In The House

Breaking down the breakdown

ANN ARBOR - Two days after Michigan's 26-21 loss at Ohio State, the most prominent questions at today's media availability revolved around Michigan's decision to attempt a fourth-down conversion in the second half against the Buckeyes, and the aptitude of offensive coordinator Al Borges. 

"A lot of it is short-yardage things that we kind of prided ourselves on being good in short yardage," Michigan coach Brady Hoke said. "We tried three different, no, really, four different schemes - the iso ran, the power ran, the quarterback read play - and just couldn't, didn't execute them like we'd like to. They all had possibilities, besides the iso, but it could have been executed.

"That was disappointing. You've got 21 plays in the second half. That's hard, when you want to get into a rhythm." 

With that - Ohio State had 36 plays in the second half, by comparison - the use of Denard Robinson diminished as the second half wore on.

"He can throw the ball but he can't throw it with the confidence he'd like to throw the ball with," Hoke said of Robinson, who hasn't thrown a pass in a game since Oct. 27. "That was one reason we weren't going to put him out there in a situation where he's not throwing as well as he knows he would like to. That would be unfair.

"The last two drives, we had to get points. Keeping Devin in the game and throwing the ball a little bit. Unfortunately, we threw the pick, but that's football." 

"We had 21 plays. We tried to get (Robinson) the shovel, tried to get him out ... it just didn't present itself. And then the fourth-and-2, fourth-and-3, which is the same play he had a nice run earlier in the football game, for about seven or eight (yards), we don't block it right." 

On Borges, Hoke said this: 

"I thought he called a good football game," Hoke said. "We do a couple things better, and I think we'd all be much happier. I thought the play-calling was exactly as it should have been."

Genius? Or resourcefulness?

COLUMBUS - We're in kind of a vacuum here in the press box, so I can't really tell you how loud it was at Ohio Stadium this afternoon. Put it this way - the Michigan State-Michigan game at the Big House? Couldn't hear myself think. 

Up on the third tier of the Ohio Stadium press box? Nothing. Of course, I was trying to keep my literal cool while seated right under a vent that piped nothing but hot air. By the third quarter, someone could have basted me. 

But that's all besides the point. 

Anyhow. I got a text from a fellow Big Ten writer that essentially asked me this: "Is Al Borges that stupid?"

Now Borges is no mad scientist, but he's widely regarded as one of the more prodigious offensive coordinators. But what did Albert Einstein - another prodigy - say? The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, yet expecting different results. 

Guess what. It's all relative. 

Urban Meyer is no spring chicken. And when he saw Denard Robinson pop his first long run - on Michigan's first play of its first drive - Meyer didn't hesitate to call out his next move and defer to his defensive coordinator.

“Stop the quarterback run,” Meyer said. “That’s the input I had. I’m sure 107,000 people said that, as well.”

Advantage, Ohio State.

Michigan's best chance to gain ground yardage faded in the second half, and Robinson registered his last carry early in the fourth quarter - a one-yard run, to finish with 122 yards on 10 carries. Before halftime, Robinson had 124 yards. Take that for what it's worth.

Michigan led by a point at halftime after Buckeyes kicker Drew Basil nailed a 52-yard field goal, but finished with 60 total yards and zero points in the second half. Michigan tried to do the same thing over and over again, without getting fresh results - including the failed decision to allow Robinson to unsuccessfully run the ball on fourth down early in the second half.

Advantage, Ohio State. 

Michigan didn't take enough chances in the air - or they didn't take advantage of the fact that the Buckeyes aren't as strong defending the pass as they are on defending the run. 

And Michigan has no viable supplement for Robinson, a problem that's plagued the Wolverines through much of the season, with the underachieving Fitz Toussaint scurrying mostly for short yardage before a gruesome injury to his left leg ended his season last weekend, and Thomas Rawls - whom Brady Hoke all but said was forced to take over as Michigan's No. 1 back - and Vincent Smith unable to take pressure off Robinson in the backfield. Smith and Rawls combined for 14 yards on 10 carries. 

Again. Advantage, Ohio State. 

A Michigan-Ohio history lesson

... courtesy of the History Channel. 

I'm a geography junkie. Maps are my thing. Can I get an atlas? 

