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Posted on Sat, Oct 16, 2010 : 9:47 p.m.

A kicking nightmare, Taylor Lewan's interesting first half and injuries for Michigan football

By Michael Rothstein

Several players stood around, thinking the play was over. Dead.

Iowa had just blocked a Seth Broekhuizen field goal attempt and the Michigan players didn't react. Meanwhile, Iowa knew what to do.

The Hawkeyes surrounded the ball. And then Tyler Sash picked it up and ran. He gained 10 yards before Michigan realized what was going on and then another 27 yards before Sash was stopped at midfield.

“Yeah, well, I don’t know,” Broekhuizen said on what happened. “I guess it’s never happened to me before. I thought the play was dead, and then they started running it back, so I started running back after it.”

The only player who made the instant recognition was holder Doug Rogan, who tackled Sash and saved a touchdown that would have surely made ESPN’s highlight package.

It also was part of a bad day for Broekhuizen in Michigan's 38-28 loss to Iowa. Besides the blocked field goal the redshirt freshman walk-on had two kickoffs go out of bounds - including one after Michigan scored to cut the Iowa lead to 35-28.

“Do you really want me to say (what I was thinking),” Rodriguez said. “Twice? You don’t want me… I don’t think I should say what I was saying to myself. He’s trying hard. Gosh, we’ve got the wind with us.

“And I haven’t seen him do it in practice or in games. But we’ve got to overcome it.”

So what was going on?

“Just need to focus,” Broekhuizen said. “I’ll get better at that.

“I just need to refocus, practice a little more.”

Tough day with penalties Taylor Lewan had a rough first half.

The redshirt freshman left tackle had a personal foul on Michigan’s second drive. Then he had two false starts that killed other drives in the first half.

“I was timing the snap as much as I usually do, as much as I can, and getting off the ball is huge to me,” Lewan said. “Get off the ball, get your two feet on the ground and play football. I guess the ref said I was going a little too early, that’s debatable, I think, but it’s all good.

“Just got to fix it. It’s already happened, nothing I can go back and change.”

Rodriguez eventually pulled Lewan in favor of former starter Mark Huyge before going back to Lewan in the second half.

“We’re the home team, so you can’t really allude that to the crowd noise,” Rodriguez said. “I think he was just so anxious to get on some pretty good D-linemen that he jumped the gun a little bit.

“He just had to calm down and settle down a little bit.”

Injuries, injuries It hasn’t been an easy couple of weeks for Michigan in terms of injuries. Last week, Michigan lost wide receiver Martavious Odoms for the foreseeable future with a broken foot.

Center David Molk, defensive tackle Mike Martin and quarterback Denard Robinson also were injured Saturday against Iowa.

By the end of the game, none of the three was on the field.

Robinson left in the third quarter after landing on his shoulder awkwardly. Martin tweaked his injured ankle in the first half and didn’t play in the second half.

Molk played two plays before coming off the field with his own injured ankle, being replaced by Rocko Khoury.

None, though, appears to be extremely serious.

“I would think all the guys - well, I don’t want to say all the guys - Molk and Martin and Denard, with an open week, should be ready to go for the next one,” Rodriguez said.

Khoury held his own in Molk’s absence, handing the shotgun snap better than Michigan did a year ago when Molk was injured and David Moosman filled in.

“He was able to step right in there and played well,” left guard Stephen Schilling said. “Coming into Iowa for your first real game action, I thought he played really well.”

No word Michigan defensive coordinator Greg Robinson hasn’t spoken with the media since the preseason.

For the fourth week in a row, Robinson declined to talk to the media after the game, saying “Not today.”

In Michigan’s last 11 Big Ten games, all under Robinson, the Wolverines have allowed 30 or more points nine times. Entering Saturday, his defense was ranked No. 112 out of 120 FBS teams

Taking it in stride Iowa receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos needed 66 receiving yards to pass Tim Dwight on the school's all-time list. He caught four passes for 70 yards, scoring three touchdowns.

The milestone was big for a talented receiver who has had issues with living up to expectations and getting caught up in media hype throughout his career.

