Sunday, October 23, 2005

U-M shows guts in face of adversity

By Bob Wojnowski / The Detroit News

John T. Greilick / The Detroit News Kevin Grady filled in nicely for starting running back Mike Hart, who left the game because of an ankle injury. Midterm UM-MSU At this poing in the season, which football team is better? Michigan Michigan State Get results and comments 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

IOWA CITY -- We can question the record, and the inconsistency, and some of the mistakes. But starting right now with this Michigan team, we need to acknowledge one thing, one huge thing.

We can't question its guts.

Or its depth. Or its startling ability to piece together something intriguing when much appeared to be falling apart. At the risk of overstatement, we'll call U-M's 23-20 victory against Iowa on Saturday one of the program's true gut-check triumphs, snapping the Hawkeyes' 22-game home win streak on a 1-yard touchdown run in overtime by the fourth-string tailback.

Jerome Jackson was in at the end partly because he earned the shot, mostly because starter Mike Hart got injured again, twisting an ankle. Hart is U-M's best offensive player, and he was out after five carries. Linebacker LaMarr Woodley is U-M's best defender, and he barely played after suffering an injury in practice.

Yet there were the Wolverines, just hanging on and hanging around all season, unveiling a second straight clutch performance. And now here they are, back at 5-3 (3-2 in the Big Ten), back in the race, back from the dread (at least for another week, with a visit to, ahem, powerful Northwestern next).

This was Lloyd Carr's 100th victory as U-M's coach, and I doubt he has had many quite this satisfying, in a season quite this mystifying.

It wasn't that the win brought some huge prize -- the Wolverines are still essentially one stumble from contention elimination. But it enabled them to avert a major hole, and they did it with contributions from all areas, in all ways.

"We never felt we were out of the race, to be honest," Jackson said. "We lost a couple of games early but we knew with the kind of integrity we have, we'd keep fighting, no matter what. And here we are."

Here they stand, wounds and bandages visible, doing what a deep program should in troubled times. More is needed during a season like this, and U-M showed it still has plenty in reserve.

Midway through the second quarter, U-M trailed 14-7, and with Drew Tate effortlessly guiding Iowa's offense, let's just say a 4-4 record was looking mighty plausible. But first Kevin Grady, then Jackson, filled in ably for Hart. And there was Pierre Woods making huge plays in place of Woodley. And there was Detroit sophomore linebacker John Thompson all over the field, filling in for injured Chris Graham. Even Brandon Harrison, a true freshman safety pressed into duty, had an interception.

How ominous did it get? U-M actually lost long-time equipment manager/motivator Jon Falk, who suffered a broken leg when bowled over on the sideline.

Say this for the Wolverines - they keep getting back up. This was their fifth straight game decided by three points or less, and they've won three of them.

It's a dangerous way to play. But after falling behind, U-M's defense grew tougher by the possession, and Jackson grew more determined by the carry, scrapping for each of his 44 yards. And as long as we're hitting the guts issue, we can't overlook prized tackle Jake Long, who returned ahead of schedule from injury, or quarterback Chad Henne, who's starting to shake the pressure. And all senior Jason Avant does is make monstrous catches, like the twisting 18-yarder in overtime.

"We have guys sitting on the sideline that we know can play," said Woods, one of those guys. "We had to step up and not worry about what everybody else was saying about us. Everybody knows now that Michigan comes to play."

Michigan is advised to keep coming to play because the Big Ten is as balanced and rugged as we've ever seen it. Michigan State knows what Northwestern can do to a defense, and U-M's defense remains penetrable.

But it's getting better, if not healthier. Carr was awarded the game ball by his team, but really, players like Woods and Jackson were the story of this game. Jackson, a junior from Saginaw, has only two career starts. He never stopped hoping for a chance, never knowing when the Wolverines would need him, and need him desperately.

"Nobody in that locker room is ever going to forget what Jerome Jackson did out there," Carr said, emotions roiling. "Because if he didn't maintain a positive attitude, he never would have been able to play as well as he did. I think it's a great part of athletics when a guy can persevere and keep fighting, and get rewarded for it."

Persevering and fighting. Carr was talking about his fourth-string tailback. He also was talking about his team.

You can reach Bob Wojnowski at bob.wojnowski@detnews.com