So when I accepted a job covering Michigan football at the Blade - in Ohio - I got a lot of funny looks from people when I told them. And I got asked something along these lines:

"So, wait ... if you're in Ohio ... then why are you covering Michigan?"

There's plenty of Michigan fans in an area that's closer to Ann Arbor than to Columbus, but plenty of Ohio State fans, too. 

For those of you not necessarily up on your 1800s maps, here's a reason - as I wrote in today's Michigan End Zone. Toledo was once almost part of Michigan, and became hotly contested property. 

So much that it incited a war over the skinny piece of land that stretches from the Indiana border to Lake Erie - and included a shipping port, a key part of commerce in the 1800s. 

What's the saying in real estate? "Location, location, location." 

I'll leave the rest of the explanation up to Ohio native Brian Unger, who hosts one of my favorite television shows: "How The States Got Their Shapes." 

(h/t Mgoblog.com)

So if you're new to the area and wondering about all that scarlet and grey mixed with maize and blue on your street, there's a historical - and a cartographical - reason for it.

***

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you're spending the day with loved ones and friends ... and getting ready for "The Game." 

Without Toussaint, what's to make of Michigan's ground attack?

ANN ARBOR - Fitz Toussaint is done, gone for the season after undergoing surgery to repair a gruesome left leg injury he incurred Saturday, in the first quarter of Michigan's 42-17 win over Iowa.

Michigan Coach Brady Hoke said the running back was expected to be released from the hospital today, two days after undergoing surgery on his left leg.

“It went well,” Hoke said of the surgery. “He should have a full recovery. We’ll move forward and he’ll move forward."

But, he added, "No one wants that for any kid."

Hoke did not elaborate on Toussaint’s injury or the subsequent surgery, but said he expects the redshirt junior to return for the 2013 season.

Michigan's top tailback is gone, and the rushing duties will now likely fall upon three players - quarterback-slash-tailback Denard Robinson and running backs Thomas Rawls and Vincent Smith. 

Robinson has carried the load for the ground game this season, with 1044 yards and six touchdowns on 144 carries. Rawls has 240 yards and four touchdowns on 52 carries, while Smith has 83 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries. 

Do Rawls' teammates believe he's ready to take over that starting position? 

"He has to," quarterback Devin Gardner said. "He has to be ready, and I thought he is. And Vincent Smith is ready, too. Everybody forgets about Vincent Smith, who's also a great running back. I just can't wait for those guys to get the opportunity. Even Justice Hayes is ready to play."

***

In case you're ISO a ticket or two to Saturday's Ohio State-Michigan game in Columbus, expect to shell out some cash. Columbus Business First reports today that a ticket on the secondary market will cost anywhere from $200 and go up to $1,000 for a club seat between the 30-yard lines. For a ticket with a face value of $70.

A heads-up - this footage isn't pretty. At all.

ANN ARBOR - I don't remember watching Joe Theismann's career-ending leg injury - though I knew it was coming when I watched the movie "The Blind Side" three years ago. 

I covered my eyes. I didn't have time to do the same this afternoon when Michigan tailback Fitzgerald Tousssaint went down in a heap inside the Iowa 15-yard line in the first quarter of Michigan's 42-17 win over the Hawkeyes. In fact, I didn't even realize that it might be more than just "a boo-boo" until I didn't see Toussaint bounce back up, as many rushers instinctively do after the play is whistled dead.

More than 113,000 didn't see it happen, either. And I'm sure they didn't immediately realize the severity of Toussaint's injury - until the cart came out. In football lingo, that's akin to being taken away in an ambulance. (Put it this way - there were people cussing in the press box when the cart came out.)

If you haven't eaten a meal yet, or if you have a strong gag reflex, here's footage of the play where Toussaint got injured, via TheBigLead.com:

Toussaint's absence isn't devastating - in fact, Toussaint was having a less-than-stellar year with the Wolverines, after missing Michigan's first game because of a suspension in connection with his July DUI arrest. In 10 games this season, Toussaint has 514 yards rushing and five touchdowns, but appeared to be forging a presence before his game- and likely season-ending injury.

Now, in preparation for next week's rivalry showdown at Ohio State, anticipate Denard Robinson to become more of a factor in Michigan's offensive backfield - what with that ulnar nerve injury and Devin Gardner's emergence at quarterback.