"It means everything - it's a lot of hard work and persevering for four or five years," Johnson-Koulianos said. "It means a lot just becoming a big part of this team and just being one of the guys."

This and that Michigan coaches and players wore pink - players pink armbands, coaches pink trim on their shirts and hats - for breast cancer awareness. … Michigan might want to think twice before scheduling Iowa as its homecoming opponent. While the Wolverines hold a healthy 40-12-4 overall lead and a 27-7 edge at home in the series, the Hawkeyes are 6-3 when they're Michigan's homecoming date. ... Denard Robinson is the second Big Ten quarterback to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season. Robinson gained 105 yards on 18 carries, giving him 1,096 on the season. Indiana's Antwaan Randle El, who holds the league record with 1,270 yards, is the only other Big Ten quarterback to have passed the milestone. ... Stephen Hopkins' fourth-quarter touchdown run was the first rushing touchdown the Iowa defense allowed this season. ... The Wolverines gained 187 yards on the ground against a defense that had been allowing 63 yards per game. That total was well below Michigan's 297-yard-per-game rushing average.

AnnArbor.com reporters Rich Rezler and Jeff Arnold contributed to this report.

Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein

Comments

Tim Wild

Tue, Oct 19, 2010 : 7:42 a.m.

Taylor's timing problem is not completely independent of the change at center. Molk might be a fraction of a second quicker on the snap. Aside from the penalties (all very close calls) Lewan played a phenomenal game vs a great player. You can't try harder to Kick the ball. It is like a golf swing - if you try to kick too hard you lose rhythm and get what we saw on Saturday.

Geoff

Mon, Oct 18, 2010 : 6:34 a.m.

Harbaugh

Blueman Rick

Sun, Oct 17, 2010 : 6:26 p.m.

Yes WWBD. Totally inexcusable. It is beyond belief that special teams coordinator, Tony Gibson, hasn't discussed such a scenario. If he hasn't, he should be fired tomorrow. What a mess...

Jaxon5

Sun, Oct 17, 2010 : 3:19 p.m.

Michigan's defense was designed for its own offense. That is, the idea is to let the other team score quickly, so Michigan's offense is back on the field more quickly. The design is working to a "t", but the "t" doesn't stand for touchdown. It stands for "trouble". Michigan will take a decade to build back what it once had. It will be ten years of losing before we see any consistency again. Michigan has become Indiana and Minnesota - usually bad, good once in awhile, and never great. All in!

Lorain Steelmen

Sun, Oct 17, 2010 : 2:23 p.m.

A few observations may be worth noting. 1.Michigan's defense was poor for several seasons, BEFORE Coach Rod got here. With the exception of 1997, our sound defenses ended around 1989, certainly by 1995. Carr did not leave RR much to work with! Some of the RR detractors, need to get a grip! 2.Demens may have earned a starting role saturday. I think in general, our defense plays with great intensity. We have to find 11. (I haven't decided yet if GRob is a genius or a bum.) He can only play the cards he was dealt, and Carr left him very few aces! 3.There are NO great teams in this league. Iowa will win the title, and we almost beat them, with our second string QB, Middle guard, and Center. MSU, OSU, Wisconsin will ALL get beat, at least one more time before the end. 3. Forcier, is a member of this team too, and needs to be given a chance to contribute, (and take pressure off of DRob). I think he has grown up a lot, and wants to prove he still is a Michigan man! 3. If DRob was suffering from a shoulder injury for three weeks, I can understand now, why he had INT's against MSU and Iowa. 4. Taylor Lewan, needs to grow up mentally, fast, before he hurts his team in any more games. It's one thing to be a tough guy, but quite another, to kill three drives in the first half! 5. Stanzi had way too much time to pick his receivers. The best DB's in the world can't protect for more than a few seconds. We missed old number 68, on D, in the second half! Van Bergen is under-rated, as a Defensive player. He gives 110% on virtually every play. 6. Can we find a kid to kick the ball 'in bounds' on kickoffs? That would be a start. 7. Michigan CAN beat, EVERY team, remaining on it's schedule, including Wisconsin and OSU, IF, we can stay healthy. Is anybody asking Barwis, what the heck is going on? 8. The problem is NOT Rodriguez, but I wonder if RR is getting the support/performance he needs, from some of his assistants. Watching our kids 'stand around' on a blocked kick, leads me to believe we are seriously overpaying some of our assistant coaches! Brandon, are you any paying any attention? 9.We have five league games left. UM can win all 5, IF, they take 'em one at a time. If we end up 10-2, with the youth, and the injuries we have had, I would say that the players and coaches have done one heck of a great job! Good luck guys, and Go Blue!

