September 24, 2011 - 6:56pm
LIVE BLOG: The Hoke Bowl, Michigan tops San Diego State 28-7
BY MICHAEL FLOREK
FOURTH QUARTER: Robinson’s curious game continued in the fourth quarter.
Now, without any pressure and a clean pocket to work with, he threw a two straight third-down incompletions on consecutive drives, leaving the door open for San Diego State to jump back in the game.
But once again, Lindley and San Diego State made one too many mistakes — on fourth and short, with less than nine minutes left in the game, Lindley failed to set his feet and missed a wide-open tight end, who had found a soft spot in the Wolverines’ defense.
The first play of the drive, Robinson eclipsed the 200 yard rushing mark for the third time in his career on an easy, follow-your-blockers 30-yard run, taking the ball deep into San Diego State territory.
Smith added another touchdown on the ground for Michigan, breaking multiple tackles on his way for a seven-yard touchdown run. Michigan 28. San Diego State 7.
THIRD QUARTER: Perhaps Robinson was still a bit high off of his three-touchdown first half, but regardless, he didn’t set his feet and threw an interception on the Wolverines’ first drive of the second half. It was his fifth on the season and continued an unsettling trend — he continued to struggle throwing the ball forcing Michigan to be one-dimensional running the ball.
On Michigan’s next drive, Robinson didn’t set his feet again, throwing a ball at senior tight end Kevin Koger’s ankles. Then on third down, Robinson found himself with a decision to make: he had enough room to run for the first down, but instead decided to force a pass into Koger, and Robinson threw the ball behind him and it was deflected and intercepted.
San Diego State’s own blunders prevented the Aztecs from capitalizing — Lindley couldn’t gain composure when Michigan blitzed and after Robinson’s second interception, Hillman fumbled in the redzone.
When Robinson did quarterback a long drive thanks in large part to a short and easy screen pass to Smith, converting a third down, redshirt sophomore Brendan Gibbons missed a 40-yard field goal.
Sophomore running back Stephen Hopkins fumbled on their next drive. That led to a quick 38-yard scoring drive, which ended with Lindley throwing a strike for a 16-yartd touchdown.
With only a quarter to play, Michigan still led 21-7.
HALFTIME: What Michigan team is this that leads San Diego State 21-0 at the end of the first half?
The 22nd-ranked Wolverines that won their first three games without scoring a single point in the first quarter and the Michigan defense consistently struggled early, made in-game adjustments and thrived late.
When junior defensive end Craig Roh burst through the line and crushed San Diego State’s star running back in the backfield on a third-and-one, that was the first sign this game would be different. Roh emerged from the tackle with a swagger, his teammates jumping on him — the Aztecs went three-and-out on their first drive.
Junior quarterback Denard Robinson made sure the fast start continued, but with his legs, not his arm. He capped the Wolverines’ first drive with an easy 5-yard touchdown run, after he broke a 19-yard run earlier in the drive and junior running back Vincent Smith found room for a 32-yard run.
San Diego State’s exotic blitzes were picked up well by the Michigan line on each run, and when Smith and Robinson broke through the line, they had plenty of green grass in front of them.
Robinson and Smith teamed up to score again on their second drive — on third-and-short, they ran the option together and Robinson kept the ball, swept through the line, untouched, and sprinted for an easy 53-yard touchdown run.
The Wolverines defense meanwhile was blitzing Aztecs quarterback Ryan Lindley and doing their best to contain the nation’s leading rushing, Hillman.
Michigan had the upper hand: Hillman fumbled on San Diego State’s second drive and Lindley couldn’t convert a fourth-and-short on the Aztecs’ third drive.
In the second quarter, the Wolverines’ offense stalled when Robinson couldn’t consistently complete passes, but their defense stayed stout and Lindley and Hillman continued to struggle. Lindley finished the half going 7-for-14 for 73 yards.
Robinson capped off the half with another touchdown run, a 1-yard run, his third of the game. He finished the half completing five-of-eight passes for 35 yards, for a measly 4.4 yards per attempt, but he ran for 139 yards on 11 carries, with those three touchdowns.
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