 817 4th-downeff. 03 01 NoMs 2271 47505 Avgrush 3.2 44 AttCmps 5427 2313 Interceptions 2 0 Avg per pass 61 10.5 SackedYds lost 111 000 Passing-yards 328 241 Total yards 399 446 NoAvg, 747J 642.2 Had blocked 0 0 Kick returnsyds. 469 238 PuntnKunavVta.

15 4123 Int returnsyds. 00 220 PanaOhaVyds. 15 U70 Fumblesbet 10 20 Tknsofposs. 25:44 34:16 The Wolverines endured an overwhelming performance by Ohio State, and sophomore quar- terback Troy Smith in particular, Smith, 4-1 since becoming the starter, gained 386 yards of offense, including 145 as his team's leading' 1 rusher. Ohio State, which entered a 1 the game averaging 300 had 446 against Michigan.

OSU steamrolled the Michigan i defense, hitting it hard on scoring drives of 99 and 97 yards. 3 That's why I say you have to give Ohio State credit" Michigan Coach Lloyd Carr said. The way a we've always tried to play defense at Michigan, if you have that kind of field position, the odds are you're going to stop them And we could-w n't stop them. Ohio State played iA great" Said OSU Coach Jim Tressel of the sustained drives They were both sigriificant and that's how you win a game is control the tern- J' poof the game. We happened to do that with those two drives." 1 The Buckeyes devastated the Worverines with big plays through- out including a 68-yard touch- down pass from Smith to Anthony Gonzalez on the game's first series -and an 82-yard punt return by Ted Ginn at the start of the third quartet The punt return gave the Buck- eyes a 27-14 lead and forced the Wolverines to change their offensive game plan and throw more.

It was a difficult lichigan-Ohio State debut for freshman quarter- back Chad Henne of U-M Henne completed 27 of 54 passes for 328 yards and two touchdowns, but he faced harassing blitzes most of the game. It also was a frustrating rivalry debut for freshman tailback Michael Hart He entered the game as the Big Ten's leading rusher, averaging 131 yards, but was held to 61. "You're always going to get pressure," Henne said. "Everybody is going to come after you since you're a young kid. You've got to expect that and step up to the chal- lenge." Michigan statistics Hart 18 61 3.4 11 1 Brsaston 2 22 110 13 0 Heme I -U -110 -U 0 Henns 54 27 328 2 2 Edwards 172 46 1 Avant 4 40 13 1 Ecker 4 24 7 0 Breaston 4 17 6 0 Gonzales 2 27 19 0 Hart 1 39 39 0 Massaquoi 19 9 0 Flnley 7 331 59 0 Breaston 15 5 0 eeMaaeavaaiJaaiiS Photos by John T.

Greilick The Detroit News Michigan's Braylon Edwards, who made 11 receptions for 172 yards and a touchdown, can't get away from Ohio State's Tyler Everett. UM stresses positives F'iifJaaaeVJ" 12 10 7 7 6 5 5 5 Woodley Raid Mundy Harrison McCKntock Shazor Hall Woods MJackson VanAlstyne Massey Watson Burgess I a Spencer Hood Mason Adams Graham liackson Ohio State statistics HLBaBBLDBmBO vt94. 2,. U-M cornerback Marlin Jackson takes down Ohio State receiver Santonlo Holmes. Snath Jot Ross Ftttman Johnson Hal ai 3.7 18 0.6 LO 10 145 52 7 4 1 -2 18 14 4 7 1 2 Carr says his team had a good season even though it didn't win Big Ten outright.

By Angelique S. Chengelis The Detroit News COLUMBUS, Ohio David Baas was in no mood to search for a silver lining. Sure, the seventh-ranked Michigan Wolverines earned a share of the Big Ten title, but they ended the regular season with a 37-21 loss at Ohio State. A victory would have given Michigan the title outright for the second straight season. The Wolverines will return to the Rose Bowl, thanks to Iowa's victory over Wisconsin.

Michigan and Iowa finished with 7-1 Big Ten records, but Michigan defeated Iowa in the opening game of league play. Baas, a fifth-year senior co-captain, was asked if he could find solace in winning the Big Ten title despite the loss to OSU. "I'm sure we can," he said. "But that will come later." What about Iowa's victory over Wisconsin, which sends Michigan to the Rose Bowl? Would that ease the disappointment of the loss? "It won't ease it at all," Baas said, flatly, before Iowa's victory. "It's Michigan-Ohio State." U-M Coach Lloyd Carr certainly wasn't in a cheery mood after his defense yielded 446 yards, scoring drives of 99 and 97 yards, not to mention big plays of 68, 34, 42, 26, 82 and 46 yards.

But Carr, in his 10th season as head coach, put things into fourth touchdown off a punt return this season. That ties an NCAA record and sets a Big Ten record, breaking a three-way tie with three touchdowns (Gene Derricotte, Michigan, 1947; Ira Matthews, Wisconsin, 1976; and Tim Dwight, Iowa, 1997). "I had to try to make something real quick," Ginn said, "and I was just trying to find a hole to get vertical as my coach told me to do. Once you see the touchdown, there's no point in making a move. You just use your speed and get to the end zone." Ginn took the return down the Michigan sideline for the score.