WWBD?

Sun, Oct 17, 2010 : 12:07 p.m.

That blocked field goal with our guys just standing around was inexcusable. An embarrassment. The kicker thought the 'play was dead'. Focus? Focus on what? He shouldn't be kicking again this season. That onside opportunity in the end, disgarded so this non-focusing kicker can put it out of bounds? The onside is the only play the team should practice anyway. Rich Rod was correct, great special teams play was required to beat Iowa, but even so, he's wrong about the practicing part because game time is way too late for that. Although 4 turnovers to none is tough to overcome anyway. The personal foul penalty in the first quarter was the worst for me, we were looking to go up 14 with mo, we went from 2nd and 2 at the 28, to 2nd and 17 from the 9. Lewan should have not played another down in the game as it was all down hill from there. The first interception from Fortier was disturbing, that play kept him well ensconsed at the #2 QB. Smart move on RR's part to keep Denard out, he was just goning to get stood up and drilled the rest of the way. On the positive side, the 'D' really did improve. Their play markedly exceeded expectations and they returned some pain as well. The punting team played very well and the punter is where the kicker should be. I'm glad there's no game next Saturday but feel bad for the team because they'll have to wait two weeks for redemption.

heartbreakM

Sun, Oct 17, 2010 : 11:30 a.m.

Go to this website. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/366681-is-mike-bellotti-espns-job-a-precursor-for-his-return-to-coaching

heartbreakM

Sun, Oct 17, 2010 : 11:18 a.m.

Update: Brewster was fired this AM. That is who Musburger was talking about. I guess a bad record at a football rich school like Minnesota is not tolerated.

heartbreakM

Sun, Oct 17, 2010 : 10:14 a.m.

a2d2: Brent Musburger may be referring to Minnesota. Brewster is all but gone (was given an ultimatum about yesterday--if he lost, then he would be gone, according to ESPN). Well, Minne lost yesterday. As far as RR's 3-3-5 defense being designed for the spread: My feeling is that it was designed to stop nobody and nothing. I don't know what philosophy they have, but making tough stops and bouncing guys with the ball backward is not their philosophy, that's for sure. When I saw OSU and Wis lines yesterday, I cringed a lot. Those 2 games will be ugly.

msp890

Sun, Oct 17, 2010 : 9:34 a.m.

This is what you get when you hire someone who could win the game that you hired him for - APPLACHIAN STATE. Remember: Rich Rod's 3-3-5 Defense was made for those pesky teams running the spread that our VAULTED past 4-3 defense (Carr) could not stop. Little did we know that the 3-3-5 defense is just a speed bump for the Big Ten Offenses. Fire RICH ROD.. I want my Cake (offense) and I want to eat it to (defense).

Jaxon5

Sun, Oct 17, 2010 : 8:57 a.m.

The problem is not a turnover here or there being the difference in the game. The problem is much bigger. The difference is in the systems used by these teams. Iowa has been playing its system now for 15 years under Ferentz. Michigan's system is only 2.5 years old. That's because Michigan threw everything away 2.5 years ago. It's going to be a decade before this team can hope to develop some consistency again. Until then, get used to this up and down mediocrity. Oh, and during that decade, Michigan will be surpassed in all time wins and win percentage in NCAA. All in!

Gillete

Sun, Oct 17, 2010 : 8:19 a.m.

