Sunday, October 16, 2005

Henne stays poised to end

U-M quarterback shoulders criticism, leads team to victory with one second left.

By Jim Spadafore / The Detroit News

John T. Greilick / The Detroit News Penn State's Jay Alford gets a hand on Michigan quarterback Chad Henne. Related links  NCAA football scores and stats Big Ten Talk Big Ten Weblog U-M schedule U-M roster U-M stats Big Ten schedule Big Ten standings Big Ten stats AP Top-25 poll USA Today / ESPN Top-25 poll Sports Challenge: Pick the college winners weekly, win prizes Game photo galleries U-M 33, N. Illinois 17 Notre Dame 17, U-M 10 U-M 55, EMU 0 Comment on this story Send this story to a friend Get Home Delivery

ANN ARBOR -- Michigan quarterback Chad Henne has had a nightmare season. He has been criticized repeatedly for the Wolverines' start.

But Saturday Henne had one shining moment which could save the Wolverines' season.

There was one second left and the Wolverines were losing, 25-21. Michigan called timeout and Henne was smiling as he walked over to talk to the coaches.

"Some people would probably be uptight but I kind of just smiled and knew we had one more chance," he said. "I'm not going to get uptight. We had one second to go and why not come off with a smile knowing you have one chance left to make a play."

A play that could salvage Michigan's season from disaster. Henne took the snap and passed 10 yards to Mario Manningham to give the Wolverines a 27-25 victory over Penn State.

Henne wasn't sharp for most of the game, but what a finish. He completed 21-of-36 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.

At times he has struggled this season. Some outsiders, especially on the airwaves, blame him for the Wolverines' start.

"I pretty much don't pay attention to it," Henne said about the criticism.

The winning touchdown pass will help ease what could have been a painful loss for Henne, who had the ball stolen from him by cornerback Alan Zemaitis and returned 35 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter to break a 10-10 tie.

"That was just a stupid mistake on my part," Henne said.

While others have lost confidence in Henne, coach Lloyd Carr stands behind him 100 percent.

"Chad Henne is a great quarterback," Carr said.

You can reach Jim Spadafore at (313) 223-4638 or jim.spadafore@detnews.com.