But that's secondary at the moment. Hoke said Toussaint, a redshirt junior, underwent surgery Saturday afternoon but Hoke did not elaborate on the scope of the injury or the type of surgery Toussaint underwent - out of deference to Toussaint's mother, who, as of the post-game press conference on Saturday, had not been contacted about the injury. 

“It was heartbreaking to see Fitz in so much pain,” Gardner said. “Fitz is a really tough guy, and I’ve never seen his face grimacing like that. I just pray that he’ll be alright. And I just prayed, instantly. As soon as I saw him down, I just started to pray. And, hopefully, he’ll be fine.”

13 minutes of "60 Minutes"

The Wolverines will be on television Saturday and Sunday - and I'm not counting the NFL games that include former Michigan football players.

The CBS news program "60 Minutes" will feature a 13-minute segment that examines the business of college football, and Armen Keteyian will report on the topic. The segment will feature the Michigan football program, including athletic director Dave Brandon, head coach Brady Hoke, quarterback Denard Robinson (who is still day to day in regards to the injury to the ulnar nerve in his right arm) and Clay graduate Jordan Kovacs. It will also feature Alabama head coach Nick Saban and the Towson University football team, an FCS program that opened its season at LSU.

From the "60 Minutes" website: 

The University of Michigan Wolverines play in a 112,000-seat stadium, the biggest in the country and recently renovated to the tune of $226 million. The school is a perennial power, but Michigan's athletic director, Dave Brandon, tells Keteyian you can never sit still in what many call an arms race. "If you don't keep pace, if you don't stay competitive, you're going to have a problem."

With the revenue from the football program paying for 75 percent of all the other sports programs under him at the 40,000-student public university, Brandon has a huge responsibility. "We're going to have excited fans, we're going to fill stadiums, we're going to be on TV. We're going to accomplish all the goals that we need to accomplish to keep this department moving ahead," says Brandon, who once hired a stealth fighter to fly over Michigan's stadium to fire up the crowd. 

That stealth fighter flew over the Big House prior to Michigan's 31-25 win over Air Force in September - a game in which Michigan paid Air Force $1.1 million to play in, a week after Michigan earned $4.7 million for a 41-14 loss to Alabama. (all transactions obtained through an FOI request.)

That stealth fighter was so stealth, only a handful in the press box could see it. Go figure. 

Anyhow. 

"60 Minutes" airs at 7 p.m. on Sunday on CBS, though the start time could be later because of a 4:25 NFL broadcast on CBS - either Indianapolis at New England or San Diego at Denver.

This one wasn't scripted

ANN ARBOR - In the minutes following Michigan's 38-31 overtime win against Northwestern, Wolverines coach Brady Hoke turned the tables.

"Lemme ask you this," Hoke asked the gaggle of reporters assembled in front of him, in a room underneath the stands of Michigan Stadium. "Who started writing their article before the game was over?" 

A few reporters raised their hands. And Hoke smirked. Because in his mind, the finish was already scripted. Or at least that's what he told the media.

"My wife just asked me that on the way in: 'Did you know you were going to win?' " Hoke said. 

He had a one-word answer: "Yes."

The storyline, in the final minutes of regulation, appeared to be cut-and-dried: Michigan blows a lead, Northwestern closes out the upset and dashes Michigan's already-slim Big Ten championship hopes. 

After Tony Jones gave the Wildcats a 31-28 lead on a 15-yard touchdown catch with 3:59 left in the fourth quarter, the clicking of the keyboards echoed through the press box at Michigan Stadium. It seemed too easy - all Northwestern had to do was stop Michigan's final drive and run out the clock to seal the win. 

It didn't work that way. 

Instead, Michigan got the ball back with 18 seconds left at its own 38. And Devin Gardner launched a rocket to Roy Roundtree. Via ESPN and YouTube: 

Roundtree's catch placed the Wolverines at the nine with seconds left in regulation, and Brendan Gibbon's 26-yard field goal with 2 seconds left forced overtime. 

After Gardner's 1-yard touchdown gave the Wolverines a 38-31 lead, Michigan needed four plays to end the game, capping it off with a resounding tackle by linebacker Kenny Demens on tailback Tyris Jones. 

Game over. Players celebrate. Reporters scramble to write yet another lead. 

