Friday, October 19, 2007

It's Great To Be

A MICHIGAN WOLVERINE!

Michigan Offense vs. Illinois Defense
No injury will play a bigger outcome on Saturday's game in Champaign, Ill., than the sprained ankle RB Mike Hart suffered in Michigan's victory over Purdue last Saturday. Early indications are that Hart will be fine to play. Assuming that's the case, the big question becomes how much will the ankle affect his burst and cutting ability? Making matters more complicated, Hart's backup, sophomore Brandon Minor, was carted off the field with a protective boot on his left foot. If Minor can't play, the team will turn to its other promising sophomore running back Carlos Brown, who scored twice in the fourth quarter versus Purdue.

Here is the Michigan Illinois Preview (or at least a small amount, make sure to check out the rest of it).

After a disastrous start to the season, Michigan has played its way back into the Top 25.

With the nation's leading rusher hoping to be in the lineup, the No. 24 Wolverines look for their sixth straight victory when they visit Illinois in a Big Ten matchup Saturday night.

Michigan (5-2, 3-0) beat Purdue 48-21 last Saturday to improve to 5-0 since opening the season with a stunning loss to Football Championship Subdivision team Appalachian State, followed by a defeat to Oregon -- both coming at home.

On Saturday, the Wolverines will play as a ranked team for the first time since opening at No. 5. They fell out of the poll after the 34-32 loss to Appalachian State.

Michigan is looking for its sixth victory in a row over Illinois, and will be trying to extend its unbeaten streak in Champaign to 10 games. Both are possible for a Michigan team that is tied with top-ranked Ohio State for the conference lead.

"The things that are important are that we improve, continue to improve this week," embattled coach Lloyd Carr said. "Because certainly there are some things that we didn't do well, and certainly some things that we need to do better."

Stronger defense and the running of Heisman Trophy candidate Mike Hart has fueled the Wolverines' resurgence.

Hart, who has 1,078 rushing yards and leads the nation at 154.0 per game, is expected to play Saturday despite hurting his right ankle against Purdue. He ran for 102 yards and two touchdowns in the first half before departing.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

yeah Michigan Won!