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Sophomore Mike Hart, who had 27 carries for 117 yards, vaults over the line for a 2-yard touchdown to give Michigan a 20-10 lead in the second quarter.U-M 33, Northern Illinois 17
U-M, Michigan State munch on MAC snacks
Wolverines' offense runs smoothly; defense stalls
Chad Henne (227 passing yards, two touchdowns) spots a wide-open Jason Avant, who had 127 yards receiving.
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ANN ARBOR -- Chad Henne looked seasoned and improved. Jason Avant had a breakout game, going over 100 yards receiving for the first time in his career. Five tailbacks had carries and seven players caught passes.
On display in fourth-ranked Michigan's season-opening 33-17 victory over Northern Illinois on Saturday was its expected efficient and balanced offense that is capable, it seems, of big gains when needed.
Also on display was a defense, much-maligned late last season, that still looked, at times, defenseless. The Wolverines gave up 411 yards to the turnover-over prone Huskies, who lost four fumbles and threw an interception. Northern Illinois had the fewest fumbles lost (one) in the nation last year.
"We've been a team that's been good with the football in the past," coach Joe Novak said, "and when you look at this game, I believe we had a shot if we don't turn it over like we did."
Coach Lloyd Carr explained away some of the defensive problems, saying that several players -- namely, safety Ryan Mundy and linebacker David Harris -- had been hurt and missed critical practice, forcing Michigan to go with a lot of younger players.
The Wolverines' main breakdown occurred early in the second quarter when Garrett Wolfe ran 76 yards for a touchdown, cutting the Huskies' deficit to 14-10.
"I think if you take one play out of the football game, our defense did a very good job," Carr said. "We've got to eliminate the big plays. We had a guy who did not get to where he needed to be, picking the ball inside and forcing it outside. We missed an assignment.
"But I thought we did some good things. No. 1, I thought we really pressured the quarterback and knocked him down a few times. I liked that."
Phil Horvath of Northern Illinois was 17-of-25 for 200 yards and no touchdowns. He took one sack. Linebacker Chris Graham led Michigan in tackles with 10.
Carr could not help but be pleased with the Wolverines' offensive output, although they were scoreless in the third quarter. Freshman tailback Kevin Grady, who had nine carries for 42 yards, was stopped on fourth-and-one at the Huskies' 10-yard line to stall a scoring drive. On Michigan's final possession of the quarter, set up by a turnover, Grady fumbled at the Huskies' 2.
Those third-quarter misadventures aside, the Wolverines were efficient, converting on 11 of 17 third-down situations, including the first eight. They had the ball nearly 11 minutes longer than the Huskies did.
"That is an experienced offense," Novak said. "We couldn't get enough pressure on them. We couldn't cover good enough, and they were just throwing whatever they wanted on third down and getting first downs."
Henne, who has scoffed during the preseason about the notion of a sophomore jinx, was 20-of-31 passing for 227 yards and two touchdowns. His primary target was Avant, a senior co-captain, who had 127 yards on nine catches. He scored the first touchdown of the game. Meanwhile, Henne's classmate, tailback Mike Hart, had 117 yards on 27 carries and a touchdown. He added 49 receiving yards and a score.
"The experience (a year ago) really helped," Henne said. "I feel a lot smarter. I think I can read coverages as well as anybody right now.
"If we spread the ball out like we did, the sky's the limit for us. If we get the ball to our playmakers, we're going to be well off."
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