Indiana University Athletics
IU Downed by Michigan
10/2/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The No. 18 Michigan Wolverines used big plays and the strength of special teams to overpower the Indiana Hoosiers, 35-14, Saturday in Big Ten action. The loss drops the Hoosiers to 0-2 in the Big Ten and 2-3 overall, while the Wolverines improve to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in conference play.
The tandem of Chad Henne and Braylon Edwards proved to be too much for the Hoosier defense. Henne connected on 17-of-21 passes for 316 yards and three touchdowns, while Edwards had a eight catches for a career-high 165 yards and two touchdowns.
"There were five big plays - the two plays in the kick game and we had the ball thrown over our head three times," Indiana head coach Gerry DiNardo said. "That and our inability offensively to convert on third down, was the biggest difference in the game.
"We wanted to pressure and we wanted to double team. I thought [Chad] Henne did a good job of finding the guy who wasn't doubled. We mixed it up, some zone and some man, but there were some times we should have been in zone instead of man."
Michigan special teams combined for 214 return yards and a 76-yard touchdown from a punt return. The Wolverines also had a 97-yard kickoff return to the IU three-yard line to set up another U-M score. Offensively, the Wolverines were just as dangerous, connecting on touchdown passes of 40, 69 and 38 yards on the afternoon.
The IU defense forced three fumbles and recovered two on the afternoon, bringing its season total to 14 forced fumbles and seven fumble recoveries on the season. The Hoosier defense now has forced opponents into 14 turnovers (seven fumbles and seven interceptions) on the season, while only turning the ball over on eight occasions resulting in a plus-six turnover ratio. In 2003, the Hoosiers forced 20 turnovers and had a turnover margin of plus three.
The Wolverines opened the scoring at the 5:52 mark of the first quarter when quarterback Chad Henne capped off an 83-yard, 8-play drive with a 40-yard strike to Jermaine Gonzalez. It was the first time this season the Hoosiers have not scored the first points of a game.
Michigan would go up 14-0 when Leon Hall scored on a 76-yard punt return, marking the second consecutive year the Wolverines have scored on a punt return against IU. U-M's Steve Breaston scored on a 69-yard punt return in Michigan's 31-17 victory on Sept. 27, 2003.
The Hoosiers cut the U-M lead to 14-7 just prior to the half, when sophomore running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis had a two-yard rushing touchdown, giving him three touchdowns on the season and 11 for his career. The touchdown was set up by a Kyle Killion fumble recovery and return to the Wolverine 11-yard line.
Michigan would answer with 21 unanswered points in the third quarter, which began when Grant Mason took the second half kickoff 97 yards down to the Indiana three-yard line. That set up a one-yard touchdown run by Michael Hart on fourth and goal to give the Wolverines a two-touchdown spread at 21-7 with 12:40 remaining in the third quarter.
Michigan would find paydirt again with 6:28 remaining in the third quarter on another long Henne pass. This time, the U-M quarterback connected with Edwards for 69 yards, giving the Wolverines a 28-7 advantage.
Edwards and Henne would hook up again just over four minutes later on a 38-yard touchdown pass with 2:07 remaining in the third quarter.
The Hoosiers were finally able to answer when Courtney Roby caught his fourth touchdown of the season off a six-yard reception from LoVecchio, resulting in the final score. The play was originally called incomplete; however, after reviewing the play, it was later ruled that Roby had control of the ball before falling out of bounds.
This was not the only review of the game as the Hoosiers and Wolverines were involved in three instant replays on the afternoon, all of which were overturned after review.
The first review happened at the 2:04 mark of the second quarter when there was a flag thrown on Indiana for interference when Michigan was attempting to catch a punt. After reviewing the play, it was ruled that Michigan's own player, not an Indiana player, ran into the punt returnee. The second review came just a short time later with nine seconds remaining before the end of the half when Matt LoVecchio rushed the ball for what was originally ruled a touchdown; however, the play was again overruled as LoVecchio's knee was ruled down prior to crossing the goal line.
Entering the weekend, there were only three plays that were overturned using the instant replay in Big Ten games this season. It is also the most reviewed plays in a single game, besting the mark of two set on several occasions this year.
"The kickoff obviously was a big play," DiNardo continued. "I don't think that the way we played this week was the same that we played last week. I think we still played hard in the second half. I think the kickoff was really bad and I feel responsible for that. But our defense as a whole showed that this wasn't like last week. We did lose in the second half - without question. But I don't think it would be fair to the team to say that this was the same. It was the same result, but not the same attitude and not the same demeanor."