"Our plan was to kick the ball high," Carr said. "We got the ball high. We had him bottled up there. That return looked like it was designed to go the other way, we had him, and some way he gin away." Run over Michigan has struggled to defend quarterbacks who are as devastating with their legs as they are with their throwing ability. It was no different against Ohio State as Troy Smith accounted for 386 of the Buckeyes' 446 yards.

Smith was OSU's leading rusher with 18 carries for 145 yards. He threw for two touchdowns and rushed for one. For the fourth straight game, Michigan faced an offease with a spread look. Linebacker Pierre Woods said enough already. "I just don't know what the Big Ten is aiming to," Woods said.

"I thought it was all power, and now we're going to all finesse. We should go to the (Southeastern Conference). The Big Ten with all this spread offense recruit get the guys you need and let's play some real ball. Go get it, run, attack, power football, that's what the Big Ten is all about Now it's like the Pac-10 or the SEC, I don't know." Woods knows things won't change. "We just have to adjust to it and keep going," he said.

Quotable Smith, a sophomore, on playing in his first Michigan-Ohio State game: "Before the game, I had tears in my eyes. I didn't really realize what this rivalry was about and is about until you get a "NV" until you're in it until you're in the fight My hat's off to Michigan, but (this was) Ohio State's day." Big crowd There were 105456 at Ohio Stadium on Saturday, the Buckeyes' second-largest home crowd at the stadium. The stadium record is 105,539 against Michigan in 2002. At the 'Shoe Former Michigan coach Gary Moeller attended Saturday's game, watching from the press box with his wife, Ana Moeller, who coached Michigan for five seasons beginning in 1990, last led the Wolverines against the Buckeyes in 1904 a 22-6 loss. Moeller's son, Andy, is the Wolverines' offensive line coach.

Moeller, a Lima, Ohio, native, has stmng Ohio State ties as well He was co-captain of the Buckeyes in 11)62. You can reach Angelique S. Chengelis at achengelisdetnews.com. Michigan opened the second half just as ft had played the second quarter unable to move the balj and unable to score. After OSU padded its lead to 27-14 early in the second half U-M was forced to punt for the seventh straight possession.

Carl Tabb downed the ball at the Ohio State 3. The Buckeyes faced a long third down at their 37, and Smith appeared to be wTapped up by Pierre Woods for a loss. But he spun out of Woods' grasp and sprinted for a 46-yard gain. "He was really slippery," Woods said Three plays later, OSU scored on a 12-yard pass to Santonio Holmes for a 34-14 lead with 1:53 left in the third quarter. Michigan, which had 60 yards of offense in the second and third quarters combined, came back with a big play of its own to open the fourth quarter.

Braylon Edwards caught a 46-yard pass from Henne to the Ohio State 8. But on the next play, Henne, rolling -right threw an interception to Ash-. tonYouboty. The defensive back just made -a great play on the ball," Henne -said. "I didnt expect him to catchy that I thought it could have been 7 tipped, but I didnt think he wasj going to catch it Braylon was com- ing back to the ball, and I thought 1 1 had an open alley, and he made a 7 great play on it" Ohio State did not convert on the turnover, punted the ball back, and Michigan put together its first! scoring drive since the first Edwards scored on a 38-yard-reception, pulling the Wolverines- to 34-21 with 10:56 left.

That would be their last score. Smith 23 13 241 2 0 Ginn 5 87 42 0 Holmes 3 50 34 1 Gonzales 2 77 68 1 Hamby 1 20 0 Ross 17 7 0 Johnson 10 0 0 6 253 71 0 Turano "When you win the Big Ten championship we're not feeling sorry for ourselves," Carr said. "We had an outstanding year. When you win the conference championship, you don't have to apologize, you don't have to hang your head. Are we disappointed? You're damn right we are.

But at the same time, we did some good things, too." Pregame delay When the Wolverines got off the bus at Ohio Stadium on Saturday morning, they walked toward the visitors' locker room and were met by Ohio State police. "They said, You can't go in there, we're going to inspect every No advance warning," U-M Athletic Director Bill Martin said. "This has never happened to us before. It probably delayed us 10 minutes." Before the Wolverines arrived. their transporter that hauls all of the equipment and uniforms was inspected.

"They said, 'OK, open up the semi and take everything out of it we're going to inspect it' and they resolved that issue by letting the dog get up and in the truck," Martin said. "You know how tightly we time our day, so this set the whole day back 10 minutes. I don't know if this was just a random check." What was his gut feeling on whether this was a random stop? "No comment" Martin said. Henne said the security check was not an issue for the players. "Doesn't really matter, it's just security," he said.

"You walk in ready to play, it doesn't matter what they're going to do to you." Ginn sets record Ohio State's Ted Ginn scored on an 82-yard punt return early in the second half, giving him his RIBaaSllSOlO Gmn 4 123 82 1 Han 2 38 24 0 mtxesamsMssmsasa Hawk 4 7 0 11 Carpenter 6 3 0 9 Everett 3 5 0 8 KurJa 3 2 0 5 Schlegel 2 3 0 5 WhKner 3 11 fos 3 0 0 3 Patterson 2 10 3 Youboty 12 0 3 SaHey 12 0 3 Welch 2 0 0 2 Hoobler 10 0 1 Botctonan 10 0 1 SmNh 1 0 0 1 Pltcock 0 10 1 Pomon 0 10 1 Missed field goats None..