This certainly wasn't the exception. It's a vicious cycle.

A friend of mine who also covers a Big Ten team said something along these lines earlier this week, in discussing what reporters covering the presidential election go through:

" Late night, tight deadlines, interviewing upset losers, ever-changing leads."

It's akin to what sports reporters go through - on a regular basis.

We prepare to meet and beat deadlines. Or maybe we shouldn't. As evidenced by this afternoon at Michigan Stadium, who knows how it's all going to end. 

For the record: I had four leads written by the time Roy Roundtree snagged that bobbling football. Maybe a fifth floating around in my head, too.

Though if he was a reporter, I wonder what Hoke's lead would have been. Or how many leads he would have written. 

Quick update on Wormley

During today's media availability, Michigan coach Brady Hoke touched on the topic of long-term injuries. Whitmer graduate Chris Wormley is one of a handful of Wolverines who suffered season-ending injuries but whom Hoke said are improving through the course of this season - from an injury standpoint and from a standpoint of adjusting to the learning curve. 

“I think all of them, I know they feel better," Hoke said. "They’re making progress. Are they doing much besides the weight room and alternate conditioning and sitting in the meeting rooms and absorbing all they can? Because some of them are true freshmen. A guy like Chris Wormley, he’s trying to absorb all he can from that standpoint, but they’re healing up.”

Wormley, a defensive end and the 2011 All-Blade player of the year, tore his ACL during preseason practices with the Wolverines and underwent surgery to repair the torn ligament prior to the season.

Hoke, however, wouldn't project whether or not any injured players would be available for spring practices. 

“It’s too soon to say," Hoke said. "I think some could be limited contact, some would be no contact. That kind of thing."

***

"Cerebral" seems to be the word of the week during media availability at Michigan - used to characterize offensive lineman Patrick Omameh, for instance, who is a cerebral guy. 

But asked today about the effervescent Devin Gardner, Hoke was also asked if Gardner was "cerebral."

“I don’t know what that means," Hoke quipped.

If you're in the dark, too, here's the Merriam-Webster definition: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cerebral

Looking more at Michigan's QBs

MINNEAPOLIS - And now we may have a quarterback controversy.

Not necessarily regarding Michigan's starting quarterback spot, but Michigan's No. 2 spot. Will it be Russell Bellomy or Devin Gardner backing up Denard Robinson from here on out?

Before spring practices, Gardner appeared to be the shoo-in as Michigan's backup quarterback. But by the start of preseason practices in August, it was settled - Gardner would be moved to wide receiver and Bellomy, a redshirt freshman, would be Robinson's back-up.

That all but changed this afternoon in Minnesota. With Robinson out because of an ulnar nerve injury in his throwing arm, Gardner was called into action. At quarterback. And played in his first game of the season at the position. 

"He's played a lot of quarterback," Michigan coach Brady Hoke said of Gardner, who was recruited as a quarterback out of Detroit's Inkster High School. "He's worked a lot at quarterback."

"Devin's a smart guy."

Prior to the 35-13 win at Minnesota, Gardner, a junior, had 16 catches for 266 yards and four touchdowns in eight games, and the junior had stated his desire to return to quarterback in the future for the Wolverines. 

Against Minnesota, Gardner finished 12 for 18 passing with 234 yards and two touchdowns, though he was intercepted once by Minnesota safety Cedric Thompson in the first quarter, part of a shaky start for both the Wolverines and for Gardner. 

But Bellomy didn't take a snap on Saturday, a week after he completed just three passes and was intercepted three times in a 23-9 loss at Nebraska.

"Russell's situation is a little different," Hoke said after the win over the Gophers - a day after he said he decided Gardner would start at quarterback.

And Hoke didn't elaborate on Bellomy's status/situation.

"Not one that I'll discuss," Hoke said, tersely. 

Strictly going by the numbers, here's a head-to-head comparison of Bellomy vs. Gardner:

• Bellomy: 4-21 for 46 yards passing, with four interceptions in five games
• Gardner: 12 for 18 for 234 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception in one game

As for Robinson? Hoke anticipates he'll play Nov. 10 against Northwestern at Michigan Stadium - though he anticipated that Robinson would play Saturday against Minnesota. Take that for what it's worth.