The Hoosiers will return to the road for the first time since Sept. 9 when they travel to face Big Ten foe Northwestern on Saturday, Oct. 9. Kickoff is slated for 11 a.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN Plus.
The tandem of Chad Henne and Braylon Edwards proved to be too much for the Hoosier defense. Henne connected on 17-of-21 passes for 316 yards and three touchdowns, while Edwards had a eight catches for a career-high 165 yards and two touchdowns.
"There were five big plays - the two plays in the kick game and we had the ball thrown over our head three times," Indiana head coach Gerry DiNardo said. "That and our inability offensively to convert on third down, was the biggest difference in the game.
"We wanted to pressure and we wanted to double team. I thought [Chad] Henne did a good job of finding the guy who wasn't doubled. We mixed it up, some zone and some man, but there were some times we should have been in zone instead of man."
Michigan special teams combined for 214 return yards and a 76-yard touchdown from a punt return. The Wolverines also had a 97-yard kickoff return to the IU three-yard line to set up another U-M score. Offensively, the Wolverines were just as dangerous, connecting on touchdown passes of 40, 69 and 38 yards on the afternoon.
The IU defense forced three fumbles and recovered two on the afternoon, bringing its season total to 14 forced fumbles and seven fumble recoveries on the season. The Hoosier defense now has forced opponents into 14 turnovers (seven fumbles and seven interceptions) on the season, while only turning the ball over on eight occasions resulting in a plus-six turnover ratio. In 2003, the Hoosiers forced 20 turnovers and had a turnover margin of plus three.
The Wolverines opened the scoring at the 5:52 mark of the first quarter when quarterback Chad Henne capped off an 83-yard, 8-play drive with a 40-yard strike to Jermaine Gonzalez. It was the first time this season the Hoosiers have not scored the first points of a game.
Michigan would go up 14-0 when Leon Hall scored on a 76-yard punt return, marking the second consecutive year the Wolverines have scored on a punt return against IU. U-M's Steve Breaston scored on a 69-yard punt return in Michigan's 31-17 victory on Sept. 27, 2003.
The Hoosiers cut the U-M lead to 14-7 just prior to the half, when sophomore running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis had a two-yard rushing touchdown, giving him three touchdowns on the season and 11 for his career. The touchdown was set up by a Kyle Killion fumble recovery and return to the Wolverine 11-yard line.
Michigan would answer with 21 unanswered points in the third quarter, which began when Grant Mason took the second half kickoff 97 yards down to the Indiana three-yard line. That set up a one-yard touchdown run by Michael Hart on fourth and goal to give the Wolverines a two-touchdown spread at 21-7 with 12:40 remaining in the third quarter.
Michigan would find paydirt again with 6:28 remaining in the third quarter on another long Henne pass. This time, the U-M quarterback connected with Edwards for 69 yards, giving the Wolverines a 28-7 advantage.
Edwards and Henne would hook up again just over four minutes later on a 38-yard touchdown pass with 2:07 remaining in the third quarter.
The Hoosiers were finally able to answer when Courtney Roby caught his fourth touchdown of the season off a six-yard reception from LoVecchio, resulting in the final score. The play was originally called incomplete; however, after reviewing the play, it was later ruled that Roby had control of the ball before falling out of bounds.
This was not the only review of the game as the Hoosiers and Wolverines were involved in three instant replays on the afternoon, all of which were overturned after review.
The first review happened at the 2:04 mark of the second quarter when there was a flag thrown on Indiana for interference when Michigan was attempting to catch a punt. After reviewing the play, it was ruled that Michigan's own player, not an Indiana player, ran into the punt returnee. The second review came just a short time later with nine seconds remaining before the end of the half when Matt LoVecchio rushed the ball for what was originally ruled a touchdown; however, the play was again overruled as LoVecchio's knee was ruled down prior to crossing the goal line.
Entering the weekend, there were only three plays that were overturned using the instant replay in Big Ten games this season. It is also the most reviewed plays in a single game, besting the mark of two set on several occasions this year.
"The kickoff obviously was a big play," DiNardo continued. "I don't think that the way we played this week was the same that we played last week. I think we still played hard in the second half. I think the kickoff was really bad and I feel responsible for that. But our defense as a whole showed that this wasn't like last week. We did lose in the second half - without question. But I don't think it would be fair to the team to say that this was the same. It was the same result, but not the same attitude and not the same demeanor."
The Hoosiers will return to the road for the first time since Sept. 9 when they travel to face Big Ten foe Northwestern on Saturday, Oct. 9. Kickoff is slated for 11 a.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN Plus.
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