Tulsatom - Your spot on, I realize that the coaching staff is ultimately responsible but it is not a coinincidence that Mich has lost the t/o battle over the last two weeks (7 - 0) while commiting only 1 t/o during 5 - 0 start. I always state "no excuses" in my posts but can't help but to think that youth factors greatly into equation.

tulsatom

Sun, Oct 17, 2010 : 7:50 a.m.

The key to the game, in my opinion, was all the U-M turnovers and mental blunders while Iowa played almost mistake-free ball. The interceptions, kicking the ball out of bounds on kickoffs to give Iowa the ball at the 40 at key times, the blocked field goal attempt where the U-M playersw didn't go after the ball, not keeping backside contain on defense, poor tackling, etc. I'm not sure who is more at fault -- the players or the coahing staff, but it was the difference in the game. It is humiliating as a U-M fan to see the defense give up so many points game after game.

A2D2

Sat, Oct 16, 2010 : 11:53 p.m.

Let me repeat a plea I made some weeks back to Coach Rod: Please go talk to the soccer coach. Give him the keys to your dealership-provided car, let him use your luxury suite at the stadium. Heck, let him pet your blue-tick hound dog Bobbi-Joe-Freddie-Bob. But please, get him to loan you someone that can kick the ball straight and between the uprights, maybe even into the end zone regularly on kickoffs.. With regards to the blocked field goal returned 50 yards - how stupid was that play? How embarrassed was the coaching staff? How badly coached is our defense and special teams?. Since I'm on a rant, it does occur to me that if you can re-build an offense that was in Steven Threet shambles only two years ago, you sure as the devil could have done the same thing with the defense (which was not in nearly as bas a shape 2 years ago).. Unless, of course, you didn't give a rat's rooty-tutti about the defense. Unless of course you just-didn't-get-it about how important defense and special teams are in the Big 10.. Brent Musberger made an interesting comment during the Wisconsin - OSU game. He said that "at least one Big 10 school would be looking for a coach at the end of the season, and they really should consider the Wisconsin offensive coordinator".. I have no idea who the Wis. offensive coordinator or if he would be a god head coach anywhere, but I think the word is on the street..................

umgoblue47

Sat, Oct 16, 2010 : 11:09 p.m.

pOUT... alway's with the negative info? blame rr for every negative thing... how about some postive info like no team this season has scored a rushing touchdown on iowa... oh wait michigan scored two rushing touchdown's, thats rr's fault. or how about michigan had 522/yds of offense against a defense that gave up an average 242/yds per game,must be rr's fault. but you can't talk postive about rr because that would underscore your hate for him... GO BLUE...

lawrencelaundry

Sat, Oct 16, 2010 : 9:58 p.m.

Well, we put up some good offensive numbers against a great defense. But I don't know what to think anymore of this circus. MSU is on their way to a championship, and putting a football school to shame. GERG is a has been coach, and the rest of the staff forgot that there's special teams in football. Heisman caliber QB and we are bottom dwellers in the big ten. Next year will be worse with Nebraska and Brian Kelly monster recruiting machine. But hey, we will have plenty WR on offense. What slop!!

dell

Sat, Oct 16, 2010 : 9:57 p.m.

Explain why UM uses the two kickers. They are each 1/4. Coach Rod, you need to check your roster. You have a kid from IN who was an all state and you have the kid from Ann Arbor who was an all state and a dream team player. Who cares what they do in practice. If they don't have it between the ears during the game, then you need to make a change. You always have an excuse. I think you've run out of them. Coach, you need to look at your kickers more than 5 minutes a week. It seems the whole team doesn't believe in who your using now and it shows when you need to go for it on 4th down. Being stubborn is putting to much pressure on the team.

3 And Out

Sat, Oct 16, 2010 : 9:46 p.m.

According to the BTN... This is the 3rd time under Rodriguez, that Michigan has given up 30+ points 3 games in a row.... 3 streaks of 3 in less than 3 years under Rich Rodriguez. Prior to Rich Rod, a streak of 3 straight 30+ games in a row had never happened in 131 years of Michigan football History (pre-Rich Rod).